Charles' Jerusalem

After Maria of Antioch "sold" her claim to the title of Queen of Jerusalem to Charles of Anjou—however illegal it was to the High Court of Jerusalem—he intended to take it over. 

Charles might have been emboldened by a few things. It was understood that Maria had the better claim than Hugh III of Cyprus, Pope Gregory X had felt her claim strong enough to authorize an investigation into the situation, and Gregory apparently had a low opinion of Hugh. Also, Gregory wanted a new Crusade, and Charles had a strong military at his command.

Also, the Knights Templar supported Maria for whatever reason (suggestions are that they thought she would not be a strong military-oriented ruler and the Knights would be able to do as they liked, or that they knew of her interest in selling her claim to Charles and they wanted his military might to fight Muslims).

Gregory X was succeeded by Pope John XXI, who supported Charles.

Charles sent an emissary, Roger of San Severino, to Acre (the capital) to declare Charles' rule. The bailiff of Acre, Balian of Ibelin, Lord of Arsuf, refused to let him enter the citadel. Roger produced documents signed by Charles, Maria, and Pope John XXI authorizing Roger to enter Jerusalem. The Knights Templar and the Venetians also spoke on Roger's behalf. The Knights Hospitaller and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem would not get involved.

Roger flew Charles' standard above the city and started demanding oaths of loyalty to Charles. The High Court was called upon to determine the propriety of this change. The barons wanted to be released from their oaths of loyalty to Hugh. The kingdom was thrown into chaos at the abrupt change. Roger of San Severino became bailiff of Jerusalem until 1282.

One important point to note is that the reason the position of King of Jerusalem needed to be filled in the first place was because of the death of the young previous king, Conradin, who had ben beheaded in battle a few years before (see illustration). Who beheaded him, you should ask? It was Charles of Anjou, the man who was now declaring himself King of Jerusalem!

What? How? Why was Charles like this? We owe it to ourselves to take a closer look at this man and his effect on Europe and the Holy Land. We'll start that journey next time.

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 run out. 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: 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 matter, 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.

Hugh's Rivals

When the title King of Jerusalem was up for grabs in 1268, there was more than one claimant. There had not been a king in situ for years because the title had been passed to children whose regents were involved elsewhere or to people who were kings elsewhere.

But there was a chance now to bring the king "home," as it were.

In recent years, a regency in Jerusalem was necessary because the rightful kings were either too young or too far away or both. Conrad III (called Conradin) and Hugh II of Cyprus needed regents, for instance.

Hugh of Brienne had claimed a role as regent in 1264 as the oldest relative of Alice of Jerusalem, one of the daughters of Queen Isabella I. The High Court, however, chose his cousin, Hugh of Antioch. Hugh of Brienne abandoned the Holy Land and Eastern Mediterranean and went to Europe to seek fame in Italy.

Hugh of Antioch became Hugh III of Cyprus and Hugh I of Jerusalem. (The illustration is the coat of arms quartered to show the king of the two states.) All seemed settled, but another claim arose from an unexpected area.

The mother of Hugh of Brienne and aunt of Hugh I of Jerusalem, Maria of Antioch, claimed starting in 1268 that she should be on the throne of Jerusalem. She was 48 years old at the time, a granddaughter of Isabella I of Jerusalem through Melisende of Cyprus, and was one degree closer to Conradin than Hugh of Antioch.

Considering genealogy tables, she was right. She had the support of the Knights Templar. She demanded to be crowned by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, William of Agen.

She appeared before the High Court with her reasoning all laid out. Hugh of course brought military experience and the support of Cyprus to Jerusalem. Maria had nothing to offer except her status. (It is also believed by many that she did not want to have the title to rule so much as have it to sell to someone for money.) 

A remark from Hugh offended her so much that she left the Court. The Court used her absence to reason that she was abandoning her claim and Hugh should be crowned. During the coronation of Hugh at Tyre, however, Maria employed two people to run into the church, make a protest, and run out again.

She complained to Rome for years about the injustice, and was taken seriously. Pope Gregory X even started an investigation that found her claim to be true. Could they obtain justice for Maria? We'll find out tomorrow.