Maria of Montferrat (1192–1212) was the

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. qu ...

from 1205 until her death. Her parents were

Isabella I Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...

and her second husband,

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 ...

. Maria succeeded her mother under the

regency 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 ...

of her half-uncle John of Ibelin. After him the kingdom was ruled on Maria's behalf by her husband,

John of Brienne John of Brienne ( 1170 – 19–23 March 1237), also known as John I, was King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He was the youngest son of Erard II of Brienne, a wealthy nobleman in Champag ...

, whom she married in 1210. She died giving birth to her successor,

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

Childhood

Maria was born in 1192 in Tyre to Queen

Isabella I of Jerusalem Isabella I (1172 – 5 April 1205) was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1190 to her death. She was the daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Comnena, a Byzantine princess. Her half-brother, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, eng ...

. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Maria Komnene. Maria's father was Isabella's second husband, Marquis

, and Maria was known as ''La Marquise'' after him. Conrad was assassinated on 28 April 1192. Isabella was pregnant at the time, but Maria may have been born before her father's death. Within a week of Conrad's death, Isabella married Count

Henry II of Champagne Henry II of Champagne (or Henry I of Jerusalem) (29 July 1166 – 10 September 1197) was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and king of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197 by virtue of his marriage to Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem. Early life Henry ...

, who had had some misgivings because Isabella might be succeeded by Conrad's child. Henry wanted to be on good terms with

Aimery of Cyprus Aimery of Lusignan ( la, Aimericus, , ''Amorí''; before 11551 April 1205), erroneously referred to as Amalric or Amaury in earlier scholarship, was the first King of Cyprus, reigning from 1196 to his death. He also reigned as the King of Je ...

. Maria, his stepdaughter, and Alice and

Philippa Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or "horses' friend". Common alternative spellings include '' Filippa'' and ''Phillipa''. Less common is '' Filipa'' and even ''Philippe'' (cf. the French spelling of ''Philippa of Guelders ...

, his daughters with Isabella, were therefore betrothed to Aimery's sons Guy, John, and Hugh, but Guy and John died young and only Alice's betrothal to Hugh materialized into a marriage. Henry fell from a window to his death on 10 September 1197. Maria's next stepfather was King Aimery. The surviving children of this marriage, Queen Isabella's final, were two daughters, Sibylla and Melisende, and so Maria remained her mother's heir presumptive.

Reign

Queen Isabella I died shortly after King Aimery in April 1205, two months after the death of their infant son. Five daughters survived Isabella and the eldest of them, 13-year-old Maria, succeeded to the throne of Jerusalem, while the crown of Cyprus passed to Maria's stepbrother Hugh I. John of Ibelin was made

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 ...

; he was the half-brother of Isabella, who may have nominated him on her deathbed, and held the

Lordship of Beirut The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller Manorialism, seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin (jurist), John of Ibelin, the four highest crown vassals (referre ...

, the richest

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

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 establish ...

. John ruled peacefully on Maria's behalf for three years. A search for a husband began in 1208. The plan to have the queen marry King Peter II of Aragon failed. King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

was visited by the bishop of Acre,

Florent Florent is a French version of the Latin personal name Florentius. It is also used as a surname. People with the first name * Florent Avdyli (born 1993), Kosovan footballer * Florent Aziri (born 1988), Kosovan-German footballer *Florent Hadergjon ...

, and the

lord of Caesarea 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 prope ...

, Aymar de Lairon, who asked him to find a capable candidate. The task proved difficult, and only in 1210 the king declared the search successful; an impoverished and aged knight,

, had accepted. John arrived in Acre, the capital of the kingdom due to the fall of Jerusalem to the Muslims in 1187, on 13 September 1210. The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem,

Albert of Vercelli Albert of Jerusalem (''Albertus Hierosolymitanus; Albertus Vercelensis,'' also ''Saint Albert'', ''Albert of Vercelli'' or ''Alberto Avogadro''; died 14 September 1214) was a canon lawyer and saint. He was Bishop of Bobbio and Bishop of Vercelli, ...

, pronounced Maria and John married the next day. Their

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a 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 presentation of ot ...

was held in the Cathedral of Tyre on 3 October. Queen Maria died after giving birth to a daughter,

, in 1212. Though John had been a prudent king during their marriage, Maria's death cast doubt on his future role. Isabella inherited Maria's kingdom, while John continued to rule it on the infant's behalf. Maria's line became extinct in 1268 with the death of her great-grandson Conrad III, and the kingdom passed to the descendants of her sister Alice.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Of Montferrat 1192 births 1212 deaths 13th-century kings of Jerusalem 13th-century women rulers Queens regnant of Jerusalem 13th-century Italian women Medieval child rulers Aleramici Deaths in childbirth