Baldwin vs. Melisende

The young King Baldwin III of Jerusalem really wanted to be seen as a military commander. To do this, he would have to take steps to overcome people's (and his mother's) memories of his previous lack of success with the Second Crusade and in Bosra.

A year after the Second Crusade debacle over Damascus he had his chance. The Prince of Antioch, Raymond of Poitiers, and others were killed in the Battle of Inab against Nur al-Din and Unur of Damascus. Antioch was pillaged.

In the past, Baldwin's father and grandfather had each been in a position to assume the regency of Antioch, and Baldwin took up the mantle. He marched his troops north to lay siege to Harim, a city taken by Nur al-Din, but was unsuccessful. He sent an advisor with a troop of knights to protect another city, Azaz. He could not stay in Antioch (William of Tyre recorded that affairs in Jerusalem needed his attention).

Around this time, however, the split between Baldwin and his mother, Queen Melisende, began to widen. (See the illustration in which he is admonishing her.) Troops loyal to Melisende refused to march to Antioch, perhaps wanting to prevent Baldwin from achieving victory. There was also a problem in the kingdom's chancery. 

Melisende wanted to make Ralph the Englishman, the current chancellor of Jerusalem, the archbishop of Tyre. There was opposition to this from the bishops, and Melisende abandoned the conflict with the Church by giving up on Ralph and dismissing him. She could not appoint another with the consent of her co-ruler. Baldwin kept Ralph as his advisor.

After this incident, the two co-rulers issued charters separate from each other through chancery. Melisende's charters mentioned Baldwin's name; Baldwin dropped Melisende's name from his pronouncements.

Melisende's most loyal supporters were in the southern part of the kingdom. Baldwin tried to consolidate power in the north, in the coastal cities of Acre and Tyre. When Melisende granted land in that area to the Hospitallers, however, Baldwin did not object, probably to maintain good relations with that particular fighting force. He found his own method of passive retaliation by re-fortifying Gaza in the south.

Baldwin made one very smart move. Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenos asked for the six fortresses of the County of Edessa (it was an exchange, but the details are not important for us). Baldwin, seeing how difficult it was to defend these, gave them willingly. Within months they were lost to the Turks, and Baldwin avoided the blame for their loss.

Then Melisende made a move that disturbed Baldwin: she named her younger son, Amalric, Count of Jaffa, without Baldwin's approval. Amalric was 15, and giving him a title of his own was not an unknown thing for a prince, but Baldwin may have seen this move—and the fact that Melisende was including Amalric's name in her charters—as an attempt to set brother against brother. 

Before we go further to see the definitive clash between Melisende and Baldwin, we should learn about Amalric. See you next time.