Raymond Count of Tripoli, who had fancied himself sure of the crown
matrimonial, never forgave either. He immediately entered into a secret
alliance with Saladin, by which he promised to betray Guy into his hands
in the next battle. On the fourth of July, 1187, Tripoli, who was
standard-bearer, so behaved himself in battle that the King was taken
prisoner. Sybil, in conjunction with the Patriarch Heraclius, held
Jerusalem until the second of October, when she gave up the city to
Saladin on terms including liberty of ransom to all who could afford it.
The Queen now retired to Ascalon, within whose fortified walls she and
her little daughters remained until 1189, when Guy's ransom was effected
on the hard terms that Sybil should capitulate at Ascalon, that Guy
should abdicate, and that he should go beyond sea. Guy, who had been
kept in chains a whole year at Damascus, consulted the clergy as to the
necessity of keeping faith with Saladin. They were all of the Roman,
but unscriptural opinion, that no faith need be kept with a Paynim.
Instead of abdicating and going abroad, Guy, with Sybil and the
children, marched to Acre, which he invested, with a hundred thousand
men who had flocked to his standard. The Queen and Princesses were
lodged at Turon, looking towards the sea. In 1190 King Philippe of
France arrived before Acre, and on June 10, 1191, King Richard
Coeur-de-Lion; and at last, on July 12, Saladin gave up the city to the
allied forces. But the pestilence had been very rife during the siege.
Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury, and numbers of French and English
nobles, died in the camp: and among others the hero-Queen, Sybil of
Anjou, and her two fragile children.
Raymond of Tripoli was dead also. He died in his sleep, unabsolved; and
evidence of his having formally apostatized to Mahometanism was found
after his death.
After thus taking "last leave of all he loved," Guy--brave, rash,
impetuous Guy--appears to have become almost reckless. Of course, by
right, Sybil was succeeded by her sister Isabel; but Guy still clung to
his title of King, and the privileges appurtenant to it, and disputed
with Conrado of Monferrato, the husband of Isabel, the right to the
customs of the port of Acre. Conrado was an extremely quarrelsome man,
and Guy's opposition seems to have been personally directed to him; for
on his death (which of course Guy and Coeur-de-Lion were accused of
forwarding) Guy readily acknowledged Isabel and her third husband, on
condition of receiving the island of Cyprus as compensation for all his
claims. King Richard had sold Cyprus to the Templars, but he coolly took
it from them, and gave it to Guy, who, being apparently more honest of
the two, paid a hundred thousand crowns to the Templars as compensation.
This is the last that we hear of Guy de Lusignan, except the mere date
of his death, which occurred, according to different authorities, from
one to four years after the cession of Cyprus.
Few historical characters have had less justice done them by modern
writers, than Guy de Lusignan and Sybil his wife. In the first place,
Guy is accused of having, in 1167-8, assassinated Patrick Earl of
Salisbury, in returning from a pilgrimage to Saint Iago de Compostella.
King Henry II., we are told, was greatly enraged, and banished Guy from
Poitou, whereupon he assumed the cross, and set out for the Holy Land.
Now the truth is that in 1167-8, it is scarcely possible that Guy could
be above ten years old. Either it was another Guy de Lusignan, or the
outrage was committed by persons of whom the child Guy was the nominal
head. But all the circumstances tend to show that Guy's arrival in the
Holy Land was little, if at all, before 1180, and that at that time he
was a very young man.
We next find Guy accused of such boundless ambition, that he not only
induced King Baldwin IV. to put all the affairs of the kingdom into his
hands, but even to promise him the succession after his death. But when
Baldwin had bestowed upon Guy his sister and heir presumptive, Sybil,
how could he either promise him the succession or lawfully deprive him
of it? The reversion of the crown was hers. Baldwin did her a cruel
injustice, and committed an illegal act, when he passed her over, and
abdicated in favour of her infant son.
Then, on the death of Baldwin V., we are actually told that Sybil, urged
by her ambitious husband, _usurped_ the crown. Usurped it from whom?
Surely not from her own daughters!--surely not from her younger sister!
Matthew of Westminster distinctly remarks that "there was none to
succeed but his mother Sybilla." Sybil merely took back her own
property, of which she had been unjustly deprived.
Again, with respect to her action at her coronation, poor Sybil comes in
again for her share of blame. She had no business, we are assured, to
choose Guy, who had already proved himself an unsatisfactory governor;
and in the interest of the kingdom, she ought to have married some one
else. In other words, she ought to have committed sin in the interest
of her subjects!
Lastly, a wholesale charge of poisoning is brought against both Guy and
Sybil. Probabilities are thrown overboard. They are accused of
poisoning young Baldwin V.; and Guy is charged with the murder of his
wife and children, though their death entirely destroyed his claim to
the royal title. The truth is, that in the twelfth century, any death
not easily to be accounted for was always set down to poison: and the
nearest relatives, totally irrespective of character, were always
suspected of having administered it. Men of Guy's
disposition,--impulsive, rash, and generous even to a fault, loving and
self-sacrificing,--are not usually in the habit of murdering those they
love best: and considered merely from a political point of view, the
simultaneous deaths of Sybil and her children were the worst calamities
which could have fallen upon Guy.
*II. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF JERUSALEM.*
Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem, eldest of the four daughters of Baldwin
II., and Morsise of Armenia, _succeeded_ her father in 1131, and _died
in_ 1141 or 1144. She _married_--
Foulques V., Count of Anjou; _married_ 1128; _died_ at Acre, by
accident, November, 1142. [He had previously been married to Ermengarde
of Maine, by whom he had four children,--Geoffrey Plantagenet; Helie
Count of Maine; Sybil, Countess of Flanders; and Alice, Crown Princess
of England.]
_Issue of Queen Melisende_:--
1. Baldwin III, _born_ 1129, _died_ Feb., 1162, without issue.
_Married_--
Theodora Comnena, daughter of Isaac I., Emperor of the East
2. Amaury I., _born_ 1132-6; _died_ July 11, 1173. _Married_--
(A) Agnes de Courtenay, daughter of Josceline, Count of Edessa:
_divorced_.
(B) MARIA COMNENA, daughter or niece of Manuel I., Emperor of the East:
living 1190. [Character imaginary.]
_Issue of Amaury I. By Agnes_:--
1. BALDWIN IV., the Leper; _born_ 1158; _abdicated_ 1183; _d._ March 16,
1185. Never married.
2. SYBIL I., _crowned_ Sept., 1186; _died_ at Acre, during the siege,
1190. [Character historical] _Married_--
(A) Guglielmo, Marquis of Monferrato: _died_ 1180.
(B) GUY DE LUSIGNAN: _mar._ 1183; _died_ September (Fabyan) 1193 (ib.)
1194 (Moreri, Woodward and Coates Chron. Cycl.) 1195 (Roger de Hoveden)
1196 (Anderson). [Character historical]
_By Maria_:--
3. ISABEL I. [Character historical] _Married_--
(A) HOMFROY DE TOURS: _mar. circ._ 1183; _divorced_ 1190; _died_ 1199.
[The legality of the divorce was very doubtful, and caused many
subsequent counter-claims to the throne.]
(B) Conrado, Marquis of Monferrato, Count of Tyre: _mar._ 1190;
_assassinated_ at Tyre, Apr. 27, 1192.
(C) Henri, Count of Champagne: _mar._ 1193, _died_ at Acre, by accident,
1196-7.
(D) AMAURY DE LUSIGNAN, brother of Guy: _mar._ 1197, _d._ 1205.
[Character imaginary.]
_Issue of Sybil I. By Guglielmo_:--
1. BALDWIN V., _born_ 1180, _crowned_ Nov. 20, 1183; _died_ at Acre,
1186. [Character imaginary.]
_By Guy_:--
2, 3. DAUGHTERS, died with mother, during siege of Acre, 1190. [Some
writers ascribe four daughters to Sybil.]
_Issue of Isabel I. By Conrado_:--
1. Marie, or Violante, I. Married--
Jean de Brienne, third son of Erard II. Count of Brienne, and Agnes de
Montbeliard; Emperor of the East, 1233; _died_ Mar. 21, 1237.
_By Henri_:--
2. Alix I., _died cir._ 1246. Married--
(A) HUGUES DE LUSIGNAN, son of Amaury de Lusignan and Eschine d'Ibellin:
_died_ 1219.
(B) Bohemond IV., Prince of Antioch: _divorced_.
(C) Raoul, Count of Soissons: _died circ._ 1246.
3. Philippa, _mar._ 1214, Erard de Brienne, Lord of Rameru; living 1247.
_By Amaury_:--
4. Sybil, _mar._ Leon I., King of Armenia.
5. Robert, Abbot of St. Michael
6. Amaury, _died_ young.
_Issue of Marie I_.
Violante, _mar._ at Brindisi, 1223-5, Friedrich II., Emperor of Germany:
_died_ 1228-9.
From this marriage the Emperors of Germany and Austria derive the empty
title of Kings of Jerusalem. They have no right to it, since the
posterity of Violante became extinct in the second generation. The
Kings of Italy, on the contrary, have a right to the title, being
descendants of Anna of Cyprus, the heir general of Alix I.
*III. HOUSE OF LUSIGNAN.*
It will be perceived from the following table, that in the story, the
three Williams, sons of Count Geoffrey, have been made into one; and
that the sisters, Alix and Elaine, are fictitious characters.
The House of Lusignan begins about A.D. 900, with Hugues I., surnamed
_Le Veneur_. Eighth in descent from him we find--
Hugues VIII., died 1164. _Married_--
Bourgogne, daughter of Geoffroy de Rancon.
_Issue_:--
1. Hugues IX, _died_ 1206. _Married_--
Mahaud, daughter of Wulgrain III., Count of Angouleme.
2. GEOFFROY, COUNT DE LA MARCHE, living 1210. [Character imaginary.]
_Married_--
(A) Eustacie de Chabot.
(B) Clemence, daughter of Hugues Viscount de Chatelherault. [Character
imaginary.]
_Issue of Hugues IX. and Mahaud_:--
Hugues X., le Brun: _killed_ at Massoura, 1249. _Married_--
Isabelle, Countess of Angouleme, and widow of John King of England;
_mar._ 1217-21; _died_ 1246.
[From this marriage sprang the House of Valence, Earls of Pembroke,
famous in English history.]
_Issue of Count Geoffroy and Eustacie_:--
1. GUILLAUME, surnamed _a la grande dent_, _died_ issueless before 1250.
_Married_--
UMBERGE, daughter of the Viscount de Limoges. [Character imaginary.]
2. GUILLAUME, Lord of Mairevant. _Married_--
[Unknown.]
3. GUILLAUME de Valence, _died_ 1170.
4. GUY, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon: _crowned_ King of Jerusalem, Sept.
1186; _died Sept._, 1193-6. [See the previous article.]
5. AMAURY, _died_ 1205. _Married_--
(A) ESCHINE, daughter of Beaudouin d'Ibellin, Lord of Rames; _died_
1193. [Character imaginary.]
(B) ISABEL I., Queen of Jerusalem. [See last article.]
6. RAOUL d'Issoudun, _d._ 1218-9. _Married_, before Aug. 31, 1199.
Alice, Countess of Eu: living Sept. 19, 1119.
_Issue of Guillaume Lord of Mairevant_:--
1. VALENCE, _mar._ Hugues, Lord of Parthenay.
2. Elise, or Aline, _mar._ Bartholome, Lord de La Haye.
_Issue of Amaury and Eschine_:--
1. GUY, _died_ young.
2. Jean, _died_ young.
3. HUGUES, _died_ 1219. _Married_--
Alix I., Queen of Jerusalem. [See last article]
4. Bourgogne, _mar._ Gaultier de Montbelliard.
5. HELOISE, _mar._ (1) Eudes de Dampierre; (2) Rupin, Prince of Antioch.
[For issue of Amaury and Queen Isabel, see last article.]
*TITLES.*
Society was divided in the twelfth century into four ranks
only,--nobles, clergy, bourgeoisie, and villeins. Two of these,--nobles
and villeins--were kept as distinct as caste ever kept classes in India,
though of course with some differences of detail. All titled persons,
knights, and landed proprietors, belonged to the nobility. The clergy
were recruited from nobility and bourgeoisie--rarely from the villein
class. The bourgeoisie were free men, without land, and usually with
some trade or profession; and were despised by the nobles, as men who
had lifted themselves above their station, and presumed to vie with
their betters. The villeins were always serfs, saleable with the land
on which they lived, bound to the service of its owner, disposable at
his pleasure, and esteemed by him very little superior to cattle.
Education was restricted to clergy and noble women, with a few
exceptions among the male nobility; but as a rule, a lay gentleman who
could read a book, or write anything beyond his signature, was rarely to
be seen.
No kind of title was bestowed in addressing any but nobles and clergy.
The bourgeois was merely Richard Haberdasher, John the Clerk, or William
by the Brook--(whence come Clark and Brook as surnames)--the villein was
barely Hodge or Robin, without any further designation unless necessary,
when the master's name was added. Such a term as Ralph Walter-Servant
(namely, Ralph, servant of Walter) is not uncommon on mediaeval rolls.
The clergy, as is still the case in Romish countries, were addressed as
Father; and those who had not graduated at the Universities were termed
Sir, with the surname--"Sir Green," or "Sir Dickson." It is doubtful,
however, whether this last item stretches so far back as the twelfth
century. "Dan," the epithet of Chaucer, certainly does not.
The names bestowed on the nobles consisted of three for the men, and two
for the women. (French, it must be remembered, was the language of
England as well as of France at this time. Only villeins spoke
English.) The lowest epithet was "Sieur" (gentleman), which was applied
to untitled landed proprietors. The next, "Sire" or "Messire" (Sir) was
the title of the knights; and the King was addressed as Sire only
because he was the chief knight in the realm. The highest, "Seigneur"
(Lord) was applied to royalty, peers, and all nobles in authority,
especially those possessing territorial power. The ladies, married and
single, were addressed as "Dame" and "Damoiselle." The English version
of the last title, damsel, was used of the young nobility of both sexes.
Among themselves, nobles addressed their relatives by the title of
relationship, with the epithet "bel" prefixed--which, when English began
to be spoken by the higher classes, was translated "fair." "Fair
Father," "Fair Brother," sound very odd to modern ears: but for
centuries they were the usual appellations in a noble family, both in
England and in France. They were not, however, used between husband and
wife, who always ceremoniously termed each other Monseigneur and Madame.
It was only natural--and is what we ourselves do to this day--that our
ancestors should address God in prayer by those terms which in their
eyes were the highest titles of honour. In this light, though "Majesty"
is peculiar to Spain, yet "Seigneur," "Messire," and "Bel Pere,"
obtained currency in most civilised countries. The first we have
retained: and though we have degraded "Lord" into the title of our
lesser nobility, we still use it as the special epithet of Deity. It is
only custom which has made the other names sound strange to our ears.
We no longer prefix "fair" to "Father" when we address the human
relative; and it has also become unusual to transfer it to the divine
Father. "Sir God" would shock us. But in our ancestors' eyes it was
the most reverent and honourable of all titles, which was the reason why
they chose it. Even so late as the fifteenth century, the Maid of
Orleans never spoke of God by any other term than "Messire."
THE END
* * * * * * * *
*Stories of English Life.*
*BY EMILY S. HOLT.*
A.D. 597
I. Imogen:
A TALE OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH.
A.D. 1066
II. Behind the Veil:
A STORY OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
A.D. 1159
III. One Snowy Night;
OR, LONG AGO AT OXFORD.
A.D. 1189
IV. Lady Sybil's Choice:
A TALE OF THE CRUSADES.
A.D. 1214
V. Earl Hubert's Daughter;
OR, THE POLISHING OF THE PEARL.
A.D. 1325
VI. In all Time of our Tribulation:
THE STORY OF PIERS GAVESTONE.
A.D. 1350
VII. The White Lady of Hazelwood:
THE WARRIOR COUNTESS OF MONTFORT.
A.D. 1352
VIII. Countess Maud;
OR, THE CHANGES OF THE WORLD.
A.D. 1360
IX. In Convent Walls:
THE STORY OF THE DESPENSERS.
A.D. 1377
X. John De Wycliffe,
AND WHAT HE DID FOR ENGLAND.
A.D. 1384
XI. The Lord Mayor:
A TALK OF LONDON IN 1384.
A.D. 1390
XII. Under One Sceptre:
THE STORY OF THE LORD OF THE MARCHES
A.D. 1400
XIII. The White Rose of Langley;
OR, THE STORY OF CONSTANCE LE DESPENSER.
A.D. 1400
XIV. Mistress Margery:
A TALE OF THE LOLLARDS.
A.D. 1400
XV. Margery's Son;
OR, UNTIL HE FIND IT.
A.D. 1470
XVI. Red and White;
OR, THE WARS OF THE ROSES.
A.D. 1480
XVII. The Tangled Web:
A TALE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
A.D. 1515
XVIII. The Harvest of Yesterday:
A TALE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
A.D. 1530
XIX. Lettice Eden;
OR, THE LAMPS OF EARTH AND THE LIGHTS OF HEAVEN.
A.D. 1535
XX. Isoult Barry of Wynscote:
A TALE OF TUDOR TIMES.
A.D. 1544
XXI. Through the Storm;
OR, THE LORD'S PRISONERS.
A.D. 1555
XXII. Robin Tremayne:
A TALE OF THE MARIAN PERSECUTION.
A.D. 1556
XXIII. All's Well;
OR, ALICE'S VICTORY.
A.D. 1556
XXIV. The King's Daughters.
HOW TWO GIRLS KEPT THE FAITH.
A.D. 1569
XXV. Sister Rose;
OR, THE EVE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.
A.D. 1579
XXVI. Joyce Morrell's Harvest:
A STORY OF THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH.
A.D. 1588
XXVII. Clare Avery:
A STORY OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
A.D. 1605
XXVIII. It Might Have Been:
THE STORY OF GUNPOWDER PLOT.
A.D. 1635
XXIX. Minster Lovel:
A STORY OF THE DAYS OF LAUD.
A.D. 1662
XXX. Wearyholme;
A STORY OF THE RESTORATION.
A.D. 1712
XXXI. The Maiden's Lodge;
OR, THE DAYS OF QUEEN ANNE.
A.D. 1745
XXXII. Out in the Forty-five;
OR, DUNCAN KEITH'S VOW.
A.D. 1750
XXXIII. Ashcliffe Hall:
A TALE OF THE LAST CENTURY.
XXXIV. A.D. 1556
For the Master's Sake;
OR, THE DAYS OF QUEEN MARY.
A.D. 1345
The Well in the Desert.
AN OLD LEGEND.
XXXV. A.D. 1559
All for the Best;
OR, BERNARD GILPIN'S MOTTO.
A.D. 1560
At the Grene Griffin:
A TALE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
XXXVI. A.D. 1270
Our Little Lady;
OR, SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO
A.D. 1652
Gold that Glitters;
OR, THE MISTAKES OF JENNY LAVENDER.
XXXVII. A.D. 1290
A Forgotten Hero:
THE STORY OF ROGER DE MORTIMER.
A.D. 1266
Princess Adelaide:
A STORY OF THE SIEGE OF KENILWORTH.
XXXVIII. 1ST CENTURY.
The Slave Girl of Pompeii.
2ND CENTURY.
The Way of the Cross.
TALES OF THE EARLY CHURCH
A.D. 870 to 1580
XXXIX. Lights in the Darkness:
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
A.D. 1873
XL. Verena.
SAFE PATHS AND SLIPPERY BYE-WAYS.
A Story of To-day.
LONDON: JOHN F. SHAW AND CO.,
48 PATERNOSTER ROW.