Replacing Baldwin

I've written many times before about the importance of marriages in noble families, forging alliances with other powerful families through marriage. In the case of Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem, finding a husband for his sister was even more crucial, because he needed to secure the succession, and he wasn't going to get an heir himself.

Baldwin had leprosy, which did not stop him from trying to be an effective king, but it meant marriage and procreation was out of the question. The best route was his sister, Sibylla. She had already been married, to William of Montferrat, and had a son named Baldwin, but William died from malaria. Sibylla herself was in the line of succession, but they wanted to make sure it would last beyond her.

Baldwin himself had become ill when visiting William, and although he survived for several more years, it became important to make sure Sibylla had a husband who could help raise her son to be the next king, and who could be trusted to perform as regent for that son so that Baldwin could safely abdicate, since he was becoming increasingly unable to perform his duties.

The High Court wanted her to marry Duke Hugh III of Burgundy, who was now a vassal of King Philip II of France after Philip invaded Burgundy. Baldwin was so desperate to get Sibylla married that he sent a message to Philip, empowering him to choose another suitor if Hugh refused. Hugh accepted, and intended to sail to Jerusalem in early 1180 for an Easter wedding. Unfortunately, internal strife in France prevented Hugh from leaving.

William of Tyre, who had helped raise Baldwin IV and wrote a history of the lands controlled by the Crusades, recorded that Count Raymond III of Tripoli and Prince Bohemond III of Antioch set out for Jerusalem, sensing Baldwin's weakness and looking to usurp his throne. There is a belief that Raymond's intent was to force Baldwin to marry Sibylla to Baldwin of Ibelin, an important noble and close friend of Raymond, then force Baldwin to abdicate.

Their plan was foiled when Sibylla hastily married Guy of Lusignan, a French knight from Poitou, in 1180. (The illustration is of their marriage.) (His older brother, Aimery of Lusignan, had married the daughter of Baldwin of Ibelin, which would have made family gatherings awkward.) Guy became, by marriage, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon and bailiff of Jerusalem.

In 1182, with his health declining, King Baldwin declared Guy regent, but doubts about how Guy and Raynald of Châtillon provoked Saladin with whom Baldwin had a truce disillusioned Baldwin, and he tried to have the marriage annulled. Baldwin died in 1185, having become blind and lame in his final years. Sibylla's son became Baldwin V, but died within the year.

The High Court agreed that she should be queen, but only on the condition that she would annul the marriage to Guy. Sibylla agreed, on the condition that she be allowed to choose her next husband. The marriage was annulled, Sibylla was crowned Queen of Jerusalem in Summer 1186, and she chose as her husband ... Guy of Lusignan, who was crowned King of Jerusalem in September 1186.

Guy has been mentioned a few times before, and I'd like to tell you a little more about his life before and after becoming King of Jerusalem.

The Leper King

When William of Tyre was asked by King Amalric of Jerusalem to raise and tutor his son, Baldwin (1161 - 1185), he noticed something unusual, and ultimately disturbing. When he played with the other children, and the rough-and-tumble of kids involved pinching each other, Baldwin did not cry like the other children did. His right arm seemed impervious to the pain. (The illustration is from a French translation in the 1250s of a history by William of Tyre.)

Baldwin's riding teacher realized he did not have sensation in his right hand, and so learning to ride a horse was more difficult; Baldwin learned to control the horse with his knees. An obvious source of this problem was leprosy, but without any of the physical signs, they were reluctant to declare leprosy, since that would stigmatize the prince.

According to William, Baldwin had an excellent memory and was a quick learner, though he stuttered. His father was concerned about the boy's future and the succession. He wanted to marry Baldwin's sister, Sibylla, to Count Stephen I of Sancerre, who was chosen to be regent if Amalric died before Baldwin had attained his majority. The couple might have been also considered by Amalric to be a suitable heir to the throne of Jerusalem instead of Baldwin. Unfortunately, the match did not take place, and then Amalric died from dysentery on 11 July 1174.

The High Court met to consider the succession. Baldwin's limitation was known, but with no visible sign yet of leprosy, he was by default the heir and was crowned a few days after his father's death, on the 15th, which happened to be the 75th anniversary of the seizing of Jerusalem by the First Crusade.

Raymond III of Tripoli, a cousin of Amalric, was chosen as regent (after the man who wanted to be regent, the seneschal Miles of Plancy, was murdered in October having failed to get the cooperation of the military). Raymond made William of Tyre Chancellor, but did not replace the seneschal. When Baldwin turned 15 in 1176, Raymond returned to Tripoli.

By that time it was clear that Baldwin had leprosy. The condition advanced rapidly, affecting his limbs and his face, turning his once-good looks into a demeanor difficult to look at. As a confirmed leper, he was not allowed to marry or have children. Lepers were often segregated, but he remained on the throne. Marrying Sibylla to ensure a dynastic succession became a priority, but that becomes a long story in its own right.

Despite the leprosy, Baldwin still fought when necessary. Tomorrow I'll tell you about when Baldwin went to war.

The Power of Gold

Yes, it's the witch-weighing scene
from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"

There is a medieval anecdote in the so-called "Chronicle of Ernoul" that, though fanciful, is based on a true story. The author, "Ernoul," names himself in his Chronicle and says he was a squire of Balian of Ibelin, one of the Crusader nobles who helped take and maintain (for a short time) Jerusalem. He tells a story of a bride (Lucie) who was put on a large scale by a suitor, who offered her guardian (Raymond III of Tripoli) the lady's weight in gold for the privilege of marrying her.

The true story is just as demonstrative of the power of gold, however, and doesn't need a set of scales.

The lady was Cécile Dorel, who inherited lands in Tripoli upon the death of her father. Raymond III (1140-1187), Count of Tripoli, was her uncle. Raymond was approached by two men for Cécile's hand in marriage (and the coastal lands in Tripoli that she now possessed).

One of the men was Gerard de Ridefort. His origin is uncertain, but by the time of this story he was in the service of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and held the title Marshal of the kingdom, putting him in charge of all mercenaries and disbursement of spoils of war. This would have been a noble match between Gerard and Cécile, but Raymond III acted differently. He married Cécile to the nephew of a Pisan merchant. Why? The bride price was too handsome to ignore. The bride price was money or valuables offered to the family of the bride by the groom or his family in order to ensure the marriage (feel free to read "buy the woman"). The Pisan nephew, whose name was Plivano, offered 10,000 bezants for Cécile. Bezants varied in weight and value, so it is difficult now to determine exactly how much that bride price was worth in today's money. It was clearly, however, an amount not to be ignored—and not easily matched—and so Plivano had his bride.

Gerard took the loss poorly and fell ill. He swore off women, apparently, and became a Templar, going on to a great career in that order. That, however, is a another story.