The Assize on Liege-homage

We think of the Magna Carta as an important moment in legislative history, when laws forced a king to relinquish some power to others of lesser rank. Something similar took place several years before, in the Latin East of the Holy Land.

The Assise sur la ligece ("Assize on liege-homage") was established by the High Court of Jerusalem under King Amalric I. His initial purpose was to gain control of the vassals of his vassals, so that they could appeal directly to the king.

It also claimed that a lord could not legally seize a vassal's fief, and if any lord did so then all the king's vassals should turn again t him. Vassals could also withdraw their support from any liege lord who acted illegally.

In 1198, Ralph of Saint-Omer, seneschal to the King of Jerusalem Aimery of Lusignan, defended himself against Aimery when Aimery accused him of orchestrating the king's assassination attempt. He used the Assize. The High Court considered that Aimery had acted against Ralph improperly, and they as Aimery's vassals withdrew their support of the king in accordance with the Assize. It set a daring precedent, that a king also had to be affected by the law.

Thirty years later, this precedent was applied again against a king and emperor.

Frederick II (1194 - 1250) was Holy Roman Emperor in 1220. He agreed to the Sixth Crusade, but he wanted to become King of Jerusalem if he did so. To become king, he would have to marry the current successor to the throne, Isabella II (1212 - 1228). She was a child at the time, but the betrothal was made and the marriage took place by proxy in 1225. Frederick sent a flotilla to bring her to Italy, where they were wed in person.

Frederick arrived in Jerusalem in 1228. Isabella died that year giving birth to a son, Conrad, for which Frederick held the regency. (At this point, Conrad was king, not Frederick.)

One year later, Frederick and his forces successfully regained control of the city of Jerusalem, that had been lost in 1187 to Saladin's forces. (The illustration shows Frederick meeting with the sultan who controlled Jerusalem, al-Kamil.) Feeling full of himself, he claimed the lands held by several nobles, including Jaffa, Haifa, and Beirut.

Those nobles knew the law of the land, and they challenged his land grab. They were successful, and Frederick, Holy Roman Emperor and acting as King of Jerusalem, had to relinquish those lands.

Did young Conrad ever get to be king in his own right? Let's find out.