Odo of Montbéliard (also known as Eudes) was a leading baron of the crusader

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

in the early 13th century. He often held the highest offices in the kingdom including '' bailli'' (viceroy) and

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

(commander of the army). Odo was the son of Walter of Montbéliard who was a regent of the kingdoms of Jerusalem and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. Odo's wife Eschiva of Saint Omer, daughter of Raoul of Saint Omer, was the heiress of the Principality of Galilee. In 1220 Odo was appointed constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the king

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 ...

. In 1223 Odo was appointed as ''bailli'' of the kingdom. However, in 1227 the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

and king of Jerusalem Frederick II sent out Thomas of Aquino to replace Odo. The following year Odo was appointed as one of the three commanders of Frederick's Crusade along with

Richard Filangieri Richard (Riccardo) Filangieri (''c''.1195–1254/63) was an Italian nobleman who played an important part in the Sixth Crusade in 1228–9 and in the War of the Lombards from 1229–43, where he was in charge of the forces of Frederic ...

and

Hermann von Salza Hermann von Salza (or Herman of Salza; – 20 March 1239) was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239. A skilled diplomat with ties to the Frederick II and the Pope, Hermann oversaw the expansion of the ...

. At the end of the

Sixth Crusade The Sixth Crusade (1228–1229), also known as the Crusade of Frederick II, was a military expedition to recapture Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade and involved very little actua ...

, just before Frederick left

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

(1229) to return to Europe, he appointed Odo as constable. Then while Frederick was on his way to the harbour he was pelted with dung and entrails by the unappreciative people of Acre. Odo and John of Ibelin quelled the unrest. In 1233 Odo was caught up in the disaffection at Frederick's decision to appoint Philip of Maugastel as ''bailli''; an appointment which Odo was prepared to support. A furious mob attacked supporters of Philip and it was only the intervention of John of Caesarea that saved Odo from being killed. Odo and Balian of Sidon shared the role of ''bailli'' in 1236 against the wishes of

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

whose choice of Richard Filangieri was unacceptable to the barons. Odo took part in Theobald I of Navarre's Crusade of 1239-1240 but there were tensions between Theobald and local barons including Odo. However, the treaty between Theobald and as-Salih Ismail, the emir of Damascus, in 1240 gave

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

back to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and as Odo of Montbéliard was titular Prince of Galilee (by right of his marriage to Eschiva of Saint-Omer), he now took up the rule of Galilee.

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, the capital of Galilee, was sacked by the Khwarezmian army in 1244, after which Odo began rebuilding the citadel. But in 1247 the city of Tiberias and Odo's Principality of Galilee were lost to the armies of the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub. Odo died later that year.

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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odo of Montbeliard Christians of the Crusades Christians of the Sixth Crusade Christians of the Barons' Crusade Princes of Galilee Constables of Jerusalem Jure uxoris princes