Pagan (died before October 19, 1129) was the first

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 ...

from around 1115. He was made

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 ...

before September 1129.

Life

Born in a Norman family in

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

, Pagan most probably started his career as a lay notary in his homeland. He and his kinsman, Bardo, came to Jerusalem in the entourage of

Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto (Adelasia, Azalaïs) ( – 16 April 1118) was countess of Sicily as the third spouse of Roger I of Sicily, and Queen consort of Jerusalem by marriage to Baldwin I of Jerusalem. She served as regent of Sicily during the minor ...

in 1113. Adelaide had administered the realm of her minor son,

Roger II of Sicily Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...

, from 1101 to 1111.

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I (1060s – 2 April 1118) was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100 and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine and married a Norman noblew ...

, who had always been short of money, married the wealthy widow in 1113, promising to name her son as his successor. Pagan was made the first chancellor of the kingdom in 1115. He appointed Bardo as a lay notary in the chancery. Pagan were among the prelates and barons who adopted laws against adultery, sodomy, bigamy, procuring and prohibit sexual relations between Christians and Saracens at the

Council of Nablus The Council of Nablus was a council of ecclesiastic and secular lords in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, held on January 16, 1120. History The council was convened at Nablus by Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. ...

on 15 January 1120. Other laws secured the Church right to collect the tithe and authorize clergymen to bear arms in their defense. He accompanied Baldwin II of Jerusalem to Antioch in August 1122, consequently those who needed a royal charter were to travel to north Syria to meet with him. He returned to the kingdom only in December 1122. He played a more active role in the politics from the 1120s, leaving the actual administrative work to Hemelin, who was made vice-chancellor around 1124. Along with

Warmund of Picquigny Warmund, also Garmond, Gormond, Germond, Guarmond or Waremond (bef. 1069–1128), was the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death at Sidon in 1128. Warmund of Picquigny was a son of another Warmund (Guermond) of Picquigny and his w ...

, 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 ...

, and

William I of Bures William of Bures (died before the spring of 1144, or around 1157) was Prince of Galilee from 1119 or 1120 to his death. He was descended from a French noble family which held estates near Paris. William and his brother, Godfrey, were listed among ...

, Pagan conducted negotiations with the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

Domenico Michiel Domenico Michiel (died ) was the 35th Doge of Venice from 1116 or 1117 to his resignation in late 1129 or early 1130. In August 1122 Domenico Michiel led a Venetian fleet of 100 vessels and around 15,000 men for the campaign in the Holy Land. ...

, about the joint conquest of Tyre at Christmas 1123. Pagan was made archbishop of Caesarea before September 1129. His successor as archbishop, Gaudentius, was first mentioned in a charter on 19 October 1129, showing that Pagan had died. Hemelin succeeded him as chancellor.

References

Sources

* * {{Refend 1120s deaths 12th-century Normans 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 12th-century people from the Kingdom of Jerusalem Archbishops of Caesarea Chancellors of Jerusalem