Walter I, of the House of Grenier, 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 ...

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 ...

from the 1120s until his death in the early 1150s. He clashed with his stepfather, Count

Hugh II of Jaffa Hugh II ( 1106 – 1134), also called Hugh of Le Puiset, was the count of Jaffa in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was born in Apulia and came to the kingdom in 1120, where he obtained Jaffa as his inheritance. King Baldwin II, who was his cousin, al ...

, over the

lordship of Sidon The Lordship of Sidon (), later County of Sidon, was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much sm ...

, leading to a dramatic public accusation that Hugh intended to assassinate

King Fulk Fulk of Anjou (, or ''Foulques''; – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the king of Jerusalem from 1131 until 1143 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Melisende. Previously, he was the count of Anjou as Fulk V from 1109 t ...

. Walter in the end never received Sidon and spent his last years heavily indebted and marginalized.

Minority

Walter and his twin brother, Eustace II, were born 1113. They were the sons of Eustace I,

lord of Sidon The Lordship of Sidon (), later County of Sidon, was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much sm ...

and

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 ...

, who served as 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 ...

of the

and as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

during the captivity of

King Baldwin II Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Baldwin of Boulogne to th ...

until his death on 15 June 1123. Since Eustace I's sons were twins,

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

was difficult to apply. Historian

Hans Eberhard Mayer Hans Eberhard Mayer (2 February 1932 – 21 October 2023) was a German medieval historian who specialised in the Crusades. Life and career Hans Eberhard Mayer was born in Nuremberg on 2 February 1932. He was an international expert on the history ...

argues that his fief, situated along the coast of the kingdom, was at first meant to pass undivided to the preferred twin, Eustace II. Walter and Eustace II's mother, Emma, married Count

in 1124. Hugh assumed charge of the boys' inheritance as well as of Emma's town of

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

. Walter and Eustace II then lived with their mother and stepfather in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

. Walter came of age between 1127 and March 1129, when a charter of King Baldwin II describes him as the lord of Caesarea. Since Eustace II is described as the lord of Sidon already in 1126, Mayer assumes that Eustace I's fief was divided between the twins at that time. Hugh continued to hold sway over Caesarea until 1128.

Career

King Baldwin II died on 21 August 1131. Walter attended the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of Baldwin's successor,

, on 14 September. By this time he had a wife, Juliana, and a considerable retinue of vassals and household officers. His twin, Eustace II, had died, and Walter called himself lord of Caesarea and Sidon. He soon dropped Sidon from his title, and Mayer asserts, based on the lack of Sidon landholders' interaction with Walter, that Walter never held it. The regime of Walter's stepfather, Hugh, continued in Sidon. Walter's mother, Emma, apparently could do nothing to help Walter gain Sidon. Walter's grievance with his stepfather, Hugh, was such that in 1134, he stood up in the royal court and accused Hugh of

lèse-majesté ''Lèse-majesté'' or ''lese-majesty'' ( , ) is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a mod ...

and conspiring to kill King Fulk. Fulk himself had instigated Walter to make this accusation; the king needed a reason to revoke the fiefs of the vassal who had grown too powerful, and Walter desired Sidon, the Grenier patrimony governed by Hugh. Hugh then revolted against Fulk, lost his fiefs, and was exiled. Jericho, which belonged to Walter's mother, was also confiscated. Walter never profited, however, as the royal family retained these lands. Having no other choice, Walter remained loyal to Fulk, who had outwitted him. He never became the king's friend either, nor was he close to Fulk's son

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 ...

; he only witnessed one charter of each king. In his last years he had significant financial problems and incurred debts for which both he and his vassals had to serve time. He took no part in the affairs of the kingdom after 1147. He was still alive in 1149 but by 1154, he had been succeeded by his son,

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

. Another son, Eustace, joined the

lepers 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 ...

of the

Order of Saint Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by Crusaders during the 1130s at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose car ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grenier, Walter I, Lord Of Caesarea 1154 deaths Christians of the Crusades

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

Year of birth unknown