Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Courtenay (; ; late 1217 – October 1273), was the last
Latin Emperor ruling from
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. He was the only Latin Emperor born in Constantinople.
Biography
Baldwin II was born in Constantinople, a younger son of
Yolanda of Flanders, sister of the first two emperors,
Baldwin I and
Henry of Flanders. Her husband,
Peter of Courtenay, was third emperor of the
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...
, and had been followed by his son
Robert of Courtenay, on whose death in 1228 the succession passed to Baldwin, then an 11-year-old boy.
The barons chose
John of Brienne
John of Brienne ( 1170 – 19–23 March 1237), also known as John I, was the 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 Cham ...
as Baldwin's co-ruler for life. Baldwin was also to marry
Marie of Brienne, daughter of John and his third wife
Berenguela of Leon, and on John's death to enjoy the full imperial sovereignty. The marriage contract was carried out in 1234. Since the death of Baldwin's uncle
Emperor Henry in 1216, the Latin Empire had declined and the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
(
Nicene) power advanced; and the hopes that John of Brienne might restore it were disappointed.
The realm Baldwin governed was little more than the city of Constantinople. He adopted the Byzantine title of ''
porphyrogenetos''. His financial situation was desperate, and his life was chiefly occupied in begging at European courts. He went to the West in 1236, visited Rome, France and
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, trying to raise money and men to recover the lost territory of his realm. In 1237, with the support of the King of France and the Countess of Flanders, he chased his sister
Margaret
Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
from power to become the next
Marquis of Namur. But Baldwin was practically never present, and after the invasion and conquest of Namur by
Henry V, Count of Luxembourg in 1256, he sold the rights on the county to his cousin
Guy, Count of Flanders.
In around March 1238, Baldwin II's regency council pawned the
Crown of Thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...
to the
Venetian Podestà of Constantinople for 13,134 ''
hyperpyra'' from a "consortium of creditors". His efforts met with success, and in 1240 he returned to Constantinople (through Germany and Hungary) at the head of a considerable army. Circumstances hindered him from accomplishing anything with this help, and in 1245 he traveled again to the West, first to Italy and then to France, where he spent two years. The empress Marie and
Philip of Toucy governed during his absence. He was happy to be able to get money from
King Louis IX in exchange for relics. In 1249 he was with King Louis at
Damietta
Damietta ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...
.
The extremity of his financial straits reduced him soon afterwards to handing over his only son,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
, to Venetian merchants as a pledge for loans of money. Philip was later redeemed by
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, Kingdom of León, León and Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the April 1257 Imperial election, election of 1 ...
. Baldwin spent the rest of his reign in mendicant tours in western Europe.
On the night of 24 July 1261, a group of soldiers under
Alexios Strategopoulos
Alexios Komnenos Strategopoulos () was a Byzantine aristocrat and general who rose to the rank of ''megas domestikos'' and ''Caesar (title), Caesar''. Distantly related to the Komnenian dynasty, he appears in the sources already at an advanced a ...
entered Constantinople through a secret passageway and
captured the city. Baldwin was asleep in the
Blachernae Palace when the noise of the fighting awoke him; upon seeing the Byzantine troops advance upon him, he fled in such haste that he left his crown and sceptre behind him. Baldwin made his way to the harbor, where he boarded a Venetian galley to
Negropont. From there he proceeded to
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, then to
Apulia
Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
, and finally to France. As titular emperor, his role was still the same: to beg help from the western powers. In 1267 he went to Italy; his hopes were centred on
Charles of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...
. Charles seriously entertained the idea of conquering Constantinople, though his efforts were destroyed during the
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers (; ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou. Since taking control of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266, the Capetian House ...
, an event perhaps engineered by
Michael VIII Palaeologus of Constantinople. To this intent, he signed the
Treaty of Viterbo with Baldwin (May 1267). During the next year Baldwin and his son Philip lived on pensions from Charles. In October 1273 Philip married Beatrice, daughter of Charles, at
Foggia
Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...
. A few days later Baldwin died in Naples. Under Baldwin II, Constantinople's population had fallen to a mere 35,000 inhabitants.
Ancestors
References
Sources
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* Harris, Jonathan, ''Byzantium and the Crusades'', Bloomsbury, 2nd ed., 2014.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin 02 Of Constantinople
1217 births
1273 deaths
13th-century Latin emperors of Constantinople
13th-century margraves of Namur
13th-century monarchs in Europe
Christians of the Crusades
Capetian House of Courtenay
Medieval child monarchs
Nicaean–Latin wars