Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem
Melisende (c. 1110 – 11 September 1161) was the queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1152.[1] She was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the first woman to hold a public office in the crusader kingdom.[2]
| Melisende | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Queen of Jerusalem | |
| 1131–1152 | |
| 14 September 1131 | |
| Predecessor | Baldwin II |
| Successor | Baldwin III |
| Co-rulers |
|
| Born | c. 1110 |
| Died | 11 September 1161 (aged 51–52) |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Fulk V of Anjou |
| Issue | |
| House | House of Rethel |
| Father | Baldwin II of Jerusalem |
| Mother | Morphia of Melitene |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Melisende, Queen Of Jerusalem Media
Melisende's father spent 18 months in captivity, but neither Melisende nor her mother governed in his stead.
Fulk, depicted here on his seal as count of Anjou, was already an experienced ruler when he was selected to marry Melisende.
The coronation of Fulk and Melisende was the first to be held at the Holy Sepulchre.
A knight stabs Count Hugh, who is playing dice in the street. Royal involvement was widely suspected.
The Melisende Psalter is seen as an attempt by the king to win back his wife.
Melisende favored the Jehosaphat church. She and her mother were buried in the niches on the left and the right, respectively.
The Holy Sepulchre (12th-century bell tower pictured) saw a reconstruction under Melisende.
Three kings met at Acre (pictured above) to plan the siege of Damascus (pictured below).
After being denied sole coronation, Melisende's son turned to armed conflict to challenge her.
Melisende's 1159 seal identifies her as "by the grace of God queen of Jerusalem" and depicts Jerusalem.
References
- ↑ Barber, Malcolm. The Crusader States (2012)Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300189315.
- ↑ Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100–1187 2 (1952)Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0241298768.
Other websites
Media related to Melisende of Jerusalem at Wikimedia Commons