Topic summary
Ibelin family
Extracted from the Wikipedia article House of Ibelin.
First and second generations
The Ibelin family rose from relatively humble origins to become one of the most important noble families in the Crusader states of Jerusalem and Cyprus. The origins of the family remain uncertain. The Ibelins claimed to be descended from the Le Puiset viscounts of Chartres in France, though Peter W. Edbury suggests this could have been a fabrication and that the family may have originated from Pisa in Italy. According to Jonathan Riley-Smith, however, they may have indeed been connected to Chartres, with the first known member and founder of the house, Barisan of Ibelin, having possibly been a younger brother of Hugh II of Le Puiset, who was made count of Jaffa in 1110; he would then have also been a cousin to the Montlhéry family of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. Barisan was a knight in service of the Count of Jaffa and in 1115 became Constable of Jaffa. As a reward for his loyalty, around 1122, he married Helvis, heiress of the nearby lordship of Ramla.