The Strong One & the Bright

The Strong One & the Bright One: Power and Presence of Melisende of Jerusalem & Eleanor of Aquitaine in the Twelfth Century Holly Soltis Adviser: Dr. Florin Curta History Department April 4th, 2014 1 Acknowledgements First and foremost this thesis must be dedicated to my family, who have always encouraged and supported my love of history: my mother, who taught me to be creative and how to paddle through tough waters, my father, who built me a bookshelf to house the hoard of books that were the source of my dreams, my sister Bonnie, who showed me how to laugh and has been reminding me to do so every day of my life, my sister Kerry, who always had the most sensible piece of quiet advice when I needed it, and to Johnathon, who taught me selflessness and joy. A project such as this takes a part of oneself, and I would never have been able to do it without the lessons my family imparted upon me. I must thank Dr. Florin Curta, my advisor, for inspiring the purpose and direction I have found in history, as well as showing me what great heights I could achieve in the field of history. I believe every student should have at least one teacher who touches him or her profoundly, one he or she will remember and thank forever – Dr. Curta is that teacher for me. Another person that cannot be forgotten is fellow Honor’s Thesis student Rachel Walkover, without whom I would have never retained my sanity. A friend, editor, sympathetic ear, and part of the medievalist-club, I would not have survived this process without you. Finally, to my grandfather James E. Flannery II, who will live forever in memory. He made me realize that inquisitiveness and learning does not have to be without humor. For a man whose mind was as sharp as a tack, his heart and his humor was just as formidable. Always and forever, “Irish and good-looking.” 2 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………3 Chapter One – A Woman’s Restrictions…………………………………………………………8 Chapter Two – Sway and Scandal……………………………………………………………….12 Chapter Three – Women of War or of Patronage?.……………………………………………...23 Chapter Four – Politics and Proponents………………………………………………………….34 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….44 Appendix: Images………………………………………………………………………………..48 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..49 3 Introduction The name Eleanor of Aquitaine is a name well recognized even by people uninterested in history. This is in stark contrast to Melisende of Jerusalem, a name not frequently recognized by those unfamiliar with medieval history. Despite this contrast, both women propelled their futures forward with surprising zeal and power unlike the typical medieval woman. Their destinies to greatness are even reflected in the meaning of their names. Upon research, “Melisende” is most often seen to mean “Strength” or “hard work”1 whereas “Eleanor” (or Aliénor) can mean “bright” or “light.”2 Certainly Melisende worked furiously and cunningly to keep her position as reigning queen as her son grew of age. Similarly, Eleanor could never be described as dull considering the copious critiques of her person that exist. The scope of this work surrounds the deeds of Melisende of Jerusalem and Eleanor of Aquitaine during the Second Crusade in 1145-1149 CE and the following decades after it in the twelfth century. By this point in history Frankish pilgrims had already settled in the area named Outremer, which literally means “across the sea.” The term “Outremer” arose from twelfth- century France to describe the region of crusader states in Mediterranean Levant, including Antioch, Jerusalem, Edessa, Tripoli, and Cyprus.3 Jerusalem was still in Christian possession from their acquisition of it during the First Crusade, but the monarchy – as well as the crusader states as a whole – was suffering from a lack of male heirs and an overabundance of female ones. Baldwin II was devoid of male heirs upon his death, thus leaving the throne of Jerusalem to his eldest daughter Melisende.4 Developing at the same time in France was Eleanor of Aquitaine’s 1 Charlotte Yonge, History of Christian Names (London: Macmillian, 1884), c. 2 Charlotte Yonge, History of Christian Names (London: Macmillian, 1884), xxi,lii. 3 Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. 20 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), “Outremer.” 4 Jean Richard, The Crusades c. 1071-c. 1291, trans. Jean Birrell (Cambridge: University Press, 1999), 80. 4 marriage to Louis VII of France, an unsurprising match considering her position as heiress to Aquitaine made her one of the wealthiest women in Christendom at the time, as well as having a large portion of France in her control.5 At the onset of the Second Crusade the church was able to convince Louis VII to take up the mantle of a crusader for Jerusalem. What made Eleanor’s initial involvement in the Second Crusades significant was her forceful demand to be included. It was openly preached that women were not allowed to go on crusade to the Holy Land, so Eleanor’s insistence on accompanying her husband was highly disapproved of by the church. The goal of this research was to discover how Eleanor and Melisende wielded power as queens in a society and climate that viewed and treated women as inferior. The secondary role that women played in the crusading climate is a result of the prohibition of female participation in the crusade and the fact that the crusades focused on the most traditionally masculine activity in human history – war. The most pervading question in recent research surrounding women’s involvement in the crusades is if they actually participated in the warfare of the crusades. There is no true evidence of either Melisende or Eleanor actually participating in war, and with the abundance of topics pertaining to the physical warfare of the crusade many people forget that Outremer was preoccupied than more than that one facet of life. Politics, diplomacy, patronage, and social relations all were integral to the business of the crusades in the Outremer and it was there that Eleanor and Melisende rooted their power. Before the extent of the two queens’ power can be visualized, the legal and social restrictions and freedoms of wifehood and womanhood must be understood. The legal codes for women and their marriage and inheritance were much more lenient in Outremer than in France. This was in part because the crusades created a shortage of men and the life expectancy of 5 Peggy McCracken, “Scandalizing Desire,” in Eleanor of Aquitaine Lord and Lady, ed. Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons (New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2002), 247-264. 5 female infants was much higher. As Queen of Jerusalem, Melisende was considered a liege lord despite her sex. She owed vassalage to no one. Circumstances were different in France and while Eleanor was an heiress to Aquitaine, she owed vassalage to Louis since he was not just her husband but her king, too. Overall, Melisende was in a better legal position to seize power for herself, so when contrasting the two queen’s deeds it must be remembered that Eleanor was much more restricted to begin with than Melisende. As queen in her own right, Melisende had an arsenal of assets in hand to use as political leverage. She used her land towards patronage for the church and political allies. She funded other charitable projects that did not included using land, but her focus on patronage through land was unique for a woman since it was moveable goods that comprised most women’s usable resources. Although Eleanor was only queen consort of France the collection of lands belonging to her was extensive and the profit and value coming from Aquitaine was impressive on its own. The record of patronage in the form of land grants during Eleanor’s time as Queen of France or Duchess of Aquitaine was scant, indicating that her patronage funneled more towards movable goods. After her foray in the Second Crusade and into her marriage to Henry King of England, Eleanor did donate land and resources heavily to Fontevraud Abbey, perhaps following the example of Melisende. Patronage was essential for Melisende and Eleanor to consolidate power because it was key way to gain important allies in different spheres such as the church and in the royal courts. Along with patronage, the two queens used varying tactics to different degrees of success to achieve autonomy through politics. Melisende used her patronage to coerce the church and courtly followers to her side, whereas Eleanor’s main ally to attain influence was her husband. Melisende consolidated land and allies who owned land surrounding Jerusalem as part of her 6 technique to solidify herself as Queen of Jerusalem and to propagate the assumption that her name and Jerusalem were one in the same. Her use of charters was how she kept her son Baldwin III from seizing full sovereignty of the crown as he came of age. Eleanor’s charters concerning her dowered land of Aquitaine demonstrate Eleanor’s persistence in having a say in the care and upkeep of her land and also pointed to evidence of Eleanor making allies of her male kin. Archbishop William of Tyre’s chronicle of the crusades is the central primary source for this argument. Born at the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1130, he was only a baby during Melisende and Eleanor’s reigns in the time of the Second Crusade. William studied canon law and the liberal arts in Europe, making him familiar with both the land and climate from which Eleanor came, while his career as a tutor to Baldwin IV put him in the court of Jerusalem that was Melisende’s legacy. William’s work is useful because it is one of the most extensive histories of the crusade, as well as the most widely used in scholarly work for all things pertaining to the crusades.

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