Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem

Melisende
Queen of Jerusalem
Reign	1131–1153
Predecessor	Baldwin II
Successor	Baldwin III (as sole monarch)
Co-sovereign	Fulk (1131–1143) and Baldwin III (1143–1153)
Born	1105 County of Edessa
Died	11 September 1161 (aged 55–56) Jerusalem
Burial	Shrine of Our Lady of Josaphat
Spouse	Fulk, King of Jerusalem
Issue	Baldwin III of Jerusalem Amalric I of Jerusalem
House	House of Rethel
Father	Baldwin II of Jerusalem
Mother	Morphia of Melitene
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Melisende (1105 – 11 September 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161, while he was on campaign. She was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and the Armenian princess Morphia of Melitene.

Early life

Melisende was the eldest daughter of Baldwin of Bourcq, a Frankish crusader, and Morphia of Melitene, an Armenian noblewoman of Greek Orthodox faith. Melisende's parents probably married in 1100 according to historian Bernard Hamilton; Deborah Gerish places Melisende's birth around 1109. Melisende and two of her sisters, Alice and Hodierna, were born while their father, also known as Baldwin II, was the count of Edessa. In 1118 Baldwin set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he arrived to find that his cousin King Baldwin I had died and was proclaimed the new king of Jerusalem. Melisende gained another sister, Ioveta, after her parents were crowned king and queen in 1119.

The four crusader states of the Levant–the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, and the counties of Tripoli and Edessa–were created by Franks, the Latin Christians who successfully invaded the region and defeated its Muslim rulers in the First Crusade in 1099. These states were in a near constant state of war, and men were responsible for the defense. Baldwin II was the first Latin ruler of Jerusalem to have children; yet all four of his children were daughters, and no rules had yet developed in the crusader states regarding female succession. The marriage of Melisende's parents was happy despite there being no male heir to the kingdom.

Heir to the kingdom

Queen Morphia died in 1126 or 1127. Since he no longer expected to have a son, King Baldwin started providing for his daughters and settling his succession. Melisende, the oldest daughter, was to be his heir. Alice, the second oldest, was married to Prince Bohemond II of Antioch in 1126. Hodierna, the third daughter, married Count Raymond II of Tripoli. Ioveta, the youngest, was sent to a nunnery, which historian Hans E. Mayer believes was "the safest way" to ensure that her status as born in the purple (to the reigning king) would not threaten Melisende's claim.

In late 1127 or, less likely, early 1128 an embassy led by the prince of Galilee, William I of Bures, and Guy I Brisebarre was sent to France to arrange a marriage for Melisende. After conferring with King Louis VI, the embassy arrived in early 1128 at the court of Count Fulk V of Anjou, who had not expected them. Some historians, including Steven Runciman, have concluded that Fulk was selected by Louis. Mayer asserts that Fulk was chosen by an assembly held in the Kingdom of Jerusalem before the embassy departed, citing the chronicler William of Tyre, and that the embassy only sought Louis's consent, which was necessary because Fulk was Louis's vassal. On 29 May 1128 Pope Honorius II endorsed Fulk in a letter sent to Baldwin. Fulk was already an experienced ruler. He had been to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage in 1120 and left a good impression by personally providing for a force of 100 knights for a year. His wife, Eremburga of Maine, died in late 1126, and he already had grown children.

While the embassy was in Europe, Baldwin started associating Melisende with him in official documents: in a charter from March 1129 she as a witness takes precedence over all the clergy, and in another she again heads the list of witnesses and is explicitly called "daughter of the king and heir of the kingdom". Mayer initially believed that Melisende had been declared heir before the embassy was sent to France, but eventually concluded that her official recognition was a condition imposed by Fulk before he would agree to come to Jerusalem and marry her. Mayer argues that Fulk saw a useful precedent in the formal recognition of Empress Matilda, who married Fulk's son Geoffrey Plantagenet in June 1128, as the heir presumptive to her father, King Henry I of England.

Having relinquished the counties of Anjou and Maine to his son Geoffrey, Fulk arrived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem with the embassy in May 1129. He was "short, wiry, red-haired, middle-aged", and Melisende found him unattractive. Their marriage was celebrated before 2 June "amid great festivities and rejoicing". King Baldwin bestowed upon them, as Melisende's dowry, the cities of Acre and Tyre. These were the most lucrative parts of the royal domain and were to be held by the couple during the king's lifetime. In the first half of 1130 Melisende gave birth to a son, Baldwin. Some time between 1129 and 1131 the lord of Oultrejordain, Roman of Le Puy, led a revolt against Melisende's father. Mayer surmises that Roman refused to accept female succession. Roman failed and lost his lordship as a result.

Reign

Accession

King Baldwin fell seriously ill in August 1131. He had himself carried to the house of the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, wishing to die near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There he summoned Melisende, Fulk, and their infant son, and proceeded to confer the kingdom on the three of them. King Baldwin II died on 21 August. Melisende and Fulk were crowned in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on 14 September, the Holy Cross Day. They were the first monarchs to be crowned in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Early in her queenship Melisende found herself deprived of the power she had possessed during her father's lifetime. Fulk did not associate her in any of his public acts for the first five years of the new reign. His attempt to rule alone was in contravention of both their marriage contract and Baldwin II's last will.

Hugh of Jaffa's revolt

In 1134 noblemen led by Melisende's second cousin and vassal Count Hugh II of Jaffa revolted against Fulk. The reasons are not entirely clear. William of Tyre recorded the rumour that the queen was thought to be having an illicit relationship with the "young and very handsome" count, drawing the king's ire. Hamilton and Mayer both discount the gossip. Mayer argues that William himself did not believe the rumour and that a medieval queen, being constantly attended by the members of her household and the court, would have found it exceedingly difficult to have a secret lover. Hamilton, on the other hand, argues that public opinion, spearheaded by the clergy, would have sided with Fulk and not, as it did, with Melisende if she had committed adultery. Mayer suggests that the rumors may have been spread by Fulk to both get rid of Hugh and to have Melisende locked up in a monastery, circumventing Baldwin II's will.

Hugh's stepson Walter I Grenier, lord of Caesarea, openly accused him of treason in the curia regis. Mayer suggests that Walter may have been incited to make this accusation. Hugh denied the charge and was challenged to a trial by combat but did not appear. The king thus obtained a legal reason to confiscate Hugh's County of Jaffa. Fulk laid siege to Jaffa, but the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem intervened and mediated a peace: Hugh would cede Jaffa to the king and receive it back after spending three years in exile. Before he could leave for Europe Hugh was stabbed in the street by a knight. After recovering he went into his exile, where he died. The assassination attempt was widely suspected to have been ordered by King Fulk; though Fulk's involvement was never proven, his reputation was severely damaged.

Melisende bitterly resented Fulk's treatment of Hugh and the slight on her honor. Fulk's men did not dare appear in her presence. The queen directed most of her wrath at Rohard the Elder, whom she held most responsible for influencing Fulk. Fulk himself did not feel safe around his wife's supporters. Mayer suggests that for this reason Fulk stayed in Antioch in 1135. The court was disrupted until third parties mediated a reconciliation between the king and queen. After persistent attempts Fulk succeeded in obtaining Melisende's pardon for Rohard and his other supporters, who were then able to appear at court again. From then on Fulk, in the words of William of Tyre, "did not attempt to take the initiative, even in trivial matters, without her knowledge".

Hamilton agrees with Mayer's conclusion that the conflict originated from Fulk's replacement of the kingdom's established nobility with newcomers from Anjou.

Palace intrigue

The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other Crusader states, with Muslim states, in shades of green, in 1135 during the reign of Melisende

An illustration from the Melisende Psalter, commissioned during the Queen's reign

In 1134, the estrangement between husband and wife was a convenient political tool that Fulk used when he accused Hugh II of Jaffa of having an affair with Melisende. Hugh was the most powerful baron in the kingdom, and devotedly loyal to the memory of his cousin Baldwin II. This loyalty now extended to Melisende. Contemporary sources, such as William of Tyre, discount the alleged infidelity of Melisende and instead point out that Fulk overly favoured newly arrived Frankish crusaders from Anjou over the native nobility of the kingdom. Had Melisende been guilty, the Church and nobility likely would not have supported her later.

Hugh allied himself with the Muslim city of Ascalon, and was able to hold off the army set against him. He could not maintain his position indefinitely, however. His alliance with Ascalon cost him support at court. The Patriarch, William of Malines, negotiated lenient terms for peace, and Hugh was exiled for three years. Soon after, an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Hugh was attributed to Fulk or his supporters. This was reason enough for the queen's party to challenge Fulk openly, as Fulk's unfounded assertions of infidelity were a public affront that would severely damage Melisende's position.

Through what amounted to a palace coup, the queen's supporters overcame Fulk, and from 1135 onwards Fulk's influence rapidly deteriorated. One historian wrote that Fulk's supporters "went in terror of their lives" in the palace. William of Tyre wrote that Fulk "did not attempt to take the initiative, even in trivial matters, without [Melisende's] knowledge". Husband and wife reconciled by 1136 and had a second son, Amalric. When Fulk was killed in a hunting accident in 1143, Melisende publicly and privately mourned for him.

Melisende's victory was complete. Again, she is seen in the historical record, granting titles of nobility, fiefdoms, appointments and offices, granting royal favours and pardons and holding court. Melisende was no mere regent-queen for her son Baldwin III, but a queen regnant, reigning by right of hereditary and civil law.

Patroness of the church and arts

Melisende enjoyed the support of the Church throughout her lifetime; from her appointment as Baldwin II's successor, throughout the conflict with Fulk, and later when Baldwin III came of age. In 1138, she founded the Convent of Saint Lazarus in Bethany, where her younger sister Ioveta would rule as abbess. In keeping with a royal abbey, Melisende granted the convent the fertile plains of Jericho. The queen supplied rich furnishings and liturgical vessels, so that it would not be inferior to religious houses for men.

Melisende also gave endowments to the Holy Sepulchre, Our Lady of Josaphat, the Templum Domini, the Order of the Hospital, St Lazarus leper hospital, and the Praemonstratensian St Samuel's in Mountjoy. It is probable that she was the patron of the rebuilding of the Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem which was built in an Armenian style.

She appreciated a variety of literary and visual arts due to the artistic exposures she received as a result of her parents' mixed Frankish-Armenian union. She created a school of bookmakers and a school of miniature painters of illuminated manuscripts. She commissioned the construction of a vaulted complex of shops, including the Street of Bad Cooking. The street, Malquisinat, now the Sūq al-ʿAṭṭārīn/Spice Market, was the central and most famous market of Crusader Jerusalem, where merchants and cooks supplied the numerous pilgrims who visited the city with food.

Melisende's love for books and her religious piety were very well known. She was recognized as a patroness of books, a fact her husband knew how to exploit following the incident that greatly injured their relationship and the monarchy's stability. King Fulk was jealous of the friendship Melisende shared with Hugh, Count of Jaffa. Placed under scrutiny for supposed adultery with the queen, Hugh was attacked by an assassin who was most likely sent by the king himself. This greatly angered the queen. Melisende was extremely hostile after the accusations about her alleged infidelity with Hugh and refused to speak to or allow in court those who sided with her husband – deeming them "under the displeasure of the queen".

Fulk likely set to appease his wife by commissioning her a book as a peace offering: the Melisende Psalter. It is expensively adorned, with a silk spine, ivory carvings, studded gemstones, a calendar, and prayers with illuminated initial letters. The psalter is in Latin, suggesting that Melisende was literate in Latin and that some noblewomen in the Middle East were educated in this way. While there is no identification placing this book as Melisende's or made with her in mind, there are indications: the use of Latin text appropriate for a secular woman (as opposed to an abbess or such), the particular venerations of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalen (suggestive of the nearby abbey Melisende patronized), the only two royal mentions/inclusions being of Melisende's parents, and a possible bird pun on the king's name.

Though influenced by Byzantine and Italian traditions in the illuminations, the artists who contributed to the Melisende Psalter had a unique and decidedly 'Jerusalem style'. The historian Hugo Buchtal wrote that

"Jerusalem during the second quarter of the twelfth century possessed a flourishing and well-established scriptorium which could, without difficulty, undertake a commission for a royal manuscript de grand luxe".

There is no account of how Melisende received this gift, but shortly after its creation, the royal union appeared stronger than ever. Two things prove the couple's reconciliation: 1) almost every single charter after this was issued by Fulk, but labeled "with the consent and the approval of Queen Melisende", and 2) the birth of the royal pair's second son, Amalric, in 1136. It is also reported that Queen Melisende mourned greatly after her husband fell off a horse and died in 1143.

Second Crusade

In 1144, the Crusader state of Edessa was besieged in a border war that threatened its survival. Queen Melisende responded by sending an army led by constable Manasses of Hierges, Philip of Milly, and Elinand of Bures. Raymond of Antioch ignored the call for help, as his army was already occupied against the Byzantine Empire in Cilicia. Despite Melisende's army, Edessa fell.

Melisende sent word to the Pope in Rome, and the west called for a Second Crusade. The crusader expedition was led by French Louis VII of France and the German Emperor Conrad III. Accompanying Louis was his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, with her own vassal lords in tow. Eleanor had been designated by her father, William X, to succeed him in her own right, just as Melisende had been designated to succeed her father.

During the Crusader meeting in Acre in 1148, the battle strategy was planned. Conrad and Louis advised 18-year-old Baldwin III to attack the Muslim city-state of Damascus, though Melisende, Manasses, and Eleanor wanted to take Aleppo, which would aid them in retaking Edessa. The meeting ended with Damascus as their target. Damascus and Jerusalem were on very good diplomatic terms and there was a peace treaty between them. The result of this breach of treaty, was that Damascus would never trust the Crusader states again, and the loss of a sympathetic Muslim state was a blow from which later monarchs of Jerusalem could not recover. After 11 months, Eleanor and Louis departed for France, ending the Second Crusade.

Mother and son

Melisende's relationship with her son was complex. As a mother she would know her son and his capabilities, and she is known to have been particularly close to her children. As a ruler she may have been reluctant to entrust decision-making powers to an untried youth. Either way, there was no political or social pressure to grant Baldwin any authority before 1152, even though Baldwin reached majority in 1145. Baldwin III and Melisende were jointly crowned as co-rulers on Christmas Day, 1143. This joint crowning was similar to Melisende's own crowning with her father in 1128, and may have reflected a growing trend to crown one's heir in the present monarch's lifetime, as demonstrated in other realms of this period.

Baldwin grew up to be a capable, if not brilliant, military commander. By age 22, Baldwin felt he could take some responsibility in governance. Melisende had hitherto only partially associated Baldwin in her rule. Tension between mother and son mounted between 1150 and 1152, with Baldwin blaming Manasses for alienating his mother from him. In early 1152, the crisis reached a boiling point when Baldwin demanded that the patriarch Fulcher crown him in the Holy Sepulchre, without Melisende present. The Patriarch refused. Baldwin, in protest, staged a procession in the city streets wearing laurel wreaths, a kind of self-crowning.

Baldwin and Melisende agreed to put the decision to the Haute Cour. The Haute Cour decided that Baldwin would rule the north of the kingdom and Melisende the richer Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem itself. Melisende acquiesced, though with misgivings. This decision prevented a civil war but also divided the kingdom's resources. Though later historians criticized Melisende for not abdicating in favor of her son, there was little impetus for her to do so. She was universally recognized as an exceptional steward for her kingdom, and her rule had been characterized as a wise one by church leaders and other contemporaries. Baldwin had not shown any interest in governance prior to 1152, and had resisted responsibility in this arena. The Church clearly supported Melisende, as did the barons of Judea and Samaria.

Despite putting the matter before the Haute Cour, Baldwin was not happy with the partition any more than Melisende. Instead of reaching further compromise, within weeks of the decision he launched an invasion of his mother's realms. Baldwin showed that he was Fulk's son by quickly taking the field. Nablus and Jerusalem fell swiftly. Melisende with her younger son Amalric and others sought refuge in the Tower of David. Church mediation between mother and son resulted in the grant of the city of Nablus and adjacent lands to Melisende to rule for life, and a solemn oath by Baldwin III not to disturb her peace. This peace settlement demonstrated that though Melisende lost the "civil war" to her son, she still maintained great influence and avoided total obscurity in a convent.

Retirement

By 1153, mother and son were reconciled. Since the civil war, Baldwin had shown his mother great respect. Melisende's connections, especially to her sister Hodierna, and to her niece Constance of Antioch, meant that she had direct influence in northern Syria, a priceless connection since Baldwin had himself broken the treaty with Damascus in 1147.

As Baldwin III was often on military campaigns, he realized he had few reliable advisers. From 1154 onwards, Melisende is again associated with her son in many of his official public acts. In 1156, she concluded a treaty with the merchants of Pisa. In 1157, with Baldwin on campaign in Antioch, Melisende saw an opportunity to take el-Hablis, which controlled the lands of Gilead beyond the Jordan.

Also in 1157, on the death of patriarch Fulcher, Melisende, her sister Ioveta the Abbess of Bethany, and Sibylla of Flanders had Amalric of Nesle appointed as patriarch of Jerusalem. Additionally, Melisende was witness to her son Amalric's marriage to Agnes of Courtenay in 1157. In 1160, she gave her assent to a grant made by her son Amalric to the Holy Sepulchre, perhaps on the occasion of the birth of her granddaughter Sibylla to Agnes and Amalric.

Death

Main article: Abbey of St. Mary of the Valley of Jehosaphat

The chapel of Saints Joachim and Anne, originally the tomb of Queen Melisende of Jerusalem

In 1161, Melisende fell ill. She likely had a stroke. Suffering from severe memory impairment, she could no longer participate in government. Her surviving sisters – the countess of Tripoli and abbess of Bethany – came to nurse her before she died on 11 September 1161. Melisende was buried next to her mother, Morphia, in the shrine at the Abbey of St. Mary of the Valley of Jehosaphat. Melisende, like her mother, bequeathed the property to the laura (Orthodox monastery) of Mar Saba in Jerusalem.

William of Tyre, writing on Melisende's 30-year reign, wrote that "she was a very wise woman, fully experienced in almost all affairs of state business, who completely triumphed over the handicap of her sex so that she could take charge of important affairs", and that, "striving to emulate the glory of the best princes, Melisende ruled the kingdom with such ability that she was rightly considered to have equalled her predecessors in that regard".

Professor Bernard Hamilton of the University of Nottingham has written that, while William of Tyre's comments may seem rather patronizing to modern readers, they amount to a great show of respect from a society and culture in which women were regarded as having fewer rights and less authority than their brothers, their fathers or even their sons.

Sources

• Bernard Hamilton (1978). Baker, Derek (ed.). Medieval Women. Oxford: The Ecclesiastical Historical Society. pp. 143–174. ISBN 0-631-12539-6.
• Hodgson, Natasha R. (2007). Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative. Woodbridge, Suffolk, England: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-332-1.
• Mayer, Hans E. (1974). Studies in the History of Queen Melisende of Jerusalem. Dumbarton Oaks Papers 26.
• Gaudette, Helen A. (2010), "The Spending Power of a Crusader Queen: Melisende of Jerusalem", in Theresa Earenfight (ed.), Women and Wealth in Late Medieval Europe, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 135–148
• Gerish, Deborah (2006), "Holy War, Royal Wives, and Equivocation in Twelfth-Century Jerusalem", in Naill Christie and Maya Yazigis (ed.), Noble Ideals and Bloody Realities, Leiden, J. Brill, pp. 119–144
• Gerish, Deborah (2012), "Royal Daughters of Jerusalem and the Demands of Holy War", Leidschrift Historisch Tijdschrift, vol. 27, n^o 3, pp. 89–112
• Hamilton, Bernard (1978), "Women in the Crusader States: the Queens of Jerusalem", in Derek Baker and Rosalind M. T. Hill (ed.), Medieval Women, Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp. 143–174; Nurith Kenaan-Kedar, "Armenian Architecture in Twelfth-Century Crusader Jerusalem", Assaph Studies in Art History, n^o 3, pp. 77–91
• Gerish, Deborah (2006). Murray, Alan V. (ed.). The Crusades: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1576078620.
• Mayer, Hans Eberhard (1985). "The Succession to Baldwin II of Jerusalem: English Impact on the East". Dumbarton Oak Papers. Dumbarton Oaks.
• Mayer, Hans Eberhard (1989). "Angevins versus Normans: The New Men of King Fulk of Jerusalem". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 133 (1). University of Pennsylvania Press: 1–25.
• Barber, Malcolm (2012). The Crusader States. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300189315.
• Runciman, Steven (1952). A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0241298768.

External links

• Melisende: Queen of Jerusalem on Medieval Archives Podcast