#princess of tripoli

[lepetitdragonvert]

La princesse Mélissinde et le chevalier Bertrand / Princess Melisande and Bertrand

Artist : Auguste François Gorguet (1862-1927)

[eternal--returned]

Alphonse Mucha ֍ Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli (1897)

Based on Edmond Rostand's La Princesse Lointaine, written for Sarah Bernhardt in 1895, L'Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli was commissioned from the author Robert de Flers by the Parisian publisher Henri Piazza.

By the time De Flers had completed his manuscript, Mucha had only three months to prepare 134 coloured lithographs before the edition was due to go to print.

Mucha later wrote of the experience: 'We worked on four stones simultaneously. I did some of the drawings straight onto the stone. Other things, particularly the decorative edgings, I drew on tracing paper which was then passed on to the draughtsmen who continued the work with the colors I specified. I hardly had time to sketch out the motif for an ornament when they came and took it from my hands and got down to work on it.'

[local-boob]

de Flers, Robert. Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli. Illus. Alphonse Mucha, limited ed. Paris: Léon Gruel, 1897. source: Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA (not on view)

[nanshe-of-nina]

Favorite History Books || Queens of Jerusalem: The Women Who Dared to Rule by Katherine Pangonis ★★★★☆

Despite these clearly documented roles, the vast majority of crusades historians, both medieval and modern, have neglected the roles of women in their histories. This book intends to go some way towards fixing this imbalance by shedding some light on the deeds of women in positions of authority in Outremer: specifically, the dynasty of formidable women rulers founded by Morphia of Melitene, the first crowned Queen of Jerusalem. Her daughters and granddaughters reigned as Queens of Jerusalem, Princesses of Antioch, Countesses of Tripoli, and held many other positions as well. They represent some of the most daring, devious and devoted women that history has ever seen. The source material available on these women is sparse in comparison to what we have regarding their husbands and fathers, but enough survives to construct vivid portraits of these remarkable queens and princesses. ... The two central figures of this book are Queen Melisende of Jerusalem and Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem. These women, grandmother and granddaughter, served as Queens Regnant of Jerusalem, and consequently there is considerably more source material written about them than the other noblewomen of Outremer. However, the lives of their mothers, sisters, nieces and cousins, ruling variously as Queens Consort of Jerusalem and Princesses of Antioch, are also worthy of note, playing pivotal roles in the internal politics of Outremer.

[thebeautifulbook]

ILSEE, PRINCESS OF TRIPOLI by Robert de Flers. Illustrated by Alphonse Mucha. Art binding by Léon Gruel. (1897).

source

[gardenofkore]

Vere novo , priori jam mutato consilio , Alienora virgo regia , insignis facie , sed prudentia & honestate prestantior , futura Regina Sicilie , atque cum ea Nymphe obsequiis apte regalibus , accepta benedictione parentum , ab urbe Neapoli gloriosas discessit , per Calabriam , propter maris tedium , usque Regium iter agens : quam discedentem Neapolitane matres , quantum spectantes oculi capere potuerunt , effusis pre gaudio lacrimis affequute sunt.

Gregorio Rosario, Bibliotheca scriptorum qui res in Sicilia gestas sub Aragonum imperio retulere, I, p.456-457

Eleonora was born in Naples in the summer of 1289 as the tenth child (third daughter) of Carlo II lo Zoppo of Anjou, King of Naples, Count of Anjou and Maine, Count of Provence and Forcalquier, Prince of Achaea, and of Maria of Hungary.

Nothing, in particular, is known about her childhood, which she must have spent with her numerous siblings in the many castles of the Kingdom.

She is first mentioned in a Papal bull dated 1300 in which Boniface VIII annulled the marriage of 10 years-old Eleonora to Philippe de Toucy, Prince of Antioch and Count of Tripoli, (the contract had been signed the year before) on account of the bride’s young age and the fact that family hadn’t asked for the Pope’s dispensation.

Two years later, there were discussions of a match with Sancho, the second son (and later successor) of Jaume II of Majorca, but the engagement never occurred.

Finally, in 1302, Eleonora’s fate was sealed. On August 31st 1302 the Houses of Anjou-Naples and of Barcelona signed the Peace of Caltabellotta, which ended the first part of the War of the Sicilian Vespers and settled (or tried to) the problem of which House should have ruled over Sicily. Following this treaty, the old Norman Kingdom’s territory (disputed between the French and Spanish born ruling houses) was to be divided into two parts, with Messina Strait as the ideal boundary line. The peninsular part, the Kingdom of Sicily, now designed as citra farum (on this side of the farum, meaning the strait, later simply known as the Kingdom of Naples ), and the island of Sicily, renamed the Kingdom of Trinacria, designed as ultra farum (beyond the farum).

The Peace of Caltabellotta stipulated that Angevin troops should evacuate the island, while the Aragonese ones should leave the peninsular part. Foundation of the peace would have been the marriage between princess Eleonora of Anjou and King Federico III (or II) of Sicily (“e la pau fo axi feyta , quel rey Carles lexava la illa de Sicilia al rey Fraderich, que li donava a Lieonor, qui era e es encara de les pus savies chrestianes, e la millor qui el mon fos, si no tant solament madona Blanca, sa germana, regina Darago. E lo rey de Sicilia desemparava li tot quant tenia en Calabria e en tot lo regne: e aço se ferma de cascuna de les parts, e que lentredit ques llevava de Sicilia; si que tot lo regne nach gran goig." in Ramon Muntaner, Crónica catalana, ch. CXCVIII). The pact dictated also that once Federico had died, the two kingdoms would be reunited under the Angevin rule. This clause won’t be fulfilled.

The bridal party had to wait until spring 1303 before setting off for her new country since sea storms had damaged part of the fleet and thus delayed the departure. The voyage had cost 610 ounces, where the Florentine bankers Bardi and Peruzzi were asked to advance the payment, and the groom pledged to repay them 140 ounces.

By May 1303, Eleonora and her companions arrived in Messina where she was warmly welcomed and where on Pentecost, May 26th, of the same year she got married to Federico in Messina’s Cathedral (“E a poch de temps lo rey Carles trames madona la infanta molt honrradament a Macina, hon fo lo senyor rey Fraderich, qui la reebe ab gran solemnitat. E aqui a Macina, a la sgleya de madona sancta Maria la Nova, ell la pres per muller e aquell dia fo llevat lentredit per lola la terra de Sicilia per un llegat del Papa, qui era archebisbe, que hi vench de part del Papa, e foren perdonats a tot hom tots los pe cats quen la guerra haguessen feyts: e aquell dia fo posada corona en lesta a madona la regina de Sicilia, e fo la festa la major a Macina que hanch si faes.” in Ramon Muntaner, Crónica catalana, ch. CXCVIII).

After the wedding, most of the bridal party returned to Naples, while the newlyweds proceeded to Palermo.

On July 14th 1305 Eleonora gave birth to the heir, who was called Pietro in honour of the child’s paternal grandfather, Pere III of Aragon. To celebrate his son’s birth, Federico III gifted his bride of Avola castle and the surrounding land, to which will be added the city of Siracusa (in 1314), Lentini, Mineo, Vizzini, Paternò, Castiglione, Francavilla and the farmhouses in Val di Stefano di Briga. This gift would mark the creation of the Camera reginale, which would become the traditional wedding present given to Sicilian Queen consorts, and eventually would be abolished in 1537.

Including Pietro, she would give birth to nine children: Costanza (1304 – post 1344), future Queen consort of Cyprus, Armenia and Princess consort of Antiochia; Ruggero (born circa in 1305 - ?) who would die young; Manfredi (1306-1317) first among his brothers to hold the title of Duke of Athens and Neopatras; Isabella (1310-1349) Duchess consort of Bavaria; Guglielmo (1312-1338) Prince of Taranto and heir to the Duchy of Athens and Neopatras following the death of his brother; Giovanni (1317-1348) Duke of Randazzo, Count of Malta, later also Duke of Athens and Neopatras and Regent of Sicily; Caterina (1320-1342) Abbess of St. Claire Nunnery in Messina; Margherita (1331-1377) Countess Palatine consort of the Rhine.

Through these donations Eleonora became a full-fledged vassal, and had to pay homage to her husband the King. Thanks to official documents, we get the idea that Eleonora tried to manage her lands as much personally as she could do, naming herself vicars, administrators, and granting tariff reductions. Federico indulged his wife as much as he could, although in some cases (like the management of the city of Siracusa) his will was the only one taken into account.

Despite almost every time she was unsuccessful, Eleonora fully embraced her role as mediator between the Aragonese and Angevins. For example, in 1312 her brother-in-law, King Jaume II of Aragon, asked her to dissuade her husband (Jaume’s brother) to ally himself with the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VII of Luxembourg since this alliance could generate new friction with the Angevin Kingdom, as well as with the Papacy (with the risk of stalling the Aragonese occupation of Sardinia). After the King of Aragon, it was Pope Clemente’s turn to ask Eleonora to convince Federico to make peace with Roberto of Anjou. In both cases, though, her conciliatory efforts didn’t work.

In 1321 she witnessed her son Pietro being associated to the throne and thus crowned in Palermo (“Anno domini millesimo tricentesimo vicesimo primo, dum Johannes Romanus Pontifex contra Fridericum Regem, & Siculos propter invasionem bonorum Ecclesiarum precipue fulminaret, Fridericus Rex primogenitum suum Petrum, convenientibus Siculis, coronavit in Regem, & patris obitum, inopinatum premetuens, & ut filius qui purus videbatur & simplex, ab adoloscentia regnare cum patre affuesceret patrisque regnando vestigiis inhereret […]” in Gregorio Rosario, Bibliotheca scriptorum ..., I, p. 482). Pietro’s coronation publicly violated the Treaty of Caltabellotta (as the Kingdom should have returned to the House of Anjou), causing the pursuing of warfare between Naples and Palermo. Once again Eleonora’s attempts at peace-making failed miserably, with her nephew, Carlo Duke of Calabria, refusing to even meet her in 1325, after he had successfully raided the outskirts of Messina.

The Queen didn’t have much luck in internal policy too as she failed to appease her husband and her protegé, Giovanni II Chiaramonte. After gravely wounding Count Francesco I Ventimiglia of Geraci (his brother-in-law and one of the King’s trustees), all that Eleonora could do was advise Chiaramonte to flee to avoid the death penalty.

Nevertheless, the Pope still hoped to use the Queen (who, at that time and alone in her Kingdom,  was exempted from the Papal interdict) as mediator with her husband, promising to lift the excommunication in exchange for Federico’s backing down. Once again nothing happened.

On June 25th 1337 Federico III died near Paternò. He was buried in Catania since it was too hot for the body to be transported to Palermo (“Feretrum humeris nobiliores efferunt. Adsunt Regii filii, proceresque Regni. Exequias Regina, illustribus comitata matronis, prosequitur.” in Francesco Testa, De vita, et rebus gestis Federici 2. Siciliæ Regis, p.225). After the death of her husband, the now Dowager Queen turned to religion, following the example of those in her family who had consecrated themself to Christ (“At Heleonora certiorem fe de illa consolandi rationem inivit. Ipsa enim , ut Rex excessit e vita, ei, qui omnis consolationis fons est, fese in Virginum collegio Franciscanæ familiæ Catinæ devovit; in hoc Catharinan , & Margaritam filias imitata, quæ in ætatis flore, falsis terrestribus, contemptis bonis, Christ, cui fervire regnare est, in sacrarum Virginum Messanensi Collegio, de Basicò dicto, ejusdem Franciscanæ familiæ fese consecrarant; quod Collegium posteaquam Catharina fancte gubernavit, sanctitatis opinione commendata deceffit” in Francesco Testa, De vita..., p.226).

If Eleonora might have hoped to exert some kind of influence as many other Queen mothers did in the past and would do in the future over their weak-willed royal children, she would soon realize she had a powerful rival in the new Queen consort, her daughter-in-law, Elisabetta of Carinthia. Like Eleonora, the new Queen supported the Latin faction (a group of Sicilian noblemen who opposed the Aragonese rulership over Sicily, hoping the island would be returned under the influence of the Angevins instead). But, while Elisabetta had managed to raise the Palizzis to the highest positions at court, her mother-in-law still supported the Chiaramonte, making it possible for the exiled Giovanni II to return to Sicily, be pardoned by the King and see all his goods be returned. Soon though Chiaramonte resumed his personal feud against the Ventimiglia (also part of the Latin faction) and once again Eleonora's attempt to bring peace failed miserably. Only through Grand Justiciar Blasco II d'Alagona's intervetion, the crisis was averted.

In 1340, the Dowager Queen made a last attempt to appease the new Pope, Benedict XII. Unfortunately, the Sicilian envoys sent to Avignon to take an oath of vassalage (since Norman times Sicily theoretically belonged to the Papacy, who granted it to the Sovereigns who acted as Papal Legates) were treated roughly by the Pope, who declared Roberto of Anjou (Eleonora's brother) as Sicily's legitimate King.

Deeply distraught, the Dowager Queen resolved to definitely retire from public life. She spent what it remained on her life visiting the monastery of San Nicolo' d'Arena (Catania), joining the monks in their religious life. She died in one of the monastery's cells on August 10th 1341. Her body would be buried in the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi all'Immacolata (Catania), the construction of which she had personally promoted in 1329 to thank the Virgin Mary for protecting the city from one of many Mount Etna's eruptions.

Sources

AMARI MICHELE, La guerra del Vespro siciliano

CORRAO PIETRO, PIETRO II, re di Sicilia in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol. 83

DE COURCELLES JEAN BAPTISTE PIERRE JULLIEN, Histoire généalogique et héraldique des pairs de France: des grands dignitaires de la couronne, des principales familles nobles du royaume et des maisons princières de l'Europe, Vol. XI,

FODALE SALVATORE, Federico III d’Aragona, re di Sicilia, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol. 45

GREGORIO ROSARIO, Bibliotheca scriptorum qui res in Sicilia gestas sub Aragonum imperio retulere, I,

KIESEWETTER ANDREAS, ELEONORA d'Angiò, regina di Sicilia, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol. 42

de MAS LATRIE LOUIS, Histoire de l'île de Chypre sous le règne des princes de la maison de Lusignan. 3

MUNTANER RAMON, Crónica catalana

Sicily/naples: counts & kings

TESTA FRANCESCO, De vita, et rebus gestis Federici 2. Siciliæ Regis

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Barisan, the first head of Ibelin, married Helvis, the heiress of Ramla, obtained Ramla by wedlock, Hugues, Baudouin, Balian, and Ermangar. Stéphanie from Ermengarde has 판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNthree sons and two daughters. As time passes, the eldest son inherits Ibelin and the second son inherits Ramla, but the eldest son, Wig, becomes a soldier on the pilgrimage to Santiago. His second son, Baudouin, inherits Ibelin, but gives Ibelin to his youngest son, Balian, who has no estates with Ramla, which he rules. The third son, B판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNalian, later married Maria Komnini, a princess of the Byzantine Empire and the widow of Amory I, and obtained Nablus, which had been under the direct control of the queen since Melisande. Moving on to the island of Cyprus, he ceded Ramla to get Ibelin, Ramla, Nablus, and Beersheba.

Balian's descendants were the most influential nobles in the kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus. Balian's eldest son, John, ruled the county of Beirut in the kingdom of Jerusalem and was in the position of regent in the kingdom of Cyprus판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN at the same time. When he tried to put Cyprus under him, he rebelled against the emperor's authority as an opposition leader. In 1241, the Ibelin family regained Jerusalem according to the emperor's end-of-war treaty, and in the aftermath, they returned the Ibelin territories that had been occupied by Saladin.

Together with Melisande of Arsuf, Balian III, ruler of Beirut, Baldwin, archdeacon of the kingdom of Cyprus, John, lord of Arsuf and consul of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and Guy, consul of Cyprus had many children, such as Balian III married Eschiva of Montbéliard and gave birth to John II of Beirut, who married the daughter of Guy I de la Roche, Duke of Athens. John of Arsuf was the father of Balian of Arsuf, who married Plaisance of Antioch.판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN Guy was the father of Isabella, King Hugh I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and wife of Hugh III of the Kingdom of Cyprus.

In this way, the Ibelin family came into contact with almost all crusader countries, including the satellite countries of the Latin Empire, and in particular, the Kingdom o판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNf Cyprus was a queen family for generations. The Toulouse family is the family of Raymond, one of the main leaders of the 1st Crusade. Raymond was the younger brother of Guillaume IV, Count of Toulouse, but when Guillaume IV designated his daughter Philippa as his successor and died, he immediately usurped and became Count of Toulouse. For this reason, Guillaume IX, Duke of Aquitaine, married to Philippa, 판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNattacked Toulouse several times claiming the title of count, but defended it well.

He was a devout Catholic and wanted to die in the Holy Land, so he was doing the Reconquista movement when he was invited to participate in the First Crusade by the papa판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNl envoy, and he was the first of the princes to pledge to participate. As he was the oldest in age, he became the leader of the princes of southern France. In Constantinople, he made a new oath to the Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius I. After conquering Antioch, he had soldiers stationed in the city, but since he was driven out by Bohemond I, he declared that he wanted possession of Tripoli, south of Antioch, as his territory to hinder Bohemond's territorial expansion, but before o판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNccupation. did However, as his soldiers hoped to advance on Jerusalem, they stopped once and attacked Jerusalem together with Godefroy of Bouillon.

At first he was made king of Jerusalem, but he refused because he did not want to be called king in the land where Christ died. Because of this, Godfrey was elected kin판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNg, but Godfrey also did not want to be called king, so he used the title of guardian of the holy tomb. After that, he participated in the battle of Ascalon, but he could not capture this place because he had a quarrel with Godefrua over the occupation of Ascalon. Because of this, he broke with the Crusades and stayed in Constantinople. Here he joined the Crusaders in 1101, but was defeated in Anatolia. He returned to C판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNonstantinople and set the goal of conquering Tripoli with the aid of Emperor Alexius Comnenus, but was killed during the expedition.

His nephew Guillaume Jourdain continued the siege, but Bertrand then replaced him and captured Tripoli in 1109, establishing the county of Tripoli. His subordinate, Raymondus de Aguilers, wrote the account of the First Crusade from Raymon판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNd's point of view. Although he never saw the establishment of the county of Tripoli, he was recognized as the 1st Count of Tripoli because he nominally declared Tripoli his domain. Since then, he is active in the front line defending the north of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

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Fulk V, Count of Anjou, married Melisande, the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1129, entrusted the territory to his eldest son Geoffroy,[2] and moved to Jerusalem, where he became co-king in 1131. He sought to strengthen the authority of his wife, Melisande, and clashed with the faction of lords descended from the crusader commanders. They had two sons, Baudouin and Amory. Fulk fell from a horse while hunting in 1143, fell into a critical condition and died shortly thereafter.

Baldwin, who was 13 at the time of succession, ascends the throne as Baldwin III. Because of her age, her mother Mélisande acted as regent, but when she did not give up full power even after reaching adulthood, she divided her kingdom into north and south, waged a civil war, and forced her mother to retire. Afterwards, he occupied Ascalon, gained a bridgehead to Egypt, married Theodora, the niece of Manuel I of the Eastern Roman Empire, and tried to ally with him.

Amor was married to Agnes of Courtenay and had three children, Sibylla, Baldwin and Alix (who died in infancy). was against it Instead of divorcing Agnes, Amory made Sibylla and Baldwin recognized as deficits, and separated from Agnes on the pretext that her great-great-grandfathers were the same. After that, Amor tried to expand his power like his brother by marrying Maria Komnini, a member of the Eastern Roman Empire and the imperial family, while attempting to invade Egypt's Fatimid dynasty. Returned to inaction by Dean, he died of dysentery in 1174.

His eldest son, Baldwin, ascended the throne as Baldwin IV, but at the time he was a patient with leprosy, an incurable disease. Therefore, he tried to stabilize the kingdom by marrying his sister Sibylla to a powerful nobleman. The first marriage partner was Guglielmo of the Alleramicci family, the eldest son of the Marquis of Montferrato, but when he died of malaria, leaving only her heir, Baldwin, she became Guy de Rue. He married Jinyang again and made her regent. Baldwin IV, suffering from illness and repeating battles and truces with Saladin, who became the ruler of Egypt, designated Baldwin, his maternal nephew, who was the surviving son of Sibylla and Guglielmo, as his successor and died young at the age of 24.

After the death of Baldwin, his sister Sibylla and her half-sister Isabella, who was born to Amor and Maria Komnini, sometimes became queen, but the wives ruled. He was only 8 years old, and at the same time a sickly child, he died after a year, and his mother, Sibylla, received the crown.

Meanwhile, Amor I's new wife, Maria Komnini, remarried her amorite, to Balian of Belin, who was a nobleman opposed to Sibylla and Guy de Lusignan. Balian worked with Raymond of Tripoli, who was the regent of King Baldwin V, to try to establish his stepdaughter, Princess Isabel, and her husband, Honfroi of Toron, as kings. loyal and fail After the loss of Jerusalem in the aftermath of the Battle of Hattin and the death of Sibylla in 1190, Balian divorced Isabel and remarried Corrado of Montferrato.

Corrado, the younger brother of Sibylla's first husband, Guglielmo, had a track record of defending Tire from Saladin's attack, and was favored by the lords rather than incompetent. Philip II of France, who came from the Third Crusade, also supported Corrado, and Richard I of England supported him on the contrary, but in the end, at the council of nobles in 1192, he had to recognize Corrado as the next king of Jerusalem. Corrado, who became co-king with her wife Isabel and Conrad I, was assassinated by Assassin in less than a month.

Isabel married two more times as if she was being sold after that, but she could not see her son who would be her successor. Maria married Jean de Brienne in 1212. She gave birth to Isabella II at the age of 21 and died of childbirth fever shortly after.

[songesoleil]

Study for Ilsée

Artist: Alphonse Mucha

[lepetitdragonvert]

Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli by Robert de Flers

detail

1897

Artist : Alphonse Mucha

[didoofcarthage]

Illustrations by Alphonse Mucha, for Ilsée, Princesse De Tripoli by Robert de Flers, based on Edmond Rostand’s play La Princesse Lointaine

1897

courtesy of Kyle Geib on Flickr x x x 

[the-evil-clergyman]

Illustration from Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli by Alphonse Mucha (1897)

[incorrect-koh-posts]

If Baldwin IV had a wife, it would likely have been a Byzantine princess as his uncle and father had...Baldwin III and Amaury. No romance, just a royal alliance. Consummation sealed the deal. Leprosy was not a cause for annulment, and spouses still had to honor "the marital debt."

Alright, let's talk realism for a minute.

Well, yes to the "marriage as a means of political alliance" part - we are in the middle ages, after all. While they had the concept of courtly love - which was outside the bounds of marriage - genuine romantic love between spouses was quite a rare thing and not something you married for or expected upon entering a marriage. Marriage was mainly to ensure alliances and the continuation of the family line via children. For most people, it certainly wasn't the dramatic affair that it is often presented as in medieval-themed fiction and film: though they may not have loved each other, spouses had to rely on each other in many aspects of daily life, so it was in the best interests of both partners to make the marriage work. It was, in general, not an instrument to suppress women or deprive them of their rights - in fact, in the 11th and 12th centuries marriage customs were changing and the church (yes, the church) actively encouraged granting women the right to agree or disagree to an arranged marriage.

While leprosy may not have been a cause for annulment or non-consummation of an existing marriage, I'm pretty certain it would have been seen as a valid reason to not enter into marriage negotiations in the first place. For one, men afflicted with leprosy tend to have fertility issues, so what would be the point in a marriage to a man who, in all likelihood, will not be able to produce an heir? And two, I imagine the prospective bride would have had a word or two to say on the subject of having to marry and sleep with a fellow who looks like a rotting corpse. I mean, I'm sorry for being shallow for a minute, but even if he had the nicest character imaginable, I would not be able to bring myself to touch a man so covered in sores and rashes. Sorry, but no. For that, you'd have to tie me to the bed - or forcibly drag me out of the nearest monastery medieval me most certainly would have fled to.

Also, as long as the vows had not yet been spoken, parties could withdraw from the marriage contract - with consequences to be expected for the offence given, yes, but it was possible. They didn't even have to give much of a reason. One example of this from the crusader states would be the failed negotiations for a marriage between Raymond III of Tripoli's sister Melisende to the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus in 1160 or so, during the reign of Baldwin III. The Franks, expecting the marriage to take place, raised a large dowry for Melisende, made a ton of preparations ... but the Byzantines delayed, delayed, delayed, until after a year, it was eventually made clear that the marriage would not take place after all, and Manuel married Maria of Antioch instead. As a result, young Raymond went into rage mode, equipped the ships he'd originally had built for his sister with pirates and criminals and let them raid the Byzantine coast. Which is one of the reasons why I think the Byzantines would have looked a little askance at another marriage proposition from the Franks, at least for a few years after that.

So, when trying to imagine a possible marriage for Baldwin, I think a lot of it comes down to the question of when the marriage would have been arranged. I'm not a historian, of course, so if anyone knows better, please feel free to correct me. But I somehow can't see marriage negotiations with the Byzantine empire taking place during Baldwin's childhood (before the leprosy was known), not with his mother in the picture who had effectively been replaced by the Byzantine Maria Comnena, and certainly not later when Raymond was regent during his minority. From that point in time on, the leprosy was also an issue; and when Baldwin was finally old enough to make his own decisions, it wouldn't be long until the Byzantine empire began to spiral into decline and its own problems with the ascent of the child-king Alexios II and then, not much later, Andronikos I seizing power and slaughtering the Roman Catholic inhabitants of Constantinople. So I'd say, all in all, that during Baldwin's lifetime, a marriage with a Byzantine princess would have been rather unlikely.

I think if Baldwin had married, it would probably have been some noblewoman from Europe, and I suppose they would have had to be betrothed from early childhood on, with the wife's family - for some reason - not reneging the prospective marriage once the leprosy was found out. Tbh, though, if I were to write a story about Baldwin (which I am not because there are so many Baldwin fics and novels out there already), I'd probably not give him a wife and opt for a sort of mistress- or courtly-love-arrangement instead, because a proper marriage in his case would, in medieval terms, be largely nonsensical.

Again, sorry for the rant - I hope this makes sense.

[whencyclopedia]

Queens of Jerusalem: The Women Who Dared to Rule

Queens of Jerusalem: The Women Who Dared To Rule by Katherine Pangonis is a non-fiction book focussed on the lives of the royal women who ruled in the medieval Middle East (or Outremer) from 1099 to Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem in 1187. These women have been consistently overshadowed by the kings and leaders of the crusades, and this book strives to change that. By putting the Queens of Jerusalem, the Princesses of Antioch, and the Countesses of Tripoli and Edessa to the fore, readers not only get a brand new look into the history of Outremer during the early crusades but they are also reminded that women were present and active during this time in history.

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[thebeautifulbook]

ILSEE. PRINCESSE DE TRIPOLI by Robert de Flers. (Paris: Piazza, 1897) Lithographs by Alphonse Mucha.

[clawmarks]

Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli - Robert de Flers, lithographies de Alphonse Mucha - 1897 - via Gallica