Walter of Montbéliard (died in 1212) (''Gauthier I de Montfaucon'') was regent of the Kingdom of Cyprus from 1205 to 1210, and Constable of Jerusalem from around 1204 to his death.

Early life

He was the second son of

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...

, Count of Montbéliard. He took the cross after the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

was announced in 1199. Two years later he joined his cousin,

Walter III, Count of Brienne Walter III of Brienne (french: Gautier, it, Gualtiero; died June 1205) was a nobleman from northern France. Becoming Count of Brienne in 1191, Walter married the Sicilian princess Elvira and took an army to southern Italy to claim her inheritanc ...

, who had laid claim to the

Principality of Taranto The Principality of Taranto was a state in southern Italy created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Ap ...

and other domains in the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

and invaded Southern Italy. Before long, Walter left Southern Italy for the Holy Land.

Cyprus

Aimery,

King of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anat ...

and

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

, gave his eldest daughter, Burgundia, in marriage to Walter and also made him constable of Jerusalem. Aimery died on 1 April 1205 and was succeeded in Cyprus by his ten-year-old son,

Hugh I Hugh I may refer to: * Hugh I of Lusignan (c. 885–c. 930) * Hugh I, Count of Maine (died 933) * Hugh I, Viscount of Châteaudun (died 989 or after) * Hugh I of France (c. 939–996), a.k.a. Hugh Capet, first King of the Franks of the Capetian dy ...

. The High Court elected Walter both guardian of the minor king and regent, violating the custom that prescribed that the two offices were to be separated. The Seljuks laid siege to Satalia (now

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

in Turkey), an important port in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, in 1207. Satalia was held by an Italian adventurer, Aldobrandino. On Aldobrandino's demand, Walter intervened in the conflict and forced the Seljuks to lift the siege. However, the Greek citizens turned against him and expelled the Cypriot troops from the town with Seljuk assistance. He arranged the marriage of Hugh I with

Alice of Champagne Alice of Champagne (french: Alix; 1193 – 1246) was the queen consort of Cyprus from 1210 to 1218, regent of Cyprus from 1218 to 1223, and of Jerusalem from 1243 to 1246. She was the eldest daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem and Count Hen ...

, who was the eldest daughter of Henry, King of Jerusalem and Count of Champagne. Hugh I reached the age of majority in 1210. Walter surrendered his regency, but refused to render an account of his administration of the royal treasury. Instead, he and his family left Cyprus and settled 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 ...

. Before long, Walter accused Hugh I of confiscating his estates in Cyprus and expelling him from the island without a fair judgement. In his letter to

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

, Walter also referred to an uncanonical election of a bishop in Cyprus, which brought Hugh I into a conflict with the Holy See.

Holy Land

He married Bourgogne, daughter of King Aimery of Cyprus in 1204, they had: *

Odo of Montbéliard Odo of Montbéliard (also known as Eudes) was a leading baron of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the early 13th century. He often held the highest offices in the kingdom including ''bailli'' (viceroy) and constable (commander of the army). ...

, married Eschive de Tiberias * Eschiva married first to Gerard of Montagu, next to

Balian of Beirut Balian III of Beirut (died 1247) was the Lord of Beirut, the second of his family, from 1236, and a son of the famous John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut, "Old Lord" John of Ibelin, by his second wife Melisende of Arsuf. From his father he ...

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walter of Montbeliard House of Montfaucon People of the Kingdom of Cyprus Christians of the Fourth Crusade