Political Marriages
Attempts were made to find a new husband for Sibylla. At Easter 1180, Raymond III of Tripoli and Bohemund III of Antioch entered the kingdom to exert pressure on what they perceived to be a weakened monarchy. One of their goals was to have the princess Sibylla, the heir apparent, wedded to someone of their choosing - probably Baldwin of Ibelin, a widower over twice her age. Since negotiations with Hugh III of Burgundy had reached an impasse, Baldwin IV hastily arranged Sibylla's marriage to Guy of Lusignan, younger brother of the Constable, Amalric, to block Raymond and Bohemund's plans. The Lusignans were unruly vassals of his cousin Henry II of England. It was in Henry's interests to keep them out of Poitou, while at the same time he might be expected to send military support to maintain Guy in the kingdom, as he owed the Pope a penitential pilgrimage for the Thomas Becket affair.
The 13th century, pro-Ibelin Old French Continuation of William of Tyre tries to put a romantic gloss on this, again blaming Agnes. It claims that Sibylla and Baldwin of Ibelin were in love, and when Baldwin was captured by Saladin after the Battle of Jacob's Ford in 1179, they exchanged letters during his imprisonment; that Sibylla herself proposed to Baldwin in a letter, with the wedding set to occur after his release. Saladin had raised Baldwin's ransom to a great sum, but surprisingly released him with the promise to pay later. Honour-bound to pay the debt, Baldwin left for Constantinople where he received a grant from the Emperor Manuel (whose great-niece Maria had by now re-married, to Baldwin's brother Balian), but in his absence, Agnes persuaded Sibylla, whom this text depicts as fickle, to marry Guy of Lusignan. However, Baldwin of Ibelin was, in fact, in Jerusalem at the time of Sibylla's marriage, and this account shows a heavy debt to literary romance, as well as strong political biases.
In 1182, Baldwin IV, now blind and bed-ridden, appointed Guy of Lusignan as his regent. Guy abused his authority and ignored Raynald of Châtillon's harassment of Muslim trade caravans, causing a diplomatic crisis between Jerusalem and Egypt-Syria. Guy's apparent excess caution at Kerak caused King Baldwin to depose Guy as regent and lift Saladin's siege there, during the wedding of young princess Isabella and Humphrey IV of Toron.
Read more about this topic: Agnes Of Courtenay
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or marriages:
“Every new baby is a blind desperate vote for survival: people who find themselves unable to register an effective political protest against extermination do so by a biological act.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“The happiest two-job marriages I saw during my research were ones in which men and women shared the housework and parenting. What couples called good communication often meant that they were good at saying thanks to one another for small aspects of taking care of the family. Making it to the school play, helping a child read, cooking dinner in good spirit, remembering the grocery list,... these were silver and gold of the marital exchange.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)