Officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

There were six major officers of the kingdom of Jerusalem: the constable

Constable

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

, the marshal

Marshal

Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...

, the seneschal

Seneschal

A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...

, the chamberlain

Chamberlain (office)

A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....

(which were known as the "Grand Offices"), the butler

Butler

A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...

and the chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

. At certain times there were also bailiff

Bailiff

A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

s, viscount

Viscount

A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...

s and castellan

Castellan

A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

s.

Essentially these offices developed from the typical officials that existed in northern France in the 11th century, the homeland of the first kings of Jerusalem

Kings of Jerusalem

This is a list of kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.-Kings of Jerusalem :...

. The offices continued to develop in France and England, but in Jerusalem they tended to develop more slowly or not at all, taking on different roles than their European counterparts.

The lists given below are incomplete, as the specific names and dates of the officers are sometimes unknown. After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the offices were sometimes awarded as honors by the kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem

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:...

Constables

The constable

Constable

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

commanded the army, paid mercenaries

Mercenary

A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

and judged legal cases pertaining to the military. He was the most important officer in the kingdom, due to the almost constant state of warfare that existed between the Christian and Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

states. The constable was officially the second-in-command of the army, in which he exercised police authority and commanded a division twice as large as all others. In addition, constables also determined the boundaries and borders of the kingdom. During the coronation the constable would hold the king's horse.

Simon
Simon, Constable of Jerusalem
Simon was the first known constable of Jerusalem.He is cited in two royal charters, the first in 1108 and the second in 1115 as Symon ducis filius. He may be identified with the Simontos, mentioned by Anna Comnena as an envoy of Baldwin I of Jerusalem to Tripoli in order to receive Greek...

(1108–1115)
Hugh Caulis (c. 1120)
Eustace Grenier
Eustace Grenier
Eustace Grenier was an important crusader lord, and Constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem....

(c. 1123-1123)
William I of Bures
William I of Bures
William of Bures was a French crusader from Bures-sur-Yvette, Ile-de-France.He arrived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem before 1115, with his brother Geoffrey. They were vassals of Joscelin I of Edessa....

(1123–1141?)
Manasses of Hierges
Manasses of Hierges
Manasses of Hierges was an important crusader lord, and constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.He was the son of Hodierna of Rethel and Héribrand II of Hierges; Hodierna was a sister of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem...

(1144–1151)
Humphrey II of Toron
Humphrey II of Toron
Humphrey II of Toron was lord of Toron and constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Humphrey had become lord of Toron sometime before 1140, when he married the daughter of Renier Brus, lord of Banias . Through this marriage Banias was added to Toron...

(1152–1179)
Amalric of Lusignan
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....

(1179–1194)
John of Ibelin
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...

(1194–1205)
Walter of Montbéliard (1206–1211)
Eudes of Montbéliard (1220–1244)
Philip of Montfort
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...

(c. 1244)
John of Ibelin
John of Arsuf
John of Ibelin was the Lord of Arsuf from 1236 and Constable of Jerusalem from 1251. He was a younger son of John I of Beirut. His elder brother, Balian, inherited Beirut. He served as regent of Jerusalem on two occasions: 1253-1254 for Conrad II and 1256-1258 for Conrad III...

(1251–1258)
William of Botron (1258–1262)
Balian of Arsuf
Balian of Arsuf
Balian of Ibelin was the Lord of Arsuf from 1258 until the early 1260s , when he sold it to the Knights Hospitaller. He was the son and successor of John of Arsuf, Constable of Jerusalem...

(1268–1277)
Richard of Neublans (c. 1277)
Simon of Montolif (c. 1284?)
Baldwin of Ibelin (c. 1286)
Amalric of Lusignan
Amalric, Prince of Tyre
Amalric de Lusignan or Amaury II de Lusignan, Prince of Tyre , of the Lusignan family, was a son of Hugh III of Cyprus and Isabella of Ibelin.-Biography:...

(1285–1300)
Philip of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (c. 1359?)
Peter of Lusignan (c. 1415?)

Marshals

The marshal

Marshal

Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...

was next-in-command (and, apparently, a literal vassal) to the constable. He led the mercenaries and was in charge of the army's horses, and distributed the spoils of a victorious battle. On coronation day the marshal would assist the constable.

Sado (1125–1154)
Eudes of St. Amand (1155–1156)
Joscelin III of Edessa
Joscelin III of Edessa
Joscelin III of Edessa was the titular Count of Edessa 1159 – after 1190. He was the son of Joscelin II of Edessa and his wife Beatrice...

(1156–1159)
William (1159–1171)
Gerard of Pugi (1169–1174)
John (c. 1179)
Gerard of Ridefort (c. 1179)
Walter Durus (1185–1192)
Hugh Martin (c. 1191)
Arnulf (c. 1193)
John (1194–1200)
Aimar of Laron (c. 1206)
James of Dournai (1211–1217)
Riccardo Filangieri (1231–1242)
Philip of Cossie (c. 1250)
Geoffrey of Sargines (c. 1254)
John of Gibelet (1261–1262)
William Canet (1269–1273)
James Vidal (c. 1277)

Seneschals

The office of seneschal

Seneschal

in Jerusalem never achieved the prominence of its European counterparts but was important nonetheless. The seneschal administered the coronation ceremony, oversaw the Haute Cour

Haute Cour of Jerusalem

The Haute Cour was the feudal council of the kingdom of Jerusalem. It was sometimes also called the curia generalis, the curia regis, or, rarely, the parlement.-Composition of the court:...

in the king's absence, administered royal castles, and managed the royal finances and revenue. The seneschal's power was over only viscounts and not castellans, and the constable was still superior to the seneschal due in part to the kingdom's constant state of war. During coronations the seneschal would hold the royal sceptre and oversee the coronation feast.

The office was similar to, but not as developed as, the English office of the exchequer

Exchequer

The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...

Hugh of St. Omer (c. 1100–1104)
Gervase (c. 1104)
Hugo Chostard (c. 1112)
Anscherius (c. 1122?)
Isaac (c. 1149)
John (c. 1151)
Guy le François (c. 1164)
Miles of Plancy
Miles of Plancy
Miles of Plancy , also known as Milon or Milo, was a noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.He was born in Champagne and came to the east in the 1160s, where he served King Amalric I, to whom he was distantly related. Amalric made him seneschal of Jerusalem, and in 1167 he participated in...

(c. 1168–1174)
Ralph (c. 1176)
Joscelin III of Edessa
Joscelin III of Edessa
Joscelin III of Edessa was the titular Count of Edessa 1159 – after 1190. He was the son of Joscelin II of Edessa and his wife Beatrice...

(1176–1190)
Obertus Nepos (1187–1192?)
Ralph of Tiberias
Ralph of Tiberias
Ralph of Tiberias was briefly Prince of Galilee and twice Seneschal of Jerusalem in the Crusader states in Palestine.He was exiled after an assassination attempt on Amalric II of Jerusalem...

(1194–1220)
Raymond of Gibelet (c. 1240)
Baldwin of Ibelin (c. 1256)
Geoffrey of Sargines (1254–1267?)
Robert of Cresque (c. 1269)
Jean I de Grailly
Jean I de Grailly
Jean I de Grailly was the seneschal of the Duchy of Gascony from 1266 to 1268, of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from about 1272 until about 1276, and of Gascony again from 1278 until 1286 or 1287.-Early life:...

(1272–1276)
Eudes Pelechin (c. 1277)
Philip of Ibelin (?-?)

Chamberlains

The Chamberlain

Chamberlain (office)

A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....

administered the royal household and its servants, and had other honorary duties such as administering oaths. On coronation day the chamberlain would robe the king. He had his own fief from which he drew his salary.

Strabulon (c. 1099)
Geoffrey (c. 1099)
Gerard (1108–1115)
John (1119–1128)
Ralph (1129–1130)
Joscelin (c. 1138)
Miles (c. 1138)
Nicholas (1150–1152)
Gauvain de la Roche (c. 1156)
Gerard of Pugi (c. 1169)
Amalric of Lusignan
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....

(1175–1178)
John (c. 1179)
Raymond (c. 1184)
Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin was an important noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century.-Early life:Balian was the youngest son of Barisan of Ibelin, and brother of Hugh and Baldwin. His father, a knight in the County of Jaffa, had been rewarded with the lordship of Ibelin after the...

(1183–1185)
Thomas (1190–1197)
Henry of Canelli (c. 1192)
John (c. 1194)
Rohard of Caiphas (1201–1220)
Renaud of Caiphas (1230–1232)
John of Cossie (1232–1250)
Philip of Cossie (1250–1269)

Butlers

The butler

Butler

was in charge of the royal table and also administrated the kingdom's vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

Winric (c. 1099)
Gervais (c. 1107)
Pagan
Pagan the Butler
Pagan the Butler was a Crusader lord in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Around 1120, he first appears as the butler of Baldwin II....

(1120–1136)
Robert Crispin (1145–1146)
Eudes of St. Amand (1164–1167)
Miles (1185–1186)

Chancellors

The chancellor

Chancellor

drew up deeds and charters and managed the kingdom's diplomatic service. The chancellery

Chancery (medieval office)

Chancery is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents. The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany,...

is an interesting example of the fossilization of 11th century offices. It consisted of only a few secretaries and scribes, and never became the large administrative bureaucracy that had developed elsewhere in Europe. Chancellors tended to be clergymen who often became bishops or archbishops, sometimes while still holding the chancellery. The relative unimportance of the chancellor reflects the relative decentralization of royal authority as compared to states like France or England that were at the same time becoming more centralized.

Arnoul (?-?)
Pagan (1115–1128)
Amelinus (c. 1130)
Franco (1133–1135?)
Helias (1136–1142)
Ralph, bishop of Bethlehem (1146–1174)
Frederick, Archbishop of Tyre
Frederick, Archbishop of Tyre
Frederick de la Roche was the sixth Latin archbishop of Tyre , chancellor of the kingdom of Jerusalem , and the chief diplomat of King Amalric I...

(c. 1150)
William
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...

, archbishop of Tyre
Archbishop of Tyre
The Archbishop of Tyre was one of the major suffragans of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem during the Crusades and was established to serve the Roman Catholic members of the diocese....

(1174–1183)
Lambert (c. 1177)
Bandinus (for Conrad of Montferrat
Conrad of Montferrat
Conrad of Montferrat was a northern Italian nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the de facto King of Jerusalem, by marriage, from 24 November 1190, but officially elected only in 1192, days before his death...

(de jure Conrad I from 1190), in Tyre) (1188–1192)
Peter, bishop of Tripoli (1185–1192)
Eudes (c. 1190)
Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
Joscius was Archbishop of Tyre in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century.He was a canon and subdeacon of the church of Acre, and became Bishop of Acre on November 23, 1172. He was a member of the delegation from the Latin church of the Crusader states at the Third Lateran...

(1192–1200)
Ralph, bishop of Sidon (1206–1212)
Simon, archbishop of Tyre (1226–1227)
Maregnan (c. 1234)

Bailiffs

The bailiff

Bailiff

A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

(or bailli) administered the kingdom in the absence or minority of the king, in the capacity of a regent; for example, during the captivity of Baldwin II

Baldwin II of Jerusalem

Baldwin II of Jerusalem , formerly Baldwin II of Edessa, also called Baldwin of Bourcq, born Baldwin of Rethel was the second count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and the third king of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death.-Ancestry:Baldwin was the son of Hugh, count of Rethel, and his wife Melisende,...

, and the youth and illness of Baldwin IV

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem , called the Leper or the Leprous, the son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay, was king of Jerusalem from 1174 to 1185. His full sister was Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem and his nephew through this sister was the child-king Baldwin V...

. In the 13th century the bailiff ruled essentially as a king himself, and was the most powerful man in the kingdom, as the kings were usually foreign monarchs who did not live permanently in the kingdom.

Eustace Grenier
Eustace Grenier
Eustace Grenier was an important crusader lord, and Constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem....

(1123)
William I of Bures
William I of Bures
William of Bures was a French crusader from Bures-sur-Yvette, Ile-de-France.He arrived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem before 1115, with his brother Geoffrey. They were vassals of Joscelin I of Edessa....

(1123–1124)
Miles of Plancy
Miles of Plancy
Miles of Plancy , also known as Milon or Milo, was a noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.He was born in Champagne and came to the east in the 1160s, where he served King Amalric I, to whom he was distantly related. Amalric made him seneschal of Jerusalem, and in 1167 he participated in...

(1173)
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Prince of Galilee and Tiberias in right of his wife Eschiva.-Early life:...

(1173–1177)
Raynald of Châtillon
Raynald of Chatillon
Raynald of Châtillon was a knight who served in the Second Crusade and remained in the Holy Land after its defeat...

(1177)
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan was a Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of the prominent Lusignan dynasty. He was king of the crusader state of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194...

(1183–1185)
Raymond III of Tripoli (1186)
John of Ibelin
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...

(1206–1210)
Hugh of Montbéliard (1223–1227)
Thomas of Calan (1227–1228)
- Richard Filangieri
  Richard Filangieri
  Richard Filangieri was an Italian nobleman who played an important part in the Sixth Crusade in 1228–9 and in the War of the Lombards from 1229–43, where he was in charge of the forces of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, battling forces on the other side, local barons first led by...
  
  (1231–1242), at Tyre
- Odo of Montbéliard (1236–1240), at Acre
- Walter Penenpié (1240), at Acre
John of Ibelin (1246–1248)
John Fainon (1248–1249)
John of Arsuf
John of Arsuf
John of Ibelin was the Lord of Arsuf from 1236 and Constable of Jerusalem from 1251. He was a younger son of John I of Beirut. His elder brother, Balian, inherited Beirut. He served as regent of Jerusalem on two occasions: 1253-1254 for Conrad II and 1256-1258 for Conrad III...

(1249–1254)
John of Ibelin
John of Ibelin (jurist)
John of Ibelin , count of Jaffa and Ascalon, was a noted jurist and the author of the longest legal treatise from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was the son of Philip of Ibelin, bailli of the Kingdom of Cyprus, and Alice of Montbéliard, and was the nephew of John of Ibelin, the "Old Lord of Beirut"...

(1254–1256)
John of Arsuf
John of Arsuf
John of Ibelin was the Lord of Arsuf from 1236 and Constable of Jerusalem from 1251. He was a younger son of John I of Beirut. His elder brother, Balian, inherited Beirut. He served as regent of Jerusalem on two occasions: 1253-1254 for Conrad II and 1256-1258 for Conrad III...

(1256–1258)
Geoffrey of Sargines (1259–1261)
Balian of Ibelin (1276–1277)
Roger of San Severino
Roger of San Severino
Roger of San Severino was the bailiff of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1277 to 1282. He was sent to Acre, then the capital of the kingdom, with a small force by the new king Charles I, also King of Sicily, to act as regent....

(1277–1281)
Odo Poilechien (1281–1286)
Philip of Ibelin (1286-?)

Viscounts and Castellans

These two offices were sometimes held by one person and sometimes held by two separate people; sometimes one or the other was not held at all. They were named by the king and occupied the Tower of David

Tower of David

The Tower of David is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.Built to strengthen a strategically weak point in the Old City's defenses, the citadel that stands today was constructed during the 2nd century BC and subsequently destroyed and rebuilt by,...

, but their specific duties are mostly unknown and were probably not particularly important; one of the duties of the viscount was apprehending criminals and administering justice in the lower-class burgess court. Like the office of butler, these offices may not have survived the move to Acre.

Anselm (castellan, c. 1110)
Pisellus (viscount, c. 1110)
Anscatinus (viscount, 1120–1135?)
Roard the elder (both?, 1135?–1150?)
Arnoul (viscount, 1155–1181?)
Eudes of St. Amand (both?, c. 1160)
Roard the younger (castellan, 1165–1177?)
Peter of Creseto (castellan, c. 1173?)
Balian of Jaffa (castellan, c. 1178)
Peter of Creseto (castellan, c. 1178)