Walter II Grenier (; died 1189×91) was the

Lord of Caesarea The Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader states that was created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller Manorialism, seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin (jurist), John of Ibelin, the four highest crown va ...

, succeeding his older brother,

Guy Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an uninc ...

, between 1176 and 1182. The date of his birth is unknown. His parents, Hugh Grenier and Isabelle Goman, are recorded as husband and wife in five charters between 1160 and 1166.John L. LaMonte, "The Lords of Caesarea in the Period of the Crusades", ''Speculum'' 22, 2 (1947): 151–52. Walter and Guy witnessed a charter of King

Amalric I 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 ...

in July 1174. He is not mentioned in any source before 1182, by which time he was already Lord of Caesarea. That year, with the consent of his sister,

Julianne Julianne is an English language given name ultimately derived from the Latin Iuliana, the feminine form of Iulianus ( Julian), probably via the French Julienne. The name is often thought to be made up from Julia + Anne. Notable people with the ...

, and her husband, Guy of Beirut, he sold the '' casale'' of Galilaea, near

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

, to the military Order of the Hospital for 5,000

bezant In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (, from Latin ) was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman . The word itself comes from the Greek Byzantion, the ancient name of Constantinop ...

s. This act was drawn up by the royal chancellor, Archbishop

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 ...

, at the ''Haute Cour'' in Jerusalem and was witnessed by the highest-ranking men in the kingdom: King

Baldwin IV 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 ...

, Lord Baldwin II of Ramla (Walter's step-father), Lord

Balian of Ibelin Balian of Ibelin (; ), also known as Barisan the Younger, was a Crusades, crusader noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. He was Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem#Lordship of Ibelin, Lord of Ibelin from 1170 to 1193. As the ...

, Count Guy of Jaffa and the

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

, Amalric of Lusignan. The king later confirmed this sale on 14 November at

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

.LaMonte, "Lords of Caesarea", 151 n. 41, quotes the charter: ''Galterius Caesaree Palaestine dominus, Hugonis domini bone memorie euisdem Cesaree quondam domini filius'', "Lord Walter of Caesarea of Palestine, son of Lord Hugh of good memory, once also lord of Caesarea". Walter aligned with his step-father and the baronial party during the conflicts of the reign of Baldwin IV. When Guy, count of Jaffa and newly appointed bailiff of the kingdom, led an army out to the Pools of Goliath near

Bethsan Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to be one of the oldest cities ...

to face an invading army under

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

, the baronial party, including Walter, refused to fight under him. In July 1187, Walter was one of the barons—along with Count

Raymond III of Tripoli Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Nizari Assassins murdered his father, Count Raymond II of Tripoli. His cousin, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying ...

, Count

Joscelin III of Edessa Joscelin III (c. 1139 – after 1190) was the titular count of Edessa, who during his lifetime managed to amass enough land to establish a lordship in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Early life Joscelin III was the son of Joscelin II and Beat ...

, Lord

Reginald of Sidon Reginald Grenier (1130s – 1202; also Reynald or Renaud) was lord of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem. Rise to fame Reginald was the son of Gerard Grenier and Agnes of Bures, and a grandson of Eust ...

and

Raymond de Gibelet Raymond Embriaco, also known as Raymond of Gibelet (died after 1204), was a nobleman of Genoese origin and a member of the prominent Embriaco family of Gibelet, in the County of Tripoli. Biography Raymond was the second son of William II Embriaco ...

—who negotiated a treaty with

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

to defend the city of Tyre from Saladin. After

Conrad of Montferrat Conrad of Montferrat (Italian language, Italian: ''Corrado del Monferrato''; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''Conrà ëd Monfrà'') (c. 1146 – 28 April 1192) was a nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the '' ...

arrived in Tyre, Walter remained to participate in the defence there. He witnessed five of Conrad's acts between October 1187 and May 1188. By this time, the entire Lordship of Caesarea was in the hands of the conquerors. Walter subsequently went to participate in the

Siege of Acre Siege of Acre, also Siege of Akka/Akko, may refer to: *Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade *Siege of Acre (1257–1258), during the War of Saint Sabas *Siege of Acre (1263), Baiba ...

(28 August 1189–12 July 1191), where he died. The ''

Lignages d'Outremer The ''Lignages d'Outremer'' ("Lineages of Outremer") describe the pedigrees of the most important Crusades, Crusader families. A first version was written in 1270 and is available in two manuscripts of the 14th century. A later version was produce ...

'' states that "Walter was killed at the recovery of Acre" (''Gautier fu occis ou recouvrer d'Acre''), and the French historian

Louis de Mas Latrie Louis de Mas Latrie (9 April 1815 – 3 January 1897) was a 19th-century French historian. Biography After his studies at the École nationale des chartes, Louis de Mas Latrie became an historian and specialized on Cyprus during the Middle Age ...

assumed that this meant on the last day of the siege, when the city fell. On his deathbed, Walter gave back the ''casale'' of Altafia, which his father had purchased from the Hospitallers after his grandfather had donated it to them, to the Hospitallers. This grant was confirmed by his sister and successor, Julianne, in 1197. It was also confirmed by the king, Guy, former count of Jaffa, to whom Walter had long been opposed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter 02 Grenier Lords of Caesarea 12th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain