Hugh I de CAPET Count of Vermandois [Parents]-C3201 # was born in 1053. He died on 18 Oct 1101 in Tarsus, Turkey from from wounds he received in a battle with the Turks. Hugh married Adele de VERMANDOIS de Valois et de Crépy-V3201 # about 1080.

Hugh I (1053 – 18 October 1101), called Magnus or the Great, was a younger son of Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev and younger brother of Philip I. He succeeded as Comte de Vermandois et de Valois, by right of his wife. An ineffectual leader and soldier, great only in his boasting. Indeed, Steven Runciman is certain that his nickname Magnus (greater or elder), applied to him by William of Tyre, is a copyist's error, and should be Minus (younger), referring to Hugh as younger brother of the King of France.

In early 1096 Hugh and Philip began discussing the First Crusade after news of the Council of Clermont reached them in Paris. Although Philip could not participate, as he had been excommunicated, Hugh was said to have been influenced to join the Crusade after an eclipse of the moon on 11th February 1096.

That summer Hugh's army left France for Italy, where they would cross the Adriatic Sea into territory of the Byzantine Empire, unlike the other Crusader armies who were travelling by land. On the way, many of the soldiers led by fellow Crusader Emicho joined Hugh's army after Emicho was defeated by the Hungarians, whose land he had been pillaging. Hugh crossed the Adriatic from Bari in Southern Italy, but many of his ships were destroyed in a storm off the Byzantine port of Dyrrhachium.

Hugh and most of his army was rescued and escorted to Constantinople, where they arrived in November of 1096. Prior to his arrival, Hugh sent an arrogant, insulting letter to Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, according to the Emperor's biography by his daughter (the Alexiad), demanding that Alexius meet with him:

"Know, O King, that I am King of Kings, and superior to all, who are under the sky. You are now permitted to greet me, on my arrival, and to receive me with magnificence, as befits my nobility."

Alexius was already wary of the armies about to arrive, after the unruly mob led by Peter the Hermit had passed through earlier in the year. Alexius kept Hugh in custody in a monastery until Hugh swore an oath of vassalage to him.

After the Crusaders had successfully made their way across Seljuk territory and, in 1098, captured Antioch, Hugh was sent back to Constantinople to appeal for reinforcements from Alexius. Alexius was uninterested, however, and Hugh, instead of returning to Antioch to help plan the siege of Jerusalem, went back to France. There he was scorned for not having fulfilled his vow as a Crusader to complete a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Pope Paschal II threatened to excommunicate him. He joined the minor Crusade of 1101, but was wounded in battle with the Turks in September, and died of his wounds in October in Tarsus.

Adele de VERMANDOIS de Valois et de Crépy [Parents]-V3201 # was born in 1065. She died on 28/28 Sep 1120/1124. Adele married Hugh I de CAPET Count of Vermandois-C3201 # about 1080.

Other marriages:

CLERMONT, Renaud de

Adelais Countess de Vermandois, de Valois and de Crépy, daughter and heiress of HERIBERT IV Count de Vermandois and his wife Adelais de Valois (1065 - 28 Sep 1120/24).  The Genealogiæ  Scriptoris Fusniacensis names "Adelaide comitissa Veromandensium" as wife of "Hugonem Magnum"[1028].  Her husband left her as regent in Vermandois when he left on crusade.

Henry VI de VERMANDOIS-V3301 # was born in 1032. He died in 1080. Henry married Adele de VALOIS-V3302 # in 1060.

He succeeded his father in 1045 as Comte de Vermandois.  He succeeded as Comte de Valois in 1077, by right of his wife.

Adele de VALOIS-V3302 #. Adele married Henry VI de VERMANDOIS-V3301 # in 1060.

Daughter of RAOUL III Comte de Valois, de Crépy et de Vitry and his first wife Adela [Aélis] de Bar-sur-Aube.  
The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Symonem et filiam…Adala" children of "comitis Veromandie [error for Valois] Rodolfi" and his wife Adela.

King Henry I de CAPET King of France [scrapbook]-C3301 # was born on 14 May 1008 in Reims, France. He died on 04 Aug 1060 in Vitry-en-Brie, France. He was buried in Saint Denis Basilica, Paris, France. King married Anna YAROSLAVNA Anne of Kiev-Y3301 # on 19 May 1051 in Cathedral of Reims, France.

Henry I (4 May 1008 – 4 August 1060) was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its lowest point in terms of size during his reign and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. This is not entirely agreed upon, however, as other historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy.

A member of the House of Capet, Henry was born in Reims, the son of King Robert II (972–1031) and Constance of Arles (986–1034). He was crowned King of France at the Cathedral in Reims on 14th May 1027, in the Capetian tradition, while his father still lived. He had little influence and power until he became sole ruler on his father's death.

The reign of Henry I, like those of his predecessors, was marked by territorial struggles. Initially, he joined his brother Robert, with the support of their mother, in a revolt against his father (1025). His mother, however, supported Robert as heir to the old king, on whose death Henry was left to deal with his rebel sibling. In 1032, he placated his brother by giving him the duchy of Burgundy which his father had given him in 1016.

In an early strategic move, Henry came to the rescue of his very young nephew-in-law, the newly appointed Duke William of Normandy (who would go on to become William the Conqueror), to suppress a revolt by William's vassals. In 1047, Henry secured the dukedom for William in their decisive victory over the vassals at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes near Caen.

A few years later, when William, who was cousin to King Edward the Confessor of England (1042–66), married Matilda, the daughter of the count of Flanders, Henry feared William's potential power. In 1054, and again in 1057, Henry went to war to try to conquer Normandy from William, but on both occasions he was defeated. Despite his efforts, Henry I's twenty-nine-year reign saw feudal power in France reach its pinnacle.

Henry had three meetings with Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor—all at Ivois. In early 1043, he met him to discuss the marriage of the emperor with Agnes of Poitou, the daughter of Henry's vassal. In October 1048, the two Henries met again, but the subject of this meeting eludes us. The final meeting took place in May 1056. It concerned disputes over Lorraine. The debate over the duchy became so heated that the king of France challenged his German counterpart to single combat. The emperor, however, was not so much a warrior and he fled in the night. But Henry did not get Lorraine.

King Henry I died on the 4th August 1060 in Vitry-en-Brie, France, and was interred in Saint Denis Basilica in Paris (now referred to as the King's Cemetery, it has 43 kings, 32 queens and 10 great servants of the kingdom of France). He was succeeded by his son, Philip I of France, who was 7 at the time of his death; for six years Henry I's Queen, Anne of Kiev, ruled as regent.

He was also Duke of Burgundy from 1016 to 1032, when he abdicated the duchy to his brother Robert Capet.

Anna YAROSLAVNA Anne of Kiev [scrapbook]-Y3301 # was born in From 1024 to 1032. She died in 1075. She was buried in Villiers Abbey, La-Ferte-Alais, Essonne, France. Anna married King Henry I de CAPET King of France-C3301 # on 19 May 1051 in Cathedral of Reims, France.

Anne of Kiev or Anna Yaroslavna (between 1024 and 1032 – 1075), daughter of Yaroslav I of Kiev and his wife Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden, was the queen consort of France as the wife of Henry I.

For six years after Henry's death in 1060, she served as regent for their son Philip, who was only seven at the time. She was the first queen of France to serve as regent. Her co-regent was Count Baldwin V of Flanders. Anne was a literate woman, rare for the time, but there was some opposition to her as regent on the grounds that her mastery of French was less than fluent.

A year after the king's death, Anne, acting as regent, took a passionate fancy for Count Ralph III of Valois, a man whose political ambition encouraged him to repudiate his wife to marry Anne in 1062. Accused of adultery, Ralph's wife appealed to Pope Alexander II, who excommunicated the couple. The young king Philip forgave his mother, which was just as well, since he was to find himself in a very similar predicament in the 1090s. Ralph died in September 1074, at which time Anne returned to the French court. She died in 1075, was buried at Villiers Abbey, La-Ferte-Alais, Essonne and her obits were celebrated on September 5th.

In 1717, Tsar Peter the Great stopped in the cathedral in Rheims where the French monarchs were crowned. He was shown the missal on which all French kings since the 11th century swore their coronation oaths. To everyone's surprise, he began reading from the missal which was written in Old Church Slavonic, the ancestor of literary Russian.

Anna had brought the missal with her from Kiev to the Church where she and Louis had taken their vows. All French monarchs, save the Bonapartes, were crowned after swearing their oaths on it.

Renaud de CLERMONT-C3204. Renaud married Adele de VERMANDOIS de Valois et de Crépy-V3201 # in 1103.

Son of Hugues de Clermont [en-Beauvaisis] dit de Mouchy and his wife Marguerite de Roucy [Montdidier] ( -before 1162).  He took the title Comte after his marriage.

Adele de VERMANDOIS de Valois et de Crépy [Parents]-V3201 # was born in 1065. She died on 28/28 Sep 1120/1124. Adele married Renaud de CLERMONT-C3204 in 1103.

Other marriages:

CAPET, Hugh I de Count of Vermandois

Adelais Countess de Vermandois, de Valois and de Crépy, daughter and heiress of HERIBERT IV Count de Vermandois and his wife Adelais de Valois (1065 - 28 Sep 1120/24).  The Genealogiæ  Scriptoris Fusniacensis names "Adelaide comitissa Veromandensium" as wife of "Hugonem Magnum"[1028].  Her husband left her as regent in Vermandois when he left on crusade.

Count Fulk V d' ANJOU King of Jerusalem [Parents] [scrapbook]-A3101 # was born in From 1089 to 1092. He died on 13 Nov 1143 in Acre, Western Galilee. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Count married Ermengarde de MAINE-M3101 # in 1110.

Other marriages:

JERUSALEM, Melisende de

Fulk (1089/1092 – 13th November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was Count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129, and King of Jerusalem from 1131 to his death.

Fulk was born between 1089 and 1092, the son of Count Fulk IV of Anjou and Bertrade de Montfort. In 1092, Bertrade deserted her husband and bigamously married King Philip I of France.

He became count of Anjou upon his father's death in 1109, at the age of approximately twenty. He was originally an opponent of King Henry I of England and a supporter of King Louis VI of France, but in 1127 he allied with Henry when Henry arranged for his daughter Matilda to marry Fulk's son Geoffrey of Anjou. Fulk went on crusade in 1120, and became a close friend of the Knights Templar. After his return he began to subsidize the Templars, and maintained two knights in the Holy Land for a year.

Crusader and King
The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other Crusader states (in shades of green) in 1135 CE, during the reign of Fulk.

By 1127 Fulk was preparing to return to Anjou when he received an embassy from King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. Baldwin II had no male heirs but had already designated his daughter Melisende to succeed him. Baldwin II wanted to safeguard his daughter's inheritance by marrying her to a powerful lord. Fulk was a wealthy crusader and experienced military commander, and a widower. His experience in the field would prove invaluable in a frontier state always in the grip of war.

However, Fulk held out for better terms than mere consort of the Queen; he wanted to be king alongside Melisende. Baldwin II, reflecting on Fulk's fortune and military exploits, acquiesced. Fulk abdicated his county seat of Anjou to his son Geoffery and left for Jerusalem, where he married Melisende on June 2, 1129. Later Baldwin II bolstered Melisende's position in the kingdom by making her sole guardian of her son by Fulk, Baldwin III, born in 1130.

Fulk and Melisende became joint rulers of Jerusalem in 1131 with Baldwin II's death. From the start Fulk assumed sole control of the government, excluding Melisende altogether. He favored fellow countrymen from Anjou to the native nobility. The other crusader states to the north feared that Fulk would attempt to impose the suzerainty of Jerusalem over them, as Baldwin II had done; but as Fulk was far less powerful than his deceased father-in-law, the northern states rejected his authority. Melisende's sister Alice of Antioch, exiled from the Principality by Baldwin II, took control of Antioch once more after the death of her father. She allied with Pons of Tripoli and Joscelin II of Edessa to prevent Fulk from marching north in 1132; Fulk and Pons fought a brief battle before peace was made and Alice was exiled again.

In Jerusalem as well, Fulk was resented by the second generation of Jerusalem Christians who had grown up there since the First Crusade. These "natives" focused on Melisende's cousin, the popular Hugh II of Le Puiset, count of Jaffa, who was devotedly loyal to the Queen. Fulk saw Hugh as a rival, and it did not help matters when Hugh's own stepson accused him of disloyalty. In 1134, in order to expose Hugh, Fulk accused him of infidelity with Melisende. Hugh rebelled in protest. Hugh secured himself to Jaffa, and allied himself with the Muslims of Ascalon. He was able to defeat the army set against him by Fulk, but this situation could not hold. The Patriarch interceded in the conflict, perhaps at the behest of Melisende. Fulk agreed to peace and Hugh was exiled from the kingdom for three years, a lenient sentence.

However, an assassination attempt was made against Hugh. Fulk, or his supporters, were commonly believed responsible, though direct proof never surfaced. The scandal was all that was needed for the queen's party to take over the government in what amounted to a palace coup. Author and historian Bernard Hamilton wrote that the Fulk's supporters "went in terror of their lives" in the palace. Contemporary author and historian William of Tyre wrote of Fulk "he never attempted to take the initiative, even in trivial matters, without (Melisende's) consent". The result was that Melisende held direct and unquestioned control over the government from 1136 onwards. Sometime before 1136 Fulk reconciled with his wife, and a second son, Amalric was born.

Securing the borders
Jerusalem's northern border was of great concern. Fulk had been appointed regent of the Principality of Antioch by Baldwin II. As regent he had Raymund of Poitou marry the infant Constance of Antioch, daughter of Bohemund II and Alice of Antioch, and niece to Melisende. However, the greatest concern during Fulk's reign was the rise of Atabeg Zengi of Mosul.

In 1137 Fulk was defeated in battle near Barin but allied with Mu'in ad-Din Unur, the vizier of Damascus. Damascus was also threatened by Zengi. Fulk captured the fort of Banias, to the north of Lake Tiberias and thus secured the northern frontier.

Fulk also strengthened the kingdom's southern border. His butler Paganus built the fortress of Kerak to the south of the Dead Sea, and to help give the kingdom access to the Red Sea, Fulk had Blanche Garde, Ibelin, and other forts built in the south-west to overpower the Egyptian fortress at Ascalon. This city was a base from which the Egyptian Fatimids launched frequent raids on the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Fulk sought to neutralise this threat.

In 1137 and 1142, Byzantine emperor John II Comnenus arrived in Syria attempting to impose Byzantine control over the crusader states. John's arrival was ignored by Fulk, who declined an invitation to meet the emperor in Jerusalem.
The death of Fulk, as depicted in MS of William of Tyre's Historia and Old French Continuation, painted in Acre, 13C. Bib. Nat. Française.)

Death
In 1143, while the king and queen were on holiday in Acre, Fulk was killed in a hunting accident. His horse stumbled, fell, and Fulk's skull was crushed by the saddle, "and his brains gushed forth from both ears and nostrils", as William of Tyre describes. He was carried back to Acre, where he lay unconscious for three days before he died. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Though their marriage started in conflict, Melisende mourned for him privately as well as publicly. Fulk was survived by his son Geoffrey of Anjou by his first wife, and Baldwin III and Amalric I by Melisende.

According to William, Fulk was "a ruddy man, like David... faithful and gentle, affable and kind... an experienced warrior full of patience and wisdom in military affairs." His chief fault was an inability to remember names and faces.

William of Tyre described Fulk as a capable soldier and able politician, but observed that Fulk did not adequately attend to the defense of the crusader states to the north. Ibn al-Qalanisi (who calls him al-Kund Anjur, an Arabic rendering of "Count of Anjou") says that "he was not sound in his judgment nor was he successful in his administration." The Zengids continued their march on the crusader states, culminating in the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144, which led to the Second Crusade..

Ermengarde de MAINE [Parents]-M3101 # died in 1126. Ermengarde married Count Fulk V d' ANJOU King of Jerusalem-A3101 # in 1110.

Count Fulk IV d' ANJOU ¹-A3201 # was born in 1043. He died in 1109. Count married Bertrade de MONTFORT-M3202 # in From 1089 to 1092.

Fulk IV (1043–1109), called le Réchin, was the Count of Anjou from 1068 until his death. The nickname by which he is usually referred has no certain translation. Philologists have made numerous and very different suggestions, including "quarreler", "sullen", and "heroic".

He was the younger son of Geoffrey, Count of Gâtinais (sometimes known as Aubri), and Ermengarde of Anjou, a daughter of Fulk the Black, Count of Anjou, and sister of Geoffrey Martel, also Count of Anjou.

When Geoffrey Martel died without direct heirs he left Anjou to his nephew Geoffrey III of Anjou, Fulk le Réchin's older brother.

Fulk fought with his brother, whose rule was deemed incompetent, and captured him in 1067. Under pressure from the Church he released Geoffrey. The two brothers soon fell to fighting again and the next year Geoffrey was once more imprisoned by Fulk, this time for good.

Substantial territory was lost to Angevin control due to the difficulties resulting from Geoffrey's poor rule and the subsequent civil war. Saintonge was lost, and Fulk had to give the Gâtinais to Philip I of France to placate the king.

Much of Fulk's rule was devoted to regaining control over the Angevin baronage, and to a complex struggle with Normandy for influence in Maine and Brittany.

In 1096 Fulk wrote an incomplete history of Anjou and its rulers, though the authorship and authenticity of this work is disputed. If he did write it, it is one of the first medieval works of history written by a layman.

Fulk may have married as many as five times; there is some doubt regarding two of the marriages.

His first wife was Hildegarde of Baugency. After her death, before 1070, he married Ermengarde de Borbon, and then possibly Orengarde de Châtellailon. Both these were repudiated (Ermengarde de Borbon in 1075 and Orengarde de Chatellailon in 1080), possibly on grounds of consanguinity.

By 1080 he may have married Mantie, daughter of Walter I of Brienne. This marriage also ended in divorce, in 1087. Finally, he married Bertrade de Montfort, who was apparently "abducted" by King Philip I of France in 1092.

He had two sons. The eldest (a son of Ermengarde de Borbon), Geoffrey IV Martel, ruled jointly with him for some time, but died in 1106. The younger (a son of Bertrade de Montfort) succeeded him as Fulk V.

He also had a daughter by Hildegarde of Baugency, Ermengarde, who married firstly with William IX, count of Poitou and duke of Aquitaine and secondly with Alan IV, Duke of Brittany.

Bertrade de MONTFORT-M3202 # was born about 1070. She died on 14 Feb 1117. Bertrade married Count Fulk IV d' ANJOU-A3201 # in From 1089 to 1092.

Bertrade de Montfort (c.1070 - 14th February 1117) was the daughter of Simon I de Montfort and Agnes, Countess of Evreux. Her brother was Amauri de Montfort.

The oft-married Count Fulk IV of Anjou was married to the mother of his son in 1089, when the lovely Bertrade caught his eye. According to the chronicler John of Marmoutier:

   The lecherous Fulk then fell passionately in love with the sister of Amaury of Montfort, whom no good man ever praised save for her beauty. For her sake, he divorced the mother of Geoffrey II Martel…

Bertrade and Fulk were married, and they became the parents of a son, Fulk, but in 1092 Bertrade left her husband and took up with King Philip I of France. Philip married her on 15th May 1092, despite the fact that they both had spouses living. He was so enamoured of Bertrade that he refused to leave her even when threatened with excommunication. Pope Urban II did excommunicate him in 1095, and Philip was prevented from taking part in the First Crusade. Astonishingly, Bertrade persuaded Philip and Fulk to be friends.

Bertrade and Philipe had three children together:

  1. Philippe de France, Count of Mantes (living in 1123)
  2. Fleury de France, seigneur of Nangis (living in 1118)
  3. Cecile of France (died 1145), married (1) Tancred, Prince of Galilee; married (2) Pons of Tripoli

According to Orderic Vitalis, Bertrade was anxious that one of her sons succeed Philip, and sent a letter to King Henry I of England asking him to arrest her stepson Louis. Orderic also claims she sought to kill Louis first through the arts of sorcery, and then through poison. Whatever the truth of these allegations, Louis succeeded Philippe in 1108. Bertrade lived on until 1117; William of Malmesbury says: "Bertrade, still young and beautiful, took the veil at Fontevraud Abbey, always charming to men, pleasing to God, and like an angel." Her son from her first marriage was Fulk V of Anjou who later became King of Jerusalem. The dynasties founded by Fulk's sons ruled for centuries, one of them in England (Plantagenet), the other in Jerusalem.

Elias I de MAINE-M3203 #.

Count Fulk V d' ANJOU King of Jerusalem [Parents] [scrapbook]-A3101 # was born in From 1089 to 1092. He died on 13 Nov 1143 in Acre, Western Galilee. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Count married Melisende de JERUSALEM-J3101 on 02 Jun 1129 in Jerusalam.

Other marriages:

MAINE, Ermengarde de

Fulk (1089/1092 – 13th November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was Count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129, and King of Jerusalem from 1131 to his death.

Fulk was born between 1089 and 1092, the son of Count Fulk IV of Anjou and Bertrade de Montfort. In 1092, Bertrade deserted her husband and bigamously married King Philip I of France.

He became count of Anjou upon his father's death in 1109, at the age of approximately twenty. He was originally an opponent of King Henry I of England and a supporter of King Louis VI of France, but in 1127 he allied with Henry when Henry arranged for his daughter Matilda to marry Fulk's son Geoffrey of Anjou. Fulk went on crusade in 1120, and became a close friend of the Knights Templar. After his return he began to subsidize the Templars, and maintained two knights in the Holy Land for a year.

Crusader and King
The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other Crusader states (in shades of green) in 1135 CE, during the reign of Fulk.

By 1127 Fulk was preparing to return to Anjou when he received an embassy from King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. Baldwin II had no male heirs but had already designated his daughter Melisende to succeed him. Baldwin II wanted to safeguard his daughter's inheritance by marrying her to a powerful lord. Fulk was a wealthy crusader and experienced military commander, and a widower. His experience in the field would prove invaluable in a frontier state always in the grip of war.

However, Fulk held out for better terms than mere consort of the Queen; he wanted to be king alongside Melisende. Baldwin II, reflecting on Fulk's fortune and military exploits, acquiesced. Fulk abdicated his county seat of Anjou to his son Geoffery and left for Jerusalem, where he married Melisende on June 2, 1129. Later Baldwin II bolstered Melisende's position in the kingdom by making her sole guardian of her son by Fulk, Baldwin III, born in 1130.

Fulk and Melisende became joint rulers of Jerusalem in 1131 with Baldwin II's death. From the start Fulk assumed sole control of the government, excluding Melisende altogether. He favored fellow countrymen from Anjou to the native nobility. The other crusader states to the north feared that Fulk would attempt to impose the suzerainty of Jerusalem over them, as Baldwin II had done; but as Fulk was far less powerful than his deceased father-in-law, the northern states rejected his authority. Melisende's sister Alice of Antioch, exiled from the Principality by Baldwin II, took control of Antioch once more after the death of her father. She allied with Pons of Tripoli and Joscelin II of Edessa to prevent Fulk from marching north in 1132; Fulk and Pons fought a brief battle before peace was made and Alice was exiled again.

In Jerusalem as well, Fulk was resented by the second generation of Jerusalem Christians who had grown up there since the First Crusade. These "natives" focused on Melisende's cousin, the popular Hugh II of Le Puiset, count of Jaffa, who was devotedly loyal to the Queen. Fulk saw Hugh as a rival, and it did not help matters when Hugh's own stepson accused him of disloyalty. In 1134, in order to expose Hugh, Fulk accused him of infidelity with Melisende. Hugh rebelled in protest. Hugh secured himself to Jaffa, and allied himself with the Muslims of Ascalon. He was able to defeat the army set against him by Fulk, but this situation could not hold. The Patriarch interceded in the conflict, perhaps at the behest of Melisende. Fulk agreed to peace and Hugh was exiled from the kingdom for three years, a lenient sentence.

However, an assassination attempt was made against Hugh. Fulk, or his supporters, were commonly believed responsible, though direct proof never surfaced. The scandal was all that was needed for the queen's party to take over the government in what amounted to a palace coup. Author and historian Bernard Hamilton wrote that the Fulk's supporters "went in terror of their lives" in the palace. Contemporary author and historian William of Tyre wrote of Fulk "he never attempted to take the initiative, even in trivial matters, without (Melisende's) consent". The result was that Melisende held direct and unquestioned control over the government from 1136 onwards. Sometime before 1136 Fulk reconciled with his wife, and a second son, Amalric was born.

Securing the borders
Jerusalem's northern border was of great concern. Fulk had been appointed regent of the Principality of Antioch by Baldwin II. As regent he had Raymund of Poitou marry the infant Constance of Antioch, daughter of Bohemund II and Alice of Antioch, and niece to Melisende. However, the greatest concern during Fulk's reign was the rise of Atabeg Zengi of Mosul.

In 1137 Fulk was defeated in battle near Barin but allied with Mu'in ad-Din Unur, the vizier of Damascus. Damascus was also threatened by Zengi. Fulk captured the fort of Banias, to the north of Lake Tiberias and thus secured the northern frontier.

Fulk also strengthened the kingdom's southern border. His butler Paganus built the fortress of Kerak to the south of the Dead Sea, and to help give the kingdom access to the Red Sea, Fulk had Blanche Garde, Ibelin, and other forts built in the south-west to overpower the Egyptian fortress at Ascalon. This city was a base from which the Egyptian Fatimids launched frequent raids on the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Fulk sought to neutralise this threat.

In 1137 and 1142, Byzantine emperor John II Comnenus arrived in Syria attempting to impose Byzantine control over the crusader states. John's arrival was ignored by Fulk, who declined an invitation to meet the emperor in Jerusalem.
The death of Fulk, as depicted in MS of William of Tyre's Historia and Old French Continuation, painted in Acre, 13C. Bib. Nat. Française.)

Death
In 1143, while the king and queen were on holiday in Acre, Fulk was killed in a hunting accident. His horse stumbled, fell, and Fulk's skull was crushed by the saddle, "and his brains gushed forth from both ears and nostrils", as William of Tyre describes. He was carried back to Acre, where he lay unconscious for three days before he died. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Though their marriage started in conflict, Melisende mourned for him privately as well as publicly. Fulk was survived by his son Geoffrey of Anjou by his first wife, and Baldwin III and Amalric I by Melisende.

According to William, Fulk was "a ruddy man, like David... faithful and gentle, affable and kind... an experienced warrior full of patience and wisdom in military affairs." His chief fault was an inability to remember names and faces.

William of Tyre described Fulk as a capable soldier and able politician, but observed that Fulk did not adequately attend to the defense of the crusader states to the north. Ibn al-Qalanisi (who calls him al-Kund Anjur, an Arabic rendering of "Count of Anjou") says that "he was not sound in his judgment nor was he successful in his administration." The Zengids continued their march on the crusader states, culminating in the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144, which led to the Second Crusade..

Melisende de JERUSALEM-J3101 was born in 1105 in Jerusalem. She died on 11 Sep 1161 in Jerusalem. Melisende married Count Fulk V d' ANJOU King of Jerusalem-A3101 # on 02 Jun 1129 in Jerusalam.

Melisende of Jerusalem (1105 – 11th September 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1152, and regent for her son between 1153-1161 while he was on campaign. She was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and the Armenian princess Morphia of Melitene. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Melisende of Montlhery, wife of Hugh I, Count of Rethel. She had three younger sisters: Alice, princess of Antioch; Hodierna, countess of Tripoli; and Ioveta, abbess of St. Lazarus in Bethany. Hodierna's daughter, Melisende of Tripoli, was named in honor of the queen.

Inheritance
Jerusalem had recently been conquered by Christian Franks in 1099 during the First Crusade, and was ruled by a dynasty originally from the County of Rethel in France. Melisende was the heir of this dynasty, and was designated her father's successor before 1129. Women who inherited territory usually did so because war and violence brought many men to premature death, and women who were recognized as queen regnant rarely exercised their authority. Contemporaries of Melisende who did rule, however, included Urraca of Castile (1080 – 1129), Empress Matilda (1102 – 1169), and Eleanor of Aquitaine (1121 – 1204).

During her father's reign Melisende was styled filia regis et regni Jerosolimitani haeres ("daughter of the king and heir of the kingdom of Jerusalem") and took precedence above other nobles and Christian clergy in ceremonial occasions. Increasingly she was associated with her father on official documents, including in the minting of money, granting of fiefdoms and other forms of patronage, and in diplomatic correspondence. Baldwin raised his daughter as a capable successor to himself and Melisende enjoyed the support of the Haute Cour, a kind of royal council comprising the nobility and clergy of the realm.

However, Baldwin also thought that he would have to marry Melisende to a powerful ally, one who would protect and safeguard Melisende's inheritance as Queen and her future heirs. His intention was for a consort for his daughter, not a de jure uxoris king. Baldwin chose Fulk V, Count of Anjou, a renowned crusader and military commander, and in the future the paternal grandfather of Henry Plantagenet (Fulk's son of previous marriage, Geoffrey was in these same years married to Empress Matilda, Henry I of England's designated heir as England's next Queen regnant). Throughout the negotiations Fulk insisted on being joint ruler with Melisende. Baldwin acquiesced to these demands as Fulk was relatively rich (even for a crusader) and would bring troops and much military experience with him in defense of Jerusalem. Melisende bore a son and heir in 1130, the future Baldwin III. As an indication of Baldwin II's intentions to make Melisende sole queen and to strengthen her position, he designated Melisende as guardian for the young Baldwin, excluding Fulk altogether.

When Melisende became queen, her authority was based on hereditary and civil law, as William of Tyre wrote reseditque reginam regni potestas penes dominam Melisendem, Deo amabilem reginam, cui jure hereditario competebat ("the rule of the kingdom remained in the power of the lady queen Melisende, a queen beloved by God, to whom it passed by hereditary right").

After Baldwin II's death in 1131, Melisende and Fulk ascended to the throne as joint rulers. However, with the aid of his crusader knights Fulk excluded Melisende from granting titles and other forms of patronage, and publicly dismissed her authority. This treatment of their Queen irritated the members of the Haute Cour, whose own positions would be eroded if Fulk continued to dominate the realm.

Palace intrigue
The estrangement between husband and wife was a convenient political tool that Fulk used in 1134 when he accused Hugh II of Le Puiset, Count of Jaffa, of having an affair with Melisende. Hugh was the most powerful baron in the kingdom, and devotedly loyal to the memory of Baldwin II. This loyalty now extended to Melisende, though Hugh, by strict male succession, held a better claim to the throne. Hugh was a cousin of Melisende, and also a member of the royal family. Contemporary sources, such as William of Tyre, discount the 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 later rallied to her cause.

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 negotiated lenient terms for peace, and Hugh was exiled for three years. Soon thereafter an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Hugh was attributed to Fulk or his supporters. This was reason enough for the queen's party to openly challenge Fulk, as Fulk's unfounded assertions of infidelity was a public affront that would damage Melisende's position entirely.

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 a second son, Amalric, was born. 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. Of Melisende, William of Tyre wrote "reseditque reginam regni potestas penes dominam Melisendem, Deo amabilem reginam, cui jure hereditario competebat." 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 would come of age. In 1138 she founded the large convent of St. 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. Additionally, the queen supplied rich furnishings and liturgical vessels, so that it would not be in any way inferior to religious houses for men. According to author and historian Bernard Hamilton, Melisende also gave

   "large endowments to the Holy Sepulchre, our Lady of Josaphat, the Templum Domini, the order of the Hospital, the leper hospital of Saint Lazarus, and the Praemonstratensians of Saint Samuel's."

Sometime between 1131 and 1143, the queen received the Melisende Psalter. It has been argued that the Psalter was given as a gift from Fulk after their dispute and alleged infidelity surrounding Hugh. The reason for this is the Falcon that is engraved into the ivory back cover, which is a word-play on the word Fulk. Though influenced by Byzantine and Italian traditions in the illuminations, the artists who contributed to it 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".

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 King Louis and the German Emperor Conrad III. Accompanying Louis was his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, with her own vassal lords in tow. Eleanor had herself 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 16-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 24 however, 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. The crisis reached a boiling point early 1152 when Baldwin demanded the patriarch Fulcher to 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 would prevent a civil war but also divide 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. But 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 with 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 son and mother had been 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 she 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 half-sister Sibylla of Flanders, and Ioveta the Abbess of Bethany, 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
In 1161 Melisende had what appears to be a stroke. Her memory was severely impaired and she could no longer take part in state affairs. Her sisters, the countess of Tripoli and abbess of Bethany, came to nurse her before she died on September 11, 1161. Melisende was buried next to her mother Morphia in the shrine of Our Lady of Josaphat. Melisende, like her mother, bequeathed property to the Orthodox monastery of Saint S'eba.

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 she could take charge of important affairs...", and "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." William of Tyre's comments may seem rather patronizing to a modern audience, wrote professor Bernard Hamilton of the University of Nottingham; however, this was a great show of respect from a society and culture in which women were regarded as having less rights and authority than their brothers, fathers, and even sons.