Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen
Encyclopedia
Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1353 – 15 January 1421), was the Queen consort
of Cyprus
and Queen consort of Armenia
as the wife of King James I of Cyprus
. He was also titular King of Jersusalem. She was styled Queen of Cyprus from 1382 to 1398; although at the time of his ascension to the Cypriot throne, he and Helvis were imprisoned in Genoa
after they had been captured by the Genoese
on the island of Rhodes
. Almost all of Helvis' 12 children were born to her while she was held prisoner. In 1385, after negotiations and many ruinous concessions to the Genoese, they were released and James was crowned king. In 1393, she became Queen of Armenia.
, Prince of Grubenhagen, Constable of Jerusalem, and Helvis de Dampierre, daughter of Eudes de Dampierre and Isabelle de Lusignan. Through both her parents, she was a remote descendant of the celebrated Crusader
John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut
. Helvis had a younger brother, John of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, who would later serve as Admiral of Cyprus. In 1368, nine years after her mother's death, Helvis's father married her own mother-in-law, Alix of Ibelin
, the Dowager Queen of Cyprus. A year later, he died.
and Alix of Ibelin, who three years later became her stepmother. James was 19 years her senior. As they were cousins, a Papal dispensation was required for their marriage.
In 1368, he was made Constable of Cyprus, and in the following year became one of the regents for his nephew Peter II
after his eldest brother King Peter I
had been assassinated by a group of barons led by Philip Ibelin. Philip was the husband of James's niece, Alicia of Majorca
. The Queen Mother Eleanor
believed James and his brother, John
had been part of the conspiracy to murder her husband. In 1372 James led a war against the Genoese; however, at its conclusion in 1373 when the Genoese invaded Cyprus, he and Helvis were compelled to flee the kingdom. They went to the island of Rhodes, where her first child, a daughter, was born on an unknown date and died as a baby in 1374. In the same year, James and Helvis were both captured by the Genoese, and taken as hostages to Genoa where they were imprisoned. It was recorded in the Chronicle of Amadi that Helvis was constrained to perform manual work before she joined him in the prison, which was known colloquially as la mal paga. It was there that she gave birth to their first son, Janus
, whom she named after the god who had been, according to an ancient legend, the traditional founder of Genoa. 11 other children followed, most of them having been born during her imprisonment.
in Nicosia
. Their eldest son, Janus was left behind in Genoa as a hostage. In 1389, James was crowned titular King of Jerusalem; and on 29 November 1393, upon the death of King Leo V of Armenia
, he assumed the title of King of Armenia. He was not proclaimed King of Armenia until 1396 in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Nicosia. From the time of her husband's accession to both thrones, Helvis was styled as Queen of Cyprus and Queen of Armenia, until James's death on 9 September 1398. He was succeeded by their eldest son, Janus.
Helvis died on 15 January 1421, and was buried in Saint Dominic's, Nicosia.
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Cyprus
Kingdom of Cyprus
The 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:...
and Queen consort of Armenia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
as the wife of King James I of Cyprus
James I of Cyprus
James I of Cyprus was Regent of Cyprus for his infant nephew Peter from 1369. When Peter died in 1382, James became King of Cyprus that year...
. He was also titular King of Jersusalem. She was styled Queen of Cyprus from 1382 to 1398; although at the time of his ascension to the Cypriot throne, he and Helvis were imprisoned in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
after they had been captured by the Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
on the island of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
. Almost all of Helvis' 12 children were born to her while she was held prisoner. In 1385, after negotiations and many ruinous concessions to the Genoese, they were released and James was crowned king. In 1393, she became Queen of Armenia.
Family
Helvis was born in 1353, the eldest child and only daughter of Duke Philip of Brunswick-LüneburgBrunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
, Prince of Grubenhagen, Constable of Jerusalem, and Helvis de Dampierre, daughter of Eudes de Dampierre and Isabelle de Lusignan. Through both her parents, she was a remote descendant of the celebrated Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut
John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut
John of Ibelin , called the Old Lord of Beirut, was a powerful crusader noble in the 13th century, one of the best known representatives of the influential Ibelin family...
. Helvis had a younger brother, John of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, who would later serve as Admiral of Cyprus. In 1368, nine years after her mother's death, Helvis's father married her own mother-in-law, Alix of Ibelin
Alix of Ibelin
Alix of Ibelin , was Queen consort of Cyprus and nominal Queen consort of Jerusalem as the second wife of King Hugh IV of Cyprus. She was queen from 31 March 1324 until Hugh's abdication on 24 November 1358...
, the Dowager Queen of Cyprus. A year later, he died.
Marriage and imprisonment
On 1 May 1365, when she was 12 years old, she married James de Lusignan, the third son of King Hugh IV of CyprusHugh IV of Cyprus
Hugh IV of Cyprus was King of Cyprus from 31 March 1324 to his abdication, on 24 November 1358 and, nominally, King of Jerusalem, as Hugh II, until his death...
and Alix of Ibelin, who three years later became her stepmother. James was 19 years her senior. As they were cousins, a Papal dispensation was required for their marriage.
In 1368, he was made Constable of Cyprus, and in the following year became one of the regents for his nephew Peter II
Peter II of Cyprus
Peter II of Cyprus or Pierre II le Gros de Lusignan , called The Fat, was king of Cyprus from 17 January 1369 until his death.-Biography:...
after his eldest brother King Peter I
Peter I of Cyprus
Peter I of Cyprus or Pierre I de Lusignan was King of Cyprus, and Titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his own death in 1369. He was also Latin King of Armenia from either 1361 or 1368...
had been assassinated by a group of barons led by Philip Ibelin. Philip was the husband of James's niece, Alicia of Majorca
Alicia of Majorca
Dona Alicia of Majorca was a Cypriot noblewoman, the great-granddaughter of King James II of Majorca and a maternal descendant of the Lusignan kings of Cyprus. Her husband was Philip Ibelin, seneschal of Cyprus who was sent to prison in Genoa after his murder of Alicia's uncle, King Peter I...
. The Queen Mother Eleanor
Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus
Eleanor of Aragon was Queen consort of Cyprus as the wife of King Peter I of Cyprus. She was a member of the House of Barcelona as the daughter of Peter of Aragon and his wife Joan of Foix.-Queen of Cyprus:...
believed James and his brother, John
John of Lusignan
John of Lusignan , Regent of Cyprus and Titular Prince of Antioch. He was son of King Hugh IV of Cyprus and his second wife, Alix of Ibelin.He married twice, firstly in 1343 to Constance of Sicily John of Lusignan (or Jean de Lusignan) (ca 1329 or 1329/1330–1375), Regent of Cyprus and Titular...
had been part of the conspiracy to murder her husband. In 1372 James led a war against the Genoese; however, at its conclusion in 1373 when the Genoese invaded Cyprus, he and Helvis were compelled to flee the kingdom. They went to the island of Rhodes, where her first child, a daughter, was born on an unknown date and died as a baby in 1374. In the same year, James and Helvis were both captured by the Genoese, and taken as hostages to Genoa where they were imprisoned. It was recorded in the Chronicle of Amadi that Helvis was constrained to perform manual work before she joined him in the prison, which was known colloquially as la mal paga. It was there that she gave birth to their first son, Janus
Janus of Cyprus
Janus of Cyprus was a King of Cyprus, King of Armenia and a Titular King of Jerusalem from 1398 to 1432.-Biography:He was born in Genoa where his father, King James I of Cyprus was a captive...
, whom she named after the god who had been, according to an ancient legend, the traditional founder of Genoa. 11 other children followed, most of them having been born during her imprisonment.
Queen of Cyprus
On 13 October 1382, Peter II died and James succeeded as King of Cyprus; although he and Helvis were still being held in captivity. Finally, after much negotiation and many concessions to the Genoese, which would ultimately bring his kingdom to financial ruin, James and Helvis were released from prison and returned to Cyprus. In May 1385, he was crowned king in May 1385 at Saint Sophia CathedralSelimiye Mosque (Nicosia)
Selimiye Mosque or Agia Sofia Cathedral, formerly Cathédrale Sainte Sophie, is located in the Turkish controlled northern part of the walled city of Nicosia. It is the main mosque in the city. It is housed in the largest and oldest surviving gothic church in Cyprus possibly constructed on the site...
in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
. Their eldest son, Janus was left behind in Genoa as a hostage. In 1389, James was crowned titular King of Jerusalem; and on 29 November 1393, upon the death of King Leo V of Armenia
Leo V of Armenia
Leo IV was the last Hethumid king of Cilicia, ruling from 1320 until his death. He was the son of Oshin of Armenia and Isabel of Korikos, and came to the throne on the death of his father. His name is sometimes spelled as Leo or Leon.He spent his minority under the regency of Oshin of Korikos...
, he assumed the title of King of Armenia. He was not proclaimed King of Armenia until 1396 in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Nicosia. From the time of her husband's accession to both thrones, Helvis was styled as Queen of Cyprus and Queen of Armenia, until James's death on 9 September 1398. He was succeeded by their eldest son, Janus.
Helvis died on 15 January 1421, and was buried in Saint Dominic's, Nicosia.
Issue
- Unnamed daughter (died 1374)
- King Janus of CyprusJanus of CyprusJanus of Cyprus was a King of Cyprus, King of Armenia and a Titular King of Jerusalem from 1398 to 1432.-Biography:He was born in Genoa where his father, King James I of Cyprus was a captive...
(1375 - 1432), married firstly Anglesia Visconti; secondly, Charlotte de Bourbon-La MarcheCharlotte de Bourbon-La MarcheCharlotte de Bourbon was the Queen consort of Cyprus and titular Queen consort of Armenia and Jerusalem through her marriage to King Janus of Cyprus. She was his second wife and the mother of his six legitimate children, which included King John II and Anne de Lusignan...
, by whom he had issue, including John II of CyprusJohn II of CyprusJohn II or III of Cyprus was the King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458. He was previously a Titular Prince of Antioch...
and Anne de Lusignan. - Philip de Lusignan, Constable of Cyprus; died unmarried but had at least one illegitimate son, Lancelot de Lusignan.
- Henry de Lusignan (died 1427), titular Prince of Galilee; married his cousin Eleonore de Lusignan; his marriage was childless, however, he had illegitimate issue.
- Eudes de Lusignan (died 1421), titular seneschal of Jerusalem; married his cousin, Loysia de Lusignan; died without issue.
- Hugh de Lusignan (died 1442), Regent of Cyprus; Cardinal Archbishop of Nicosia
- Guy de Lusignan, Constable of Cyprus; died unmarried, without issue.
- Jacqua de Lusignan (died 1396/98), unmarried and childless.
- Eschive de Lusignan (died after 1406), married Count Sclavus von Asperg
- Marie of Lusignan (1381 - 1404), married King Ladislaus of Naples; died childless.
- Agnes de Lusignan (1382 - 1459), Abbess of Wunstorf
- Isabelle de Lusignan, married Pierre de Lusignan; died childless.