Heraclius had studied law at the University of Bologna and had come to Jerusalem some time before 1168 when his name starts to appear as witness to documents from the patriarchate. In 1169 he was made archdeacon of Jerusalem, and by 1175 he was archbishop of Caesarea. His fellow alumnus from Bologna, William of Tyre, was archbishop of Tyre.
As fellow archbishops, they both were par of the Third Lateran Council in 1179, when Pope Alexander III declared that free education should be offered by the Church. When the position of patriarch of Jerusalem came available, William assumed he was the likeliest candidate. Normally, Baldwin IV would do the closing, but he had other things on his mind and so entrusted the decision to his mother, Agnes of Courtenay. She made the choice of Heraclius.
Unfortunately for Heraclius, what we know of his character is found in the writings of the Kingdom of Jerusalem's official chronicler, William of Tyre, whom we can assume was not happy about the patriarchate of Jerusalem going to someone else. We are told that he got the position through being Agnes' lover, and that he lived openly with a widow by whom he had a daughter. An anonymous 13th-century chronicle called Estoire d'Eracles ("History of Heraclius") claims that Heraclius excommunicated William and arranged for William to be poisoned. That is clearly not true, since William was an archbishop until his death in 1185.
The illustration shows Heraclius as patriarch overseeing the marriage of Baldwin's likeliest successor, his sister Sibylla of Jerusalem, and Guy of Lusignan (I'm not sure if this is their first or their second marriage.) This marriage was problematic: Guy was considered unsuitable to run the kingdom after Baldwin died, but Baldwin pushed the marriage through to avoid having the choice usurped by Raymond III of Tripoli and Bohemond III of Antioch, who themselves were concerned about Baldwin's failing health and the succession.
Despite the marriage, Baldwin accepted that Guy might have to be replaced, and he asked Heraclius to help. In 1184, Heraclius headed to Europe to look for help in resolving the impending crisis of the Holy Land. He needed to find a new husband and military support. He took with him others whose reputation would carry weight, and also tokens that supported the seriousness of their mission.
Tomorrow I'll explain his companions, the tokens, and what success—or not—he found.
