Pagan the Butler ( la, Paganus Pincerna; died around 1149) was

lord of Oultrejordain The Lordship of or (Old French for "beyond the Jordan", also called Lordship of Montreal) was the name used during the Crusades for an extensive and partly undefined region to the east of the Jordan River, an area known in ancient times as Edo ...

in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establishe ...

from around 1126. He was first mentioned as the

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to th ...

in 1120. He ordered the erection of

Kerak Castle Kerak Castle ( ar, قلعة الكرك, Qal'at al-Karak) is a large medieval castle located in al-Karak, Jordan. It is one of the largest castles in the Levant. Construction began in the 1140s, under Pagan and Fulk, King of Jerusalem. The Crusa ...

which became his seat in 1142.

Career

Pagan was an influential retainer of

who mounted the throne in 1118. Baldwin soon reorganized the royal court and appointed his faithful supporters to the highest offices. Pagan was first mentioned as the king's

in 1120.

Hans Eberhard Mayer Hans Eberhard Mayer (born 2 February 1932 in Nuremberg) is a German medieval historian, specializing in the Crusades. Career Hans Eberhard Mayer is an international expert on the history of the Crusades. He is currently the Professor of Medieval a ...

argues that Pagan the Butler (who was mentioned in 1120) and Pagan of Montreal (mentioned in 1126) were not identical, but other historians have not accepted Mayer's view. Pagan replaced

Roman of Le Puy Roman of Le Puy, also known as Romanus of Puy ( la, Romanus de Podio), was the first lord of Oultrejordain in the Kingdom of Jerusalem from around 1120 to around 1126. He was a nobleman from Auvergne who accompanied Adhemar de Monteil, Bishop of L ...

by 1126. According to a royal charter which was issued in 1161, Pagan was the first lord of Oultrejordain, which implies that Le Puy had not ruled the whole territory of the lordship. Initially, Pagan had his seat in the castle of

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

. After he could not prevent a band of Syrian soldiers from making a raid across the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

, he decided to build a new fortress at a triangular plateau at the Wadi al-Karak which was located closer to the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He transferred his seat to the newly built

in 1142. Pagan died in the late 1140s. He was succeeded by his nephew

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Pagan The 1140s deaths Christians of the Crusades

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

Year of birth unknown