The annulment of the marriage of Agnes and Amalric
Born
c. 1136
Died
c. 1184
Spouse
Reynald of Marash Amalric of Jerusalem Hugh of Ibelin Reginald of Sidon
Issue
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Sibylla of Jerusalem
House
House of Courtenay
Father
Joscelin II of Courtenay
Mother
Beatrice of Saone
Agnes of Courtenay (c. 1136 – c. 1184) was a Frankish noblewoman who held considerable influence in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the reign of her son, King Baldwin IV. Though she was never queen, she has been described as the most powerful woman in the kingdom's history after Queen Melisende.
Agnes was of high birth but an impoverished young widow when she married Amalric of Jerusalem. They had two children, Sibylla and Baldwin. When Amalric unexpectedly inherited the crown in 1163, the High Court of Jerusalem refused to accept Agnes as queen and insisted that Amalric repudiate her. Agnes contracted two further advantageous marriages, to powerful noblemen Hugh of Ibelin and Reginald of Sidon successively.
Agnes's influence grew rapidly after Amalric died in 1174 and their teenage son, Baldwin IV, became king. Despite having been separated from him since his infancy, she became Baldwin's trusted advisor. Since he suffered from leprosy, he could not marry and was growing weaker. Agnes selected government officials and influenced succession by choosing husbands for both Sibylla and Isabella, Amalric's daughter by his second wife, Maria Comnena. She advised Baldwin to have Sibylla marry Guy of Lusignan, who thus became the king-in-waiting, and when Baldwin decided to disinherit Guy, Agnes convinced him and the nobility to crown Sibylla's son, Baldwin V, instead. The leper king died in early 1185; she died around the same time, possibly somewhat earlier.
Count Raymond III of Tripoli and the brothers Balian (second husband of Maria Comnena) and Baldwin of Ibelin were Agnes's chief contenders for power, and it is from sources close to them that nearly all information about Agnes is derived. She has consequently usually been criticized by historians as self-seeking, unscrupulous, and morally loose.
and 23 Related for: Agnes of Courtenay information
AgnesofCourtenay (c. 1136 – c. 1184) was a Frankish noblewoman who held considerable influence in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the reign of her son...
in mid-1161. His parents were Amalric, then the count of Jaffa and Ascalon, and AgnesofCourtenay. Baldwin's godfather was his paternal uncle, King Baldwin...
House ofCourtenay is a medieval noble house, with branches in France, England and the Holy Land. One branch of the Courtenays became a royal house of the...
of Ascalon, which was then added to Amalric's fief of Jaffa (see Battle of Ascalon). Amalric married AgnesofCourtenay in 1157. Agnes, daughter of Joscelin...
daughter of Renaud de Courtenay (died 1194) and Hawise du Donjon. Peter first married Agnes I, via whom he obtained the three counties of Nevers, Auxerre...
to a divorce. There were precedents: the annulment of Amalric I's marriage to AgnesofCourtenay, and the unsuccessful attempts to force Sibylla to divorce...
other members of the Hanbali group. After the death of his eldest brother Hugh (third husband ofAgnesofCourtenay) in 1169, the castle of Ibelin passed...
Hugh married AgnesofCourtenay (1133 – 1184/1185), the former wife of King Amalric, by whom he had no issue. It is possible that Agnes had already been...
patronage of King Baldwin IV and of his mother AgnesofCourtenay who held the County of Jaffa and Ascalon and was married to Reginald of Sidon. He was...
houses. Examples include the marriages ofAgnesofCourtenay, her daughter Sibylla, Jeanne d'Albret, and Catherine of Aragon. Abuse Basic Allowance for Housing...
was one ofAgnesofCourtenay's supporters. The canons of the Holy Sepulchre asked the king for advice, and Heraclius was chosen through Agnes' influence...
lover of Amalric of Jerusalem's former wife, AgnesofCourtenay. Aimery married Eschiva of Ibelin, a daughter of Baldwin of Ibelin, who was one of the most...
unless his marriage to Agnes was annulled. She was never a titled Queen consort, although Agnes continued to hold the title Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon and...
marriage to AgnesofCourtenay.) Fenie (Euphemia), married Eudes (Odo) de Saint-Omer of Tiberias, Constable of Tripoli, Lord of Gogulat (stepson of Raymond...
candidate for the patriarchate of Jerusalem, but the king, Baldwin IV, delegated the choice to his mother AgnesofCourtenay, Lady of Sidon, and her ladies, according...
group included the mother of Baldwin IV and Sibylla, AgnesofCourtenay, her brother, Joscelin, and Raynald of Châtillon, Lord of Oultrejordain. Their opponents...
Peter I ofCourtenay (1126 – 10 April 1183) was the sixth son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adélaide de Maurienne. He was the father of the Latin...
Ramla Hugh of Ibelin (c. 1130-1133–1169/1171) m. AgnesofCourtenay Baldwin of Ibelin (early 1130s – c. 1187 or 1186/1188) m. 1. Richilde of Bethsan, 2...
daughter of Baldwin of Ibelin, and entered court circles. Aimery had also obtained the patronage ofAgnesofCourtenay (the divorced mother of King Baldwin...
in cahoots with Reynald de Châtillon, Agnes de Courtenay in their mutual enmity with Count Raymond, the two of them frequently conspiring and making schemes...
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