Isabella I of Jerusalem - Succession

Succession

However, shortly afterwards, having become frustrated with Sibylla's second husband Guy of Lusignan, because of his military conduct at Kerak, Baldwin IV decided to remove Sibylla from the succession. He crowned his 5-year-old nephew, Baldwin of Montferrat (Sibylla's son by her first marriage), co-king as Baldwin V. Baldwin IV's will, ratified by the Haute Cour, stated that he would be succeeded by Baldwin V, and if Baldwin V should die during his minority, the question of succession would be adjudicated by the kings of England, France, and Germany, all kinsmen of the boy-king, and by the Pope. During the interim, the kingdom would be ruled by one of "the most rightful heirs" as regent. According to this settlement, both Sibylla and Isabella were considered equally entitled to succeed.

Baldwin IV died in spring 1185, shortly after ordering a formal public crown-wearing by Baldwin V at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, at which Balian of Ibelin carried the child-king, to signify that Isabella's family accepted his claim. Raymond III of Tripoli was now regent once more. Baldwin V, never a healthy child, died in summer 1186. Isabella's supporters questioned Sibylla's legitimacy, due to the annulment of her parents' marriage, but this position was not universally subscribed to. Had Sibylla not been married to Guy, she would have succeeded with less contention. Now, that both Baldwin IV and Baldwin V were dead, it was easier to resurrect that legal grounds for the succession of Isabella, who at 14 was no longer a minor.

The provisions of Baldwin IV's settlement were ignored. Sibylla was crowned as queen regnant in 1186, and, ignoring demands that she have her marriage annulled, she crowned Guy herself. Isabella's supporters, led by her mother Maria and stepfather Balian, and Raymond of Tripoli, had gathered in Nablus. They expected Humphrey to assert her claim, but, when given the opportunity to do so, he submitted to Guy instead.

Read more about this topic:  Isabella I Of Jerusalem

Famous quotes containing the word succession:

    The heart of man ever finds a constant succession of passions, so that the destroying and pulling down of one proves generally to be nothing else but the production and the setting up of another.
    François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)

    The historic ascent of humanity, taken as a whole, may be summarized as a succession of victories of consciousness over blind forces—in nature, in society, in man himself.
    Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)

    Man approaches the unattainable truth through a succession of errors.
    Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)