Plivain, also known as Plivano or Pleban, was the

lord of Botrun The Lordship of Botrun was a fief around the small town of Botrun (now Batroun in Lebanon) in the County of Tripoli. The crusaders occupied Botrun in 1104, then the lordship was formed in 1115, until it was seized by the Mamluks of Qalawun in 1289. ...

(now

Batroun Batroun ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرُون '; Syriac script: ܒܬܪܘܢ ') is a coastal city in northern Lebanon and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the capital city of Batroun District. Etymology The name ''Bat ...

in Lebanon) in the

County of Tripoli The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was the last of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant in the modern-day region of Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria which supported an indigenous population of Christians, ...

from around 1180 to around 1206. He was a merchant from

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

who settled in the county in the late 1170s. He seized Botrun through his marriage to its heiress, Lucia. According to a late source, he bribed Lucia's suzerain, Count

Raymond III of Tripoli Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Assassins murdered his father, Raymond II of Tripoli. Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying in Tripoli, made Raymond's mother, Hodierna ...

, into allowing the marriage. He fell into captivity in the Battle of Hattin on 4 July 1187.

Life

Plivain was a wealthy merchant from

who settled in the

. His presence in the county was first recorded on 9 August 1179. He married Lucia, the only daughter of

William Dorel William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

Lord of Botrun The Lordship of Botrun was a fief around the small town of Botrun (now Batroun in Lebanon) in the County of Tripoli. The crusaders occupied Botrun in 1104, then the lordship was formed in 1115, until it was seized by the Mamluks of Qalawun in 1289. ...

, and thus seized the lordship, around 1180. According to a folkloristic story recorded in the ''

Estoire de Eracles The ''Estoire d'Eracles'' ("History of Heraclius") is an anonymous Old French translation and continuation of the Latin ''History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'' by William of Tyre. It begins with recapture of Jerusalem by the Roman emperor Herac ...

'', to seize her hand, Plivain had offered her weight in gold to Count

, her suzerain. Raymond accepted the offer, although he had promised the hand of the first wealthy heiress in the county to a Flemish knight,

Gerard of Ridefort Gérard de Ridefort, also called Gerard de Ridefort (died 4 October 1189), was Grand Master of the Knights Templar from the end of 1184 and until his death in 1189. Early life Gerard de Ridefort is thought probably to have been of Flemish origi ...

. Plivain was first mentioned as the lord of Botrun in March 1181. Plivain participated in the Battle of Hattin and fell into captivity on 4 July 1187. Although the ''Estoire de Eracles'' claimed that

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

captured Botrun, historian Kevin J. Lewis argues that Plivain paid a huge ransom for his release and retained his lordship. He was last mentioned as lord of Botrun in 1206.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Refend *Ernoul, "''Chronique d’Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier''", a c. di Mas Latrie, Paris 1871. "''Estoire d’Eracles''", in "''Recueil des Historiens des Croisades: Historiens Occidentaux''" HCOcc pp. 51-52, 114. *M. Chiaverini, "''Il ‘Porto Pisano’ alla foce del Don tra il XIII e XIV secolo''", Pisa MARICH, 2000, p. 49 e n. 152. People from Pisa County of Tripoli