Sibylla ( fro, Sibyl; 1159 – 25 July 1190) was
Queen of Jerusalem
This is a list of queens of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291.
Throughout 200 years of its existence, the Kingdom of Jerusalem had one protector, 18 kings (including 7 ''jure uxoris'') and five queens regnant. Six women were queens consort, i.e. que ...
from 1186 to 1190. She reigned alongside her husband
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194) was a French Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and as such born of the House of Lusignan. He was king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and King o ...
, to whom she was unwaveringly attached despite his unpopularity among the
barons of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin, the four highest crown vassals (referred to as barons) in the kingdom proper ...
.
Sibylla was the eldest daughter of
King Amalric
Amalric or Amaury I ( la, Amalricus; french: Amaury; 113611 July 1174) was King of Jerusalem from 1163, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. He was the second son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and succeeded his older broth ...
and the only daughter of
Agnes of Courtenay
Agnes of Courtenay ( – ) was a Frankish noblewoman from the Crusader states. Agnes's parents, Joscelin II of Edessa and Beatrice of Saone, lost the County of Edessa in 1150. As the widow of Reynald of Marash, Agnes married Count Amalric of ...
. Her father died in 1174, making her
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to her younger brother,
King Baldwin IV. When it became clear that 13-year-old Baldwin had contracted
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
, the matter of Sibylla's marriage became urgent. The
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, Count
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was County of Tripoli, count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Order of Assassins, Assassins murdered his father, Raymond II of Tripoli. Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying in Tri ...
, arranged for her to marry
William Longsword of Montferrat in late 1176, but William left her a pregnant widow, and in possession of the
County of Jaffa and Ascalon
The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries comprising the major Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.
History
Jaffa was fortified by Godfrey of Boui ...
, in 1177.
Shortly after giving birth to a son,
Baldwin, Sibylla came to be associated with her brother in public acts, thereby being designated as next in line to the throne. Sibylla's second marriage, to Guy of Lusignan, was arranged in 1180 by her brother likely to foil a coup planned by Raymond, but it deeply divided the nobility. By 1183, King Baldwin had become completely disabled as well as disillusioned with Guy's character and ability to lead. In order to prevent Guy's accession to the throne, he had Sibylla's son crowned as co-king and attempted to separate Sibylla from Guy, but she refused.
Sibylla's brother, Baldwin IV, died in 1185, having named Raymond to rule as regent for Baldwin V instead of Sibylla or Guy. The boy king died the next year, and Sibylla moved quickly to claim the throne against Raymond's ambitions. She agreed to her supporters' demand to set Guy aside on the condition that she could choose her next husband. At her coronation in mid-September 1186, she outwitted her supporters by choosing Guy and crowning him herself. Saladin took advantage of the discord in the kingdom to invade in 1187, reducing 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 ...
to a single city,
Tyre. Sibylla visited her husband, who had been taken captive at the decisive
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of t ...
, and procured from Saladin his release. She died, along with their daughters, of an epidemic outside
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
while Guy was
besieging it.
Childhood
Sibylla was the elder of the two children of the
count of Jaffa and Ascalon
The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries comprising the major Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.
History
Jaffa was fortified by Godfrey of Bouill ...
,
Amalric
Amalric or Amalaric (also Americ, Almerich, Emeric, Emerick and other variations) is a personal name derived from the tribal name ''Amal'' (referring to the Gothic Amali) and ''ric'' (Gothic ''reiks'') meaning "ruler, prince".
Equivalents in di ...
, and his first wife,
Agnes of Courtenay
Agnes of Courtenay ( – ) was a Frankish noblewoman from the Crusader states. Agnes's parents, Joscelin II of Edessa and Beatrice of Saone, lost the County of Edessa in 1150. As the widow of Reynald of Marash, Agnes married Count Amalric of ...
. She was born between 1157, when her parents married, and 1161, when her brother,
Baldwin, was born. On her father's side, Sibylla was the niece of the then-reigning
King Baldwin III
Baldwin III (1130 – 10 February 1163) was King of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem. He became king while still a child, and was at first overshadowed by his mother Melisende, whom he eventua ...
and granddaughter of
Queen Melisende
Melisende (1105 – 11 September 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161, while he was on campaign. She was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and the Armenian princess M ...
. The
ruling class
In sociology, the ruling class of a society is the social class who set and decide the political and economic agenda of society. In Marxist philosophy, the ruling class are the capitalist social class who own the means of production and by exten ...
of 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 ...
and other
crusader states
The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...
, called the
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
, were
French-speaking
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
who had arrived in the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
from
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
and remained
Western in culture. Sibylla was named after her father's half-sister,
Sibylla of Anjou
Sibylla of Anjou (–1165) was a countess consort of Flanders as the wife of Thierry, Count of Flanders. She served as the regent of Flanders during the absence of her spouse in 1147-1149.
First marriage
Sybilla was the daughter of Fulk V of Anj ...
.
When King Baldwin III died in 1163, the
High Court forced Amalric to agree to an
annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure within Law, secular and Religious law, religious legal systems for declaring a marriage Void (law), null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually ex post facto law, retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is c ...
of his marriage to Agnes in order to be accepted as the new king. He succeeded in having his and Agnes's children declared
legitimate by
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...
. In common with Western practices, Sibylla was educated by the king's aunt Abbess
Ioveta, Queen Melisende's youngest sister, at the
Convent of Saint Lazarus near
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. She consequently had little contact with her mother or brother, who was
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
to their father. With his second wife,
Maria Komnene, the king had two daughters, of whom
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
survived infancy.
King Amalric feared that, like his brother and their father,
King Fulk
Fulk ( la, Fulco, french: Foulque or ''Foulques''; c. 1089/1092 – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129 and the king of Jerusalem with his wife from 1131 to his death. During t ...
, he too would die young, before his heir reached the
age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...
. Having no close male relative who could rule as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
on his son's behalf if the latter ascended as a minor, Amalric authorized the
archbishop of Tyre
The see of Tyre was one of the most ancient dioceses in Christianity. The existence of a Christian community there already in the time of Saint Paul is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Seated at Tyre, which was the capital of the Roman provi ...
,
Frederick de la Roche
Frederick de la Roche (died 30 October 1174) was the sixth Latin archbishop of Tyre (1164–1174), chancellor of the kingdom of Jerusalem (c. 1150), and the chief diplomat of King Amalric. He was a Lorrainer, from the town of La Roche, of noble s ...
, in 1169 to find a husband for Sibylla in Western Europe. The candidate had to be an older man of high-enough rank and with enough experience in government. Amalric chose Count
Stephen I of Sancerre
Stephen I (1133–1190), Count of Sancerre (1151–1190), inherited Sancerre on his father's death. His elder brothers Henry Ι and Theobald V received Champagne and Blois. His holdings were the smallest among the brothers (although William, the ...
, the brother-in-law of King
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
and relative of the English royal house. Stephen thus came to Jerusalem in 1171. Sibylla's brother was suspected of having contracted
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
, then an incurable disease that would prevent him from marrying and having children, and Amalric may have seen Sibylla and Stephen as eventual monarchs. Stephen rejected the match, however, for unknown reasons.
Heir presumptive
![Amalric smrt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Amalric_smrt.jpg)
When King Amalric died of dysentery in July 1174, the High Court met to discuss who should succeed him. Sibylla's 13-year-old brother, Baldwin, would have been the obvious successor had there not been for fears of his incipient leprosy. The only serious alternative to him was Sibylla, then aged about 15. Female succession had been grounded in recent law and had precedent, as Amalric's mother, Melisende, preceded her sons on the throne. But unlike her grandmother, Sibylla was young, inexperienced, and unmarried. No bachelor in the
Latin East
The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...
was fit to marry her; Count
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was County of Tripoli, count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Order of Assassins, Assassins murdered his father, Raymond II of Tripoli. Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying in Tri ...
and
Baldwin of Antioch Baldwin of Antioch (died September 17, 1176) was a Franks, Frankish knight and general in service of the Byzantine Empire during the Byzantine–Seljuk Wars. He was the son of Princess Constance of Antioch and Raymond of Poitiers.Runciman, Steven. ' ...
were too closely related, and a marriage to one of the barons in the kingdom could have caused resentment among the others. A match had to be found abroad, but that would have taken too long. Baldwin IV was therefore chosen, with the expectation that a husband would be found for Sibylla to succeed him if he proved to be affected during his minority.
Marriage
Count Raymond of Tripoli, who was by then also
prince of Galilee
The principality of Galilee was one of the four major seigneuries of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin, grandson of Balian. The direct holdings of the principality centred around Tiberias, i ...
in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, became regent for the young king due to being the nearest male relative. He allowed Sibylla and Baldwin's mother, Agnes, to return to court. The siblings came to be strongly influenced by their mother in the following years. Baldwin's condition deteriorated rapidly after his accession, and there was no longer any doubt that he was affected by leprosy. A brother-in-law was quickly sought. The groom chosen by Raymond and the High Court was
William Longsword
William Longsword (french: Guillaume Longue-Épée, nrf, Willâome de lon Espee, la, Willermus Longa Spata, on, Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Det ...
, son of Marquis
William V of Montferrat
William V of Montferrat (occ./piem. ''Guilhem'', it. ''Guglielmo'') ( 1115 – 1191) also known regnally as William III of Montferrat while also referred to as William the Old or William the Elder, in order to distinguish him from his eldest s ...
and cousin of both Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
and King
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
.
By the time William arrived in the East in October 1176, the
barons of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin, the four highest crown vassals (referred to as barons) in the kingdom proper ...
were no longer so well disposed towards him, likely because Emperor Frederick had suffered military setbacks against the
Lombard League and could no longer be expected to aid Catholics in the East. But the marriage had to go forward because if she were to be jilted again, Sibylla's marriage prospects could irreparably diminish. The couple married in November, and he was granted the
County of Jaffa and Ascalon
The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries comprising the major Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.
History
Jaffa was fortified by Godfrey of Boui ...
. Sibylla was the only countess in the kingdom beside her mother, who had been granted the title after the annulment of the royal marriage, which conferred a certain distinction. Baldwin may have offered to
abdicate
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
in William's favour, but William would have declined because he knew he lacked support among the nobility.
Countess
![1187 Kingdom Of Jerusalem based on 1889 map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/1187_Kingdom_Of_Jerusalem_based_on_1889_map.svg)
Around April 1177, shortly after he and Sibylla conceived a child, William fell critically ill. He died in June, by which time her pregnancy was known. Sibylla was left as the ''
suo jure
''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...
'' countess of Jaffa and Ascalon. Sibylla and Baldwin's first cousin Count
Philip I of Flanders arrived in Jerusalem soon after, but declined regency when Baldwin offered it to him. Philip's only goal was to arrange for Sibylla and her half-sister Isabella to marry Robert and William, respectively, sons of his favourite liegeman Robert V of Béthune. The High Court countered that custom entitled the widowed Sibylla to a year of mourning, which was especially seemly given her pregnancy. Philip and the High Court could not agree on which of them had the final say in choosing Sibylla's next husband. The opposition to Philip was led by the
lord of Ramla
The Lordship of Ramla was one of the Crusader vassal states of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. It has been vassal to and part of the County of Jaffa and Ascalon.
History
During the First Crusade, Ramla was abandoned by its Muslim inhabitants, ...
,
Baldwin of Ibelin
Baldwin of Ibelin, also known as Baldwin II of Ramla ( French: ''Baudouin d'Ibelin'', early 1130s – c. 1187 or 1186/1188), was an important noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and was lord of Ramla from 1169-1186. He was ...
, who hoped to be the chosen suitor.
Sibylla gave birth to a son, named
Baldwin in honour of her brother, in the winter of 1177–78. Her mourning period ended in June 1178, and it became appropriate to negotiate a new marriage. Baldwin of Ibelin's suit having been rejected, his brother
Balian was allowed to marry Queen Maria, stepmother of Sibylla and the King. On 1 July 1178, Sibylla began to be associated with her brother in public acts, reminiscent of Melisende's association with her father, King
Baldwin II. Baldwin IV thus confirmed Sibylla's status as his heir presumptive.
The High Court agreed unanimously that Sibylla should next marry Duke
Hugh III of Burgundy
Hugh III (1142 – August 25, 1192) was Duke of Burgundy between 1162 and 1192. As duke, Burgundy was invaded by King Philip II and Hugh was forced to sue for peace. Hugh then joined the Third Crusade, distinguishing himself at Arsuf and Acre. He d ...
. The king so desperately needed a brother-in-law that he wrote to the king of France, empowering him to choose an alternative candidate if Hugh refused. Hugh intended to sail to the East in early 1180 and marry Sibylla at
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
. A group of
crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
from France, led by Count
Henry I of Champagne
Henry I (December 1127 – March 16, 1181), known as the Liberal, was count of Champagne from 1152 to 1181. He was the eldest son of Count Theobald II of Champagne, who was also count of Blois, and his wife, Matilda of Carinthia.
Biography
Henry ...
,
Peter I of Courtenay
Peter I of Courtenay (September 1126 – 10 April 1183) was the sixth son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adélaide de Maurienne. He was the father of the Latin Emperor Peter II of Courtenay.
Peter was born in France and died in Pale ...
, and
Philip of Dreux
Philip of Dreux (Philippe de Dreux; 1158–1217) was a French nobleman, Bishop of Beauvais, and figure of the Third Crusade.
He was an active soldier, an ally in the field of Philip Augustus, the French king and his cousin, making him an opponent ...
, arrived in July 1179. They failed to prevent the Egyptian ruler
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 ...
from destroying the crusader fortress of
Le Chastellet, but remained in the kingdom in the hopes of assisting at Sibylla and Hugh's
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
the following year.
Remarriage
![Lettrine-Sibylle-betrothal&marriage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Lettrine-Sibylle-betrothal%26marriage.jpg)
Things took an unexpected turn during the
Holy Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
in 1180. The brewing conflict in France that followed the accession of King
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
prevented Hugh from leaving his domain. Contemporary chroniclers
Ernoul Ernoul was a squire of Balian of Ibelin who wrote an eyewitness account of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. This was later incorporated into an Old French history of Crusader Palestine now known as the ''Chronicle of Ernoul and Bernard the Treasurer ...
and
William of Tyre
William of Tyre ( la, Willelmus Tyrensis; 113029 September 1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I, the Englishman, a former ...
relate the events differently. According to Ernoul, Sibylla wrote to Baldwin of Ibelin when he was in Saladin's captivity, promising that she would persuade her brother to allow their marriage if he could ransom himself, but was persuaded by her mother to marry
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194) was a French Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and as such born of the House of Lusignan. He was king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and King o ...
, a Poitevin knight, instead. Historian Bernard Hamilton argues that Ernoul's account, though accepted in older historiography, is biased in favour of the Ibelins.
William of Tyre reports that during the Holy Week in 1180 Count Raymond III of Tripoli and Prince
Bohemond III of Antioch
Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer (french: Bohémond le Bambe/le Baube; 1148–1201), was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. He was the elder son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband, Raymond of ...
were marching towards Jerusalem to stage a coup against King Baldwin. Hamilton concludes that their intention was to force the king to have Sibylla marry Baldwin of Ibelin and to then abdicate, and that the king foiled their plan by arranging her marriage to Guy. Baldwin of Ibelin had never been approved by Sibylla's brother, possibly because
his family
''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918.
Plot introduction
''His Family'' tells the story of ...
had only
recently risen to lordly rank. Another factor was that Saladin had been informed by Raymond and Bohemond's conspiracy to enthrone Baldwin and therefore set Baldwin's ransom to that of a king; a successor with such a debt was not desirable.
From 1180, Sibylla held Jaffa and Ascalon with Guy, and had four daughters with him. Their marriage divided the nobility into a faction supporting Guy (Sibylla; the king; their mother, Agnes; their stepfather the
lord of Sidon
The Lordship of Sidon (french: Saete/Sagette), (Later County of Sidon) was one of the Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin (jurist), John of Ibelin ...
,
Raynald; their maternal uncle,
Joscelin of Courtenay; and the
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 ...
,
Raynald of Châtillon
Raynald of Châtillon (french: Renaud; 11254 July 1187), also known as Reynald or Reginald, was a Crusader knight of French origin but also Prince of Antioch from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Oultrejordain from 1175 until his death. He wa ...
) and a faction opposing him (Sibylla's paternal kinsmen Bohemond of Antioch and Raymond of Tripoli; Baldwin and Balian of Ibelin; and her stepmother, Maria Komnene). In order to prevent the opposing party from setting up a rival claimant, the king took his mother's advice and, in October 1180, betrothed his half-sister Isabella, Maria's daughter and Balian's stepdaughter, to
Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron ( 1166 – 1198) was a leading baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He inherited the Lordship of Toron from his grandfather, Humphrey II, in 1179. He was also heir to the Lordship of Oultrejourdan through his mother, Step ...
, stepson of Raynald of Châtillon. From March 1181, both Sibylla and Guy were associated with King Baldwin in public acts.
Disinheritance
Baldwin IV's leprosy progressed quickly; in 1183 he lost his sight and could no longer walk unsupported or use his hands. Having developed a life-threatening fever, the king summoned the High Court in June and made Guy regent. Baldwin retained only the royal title and the city of Jerusalem. But Guy proved far too unpopular to be an effective military leader, and gravely insulted the incapacitated king by refusing to exchange Jerusalem for
Tyre.
Saladin attacked
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 ...
in late 1183 while the wedding of Sibylla's half-sister Isabella to Humphrey of Toron was celebrated. Baldwin summoned his troops. Not trusting him to efficiently command the army, the king deprived Guy of regency and, effectively, of his place in the line of succession. The succession was then deliberated by the assembled nobility, which included Guy, Agnes, Bohemond of Antioch, Raymond of Tripoli, Raynald of Sidon, and the Ibelin brothers, but not Sibylla's supporters Raynald of Châtillon and Joscelin of Courtenay. Eventually Agnes's proposal that Sibylla's five-year-old son, Baldwin V, be crowned
co-king was accepted because his was the next strongest claim after Sibylla's. The coronation took place on 20 November, and the boy received the
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
of all the barons except his stepfather. Baldwin IV and his army then relieved the
siege of Kerak
The siege of Kerak of 1183 was an attack on the castle of Kerak by the forces of Saladin in the Crusader stronghold.
Prelude
Kerak was the stronghold of Raynald of Châtillon, Lord of Oultrejordain, 124 km south of Amman. The fortress w ...
.
![Français 2824, fol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Fran%C3%A7ais_2824%2C_fol._162v%2C_Raymond_de_Tripoli_nomm%C3%A9_r%C3%A9gent.jpeg)
The question of who would rule the kingdom as regent for Baldwin V troubled the disabled king. Sibylla and Guy would have the best claim to regency if Baldwin IV died. Her brother knew that this could only be prevented by having their marriage
annulled
Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost ...
and discussed the matter with the
Latin patriarch of Jerusalem
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ( la, Patriarchatus Latinus Hierosolymitanus) is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, wit ...
,
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
. Baldwin failed to take into account Sibylla's steadfast devotion to Guy as well as Guy's friendship with Heraclius, who may have warned the count about Baldwin's intentions. Instead of going to Jerusalem with the rest of the army after lifting the siege of Kerak, Guy went straight to
Ascalon and sent a message to Sibylla, who joined him there. The annulment could not proceed without their presence, and the couple's refusal to leave Ascalon despite the king's summons frustrated the scheme to separate them. Baldwin next attempted to confiscate Jaffa and Ascalon, but only succeeded in revoking Jaffa.
On Baldwin IV's deathbed in early 1185, the right to rule the kingdom as regent in the name of Baldwin V, then a sickly child, was offered to the count of Tripoli. Raymond and his party were determined to prevent Sibylla and Guy's accession, and he accepted the regency on the condition that the
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
should, on the advice of the
Holy Roman emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
and the kings of England and France, decide whether the crown should pass to Sibylla or Isabella in case of Baldwin V's premature death. The High Court accepted the conditions and swore an oath to him in the presence of Baldwin IV. Guardianship of the boy was awarded to his granduncle Joscelin of Courtenay. Baldwin IV died in March 1185 or before 16 May 1185 at the latest, when Sibylla's son, Baldwin V, is recorded as the sole king. Baldwin V's paternal grandfather, Marquis
William V of Montferrat
William V of Montferrat (occ./piem. ''Guilhem'', it. ''Guglielmo'') ( 1115 – 1191) also known regnally as William III of Montferrat while also referred to as William the Old or William the Elder, in order to distinguish him from his eldest s ...
, arrived in Jerusalem to safeguard the young king's rights.
Reign
Accession
![Balduins tomb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Balduins_tomb.jpg)
Sibylla's son died in
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
in August 1186. Her mother had died by then too. Raymond summoned the High Court to
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
. It was attended by half-sister Isabella; Isabella's husband Humphrey and her stepfamily, the Ibelins; and likely by Raymond's stepsons. Contemporaries believed that Raymond intended to claim the throne for himself. Meanwhile, Sibylla's uncle Joscelin of Courtenay took possession of Acre and
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
in her name. Sybilla hurried to Jerusalem to attend her son's funeral. She and Guy garrisoned the city with their strong armed escort.
The count of Tripoli underestimated the support for Sibylla. The lord of Oultrejordain and her father-in-law the marquess of Montferrat came to Sybilla's side. She was also backed by the patriarch and the
master of the Knights Templar
The Grand master (order), grand master of the Knights Templar was the supreme commander of the holy order, starting with founder Hugues de Payens in 1118. Some held the office for life while others resigned life in monasteries or diplomacy. Gra ...
,
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 ...
, who both resided in Jerusalem, as well as by the
constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
, Guy's brother
Aimery; the
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
,
Peter of Lydda; and the seneschal, her uncle Joscelin. The nobility and clergy assembled in Jerusalem wished to settle the succession immediately. They concurred that Sibylla had the best claim, but disagreed on whether Guy should become king alongside her. In the end, Sibylla's supporters required her to give up Guy in return for their recognition of her rights. Sibylla acquiesced on three conditions:
legitimisation
Legitimation or legitimisation is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and values within a given society. ...
of her daughters by Guy, Guy's retention of Jaffa and Ascalon, and ability to personally choose her next husband. The conditions were accepted.
Coronation
![Français 9082, fol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Fran%C3%A7ais_9082%2C_fol._274v%2C_Couronnement_de_Sibylle_de_J%C3%A9rusalem.jpg)
On the advice of Heraclius and Gerard, Sibylla sent an invitation to the nobles at Nablus to attend her coronation. Possibly in an attempt to appease Raymond and his party, Guy was not mentioned in it; Sibylla proclaimed that the kingdom had passed to her by
right of inheritance. They nevertheless refused to attend, arguing that doing so would violate the oaths taken at Baldwin IV's deathbed, and went so far as to send a delegation of monks to forbid the coronation. The
master of the Knights Hospitaller,
Roger des Moulins, also declined to be present, more likely due to the oath than out of any opposition to Sibylla. He was nevertheless persuaded to surrender his key to the chest containing
regalia
Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereign ...
. The city gates were barred ahead of the coronation to prevent disruption by the opposing party, and instead of by the attendees, Sibylla was
acclaimed
An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts.
Voting Voice vot ...
queen by the citizens of Jerusalem at the urging of Raynald of Châtillon.
As was traditional, the coronation was held at the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
, likely in mid-September. After crowning her, the patriarch gave a second crown to Sibylla and asked her to choose a new consort. She astonished the attendees by calling forth Guy and placing the crown on his head. Having agreed that she should choose a husband after setting Guy aside, they could raise no objection to her choice. Upon hearing about this turn of events, Raymond proposed crowning Isabella and Humphrey as rival monarchs, but Humphrey sneaked out of Nablus at night and rode to Jerusalem. Upon arrival, he demanded an audience with the queen, who agreed after initial reluctance. He swore fealty to her, and she took him to see Guy, to whom he paid homage. Roger des Moulins and Heraclius mediated peace, and all the barons except Raymond of Tripoli and Baldwin of Ibelin came to Jerusalem to submit.
Fall of Jerusalem
Sibylla was well-positioned to wield power because Guy's authority was entirely dependent on her. She was associated with her husband in public acts in the first months of their reign, but this was cut short by Saladin's invasion. In an act of continued defiance, Raymond had retired to his fief of Galilee, allied with Saladin, and garrisoned
Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
with Muslim troops. The sultan attacked the kingdom on 26 April 1187. After Muslim troops annihilated the combined armies of the Templars and the Hospitallers
at Cresson near
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
on 1 May, Raymond was forced by his own vassals to submit to Guy. Though now unified, the kingdom had been critically weakened by the defeat at Cresson. The Christian army led by Guy suffered a crushing defeat
at the Horns of Hattin on 4 July. The king was taken prisoner; Raynald was executed; and Raymond died of an illness in
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
in September.
At the time of King Guy's defeat and imprisonment at Hattin, Queen Sibylla was in Jerusalem. The queen went to Ascalon with her daughters to defend the city and only surrendered it to Saladin in return for Guy's release, but the sultan nevertheless kept him imprisoned. In September, Saladin
besieged Jerusalem. The queen commanded the defence with the assistance of Patriarch Heraclius and Balian of Ibelin, but intense bombardment forced them to surrender. Saladin allowed the defeated to ransom themselves, and Sibylla was further permitted to visit Guy in Nablus while she travelled to
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
. She was apparently prevented from embarking there for Europe when her ship was seized by
Conrad of Montferrat
Conrad of Montferrat (Italian: ''Corrado del Monferrato''; Piedmontese: ''Conrà ëd Monfrà'') (died 28 April 1192) was a nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the ''de facto'' King of Jerusalem (as Conrad I) by vi ...
, her first husband's brother who had taken up the
defence of Tyre. Sibylla instead joined her stepmother, Queen Maria, in Tripoli. In the months following the Battle of Hattin, all of the kingdom except Tyre fell to Saladin.
![Lusignan Tyr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Lusignan_Tyr.jpg)
Sibylla repeatedly pleaded with Saladin for Guy's release, and the sultan granted her request in July 1188. The couple reunited on the island of
Arwad
Arwad, the classical Aradus ( ar, أرواد), is a town in Syria on an eponymous island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative center of the Arwad Subdistrict (''nahiyah''), of which it is the only locality.[Tortosa
Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain.
Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...]
, from where they went north to Antioch and then back south to Tripoli, gathering an army along the way. They marched to Tyre in April 1189. The city's defender, Conrad, refused to allow the king and queen into the city, forcing them to spend months outside its walls. Conrad posited that Guy had forfeited the kingdom at Hattin and that Tyre was being held in trust for the Holy Roman emperor and the kings of England and France, who would decide to whom the government should be assigned.
Death
The
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
was launched in 1189, and Sibylla accompanied Guy to the
siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to:
* Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade
*Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade
* Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth.
*Siege of A ...
along with Humphrey, Isabella, Maria, and Balian. An epidemic struck the crusaders' camp in 1190. Sibylla died on 25 July, a few days after her remaining daughters, Alice and Maria. The ''Itinerarium'' recorded accusations of foul play against Guy, but in truth their deaths deprived Guy of any right to the throne. Sibylla's heir was her half-sister Isabella I.
Assessment
Historian Bernard Hamilton disagrees with Ernoul's characterization of Sibylla as fickle, foolish, and sentimental, arguing that the portrayal "bears little relation to the known facts". Influenced by the prevailing medieval perception of ideal queenship, Sibylla's contemporaries and near-contemporaneous chroniclers were interested more in her relationship with Guy than in her military activity. Standing by her husband won her approval of her contemporaries;
Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.
At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell of ...
described her as:
Due to the distortion of her image by contemporary gender ideals, resourcefulness and loyalty remain Sibylla's chief traits in modern historiography.
See also
*''
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven may refer to:
Religious
* Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew)
**Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels
* Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Will ...
'' – film portraying Sibylla as an orientalized princess who loves Balian rather than Guy
References
Bibliography
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibylla, Queen Of Jerusalem
1160s births
1190 deaths
12th-century kings of Jerusalem
Counts of Jaffa and Ascalon
French noble families
Queens regnant of Jerusalem
Women in 12th-century warfare
12th-century women rulers
Women in war in the Middle East