Maria's Claim

Maria of Antioch had a stronger claim to the throne of Jerusalem in 1268 than the man who was crowned.

Born c.1220, she was a granddaughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem. After the death of Conradin, who was young enough to need a regent and was never in Jerusalem itself, the throne went to Hugh III of Cyprus. Maria brought her claim to the High Court of Jerusalem, but their decision gave the title to Hugh.

Maria did not stop, however. At the coronation, she sent people to run into the church, make a protest, and then leave. Maria herself pursued the claim elsewhere. In 1270 she was in Sicily where she made contact with Charles I of Anjou, the man (incidentally) who had killed Conradin. She gained some support from him, and historians believe she might have wanted his help to secure her title which she would then sell to him in exchange for wealth that would secure her for life (as we will see later).

She appealed to Pope Gregory X, who gave the bishops of Nazareth and Bethlehem the task of investigating her claim. She attended the Second Council of Lyons in 1272 (pictured) and presented her case there, but they were dealing with much weightier matters—although Gregory was pushing the idea of a new Crusade.

Although everyone there understood that she had a better claim than Hugh, it was the cardinal St. Bonaventure who caused the papal curia to wash its hands of the mater, stating that only the High Court of Jerusalem had the authority to choose their king. Maria withdrew her case for lack of money to pursue it.

Meanwhile, Charles gave Maria a house in Naples in 1276, and a year later Maria "sold" (if that's possible) her claim to the throne to Charles in exchange for 4000 livres tournois annually and 10,000 bezants.

Although this sale meant nothing legally in Jerusalem, Charles intended to rule Jerusalem no matter the legality. I'll talk about that tomorrow.