Guy of Lusignan

Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194), who married Sibylla of Jerusalem (twice!) in yesterday's post,  has been mentioned before in his role as King of Jerusalem. To be put in the position to become king, he must have had some significance prior to that point, so let's look at his earlier life.

He was originally from a noble family in Poitou. Poitou was part of Henry II's possessions on the continent, overseen by his son, Richard I "Lionheart." Guy and his brothers in 1168 attempted to capture Eleanor of Aquitaine for ransom. They failed, but managed to capture William Marshal (then only in his 20s and not yet risen to prominence). Eleanor ransomed William, but Richard banished the brothers.

The brothers wound up in the Holy Land. Aimery went there first, settling in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and marrying Eschiva of Ibelin, whose father attempted to become King of Jerusalem as Baldwin IV was failing (seen in yesterday's post). Guy came to Jerusalem sometime between 1173 and 1180, joining his brother in Jerusalem.

King Baldwin IV and his mother, Agnes of Courtenay, welcomed and supported Guy. He was made Agnes's constable in Jaffa, and then appointed by Baldwin to be constable of the kingdom. There were rumors that he was having an affair with Agnes, who was 14 years older than Guy, but they were likely designed by others to discredit him because of his growing influence.

His hasty marriage to Baldwin's sister, Sibylla, was designed to stave off the attempt of Raymond III of Tripoli to take over the Kingdom of Jerusalem and marry her off to Raymond's chosen candidate, Baldwin of Ibelin, Guy's brother's father-in-law. The marriage was likely a happy one (see below), and produced two daughters, Alix and Maria. Sibylla's son by her earlier marriage to William of Montferrat died young, so Sibylla and Guy ruled as Queen and King of Jerusalem.

Before they were crowned, however, there were members of the court that disapproved of Guy. They convinced Sibylla to annul the marriage if she wished to be crowned. She agreed, on the condition that she be allowed to choose her next husband. The court agreed, the annulment took place, the coronation took place, and then Sibylla chose her next husband: Guy of Lusignan. She had outfoxed the court for an arrangement that obviously pleased her.

As a war leader, Guy was a failure. In an attempt to prevent the growing encroachment of Saladin on the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Guy marched with the army to the disastrous Battle of Hattin, in which the army was destroyed completely. Saladin's men killed almost everyone, sparing Guy and a few others. The few were taken to Saladin's tent where, well, good and bad things happened. I'll share the gory details tomorrow.

The Battle of Hattin

 The Horns of Hattin is an extinct volcano whose twin peaks overlook Hattin in the Lower Galilee. In 1187, a battle took place between the forces of Saladin and Crusaders that was devastating for the Crusaders.

At the time, there were many Western European forces in the Middle East, due to the Second Crusade, and Jerusalem was in Christian hands, with Guy of Lusignan currently the King of Jerusalem. Still, the desire was to have the entirety of the Holy land under Christian control, which meant further conflict. Likewise, Muslim forces wanted the Christians to withdraw.

Saladin controlled much of the territory surrounding the Crusader forces and promised his people that he would drive the Christians from Jerusalem. Saladin had made a private treaty with the Franks in 1185 to give them Jerusalem if the Crusaders would stop waging further battles. There was peace until 1187 when a Muslim caravan was raided by Raynald of Châtillon. Saladin swore he would kill Raynald and sent a force to raid an area held by the Franks. The Templars lost about 150 knights and 300 foot soldiers in this battle (the Battle of Cresson), which was a severe blow to Frankish morale.

Guy was advised to move against Saladin, and on 3 July 1187, his forces started marching towards the Sea of Galilee (known at the time as Lake Tiberias). They were harried constantly nay Muslim archers, and along the way found little fresh water to replenish their supplies. The Muslim forces prevented them from reaching Lake Tiberias and fresh water, and set fires to the dry grass to annoy the Franks further with smoke and heat.

Three times the Frankish forces charged Saladin's, and three times they were beaten back, the third time being definitive. Many European nobles were taken captive that day. Guy of Lusignan and Raynauld of Châtillon were taken to Saladin. Saladin offered water to Guy, a sign that Guy would be treated well; Guy offered the water to Raynauld, but Saladin slapped it from his hand, charging Raynauld with breaking the truce. Raynauld was executed.

Guy of Lusignan was taken to Damascus as a prisoner (released in 1188). Two-hundred Templars and Hospitallers were beheaded, as were many others. A piece of the True Cross was taken from the Crusaders and sent to Damascus, about which I will have more to say next time.