Gottfried von Lusignan

Gottfried (I.) von Lusignan (* before 1150 ; † May 1216 ), was Lord of Vouvant and Mervent and a Count of Jaffa from the House of Lusignan . By virtue of his wife's right, he was also Herr von Moncontour . He was probably the second son of Hugo VIII of Lusignan and his wife Bourgogne von Rancon, from whom he inherited Vouvent.

His older brother was Hugo von Lusignan († 1169) and his younger brothers were Guido von Lusignan and Amalrich von Lusignan . Gottfried was named " lo Prodome " in a document from his son of the same name from the first half of the 13th century .

Life

Gottfried came from the Aquitaine family of the Lusignan and, like all his family members, was an enemy of the Plantagenet family . This hostility resulted from the Lusignan's claim to the county of La Marche , which, however, was held by the Norman Montgommery family with the recognition of the Plantagenets. In 1168 the Lusignans revolted against King Henry II Plantagenet and killed his confidante Patrick of Salisbury . In 1173 Gottfried supported Duke Richard the Lionheart in the revolt against his father. When in 1177 Count Aldebert IV sold the county of La Marche directly to King Henry II, it was Gottfried who, as the head of the family, again took up arms to fight for the rights of the Lusignan. In 1183 he allied himself with the young King Heinrich , Vice Count Adémar V of Limoges and his cousin Gottfried II of Rancon against Duke Richard. The fight ended, however, with the unexpected death of the young king in June 1183, whereupon Gottfried had to submit to Duke Richard.

Gottfried was obliged to take the cross as a penance for his rebellious behavior, whereupon he went to the holy land , where he first appeared in 1188. There his brother Guido had in the meantime risen to the rank of King of Jerusalem , an unheard-of career leap which, according to Ernoul's chronicle, Gottfried is said to have mockingly commented on with the words “He wants to become God next!”. But when Gottfried arrived in Palestine , the Crusader Kingdom had already been smashed by Sultan Saladin in the Battle of Hattin (1187) and King Guido was in the siege of Acre , in which Gottfried also took part and on October 4, 1189 as Defender of the camp against an attack by Saladin. After the conquest of the city, he was enfeoffed on July 28, 1191 with the county of Jaffa, which was then still occupied by Saladin and was only recaptured until 1192 in the further course of the Third Crusade , ironically by Richard the Lionheart , who was now the most important ally of the Lusignans was in the holy land. In 1193 Gottfried resigned his title and returned to Moncontour, his brother Amalrich took over his property.

When he returned home, Gottfried immediately resumed his hostility to the Plantagenets and supported King Philip II of France in the fight against King John Ohneland , who had stolen the rich bride Isabella of Angoulême from the Lusignans . He moved in 1202 together with Prince Arthur of Brittany and his nephew Hugo IX. von Lusignan against the castle Mirebeau , on which Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine had holed up. At dawn on July 31, 1202, the besiegers were surprised by a relief attack by King John who wanted to save his mother. According to tradition, Gottfried is said not to have taken the news of King John's approaching very seriously, as he did not appreciate his abilities as a knight; he preferred to eat his breakfast. Together with his nephew and Prince Arthur, Gottfried was captured by King John. Fortunately for Gottfried, the king did not know how to take advantage of this success and soon released the Lusignans in the hope of winning them over. But they immediately took up the fight against him again, especially after Prince Arthur was murdered in 1203.

In his first marriage he was married to Humberge, a daughter of the Vice Count Adémar V of Limoges. They had a son named Hugo, who is only mentioned once in a document in a donation to the Abbey of L'Absie in the year 1200 and who probably died young. In the same document, Gottfried's second wife Eustachie is mentioned for the first time, who was possibly the heiress of Moncontour , whose master has called himself Gottfried ever since. With her he had three sons:

• Gottfried II of Lusignan († 1242/48), Lord of Vouvent and Mervent
• Amalrich († 1230/42), Lord of Soubise
• Wilhelm de Valence († after 1230); ∞ around 1226 Marguerite de Mauléon
  • Valence de Lusignan († after 1262), heiress to Voulvent, Mervent and Soubise; ∞ with Hugo II of Parthenay

literature

• Sidney Painter: The Lords of Lusignan in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. In: Speculum. Vol. 32. No. 1, 1957, pp. 27-47, doi : 10.2307 / 2849244 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On the year of death see Bernard Itier : Chronicon. Edited by Léopold Delisle . In: Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France . Vol. 18, Nouvelle Édition 1878, pp. 223–238, here p. 234 .
2. ^ Paul Marchegay: Cartulaires du Bas Poitou (Département de la Vendée). L. Gaston, Les Roches-Baritaud 1877, pp. 304-305 ; see Painter: The Lords of Lusignan in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. In: Speculum Vol. 32. No. 1, 1957, pp. 27-47, here p. 41.
3. ^ William Stubbs (ed.): Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis. The Chronicle of the Reigns of Henry II and Richard IAD 1169-1192; Known commonly under the Name Benedict of Peterborough (= Rerum Britannicarum Medii Æevi Scriptores or Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages. 49, ZDB -ID 401449-2 ). Volume 1. Edited, from the Cotton. MSS. Longman et al. London 1867, p. 343 .
4. ^ Geoffroy du Breuil : Ex Chronico Gaufredi Cœnobitæ. In: Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France. Vol. 12, Nouvelle Édition 1877, pp. 421–451, here p. 447 ; see Painter: The Lords of Lusignan in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. In: Speculum. Vol. 32. No. 1, 1957, pp. 27-47, here p. 42.
5. ↑ Bélisaire Ledain (ed.): Cartulaire de l'abbaye de l'Absie (= Archives historiques du Poitou. 25, ZDB -ID 439281-4 ). Oudin, Poitiers 1895, p. 137 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Crown Domain ( Guido )	Earl of Jaffa 1191–1193	Amalrich