Agnes of Milly was a noblewoman in the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...
and the wife of
Joscelin III of Courtenay.
Background
Agnes was the daughter of
Henry of Milly, also called "The Buffalo", the brother of
Philip of Milly
Philip of Milly, also known as Philip of Nablus (; c. 1120 – April 3, 1171), was a baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He briefly employed the troubadour Peire Bremon lo Tort in the Holy Land. ...
, and Agnes Grenier, the daughter of
Gerard Grenier, Count of Sidon. Upon Henry's death, Agnes inherited his claims to the castles of
Montfort and Castellum Regis, making her one of the wealthiest heiresses in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Marriage
On 15 July 1174,
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
Baldwin IV (1161–1185), known as the Leper King, was the king of Jerusalem from 1174 until his death in 1185. He was admired by historians and his contemporaries for his dedication to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the face of his debilitating ...
was crowned king. During his regency, his mother,
Agnes of Courtenay
Agnes of Courtenay ( – ) was a Franks, Frankish noblewoman who held considerable influence in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the reign of her son, King Baldwin IV. Though she was never queen, she has been described as the most powerful wom ...
was allowed to return to court, and the two became very close. After the murder of
Miles of Plancy
Miles of Plancy (, ; died October 1174) was a French-born nobleman who rose to high offices in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He arrived in the kingdom during the reign of his kinsman King Amalric, who appointed him seneschal in 1168. Miles accompani ...
, the kingdom lacked a
seneschal
The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
, a powerful officer responsible for overseeing
High Court meetings, for two years. When Baldwin reached the age of majority in 1176, his mother suggested that he appoint his maternal uncle,
Joscelin of Courtenay, to become the kingdom's new seneschal. Baldwin was able to trust Joscelin, since he was his closest male relative who lacked any claim to the throne. Baldwin subsequently arranged Joscelin's marriage to Agnes around this time, no later than 1176. Joscelin was therefore granted the castles of Montfort and Castellum Regis by right of his wife. Throughout his life, Joscelin amassed enough land to establish his own lordship, called the
"Seigneurie de Joscelin", in 1181.
Issue
With Joscelin, Agnes had two daughters:
1.
Beatrix of Courtenay (d. aft. 1245), betrothed to William of Valence, brother of Guy of Lusignan, in 1186, but married Otto von Botenlauben.
2. Agnes of Courtenay, betrothed to a nephew of
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan ( 1150 – 18 July 1194) was King of Jerusalem, first as husband and co-ruler of Queen Sibylla from 1186 to 1190 then as disputed ruler from 1190 to 1192. He was also Lord of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194.
A French Poitevin kni ...
in 1186, but married, by 1200, William of Amandolea, a Norman from Calabria, who became Lord of Scandeleon
Notes
References
Sources
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12th-century women
Kingdom of Jerusalem