Hugo I. (Cyprus)

Hugo I coat of arms

Hugo I ( 1195 - January 10, 1218 in Tripoli ) from the House of Lusignan was King of Cyprus from 1205 to 1218 .

Hugo was the only son of King Amalrich I / II. from Cyprus-Jerusalem from his first marriage to Eschiva von Ibelin. After the death of his father, he succeeded to the throne of Cyprus, in Jerusalem his stepsister Maria von Montferrat , who was entitled to inherit .

Since Hugo was only ten years old when he ascended the throne , the reign was transferred to his cousin Walter von Montbéliard , a French knight. Hugo married his stepsister Alice in 1208, according to the agreement their fathers had made . When Hugo took over the government himself in 1210, Walter von Montbeliard was forced to go into exile. Among other things, he was accused of having enriched himself from the throne.

Hugo I always had a tense relationship with the Church and the Pope, but gave Cyprus a strong government.

In 1217 Hugo decided to lead his Cypriot knighthood in the Damiette Crusade (Fifth Crusade). In Acre , however, he got into a dispute with King John of Brienne , as the King of Jerusalem claimed supreme command of the entire crusade army. While his knights moved on to Damiette with King John, Hugo decided instead to accompany King Andrew II of Hungary for a while on his way home and attended the wedding of his half-sister Melisende with Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch in Tripoli . There he died suddenly on January 10, 1218.

Hugo left the throne of Cyprus to his eight-month-old son Heinrich († 1254), the reign of Cyprus passed to his widow Alice. In addition to Heinrich, he had two daughters:

• Maria (* 1214, † 1251/53), ⚭ 1233 Count Walter IV of Brienne
• Isabella (* 1215, † 1264), ⚭ 1233 Heinrich of Antioch

Web links

• Hugo I. at medieval-genealogie.de
• Hugues de Lusignan at fmg.ac (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Amalrich I.	King of Cyprus 1205–1218	Heinrich I.