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Agnes of Courtenay (c. 1136 – c. 1184) was a Frankish noblewoman who held considerable influence in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the reign of her son, King Baldwin IV. Though she was never queen, she has been described as the most powerful woman in the kingdom's history after Queen Melisende.
Agnes of Courtenay was a dynamic politician who greatly influenced events in the Frankish principality of Jerusalem. She was born a princess in Edessa when the Holy Land was controlled by the Christian knights who had remained to build their fortunes after the successful First Crusade.
Agnes was a Courtenay and therefore a member of one of the greatest families in the Frankish East. As part of his reorganisation of the defences of the principality the king appointed Joscelin of Courtenay bailli of the important frontier-fief of Harim.
Nov 5, 2015 · Agnes of Courtenay also known as Agnes of Edessa was the daughter of Joscelin II of Courtenay son of princess Beatrice of Armenia (daughter of Constantine I of Armenia) and one of the leading Frankish lords of Outremer, Joscelin I of Edessa.
The House of Courtenay is a medieval noble house, with branches in France, England and the Holy Land. One branch of the Courtenays became a royal house of the Capetian dynasty, cousins of the Bourbons and the Valois, and achieved the title of Latin Emperor of Constantinople .
Apr 30, 2022 · Agnes of Courtenay (c. 1136 – c. 1184) was a Frankish noblewoman from the Crusader states. Agnes's parents, Joscelin II of Edessa and Beatrice of Saone, lost the County of Edessa in 1150. As the widow of Reynald of Marash, Agnes married Count Amalric of Jaffa and Ascalon, younger son of Queen Melisende.
May 26, 2021 · In 1157, the heir of Jerusalem, Amalric, forced Agnes of Courtenay to marry him. In 1163, he divorced her due to opposition from the nobility, consanguinity, and her lacking political value. Agnes's father had held Edessa but that had been lost in 1146 and her father had been imprisoned and blinded, so she didn't hold any political value even then.
Dec 26, 2023 · Agnes was the daughter of a count who had recently died in captivity and their county had ceased to exist. She had no lands or money. The alliance with the Byzantine Empire was in jeopardy after Baldwin III's death.
Agnes de Courtenay is without doubt one of the women in the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem who played a decisive — not to say sinister — role. She is an example of how women exercised power in the 12th century crusader kingdoms, and a reminder that female influence was not always benign.
Jul 7, 2024 · He was forced first to annul his marriage to Agnes of Courtenay because she was his third cousin (rights of legitimacy and inheritance, however, were granted to his son Baldwin and a daughter by Agnes).