Agnes (Edessa)

Agnes von Edessa or Agnes von Courtenay (* 1133; † 1184/85) was the mother of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and played an important role during the reign of her son.

The marriage of Agnes de Courtenay and King Amalrich I is annulled. Representation from the 14th century.

Agnes was the daughter of Joscelin II of Courtenay , Count of Edessa , and the sister of Joscelin III.

Her first husband was Rainald von Marasch , after whose death in the Battle of Inab (1149) she became engaged to Hugo von Ibelin , but then married Amalrich Count of Jaffa and Askalon in 1158 after Hugo was captured by the Muslims in 1157 at the Battle of Banyas had been taken. The patriarch Fulko opposed this marriage so much that Amalrich was forced to annul it in 1162 in order to become king. The reasons for the resistance were often seen in the close relatives of the two, but it is also possible that many nobles did not want such a vengeful and greedy woman as queen. Agnes and Amalrich were the parents of Sibylle and Balduin IV, who remained in marriage despite the annulment of the marriage. A little later, Agnes married Hugo von Ibelin, who died in 1169. Her fourth husband became Rainald of Sidon .

After Amalrich's death in 1174, she regained influence at the royal court as the mother of the still minor new King Baldwin IV, especially after Raymond III. had been replaced as regent by Tripoli . In 1176 she dissolved her brother Joscelin III. out of Muslim captivity and obtained his installation as Seneschal of Jerusalem . When Humfried II of Toron died in 1179 , she obtained the appointment of Amalrich of Lusignan as constable of the empire - accompanied by rumors that she was having an affair with him. She was in opposition to William of Tire , and it was thanks to Heraclius that he became Archbishop of Caesarea and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1180 , although William was the more popular candidate - rumors persisted that she was also having an affair with Heraclius.

In the meantime she had become one of the leading figures of the court party , which stood in contrast to the more conservative and less adventurous aristocratic party. In 1180 she supported the marriage of her daughter Sibylle to Guido von Lusignan , although Guido had not been in the country long and in any case did not belong to one of the established families. As an opponent of Raimund III. they convinced Baldwin IV. 1182 to deny him entry into the kingdom. In 1183 she probably helped arrange the wedding between Humfried IV of Toron and Isabella of Jerusalem ; a provision of the marriage contract stipulated that Toron should become a royal domain - which Agnes then claimed for herself in 1184.

Her exact date of death is unknown, the last time she was documented as alive was in September 1184, and on February 1, 1185 she had already died.

Web links

• Agnes de Cortenay at medieval-genealogie.de
• Agnes de Courtenay at fmg.ac (English)