Frederick of La Roche (died 30 October 1174) was the sixth

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

archbishop of Tyre The See of Tyre was one of the most ancient dioceses in Christianity. The existence of a Christian community there in the time of Saint Paul is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Seated at Tyre (Lebanon), Tyre, which was the capital of the Roma ...

(1164–1174),

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of 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 ...

(c. 1150), and the chief diplomat of

King Amalric Amalric (; 113611 July 1174), formerly known in historiography as , was the king of Jerusalem from 1163 until his death. He was, in the opinion of his Muslim adversaries, the bravest and cleverest of the crusader kings. Amalric was the younger ...

. He was a

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

r, from the family of the .

Bishop of Acre

Frederick was a

canon regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religiou ...

of the

Templum Domini The ''Templum Domini'' (Vulgate translation of Hebrew: "Temple of the Lord") was the name attributed by the Crusaders to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It became an important symbol of Jerusalem, depicted on coins minted under the Catholi ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and was appointed

bishop of Acre The bishop of Acre was a suffragan bishop of the archbishop of Tyre in the medieval Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Acre is present-day Akko, Israel. History The introduction of Christianity to Ptolemais, as Acre was known in ancient times, dates ba ...

and chancellor of Jerusalem around 1150. He participated in the

Siege of Ascalon The siege of Ascalon took place from 25 January to 22 August 1153, in the time period between the Second Crusade, Second and Third Crusades, and resulted in the capture of the Fatimid Egyptian fortress by the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Ascalon was an i ...

in 1153, and in 1154

King Baldwin III Baldwin III (1130 – 10 February 1163) was the king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Queen Melisende and King Fulk. He became king while still a child, and was at first overshadowed by his mother Melisende, whom he eventu ...

sent him to mediate in the dispute between the

prince of Antioch Prince of Antioch was the title given during the Middle Ages to Normans, Norman rulers of the Principality of Antioch, a region surrounding the city of Antioch, now known as Antakya in Turkey. The Princes originally came from the County of Sicil ...

Raynald of Châtillon Raynald of Châtillon ( 11244 July 1187), also known as Reynald, Reginald, or Renaud, was Prince of Antioch—a crusader states, crusader state in the Middle East—from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Oultrejordain—a Vassals of the Kingdo ...

, and the

Latin patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. The patriarch returned to Jerusalem with Frederick. In 1155 Frederick accompanied the

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem () is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the archbishop of Latin Church Catholics of th ...

to Rome to complain to

Pope Hadrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

about the conduct of various abbeys and churches of Jerusalem, which had been neglecting to recognize the authority of the patriarch. When

Amalric of Nesle Amalric of Nesle (; died on 6 October 1180) was a Catholic prelate who served as the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from late 1157 or early 1158 until his death. Amalric focused chiefly on managing church property; he showed very little political ...

was elected patriarch of Jerusalem in 1157, he was opposed by the

archbishop of Caesarea The archiepiscopal see of Caesarea in Palaestina, also known as Caesarea Maritima, is now a metropolitan see of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and also a titular see of the Catholic Church. It was one of the earliest Christian bish ...

, Hernesius, and the bishop of Bethlehem, Ralph, but Frederick supported him and returned to Rome to appeal to Hadrian IV. Frederick won Hadrian's blessing for the new patriarch, "by the use of lavish gifts, it is claimed", as

William of Tyre William of Tyre (; 29 September 1186) was a Middle Ages, medieval prelate and chronicler. As Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tyre, archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I of Tyr ...

explains.

Archbishop of Tyre

In March, 1164, Peter of Barcelona,

, died, and within a month Frederick was appointed to replace him, at the request of

. He accompanied Amalric on the expedition against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1167, with his own "rather distinguished retinue", according to William. Frederick suffered from

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

in Egypt after drinking from the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

and soon returned home. In August of that year he presided over the marriage of Amalric to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

princess Maria Comnena. A few days later, Frederick appointed William

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of Tyre, but in 1169 he accused the archdeacon probably of receiving to great a salary for his post, which William had probably gained through his friendship with King Amalric. William went to Rome to defend himself against the charges.

Embassy to the West

In 1169, after the failure of Amalric's invasion of Egypt, the king sent an embassy to Europe to obtain financial aid for the struggling

Crusader States The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...

and to call for a new

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. The first embassy, led by Patriarch Amalric and Archbishop Ernesius, was caught in a storm in the Mediterranean and was forced to return home. King Amalric then sent a second embassy under Archbishop Frederick, Bishop John of Banyas and Guibert, the

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

. In July they arrived at Rome and met with

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

, but none of the monarchs of Europe were willing to assist the far-away Crusader kingdom:

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

and

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

were already occupied in warring against each other, but Frederick persuaded Henry to donate money and make a pilgrimage later.

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

had been excommunicated by Alexander III in 1160 and was currently at war with the Papacy, so no support was forthcoming from him either. The embassy was also meant to find a suitable husband for the then-eleven-year-old Sibylla, the king's daughter, who might one day reign, her brother

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

being suspected of having contracted

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. In France, Frederick persuaded Count

Stephen I of Sancerre Stephen I (1133–1190), Count of Sancerre (1151–1190), inherited Sancerre on his father's death. His elder brothers Henry Ι and Theobald V received Champagne and Blois. His holdings were the smallest among the brothers (although William, the ...

and brother-in-law of Louis VII, to come to the east and marry Sibylla. The embassy returned to Jerusalem in 1171, along with Stephen and Duke

Hugh III of Burgundy Hugh III (1142 – 25 August 1192) was Duke of Burgundy between 1162 and 1192. As duke, Burgundy was invaded by King Philip II and Hugh was forced to sue for peace. Hugh then joined the Third Crusade, distinguishing himself at Arsuf and Acre, wh ...

, who came as a representative of Louis VII. It is unknown what Frederick offered the young count, but it seems he never got it, for he returned to France without marrying the princess.

Death

After a long illness, Frederick died in

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

on October 30, 1174, and was buried in the Templum Domini in Jerusalem. William was appointed archbishop and was consecrated on June 8 of the next year. William describes Frederick as "an extremely tall man. He possessed little education but was inordinately devoted to the art of war."

Sources

, ''A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'', trans. E.A. Babcock and A.C. Krey.

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 1943 *Bernard Hamilton, ''The Leper King and his Heirs'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2000. *Hans E. Mayer, "Frederick of La Roche, bishop of Acre and archbishop of Tyre", ''Tel Aviver Jahrbuch für deutsche Geschichte'' 22 (1993), pp. 59–72. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick, Archbishop of Tyre 1174 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Kingdom of Jerusalem Christians of the Crusades Archbishops of Tyre Bishops of Acre Chancellors of Jerusalem People from La Roche-en-Ardenne Year of birth unknown