Daily Medieval

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 le...

The King of Jerusalem, Aimery of Lusignan , had a problem with his seneschal, Ralph of Saint-Omer: he accused the seneschal (who had hopes o...

With the unexpected death of Henry II of Champagne by falling out a window, Jerusalem's Queen Isabella  (the real ruler) needed a new h...

So we have Henry II of Champagne , elevated to the position of King of Jerusalem even if he doesn't use the title, and Aimery of Lusign...

Aimery (born c.1153) was one of the sons of the Lord of Poitou, Hugh VIII of Lusignan, and Burgundia of Rancon. His brother Guy has figured...

While Henry II of Champagne was functioning as King of Jerusalem (even if he did not use the title itself, preferring to manage things clea...

After the brutal murder of Conrad of Montferrat right  after he was informed that he had been chosen to replace Guy of Lusignan as King of...

We're going to look at the man who unexpectedly became King of Jerusalem in 1192. Henry was the son of the Count of Champagne, Henry I,...

The question of who should be King of Jerusalem came up after the death of Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem during the Siege of Acre. Her husband...

Richard I of England was now the leader of the Crusader force, and it was his responsibility to manage the final terms of surrender of the c...

With Philip of France and Richard of England at Acre with their armies  (the illustration shows Philip arriving in Palestine), Saladin had r...

So Conrad of Montferrat married Isabella of Jerusalem, the rightful queen, and took her back to Tyre while the former king by marriage to Is...

With the death of Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem during the Siege of Acre , her husband, Guy of Lusignan , lost his claim to the throne and the...

The first big clash between the army of Saladin and the Christians besieging the city of Acre led to thousands of losses for the Christians ...

So King of Jerusalem Guy of Lusignan was camped at Acre, ready to besiege the city and take control of it as a base for future conflict aga...

A couple weeks ago I mentioned the events that led to Saladin coming to power in Egypt. From there he had two choices: stay in Egypt and tr...

The Siege of Acre was two years long and a major event in the history of the Crusades. Although started independently by Guy of Lusignan in...

Gerard de Ridefort (that's his coat of arms to the left) is another of the many characters who has no known background recorded anywhere...

Founded originally to care for the sick and poor in Jerusalem, there were new statutes for the Hospitallers in March 1182 under the leaders...

Roger de Moulins was not known to history until 1177 when he became Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller . His chief concern seemed to be ...

In the 12th century, while the kingdoms established in the Holy Land by Western Europeans were struggling to maintain themselves against the...

So Heraclius of Jerusalem set off for Europe to find support for the Latin kingdoms in the Holy Land and perhaps a husband for Queen Sibyll...

When King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem was worried about finding a husband for his sister who could run the kingdom, he sent Heraclius, the Patr...

So Sibylla of Jerusalem married Guy of Lusignan and spoiled the plot of others to marry her to someone else. Her brother, King Baldwin IV o...

After the death of William of Montferrat, Sibylla of Jerusalem needed a new husband. The kingdom of Jerusalem was in a difficult position. ...

King Amalric I of Jerusalem, and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay , had three children. When Amalric was forced to put Agnes aside via an...