Queen of Jerusalem (1131-1152).
Melisende was probably born around 1109, the eldest daughter of Baldwin II, count of Edessa, and his wife Morphia. Baldwin became king of Jerusalem in 1118, and named Melisende heiress to the kingdom in 1127 after it was apparent that he would have no male heir. In 1129 she married Fulk V, count of Anjou; their sons Baldwin III and Amalric were born in 1130 and 1136, respectively. Baldwin II, wishing to ensure his family’s rights to the throne, designated Fulk, Melisende, and the young Baldwin III as co-heirs just before he died in 1131.
Melisende now had a stronger constitutional position: she was not simply the king’s consort, but a queen regnant. Fulk, however, refused to share power. He rewarded his Angevin followers with lands and offices in the kingdom, giving Melisende’s supporters further incentive to insist on the queen’s rights. The rebellion of Melisende’s cousin Hugh of Jaffa in 1134 forced Fulk to allow her a greater role in government. The queen took an interest not just in political matters but in religious patronage: she made gifts to several churches in Jerusalem, renovated the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and founded the convent of Bethany. These projects demonstrated her piety while connecting the royal family to holy sites in the land they ruled and defended.
Melisende became regent for her son Baldwin III after Fulk’s death in 1143. Once Baldwin came of age (1145), Melisende’s reluctance to step down led to a rift between mother and son. The queen set up a rival court and attracted some of the kingdom’s most powerful magnates to her party, which also included Prince Amalric. In 1152 Baldwin III forced Melisende and her supporters to accept his sovereignty. From this point until her death in 1161, the queen had little real power in Jerusalem, though she continued to play a public role at court. The chronicler William of Tyre, anxious to promote the legitimacy of her family, chose to downplay political upheaval and applauded her efforts to promote royal majesty. She thus appears as a model queen in William’s history of Outremer.
-Deborah Gerish
Bibliography
Folda, Jaroslav, “Images of Queen Melisende in Manuscripts of William of Tyre’s History of Outremer, 1250-1300,”
Gesta 32 (1993), 97-112.
Hamilton, Bernard, “Women in the Crusader States: The Queens of Jerusalem,” in Medieval Women, ed. Derek Baker (Oxford: Blackwell, 1978).
Mayer, Hans Eberhard, “Studies in the History of Queen Melisende,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 26 (1972), 95-182.
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De Philologie et d’Histoire 66 (1988), 757-766.
-, “Angevins versus Normans: The New Men of King
Fulk of Jerusalem,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 133 (1989), 1-25.
-, “The Wheel of Fortune: Seignorial Vicissitudes under
Kings Fulk and Baldwin III of Jerusalem,” Speculum 65 (1990), 860-877.
Murray, Alan V., “Baldwin II and His Nobles: Baronial Factionalism and Dissent in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1118-1134,” Nottingham Medieval Studies 38 (1994), 60-85.
World History
