Guy de Lusignan

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Guy de Lusignan (German: Guido ; † after October 18, 1281 ) was a French-English crusader and lord of Couhé and Cognac .

Guido was a younger son of the French nobleman Hugo X of Lusignan and Isabella of Angoulême . Through his mother he was a half-brother of King Henry III. of England . Among other things, he received the castles of Couhé and Cognac from his family's inheritance. Around 1247 he moved to the English royal court with his full brothers Wilhelm (William de Valence) and Aymer , and in the same year he took the cross for the sixth crusade . In a letter dated August 1247 from Pope Innocent IV to the King of England, Guido is described as the leader of the British crusade contingent. Apparently he took part in the conquest of Damiette in June 1249 , in which his father had fallen, and then handed over the command of his knights to William Longespée, who arrived in October 1249 . He is not mentioned in the fighting for al-Mansura in the spring of 1250, probably because he stayed in Damiette. Together with Alexander Giffard , Guido is the only known member of the English contingent who survived the crusade. His older full brother, Hugo XI. , was also killed in April 1250. Matthäus Paris recorded Guido's return to the English royal court at Christmas 1250, after he had fled the crusade army in a shameful escape after the surrender of Damiette in May 1250.

During the Second War of the Barons , Guido stood loyally on the side of his royal half-brother against the rebellious barons around Simon de Montfort . In the Battle of Lewes (May 14, 1264) he fought for the royals on the right wing under the command of Prince Edward . His alleged death in this battle is often recorded in historical works; in fact, however, he and his brother Wilhelm managed to escape from the battlefield after the royal party suffered a devastating defeat. After the royal defeated Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, the Lusignans were able to return to England. Guido's will is dated October 18, 1281 and is also the last written note on his person.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Elie Berger: Les registres d'Innocent IV , No. 4054
  2. ^ Matthew Paris: Chronica Majora , V, p. 204
  3. ↑ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California Press, Berkeley 1988
personal data
SURNAME Guy de Lusignan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gui de Lusignan; Guido of Lusignan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lord of Couhé, Cognac etc., crusaders
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH after October 18, 1281