Alice of Champagne
Encyclopedia
Alice of Champagne was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem and her third husband Henry II, Count of Champagne. Alice and her sister Philippa
spent part of their life fighting for their father's homeland of Champagne
, over another branch of their family. Alice was also Queen consort of Cyprus
by her marriage to Hugh I of Cyprus
.
In 1197, her father was killed after falling from a first floor window in Acre
. The county of Champagne passed to his brother Theobald III. Following his death, Isabella married her fourth husband, King Amalric II of Jerusalem
. The marriage produced three half-siblings for Alice, Maria, Marie and Philippa: Sybilla
, Melisende
, and Almaric. In 1205, her mother, stepfather, and infant half-brother all died, leaving Alice an orphan at the age of nine. Her eldest half-sister, Maria of Montferrat succeeded as Queen of Jerusalem
.
. The plan was to marry his three daughters: Marie, Alice and Philippa to Amalric of Cyprus
's sons: Guy, John and Hugh
With the death of Alice's father, the approximation provided between the two realms lead to a union between Amalric, who was elected king of Jerusalem and Alice's mother Isabella. The proposed engagements were subsequently forgotten, besides Alice's sister Marie, Alice's proposed husband John and his brother Guy all died. This left Alice, Philippa and Hugh.
After the death of Amalric II and Isabella I, the two kingdoms were again separated and regents were elected because the heirs were still minors. Jean d'Ibelin took the regency of Jerusalem in the name of Alice's half-sister Maria de Montferrat. Gautier de Montbéliard took regency over Cyprus on behalf of Hugh. The two regents took up the proposed combination of the kingdoms and negotiated the marriage of Alice and Hugh. Alice's maternal grandmother Maria Komnene conducted the marriage negotiations with Cyprus in 1208. The marriage was celebrated in September 1210.
, who was only a few months old. Alice became regent of Cyprus on behalf of her son.
Alice's uncle Philip of Ibelin wished to become regent instead of Alice. He did so in September 1218
In 1225, a dispute between Philip and Alice broke out. Pope Honorius III
rejected Alice as regent in favour of Philip. Apparently Alice tried to remove Philip as regent and replace him with her new husband Bohemond V of Antioch, who she had married in July 1225.
She retired to Syria
and separated from her second husband in 1227 on the grounds of consanguinity. On the death of Philip of Ibelin, the regency was taken over his brother, Jean d'Ibelin, Lord of Beirut. Opponents of the latter supported Alice, this led to the involvement of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
who had married Alice's half-niece Isabella II of Jerusalem on the death of her mother Maria. They tried to end the regency of Ibelin. Frederick was in the Sixth Crusade
at the time. Jean d'Ibelin resigned from office, the five barons Cypriot
became the regents of Cyprus.
, she was not yet married and had stated in his will that the County of Champagne be left to his brother Theobald III, Count of Champagne unless he returned to the East. Theobald died in 1201 leaving a minor son and his wife Blanche of Navarre; however, the daughters of Henry II felt that their father could not disinherit them and would give them Champagne if he knew the sisters had children. Alice and Philippa claimed the county of Champagne. First Philippa and her husband Erard of Brienne
triggered the War of Succession of Champagne
, then gave up the county in 1221 but Alice did not give up. She was supported by a large number of French barons who had also drawn more or less in rebellion against Blanche of Castile
for supporting Blanche of Navarre as regent. Alice was not dispatched and arrived in France at the beginning of 1233, which seriously harmed the project, since the chief baron made their submission to Louis IX of France
. In September 1234, Alice was offered the sum of forty thousand crowns and an area of two thousand livres income if she gave up her claim, which she did.
Alice returned to Syria
. In 1236 she tried to move to Cyprus
, but her son made it clear she was not welcome. In 1241 she married Raoul de Soissons, Lord of Couevre. Two years before, in 1239 fighting had broken out in the Holy Land involving Theobald I of Navarre
, who was Theobald III and Blanche of Navarre's son.
. Frederick wanted to become regent of Jerusalem but the barons were against this idea. The barons legitimize their position by appointing Alice and her husband Raoul de Soissons as regent, to secure a legitimate political position against Roger Filangeri, who was representing the emperor. Raoul then asked to receive the city of Tyr, on behalf of her regency, but Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
preferred to keep it to increase his stronghold of Toron
, and supported by other barons, made it clear to Raoul that the title of regent is only symbolic. In the end Raoul left the Holy Land and his wife and went to the West early in 1244.
Alice of Jerusalem and Champagne remained at Saint-Jean d'Acre and assumed the title of (symbolic) regent of the kingdom of Jerusalem and died in 1247. Her son took over as regent for Conrad.
Philippa of Champagne
Philippa of Champagne, Lady of Ramerupt and of Venizy was the third daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem and Henry II, Count of Champagne. She was the wife of Erard de Brienne-Ramerupt who encouraged her in 1216 to claim the county of Champagne which belonged to her cousin Theobald IV, who...
spent part of their life fighting for their father's homeland of Champagne
Champagne, France
Champagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, now best known for the sparkling white wine that bears its name.Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 100 miles east of Paris. The cities of Troyes, Reims, and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area...
, over another branch of their family. Alice was also Queen consort of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
by her marriage to Hugh I of Cyprus
Hugh I of Cyprus
Hugh I of Cyprus succeeded to the throne of Cyprus on April 1, 1205 underage upon the death of his elderly father Amalric of Lusignan, King of Cyprus and Jerusalem...
.
Family
Alice was the second daughter of Henry II, Count of Champagne and Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem.In 1197, her father was killed after falling from a first floor window in Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
. The county of Champagne passed to his brother Theobald III. Following his death, Isabella married her fourth husband, King Amalric II of Jerusalem
Amalric II of Jerusalem
Amalric II of Jerusalem or Amalric I of Cyprus, born Amalric of Lusignan , King of Jerusalem 1197–1205, was an older brother of Guy of Lusignan....
. The marriage produced three half-siblings for Alice, Maria, Marie and Philippa: Sybilla
Sybilla of Lusignan
Sibylla of Lusignan was the daughter of Amalric II of Jerusalem and Isabella of Jerusalem. She was a member of the House of Lusignan....
, Melisende
Melisende of Lusignan
Melisende de Lusignan, Princess of Antioch , was the youngest daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem by her fourth and last marriage to King Amalric II of Jerusalem. She had a sister Sibylla of Lusignan, a younger brother, Amalric who died as a young child...
, and Almaric. In 1205, her mother, stepfather, and infant half-brother all died, leaving Alice an orphan at the age of nine. Her eldest half-sister, Maria of Montferrat succeeded as Queen of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
.
Engagement and marriage
Shortly after Alice's birth, her father negotiated a treaty of reconciliation between the kingdoms of Jerusalem and CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The plan was to marry his three daughters: Marie, Alice and Philippa to Amalric of Cyprus
Amalric II of Jerusalem
Amalric II of Jerusalem or Amalric I of Cyprus, born Amalric of Lusignan , King of Jerusalem 1197–1205, was an older brother of Guy of Lusignan....
's sons: Guy, John and Hugh
With the death of Alice's father, the approximation provided between the two realms lead to a union between Amalric, who was elected king of Jerusalem and Alice's mother Isabella. The proposed engagements were subsequently forgotten, besides Alice's sister Marie, Alice's proposed husband John and his brother Guy all died. This left Alice, Philippa and Hugh.
After the death of Amalric II and Isabella I, the two kingdoms were again separated and regents were elected because the heirs were still minors. Jean d'Ibelin took the regency of Jerusalem in the name of Alice's half-sister Maria de Montferrat. Gautier de Montbéliard took regency over Cyprus on behalf of Hugh. The two regents took up the proposed combination of the kingdoms and negotiated the marriage of Alice and Hugh. Alice's maternal grandmother Maria Komnene conducted the marriage negotiations with Cyprus in 1208. The marriage was celebrated in September 1210.
Regency of Cyprus
Hugh died eight years later on January 10, 1218, leaving two daughters and a son Henry I of CyprusHenry I of Cyprus
Henry I of Cyprus, nicknamed the Fat, aka Henry of Lusignan or Henri I le Gros de Lusignan was King of Cyprus from 1218 to 1253. He was the son of Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Champagne of Jerusalem. When his father Hugh I died on January 10, 1218, the 8-month-old Henry became king...
, who was only a few months old. Alice became regent of Cyprus on behalf of her son.
Alice's uncle Philip of Ibelin wished to become regent instead of Alice. He did so in September 1218
In 1225, a dispute between Philip and Alice broke out. Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
rejected Alice as regent in favour of Philip. Apparently Alice tried to remove Philip as regent and replace him with her new husband Bohemond V of Antioch, who she had married in July 1225.
She retired to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and separated from her second husband in 1227 on the grounds of consanguinity. On the death of Philip of Ibelin, the regency was taken over his brother, Jean d'Ibelin, Lord of Beirut. Opponents of the latter supported Alice, this led to the involvement of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
who had married Alice's half-niece Isabella II of Jerusalem on the death of her mother Maria. They tried to end the regency of Ibelin. Frederick was in the Sixth Crusade
Sixth Crusade
The Sixth Crusade started in 1228 as an attempt to regain Jerusalem. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade. It involved very little actual fighting...
at the time. Jean d'Ibelin resigned from office, the five barons Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
became the regents of Cyprus.
Champagne
When her father Henry II had enlisted in the Third CrusadeThird Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
, she was not yet married and had stated in his will that the County of Champagne be left to his brother Theobald III, Count of Champagne unless he returned to the East. Theobald died in 1201 leaving a minor son and his wife Blanche of Navarre; however, the daughters of Henry II felt that their father could not disinherit them and would give them Champagne if he knew the sisters had children. Alice and Philippa claimed the county of Champagne. First Philippa and her husband Erard of Brienne
Erard of Brienne-Ramerupt
Érard de Brienne was a French nobleman. He was lord of Ramerupt and of Venizy, and also a pretender to the county of Champagne as an instigator of the Champagne War of Succession...
triggered the War of Succession of Champagne
War of Succession of Champagne
The War of Succession of Champagne was a war from 1216 to 1222 between the nobles of the Champagne region of France, occurring within that region and also spilling over into neighboring duchies...
, then gave up the county in 1221 but Alice did not give up. She was supported by a large number of French barons who had also drawn more or less in rebellion against Blanche of Castile
Blanche of Castile
Blanche of Castile , was a Queen consort of France as the wife of Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX....
for supporting Blanche of Navarre as regent. Alice was not dispatched and arrived in France at the beginning of 1233, which seriously harmed the project, since the chief baron made their submission to Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
. In September 1234, Alice was offered the sum of forty thousand crowns and an area of two thousand livres income if she gave up her claim, which she did.
Alice returned to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. In 1236 she tried to move to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, but her son made it clear she was not welcome. In 1241 she married Raoul de Soissons, Lord of Couevre. Two years before, in 1239 fighting had broken out in the Holy Land involving Theobald I of Navarre
Theobald I of Navarre
Theobald I , called the Troubadour, the Chansonnier, and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234...
, who was Theobald III and Blanche of Navarre's son.
Jerusalem and Later life
During her absence, the civil war had raged between the Levantine barons and supporters of the emperor. The emperor had lost his wife, Alice's niece Isabella II of Jerusalem. Isabella left a son, ConradConrad IV of Germany
Conrad IV was king of Jerusalem , of Germany , and of Sicily .-Biography:...
. Frederick wanted to become regent of Jerusalem but the barons were against this idea. The barons legitimize their position by appointing Alice and her husband Raoul de Soissons as regent, to secure a legitimate political position against Roger Filangeri, who was representing the emperor. Raoul then asked to receive the city of Tyr, on behalf of her regency, but Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
Philip of Montfort, was Lord of La Ferté-Alais and Castres-en-Albigeois 1228–1270, Lord of Tyre 1246–1270, and Lord of Toron aft. 1240–1270...
preferred to keep it to increase his stronghold of Toron
Toron
Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus....
, and supported by other barons, made it clear to Raoul that the title of regent is only symbolic. In the end Raoul left the Holy Land and his wife and went to the West early in 1244.
Alice of Jerusalem and Champagne remained at Saint-Jean d'Acre and assumed the title of (symbolic) regent of the kingdom of Jerusalem and died in 1247. Her son took over as regent for Conrad.
Issue
Alice had three children all from her first marriage to Hugh:- Mary of Lusignan, Countess of BrienneMary of Lusignan, Countess of BrienneMary of Lusignan , was the wife of Count Walter IV of Brienne and Countess of Brienne from the time of her marriage in 1233 to her husband's death while on Crusade in 1244. Mary's parents were King Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Champagne, making her a maternal granddaughter of Queen Isabella I of...
(before March 1215 – 5 July 1251 or 1253), who married Count Walter IV of BrienneWalter IV of BrienneWalter IV the Great of Brienne was Count of Brienne 1205–1244. He was the son of Walter III of Brienne and Elvira of Lecce. Around the time of his birth, his father lost his bid for the Sicilian throne and died in prison...
in 1233 (ca 1200 – murdered at CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, 1244). She became mother of Hugh of BrienneHugh of BrienneHugh de Candie, Count of Brienne and Lecce was the second surviving son of Count Walter IV of Brienne and Marie de Lusignan of Cyprus....
(c 1240-1296), who was Count of Lecce and Brienne and pursued the kingdoms in Levant for himself when his uncle Henry's line began to go extinct. This claim fell to her grandson Walter V of BrienneWalter V of BrienneGautier or Walter V of Brienne was born in Brienne-le-Château, Aube, Champagne, France. He was the son of Hugh de Candie des Brienne, known as Hugh of Brienne, Count of Brienne and Lecce, and Isabella de la Roche, daughter of Guy I of la Roche, Duke of Athens...
and his descendants. They are the heirs-general of King Amalric I of Cyprus and Hugh I himself. - Isabelle de LusignanIsabella of AntiochIsabella of Cyprus, also known as Isabelle de Lusignan , was the Princess of Antioch by her marriage. She was also Regent of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Family:...
(1216–1264), who married Henry of AntiochHenry of AntiochHenry of Antioch , alternately known as Henri de Poitiers or Henry of Poitiers, was the son of Bohemond IV of Antioch, Prince of Antioch and his first wife Plaisance Embriaco de Giblet....
, and who was the mother of Hugh III of CyprusHugh III of CyprusHugh III of Cyprus , born Hughues de Poitiers, later Hughues de Lusignan , called the Great, was the King of Cyprus from 1267 and King of Jerusalem from 1268 . He was the son of Henry of Antioch and Isabella of Cyprus, the daughter of Hugh I...
and ancestress of the line named later as the second dynasty of LusignanLusignanThe Lusignan family originated in Poitou near Lusignan in western France in the early 10th century. By the end of the 11th century, they had risen to become the most prominent petty lords in the region from their castle at Lusignan... - Henry I of CyprusHenry I of CyprusHenry I of Cyprus, nicknamed the Fat, aka Henry of Lusignan or Henri I le Gros de Lusignan was King of Cyprus from 1218 to 1253. He was the son of Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Champagne of Jerusalem. When his father Hugh I died on January 10, 1218, the 8-month-old Henry became king...
(1217–1253), namesake of his maternal grandfather, who became King of CyprusKingdom of CyprusThe Kingdom of Cyprus was a Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the high and late Middle Ages, between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan.-History:...
upon his father's death in 1218, with his mother acting as regentRegentA regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
.