Melisende was probably born around 1109, the eldest daughter of Baldwin II, count of Edessa, and his wife Morphia. Baldwin became king of Jerusalem in 1118, and named Melisende heiress to the kingdom in 1127 after it was apparent that he would have no male heir.
Melisende and Fulk’s marriage was celebrated in early June 1129, and at that time her father the king endowed them with the cities of Acre and Tyre to be held during his lifetime.
Through Melisende, the status of heir to the throne was transmitted to Fulk. Their marriage must have been a grand occasion of celebration in the kingdom, and all of the important barons and churchmen would have been present. Within a few months of the wedding, Melisende became pregnant with the couple’s first child and heir, the future Baldwin III, who was born in 1130.
Baldwin II died on August 21, 1131, and he was mourned with “great pomp and ceremony.” He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, next to his predecessors at the foot of Mt. Calvary known as Golgatha. On September 14, Holy Cross Day (an important feast day in the crusader kingdom), Fulk and Melisende were “solemnly crowned and consecrated, according to custom, in the Church of the Sepulcher of the Lord, by William, patriarch of Jerusalem, of happy memory.”
One of the most interesting developments at this time during Fulk and Melisende’s reign was an alliance between Jerusalem and Damascus. Zengi, the leader of Aleppo, had entered the territory of Damascus with a hostile army and Mu’īn ad-Din Unur, the Muslim ruler there, appealed to the crusaders for aid against this common enemy who threatened all of them. Not only did Unur agree to pay for the campaign, but he also promised to restore the city of Banyas, which had been conquered from the Christians some years before but had come to be held by Zengi. He also promised to ensure the treaty with noble hostages, relatives of his army commanders.
Fulk and Melisende agreed to the treaty’s terms, but not before lengthy deliberations with the barons and clerics in the High Court were held. After the hostages had arrived, Fulk’s army marched out to join the Damascenes accompanied by Patriarch William and, although Zengi retreated, the two armies began a fierce siege of Banyas, where the prince of Antioch and the count of Tripoli and their forces joined them as well. The city surrendered in 1140 and keeping his word, Unur handed it over to the crusaders. Patriarch William and Fulcher, archbishop of Tyre, who was also present chose Adam, the archdeacon of Tyre, to be the city’s bishop, and then it was returned to its former Lord Renier de Brus, the constable of the kingdom.
Fulk’s death in November of 1143 dramatically altered Melisende’s political life and the future of the kingdom’s monarchy. Her political power and authority as queen were to grow far beyond that which she had enjoyed after her second son Amalric was born. William of Tyre recorded the circumstances of Fulk’s tragic accident. Visiting Acre with Fulk, Melisende of Jerusalem had proposed a trip outside the city to a place that had many springs. The king and queen had ridden together with the royal escort and a party of servants. Along the way, the group surprised a hare, which fled from its burrow and aroused shouts and attention. Fulk grabbed his lance, joined the other men in the hunt, and urged his horse on recklessly. Suddenly, his horse stumbled and fell, throwing him onto the ground where his heavy saddle struck his head and crushed his skull. The members of his escort who had joined him in the pursuit rushed to his aid but it was too late.
Melisende and the rest of the train caught up quickly and were horrified by the sight. The queen “tore her garments and hair and by her loud shrieks and lamentations gave proof of her intense grief. Flinging herself upon the ground she embraced the lifeless body. Tears failed her through continual weeping; frequent sobs interrupted her voice as she tried to give expression to her grief; nor could she do justice to it, although she cared for naught save to satisfy her anguish. The people of the household also manifested their grief by tears, words, and aspect and gave plain proof of great sorrow.”
They bore Fulk to Acre, and still unconscious, he died three days later on November 10. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher next to his predecessors at the foot of Mt. Calvary. As Fulk and Melisende’s son Baldwin was only thirteen years old at this time and Amalric only ten, “the royal power passed to the Lady Melisende, a queen beloved of God, to whom it belonged by hereditary right.”
Thus, Melisende took over the government but, as William of Tyre emphasized, did not do so as regent for her eldest son. Future events would demonstrate that she took up her new role at the death of her husband because she knew it was her responsibility to do so as the kingdom’s reigning queen. Through her unexpected widowhood, she gained an extraordinary amount of independence. She would make the most of it and do whatever she would have to in order to protect it. It is no surprise, then, that she did not remarry, even though the pressure to do so must have been great.
During the feast of the Nativity, 1143, “Baldwin [III] was solemnly anointed, consecrated, and crowned, together with his mother, in the church of the Sepulcher of the Lord. The ceremony was conducted by William, patriarch of Jerusalem, before the customary assemblage of the princes and all the prelates of the church.”
Crowned at his mother’s side, he was, however, under the legal age to rule. Melisende was required to rule alone until Baldwin came of age and could rule with her. Nevertheless, despite her sacred status and abilities, because she was a woman, she was immediately forced to cope with the limitations of her gender. Alone for the first time, she had the added responsibilities of controlling and administering the crown’s offices and fiefs as well as defending the crusader states from the constant threats of invasion from Zengi, the leader of Aleppo, and the other neighboring Muslim powers. Although she marshaled and directed the kingdom’s army as the reigning monarch, she did not lead it herself. By 1144, she appointed and deputized her cousin Manasses of Hierges, who had recently arrived in the East, as constable of the kingdom. Owing his new prestigious position to her, Manasses would loyally lead the kingdom’s military affairs for her.
Melisende and the kingdom’s first challenge was at hand because the crusader lands were all facing a dangerous threat from the still undefeated Zengi, who had laid siege to the city of Edessa “during the interval between the death of King Fulk and the elevation of Baldwin to the throne.”
It is very likely that Zengi and the rest of the Muslim world viewed Melisende’s throne in the Latin Kingdom as empty or as if the kingdom was in a period of interregnum. The timing was perfect for the prosecution of a jihad to restore the lands taken by the crusaders back to Islam, and Zengi would be the most successful Muslim warrior to present himself as a leader for such an endeavor.
References:
Hamilton (B.), "Medieval Women", in, Women in the Crusader States: The Queens of Jerusalem. Oxford: Ecclesiastical History,ed. by. Derek Baker, Oxford, 1978.
Gaudette (H.), The Second Crusade: The War Council of Acre, 1148, March 2009.
Melisende and Fulk’s marriage was celebrated in early June 1129, and at that time her father the king endowed them with the cities of Acre and Tyre to be held during his lifetime.
Through Melisende, the status of heir to the throne was transmitted to Fulk. Their marriage must have been a grand occasion of celebration in the kingdom, and all of the important barons and churchmen would have been present. Within a few months of the wedding, Melisende became pregnant with the couple’s first child and heir, the future Baldwin III, who was born in 1130.
Baldwin II died on August 21, 1131, and he was mourned with “great pomp and ceremony.” He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, next to his predecessors at the foot of Mt. Calvary known as Golgatha. On September 14, Holy Cross Day (an important feast day in the crusader kingdom), Fulk and Melisende were “solemnly crowned and consecrated, according to custom, in the Church of the Sepulcher of the Lord, by William, patriarch of Jerusalem, of happy memory.”
One of the most interesting developments at this time during Fulk and Melisende’s reign was an alliance between Jerusalem and Damascus. Zengi, the leader of Aleppo, had entered the territory of Damascus with a hostile army and Mu’īn ad-Din Unur, the Muslim ruler there, appealed to the crusaders for aid against this common enemy who threatened all of them. Not only did Unur agree to pay for the campaign, but he also promised to restore the city of Banyas, which had been conquered from the Christians some years before but had come to be held by Zengi. He also promised to ensure the treaty with noble hostages, relatives of his army commanders.
Fulk and Melisende agreed to the treaty’s terms, but not before lengthy deliberations with the barons and clerics in the High Court were held. After the hostages had arrived, Fulk’s army marched out to join the Damascenes accompanied by Patriarch William and, although Zengi retreated, the two armies began a fierce siege of Banyas, where the prince of Antioch and the count of Tripoli and their forces joined them as well. The city surrendered in 1140 and keeping his word, Unur handed it over to the crusaders. Patriarch William and Fulcher, archbishop of Tyre, who was also present chose Adam, the archdeacon of Tyre, to be the city’s bishop, and then it was returned to its former Lord Renier de Brus, the constable of the kingdom.
Fulk’s death in November of 1143 dramatically altered Melisende’s political life and the future of the kingdom’s monarchy. Her political power and authority as queen were to grow far beyond that which she had enjoyed after her second son Amalric was born. William of Tyre recorded the circumstances of Fulk’s tragic accident. Visiting Acre with Fulk, Melisende of Jerusalem had proposed a trip outside the city to a place that had many springs. The king and queen had ridden together with the royal escort and a party of servants. Along the way, the group surprised a hare, which fled from its burrow and aroused shouts and attention. Fulk grabbed his lance, joined the other men in the hunt, and urged his horse on recklessly. Suddenly, his horse stumbled and fell, throwing him onto the ground where his heavy saddle struck his head and crushed his skull. The members of his escort who had joined him in the pursuit rushed to his aid but it was too late.
Melisende and the rest of the train caught up quickly and were horrified by the sight. The queen “tore her garments and hair and by her loud shrieks and lamentations gave proof of her intense grief. Flinging herself upon the ground she embraced the lifeless body. Tears failed her through continual weeping; frequent sobs interrupted her voice as she tried to give expression to her grief; nor could she do justice to it, although she cared for naught save to satisfy her anguish. The people of the household also manifested their grief by tears, words, and aspect and gave plain proof of great sorrow.”
They bore Fulk to Acre, and still unconscious, he died three days later on November 10. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher next to his predecessors at the foot of Mt. Calvary. As Fulk and Melisende’s son Baldwin was only thirteen years old at this time and Amalric only ten, “the royal power passed to the Lady Melisende, a queen beloved of God, to whom it belonged by hereditary right.”
Thus, Melisende took over the government but, as William of Tyre emphasized, did not do so as regent for her eldest son. Future events would demonstrate that she took up her new role at the death of her husband because she knew it was her responsibility to do so as the kingdom’s reigning queen. Through her unexpected widowhood, she gained an extraordinary amount of independence. She would make the most of it and do whatever she would have to in order to protect it. It is no surprise, then, that she did not remarry, even though the pressure to do so must have been great.
During the feast of the Nativity, 1143, “Baldwin [III] was solemnly anointed, consecrated, and crowned, together with his mother, in the church of the Sepulcher of the Lord. The ceremony was conducted by William, patriarch of Jerusalem, before the customary assemblage of the princes and all the prelates of the church.”
Crowned at his mother’s side, he was, however, under the legal age to rule. Melisende was required to rule alone until Baldwin came of age and could rule with her. Nevertheless, despite her sacred status and abilities, because she was a woman, she was immediately forced to cope with the limitations of her gender. Alone for the first time, she had the added responsibilities of controlling and administering the crown’s offices and fiefs as well as defending the crusader states from the constant threats of invasion from Zengi, the leader of Aleppo, and the other neighboring Muslim powers. Although she marshaled and directed the kingdom’s army as the reigning monarch, she did not lead it herself. By 1144, she appointed and deputized her cousin Manasses of Hierges, who had recently arrived in the East, as constable of the kingdom. Owing his new prestigious position to her, Manasses would loyally lead the kingdom’s military affairs for her.
Melisende and the kingdom’s first challenge was at hand because the crusader lands were all facing a dangerous threat from the still undefeated Zengi, who had laid siege to the city of Edessa “during the interval between the death of King Fulk and the elevation of Baldwin to the throne.”
It is very likely that Zengi and the rest of the Muslim world viewed Melisende’s throne in the Latin Kingdom as empty or as if the kingdom was in a period of interregnum. The timing was perfect for the prosecution of a jihad to restore the lands taken by the crusaders back to Islam, and Zengi would be the most successful Muslim warrior to present himself as a leader for such an endeavor.
References:
Hamilton (B.), "Medieval Women", in, Women in the Crusader States: The Queens of Jerusalem. Oxford: Ecclesiastical History,ed. by. Derek Baker, Oxford, 1978.
Gaudette (H.), The Second Crusade: The War Council of Acre, 1148, March 2009.