Conrad of Montferrat
Encyclopedia
Conrad of Montferrat (Italian
: Corrado di Monferrato; Piedmontese
: Conrà ëd Monfrà) (mid-1140s – 28 April 1192) was a northern Italian nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade
. He was the de facto
King of Jerusalem
, by marriage, from 24 November 1190, but officially elected only in 1192, days before his death. He was also marquis of Montferrat from 1191.
William V of Montferrat, "the Elder", and his wife Judith of Babenberg
. He was a first cousin of Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor
, Louis VII of France
and Leopold V of Austria.
Conrad was born in Montferrat
, which is now a region of Piedmont
, in northwest Italy
. The exact place and year are unknown. He is first mentioned in a charter in 1160, when serving at the court of his maternal uncle, Conrad, Bishop of Passau
, later Archbishop of Salzburg
. (He may have been named after him, or after his mother's half-brother, Conrad III of Germany
.)
A handsome man, with great personal courage and intelligence, he was described in the Brevis Historia Occupationis et Amissionis Terræ Sanctæ ("A Short History of the Occupation and Loss of the Holy Land"):
(The last sentence alludes to his third marriage to Isabella of Jerusalem
in 1190, for which see below.)
He was active in diplomacy from his twenties, and became an effective military commander, campaigning alongside other members of his family in the struggles with the Lombard League
. He first married an unidentified lady, possibly a daughter of Count Meinhard I of Görz (It: Gorizia
), before 1179, but she was dead by the end of 1186, without leaving any surviving issue.
, Conrad led an army against Frederick Barbarossa's forces, then commanded by the imperial Chancellor, Archbishop Christian of Mainz. He defeated them at Camerino
in September, taking the Chancellor hostage. (He had previously been a hostage of the Chancellor.) He left the captive in his brother Boniface's care and went to Constantinople
to be rewarded by the Emperor, returning to Italy shortly after Manuel's death in 1180. Now in his mid-thirties, his personality and good looks made a striking impression at the Byzantine court: Niketas Choniates
describes him as "of beautiful appearance, comely in life's springtime, exceptional and peerless in manly courage and intelligence, and in the flower of his body's strength".
In the winter of 1186–1187, Isaac II Angelus offered his sister Theodora, as a bride to Conrad's younger brother Boniface
, to renew the Byzantine
alliance with Montferrat, but Boniface was married. Conrad, recently widowed, had taken the cross, intending to join his father in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
; instead, he accepted Isaac's offer and returned to Constantinople in spring 1187. On his marriage, he was awarded the rank of Caesar
. However, almost immediately, he had to help the Emperor defend his throne against a revolt, led by General Alexios Branas
. According to Choniates, Conrad inspired the weak Emperor to take the initiative. He fought heroically in the battle in which Branas was killed, without shield or helmet, and wearing a linen cuirass instead of mail. He was slightly wounded in the shoulder, but unhorsed Branas, who was then killed and beheaded by his bodyguards.
However, feeling that his service had been insufficiently rewarded, wary of Byzantine anti-Latin sentiment (his youngest brother Renier
had been murdered in 1182) and of possible vengeance-seeking by Branas's family, Conrad set off for the Kingdom of Jerusalem in July 1187 aboard a Genoese
merchant vessel. Some popular modern histories have claimed that he was fleeing vengeance after committing a private murder: this is due to a failure to recognise Branas's name, garbled into "Lyvernas" in the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre
(sometimes known as The Chronicle of Ernoul
), and Roger of Howden
's abridgement of his own Gesta regis Henrici Secundi (formerly attributed to Benedict of Peterborough
). Roger had initially referred to Conrad "having slain a prominent nobleman in a rebellion" — meaning Branas; in his Chronica, he condensed this to "having committed homicide", omitting the context.
(Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb), and so sailed north to Tyre, where he found the remnants of the Crusader army. After his victory at the Battle of Hattin
over the army of Jerusalem, Saladin was on the march north, and had already captured Acre, Sidon
, and Beirut
. Raymond III of Tripoli
and his stepsons, Reginald of Sidon
and several other leading nobles who had escaped the battle had fled to Tyre, but most were anxious to return to their own territories to defend them. Raymond of Tripoli was in failing health, and died soon after he went home.
According to the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre, Reginald of Sidon had taken charge in Tyre and was in the process of negotiating its surrender with Saladin. Conrad allegedly threw Saladin's banners into the ditch, and made the Tyrians swear total loyalty to him. His rise to power seems to have been less dramatic in reality. Reginald went to refortify his own castle of Belfort
on the Litani River
. With the support of the established Italian merchant communities in the city, Conrad re-organised the defence of Tyre, setting up a commune
, similar to those he had so often fought against in Italy.
When Saladin's army arrived they found the city well-defended and defiant. As the chronicler Ibn al-Athir wrote of the man the Arabs came to respect and fear as "al-Markis": "He was a devil incarnate in his ability to govern and defend a town, and a man of extraordinary courage". Tyre successfully withstood the siege, and desiring more profitable conquest, Saladin's army moved on south to Caesarea
, Arsuf
, and Jaffa
. Meanwhile, Conrad sent Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
, to the West in a black-sailed ship, bearing appeals for aid. Arabic writers claimed that he also carried propaganda pictures to use in his preaching, including one of the horses of Saladin's army stabled (and urinating) in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
, and another of a Saracen slapping Christ's face.
In November 1187, Saladin returned for a second siege of Tyre. Conrad was still in command of the city, which was now heavily fortified and filled with Christian refugees from across the north of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This time Saladin opted for a combined ground and naval assault, setting up a blockade of the harbour. In an incident described by the Itinerarium Peregrinorum (which is generally hostile to Conrad), the Old French Continuation and Sicardus of Cremona's second chronicle (now known through quotations by Salimbene di Adam
and Alberto Millioli), Saladin presented Conrad's aged father, William V of Montferrat, who had been captured at Hattin, before the walls of the city. He offered to release William and bestow great gifts upon Conrad if he surrendered Tyre. The old man told his son to stand firm, even when the Egyptians threatened to kill him. Conrad declared that William had lived a long life already, and aimed at him with a crossbow himself. Saladin allegedly said, "This man is an unbeliever and very cruel". But he had succeeded in calling Saladin's bluff: the old Marquis William was released, unharmed, at Tortosa in 1188, and returned to his son.
On December 30, Conrad's forces launched a dawn raid on the weary Egyptian sailors, capturing many of their galleys. The remaining Egyptian ships tried to escape to Beirut, but the Tyrian ships gave chase, and the Egyptians were forced to beach their ships and flee. Saladin then launched an assault on the landward walls, thinking that the defenders were still distracted by the sea battle. However, Conrad led his men in a charge out of the gates and broke the enemy: Hugh of Tiberias distinguished himself in the battle. Saladin was forced to pull back yet again, burning his siege engines and ships to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
In summer 1188, Saladin released Guy of Lusignan
, the husband of Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem
, from captivity. A year later, in 1189, Guy, accompanied by his brother Geoffrey, appeared at Tyre and demanded that Conrad hand over the keys to the city to him. Conrad refused this demand, and declared that Guy had forfeited his rights to be king of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin
. He said that he was holding the city until the arrival of the kings from Europe. By this, he was invoking the terms of Baldwin IV's will, terms already broken by Guy and Sibylla: in the event of the death of his nephew Baldwin V it had been Baldwin's will that Baldwin V's "most rightful heirs" were to hold the regency until the succession could be settled by the King of England
, the King of France
, and the Holy Roman Emperor
. Conrad would not allow Guy and Sibylla to enter the city, but did allow them to camp outside Tyre's walls with their retainers.
Conrad was persuaded by his cousin once-removed, Louis III, Landgraf of Thuringia, to join Guy in the Siege of Acre in 1189. The siege lasted for over two years. In summer 1190, Conrad travelled north to Antioch
to lead another young kinsman, Frederick of Swabia
, safely back to Acre with the remnants of his cousin Frederick Barbarossa's imperial army.
When Queen Sibylla
and their daughters died of disease later that year, Guy, who had only held the crown matrimonial
, no longer had a legal claim to the throne — but refused to step aside. The heiress of Jerusalem was Isabella of Jerusalem
, Queen Sibylla's half-sister, who was married to Humphrey IV of Toron
, of whom she was fond. However, Conrad had the support of her mother Maria Comnena and stepfather Balian of Ibelin
, as well as Reginald of Sidon
and other major nobles of Outremer. They obtained an annulment on the grounds that Isabella had been under-age at the time of the marriage and had not been able to give consent. Conrad then married Isabella himself, despite rumours of bigamy because of his marriage to Theodora, who was still alive. (However, Choniates, who usually expresses strong disapproval of marital/sexual irregularities, makes no mention of this. This may imply that a divorce had been effected from the Byzantine side before 1190, by which time it was obvious that Conrad would not be returning.) There were also objections on grounds of canonical
'incest', since Conrad's brother had previously been married to Isabella's half-sister, and Church law regarded this kind of "affinity" as equal to a blood-relationship. However, the Papal Legate
, Ubaldo Lanfranchi
, Archbishop of Pisa, gave his approval. (Opponents claimed he had been bribed.) The marriage, on 24 November 1190, was conducted by Philip of Dreux
, Bishop of Beauvais — son of Conrad's cousin Robert I of Dreux
. Conrad was now de jure King of Jerusalem
. However, he had been wounded in battle only nine days previously, and returned with his bride to Tyre to recover. He came back to the siege in spring, making an unsuccessful sea-attack against the Tower of Flies at the harbour entrance.
As Guy was a vassal of Richard I of England
for his lands in Poitou
, Richard supported him in this political struggle, while Conrad was supported by his cousin Leopold V of Austria and cousin once-removed Philip II of France
. Conrad acted as chief negotiator in the surrender of Acre, and raised the kings' banners in the city. Afterwards, the parties attempted to come to an agreement. Guy was confirmed as king of Jerusalem, and Conrad was made his heir. Conrad would retain the cities of Tyre, Beirut
, and Sidon
, and his heirs would inherit Jerusalem on Guy's death. In July 1191 Conrad's kinsman, King Philip, decided to return to France, but before he left he turned over half the treasure plundered from Acre to Conrad, along with all his prominent Muslim hostages. King Richard asked Conrad to hand over the hostages, but Conrad refused as long as he could. After he finally relented (since Richard was now leader of the Crusade), Richard had all the hostages killed. Conrad did not join Richard on campaign to the south, preferring to remain with his wife Isabella in Tyre — believing his life to be in danger. It was probably around this time that Conrad's father died.
During that winter, Conrad opened direct negotiations with Saladin, suspecting that Richard's next move would be to attempt to wrest Tyre from him and restore it to the royal domain for Guy. His primary aim was to be recognised as ruler in the north, while Saladin (who was simultaneously negotiating with Richard for a possible marriage between his brother Al-Adil
and Richard's widowed sister Joan, Dowager Queen of Sicily) hoped to separate him from the Crusaders. The situation took a farcical turn when Richard's envoy, Isabella's ex-husband Humphrey of Toron, spotted Conrad's envoy, Reginald of Sidon, out hawking with Al-Adil. There seems to have been no conclusive agreement with Conrad, and Joan refused marriage to a Muslim.
(where he continued to use a king's title) to compensate him and deter him from returning to Poitou, where his family had long had a reputation for rebelliousness. Richard's nephew Henry II of Champagne
brought the news of the election result to Tyre on 24 April, then returned to Acre.
But Conrad was never crowned. Around late morning or noon on 28 April, Isabella, who was pregnant, was late in returning from the hammam
to dine with him, so he went to eat at the house of his kinsman and friend, Philip, Bishop of Beauvais. The bishop had already eaten, so Conrad returned home. On his way, he was attacked by two Hashshashin
, who stabbed him at least twice in the side and back. His guards killed one of his attackers and captured the other. It is not certain how long Conrad survived. Some sources claimed he died at the scene of the attack, or in a nearby church, within a very short time. Richard's chroniclers claimed that he was taken home, received the last rites, and urged Isabella to give the city over only to Richard or his representative: this death-bed scene is open to doubt. He was buried in Tyre, in the Church of the Hospitallers. "[T]he Frankish marquis, the ruler of Tyre, and the greatest devil of all the Franks, Conrad of Montferrat — God damn him! — was killed," wrote Ibn al-Athir. Certainly, the loss of a potentially formidable king was a blow to the kingdom.
The murder remains unsolved. Under torture, the surviving Hashshashin claimed that Richard was behind the killing, though this is impossible to prove. A less likely suspect was Humphrey IV of Toron
, Isabella's first husband. Saladin's involvement has also been alleged, but as Conrad was in the middle of negotiations with him, this also seems unlikely; Saladin himself had no love for the Hashshashin. In 1970, Patrick A. Williams argued a plausible case for Henry of Champagne
's guilt, but if so, it is difficult to imagine him taking such a bold step without his uncle Richard's approval.
Later, while returning from the crusade in disguise, Richard was recognised by Meinhard II of Görz, who is described as Conrad's nephew (which suggests the identity of his first wife), and then imprisoned by Conrad's cousin, Leopold V of Austria
. Conrad's murder was one of the charges against him. Richard requested that the Hashshashin vindicate him, and in a letter allegedly from their leader, Rashid al-Din Sinan, they appeared to do so. The letter claimed that in 1191, Conrad had captured a Hashshashin ship that had sought refuge in Tyre during a storm. He killed the captain, imprisoned the crew, and stripped the ship of its treasure. When Rashid al-Din Sinan requested that the ship's crew and treasure be returned, he was rebuffed, and so a death sentence was issued for Conrad of Montferrat. However, this letter is believed to have been forged: Sinan was already dead, and apart from this letter and the chronicle entries based upon it, there is no other evidence for the Hashashin being involved in shipping. The timing of the murder, and its consequences — the pregnant Isabella was married off to Henry of Champagne only seven days later, much to the disgust of Muslim commentators — suggest that the chief motive may be sought in Frankish politics.
was the leader of the Fourth Crusade
and a notable patron of troubadours, as was their sister Azalaïs, Marchioness of Saluzzo
. Their youngest brother Renier
was a son-in-law of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, and the eldest, William
, had been the first husband of Sibylla and father of Baldwin V of Jerusalem
. Conrad was also briefly Marquis of Montferrat
, following his father's death in 1191. In Montferrat he was succeeded by Boniface, but his own heiress was born posthumously: a daughter Maria of Montferrat
, 'La Marquise', who in 1205 became Queen of Jerusalem on Isabella's death, but died young in childbirth. Conrad's ex-wife, Theodora, was still living in the mid-late 1190s, when she was having the monastery of Dalmatios converted into a convent, possibly for her own residence.
and Peirol
mention Conrad in songs composed at the time of the Third Crusade
(see external links below). He was seen as a heroic figure, the noble defender of Tyre — the "Marqués valens e pros" ("the valiant and worthy Marquis") as Peirol called him. In Carmina Burana
50: Heu, voce flebili cogor enarrare, he is described as "marchio clarissimus, vere palatinus" ("the most famous Marquis, truly a paladin"). However, subsequently, the long-term prejudice of popular English-language writing towards Richard I and his "Lionheart" myth has adversely affected portrayals of Conrad in English-language fiction and film. Because Richard (and his chroniclers) opposed his claim to the throne, he is generally depicted negatively, even when Richard himself is treated with some scepticism. A rare exception to this is the epic poem Cœur de Lion (1822), by Eleanor Anne Porden
, in which he is depicted as a tragic Byronic hero
.
An entirely fictionalised, unambiguously wicked version of Conrad appears in Walter Scott
's The Talisman, misspelled as 'Conrade of Montserrat' (the novelist apparently misreading 'f' as a long 's' in his sources) and described as a "marmoset" and "popinjay". He is also a villain in Maurice Hewlett
's fanciful The Life and Death of Richard Yea-and-Nay (1900). He appears briefly, again in a negative light, in Ronald Welch
's Knight Crusader
(1954): the description owes much to his portrayal in Cecil B. de Mille's The Crusades, mentioned below. The nadir of his fictional appearances is in Graham Shelby
's 1970 novel The Kings of Vain Intent. In this, he is thoroughly demonised — depicted as a sinister figure, physically resembling a vampire; in a chapter added by the author to the U.S. edition, he beats and rapes Isabella. These works reflect the later Renaissance
and Gothic novel cultural/ethnic stereotype
of the 'Machiavellian' Italian: corrupt, scheming, dandified, not averse to poisoning, even (as in Shelby's novel) sexually sadistic. In contrast, the Russian-born French novelist Zoé Oldenbourg
gives him a more positive but fleeting cameo-role — proud, strong, and as handsome as Choniates described him — in her 1946 novel Argile et Cendres (Clay and Ashes, published in English as The World Is Not Enough in 1948). He is the hero of Luigi Gabotto's 1968 novel Corrado di Monferrato, which covers his whole career. Another sympathetic portrayal is in Alan Gordon
's mystery novel, The Widow of Jerusalem (2003), which investigates his murder.
In film, he has been consistently depicted as a villain, and with scant regard for accuracy. In Cecil B. de Mille's 1935 film
The Crusades
, he is played by Joseph Schildkraut
as a scheming traitor, plotting Richard's death with Prince John
in England at a time when he was actually already defending Tyre. The 1954 film
King Richard and the Crusaders
, loosely based on The Talisman, similarly depicts him as a villain, played by Michael Pate
. Egypt
ian director Youssef Chahine
's 1963 film
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din
also shows Scott's influence in its hostility towards Conrad (played by Mahmoud El-Meliguy) and Philip, while depicting Richard more favourably.
On television, he was played by Michael Peake in the 1962 British television series Richard the Lionheart, which derived some of its plotlines loosely from Scott's The Talisman. In the more faithful 1980–1981 BBC
serialisation of The Talisman, he was played by Richard Morant
.
In painting and drawing, Conrad figures in a small contemporary manuscript sketch of his ship sailing to Tyre in the Annals of Genoa, and various illustrations to Scott's The Talisman. There is an imaginary portrait of him, c. 1843, by François-Édouard Picot
for the Salles des Croisades at Versailles
: it depicts him as a handsome, rather pensive man in his forties, wearing a coronet and fanciful pseudo-mediæval costume. He is shown with dark hair and beard; it is more likely that, like his father and at least two of his brothers, he was blond.
In the game Assassin's Creed
, set in 1191 during the height of the Crusades, William V of Montferrat, father of Conrad of Montferrat, is one of nine Templars the main character must assassinate. This is based on the real life death of Conrad, who was assassinated by the real life Hashshashin.
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Corrado di Monferrato; Piedmontese
Piedmontese language
Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 2 million people in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Northern Italian group . It is part of the wider western group of Romance languages, including French, Occitan, and Catalan.Many European and...
: Conrà ëd Monfrà) (mid-1140s – 28 April 1192) was a northern Italian nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
. He was the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
King of Jerusalem
Kings of Jerusalem
This is a list of kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.-Kings of Jerusalem :...
, by marriage, from 24 November 1190, but officially elected only in 1192, days before his death. He was also marquis of Montferrat from 1191.
Early life
Conrad was the second son of MarquisMarquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
William V of Montferrat, "the Elder", and his wife Judith of Babenberg
Judith of Babenberg
Judith of Babenberg , , was a daughter of Agnes of Germany and her second husband Leopold III of Austria. The chronicler Otto of Freising was one of her older brothers; Conrad III of Germany her half-brother. Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor was her nephew.She married c...
. He was a first cousin of Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
and Leopold V of Austria.
Conrad was born in Montferrat
Montferrat
Montferrat is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy...
, which is now a region of Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, in northwest Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The exact place and year are unknown. He is first mentioned in a charter in 1160, when serving at the court of his maternal uncle, Conrad, Bishop of Passau
Bishop of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of München und Freising. The diocese covers an area of 5,442 km². The current bishop is Wilhelm Schraml.-History:...
, later Archbishop of Salzburg
Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....
. (He may have been named after him, or after his mother's half-brother, Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...
.)
A handsome man, with great personal courage and intelligence, he was described in the Brevis Historia Occupationis et Amissionis Terræ Sanctæ ("A Short History of the Occupation and Loss of the Holy Land"):
(The last sentence alludes to his third marriage to Isabella of Jerusalem
Isabella of Jerusalem
Isabella I was Queen regnant of Jerusalem from 1190/1192 until her death. By her four marriages, she was successively Lady of Toron, Marchioness of Montferrat, Countess of Champagne and Queen of Cyprus....
in 1190, for which see below.)
He was active in diplomacy from his twenties, and became an effective military commander, campaigning alongside other members of his family in the struggles with the Lombard League
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
. He first married an unidentified lady, possibly a daughter of Count Meinhard I of Görz (It: Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
), before 1179, but she was dead by the end of 1186, without leaving any surviving issue.
Byzantine Empire
In 1179, following the family's alliance with Manuel I ComnenosManuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
, Conrad led an army against Frederick Barbarossa's forces, then commanded by the imperial Chancellor, Archbishop Christian of Mainz. He defeated them at Camerino
Camerino
Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....
in September, taking the Chancellor hostage. (He had previously been a hostage of the Chancellor.) He left the captive in his brother Boniface's care and went to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to be rewarded by the Emperor, returning to Italy shortly after Manuel's death in 1180. Now in his mid-thirties, his personality and good looks made a striking impression at the Byzantine court: Niketas Choniates
Nicetas Choniates
Nicetas or Niketas Choniates , sometimes called Acominatos, was a Greek historian – like his brother Michael Acominatus, whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople...
describes him as "of beautiful appearance, comely in life's springtime, exceptional and peerless in manly courage and intelligence, and in the flower of his body's strength".
In the winter of 1186–1187, Isaac II Angelus offered his sister Theodora, as a bride to Conrad's younger brother Boniface
Boniface of Montferrat
Boniface of Montferrat was Marquess of Montferrat and the leader of the Fourth Crusade. He was the third son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg, born after his father's return from the Second Crusade...
, to renew the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
alliance with Montferrat, but Boniface was married. Conrad, recently widowed, had taken the cross, intending to join his father in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
; instead, he accepted Isaac's offer and returned to Constantinople in spring 1187. On his marriage, he was awarded the rank of Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
. However, almost immediately, he had to help the Emperor defend his throne against a revolt, led by General Alexios Branas
Alexios Branas
Alexios Branas or Vranas was a Byzantine nobleman and military leader of the late 12th century.Alexios Branas was doubly linked to the imperial Komnenos family. He was the son of Michael Branas and of Maria Komnene, who was the great-niece of Alexios I Komnenos...
. According to Choniates, Conrad inspired the weak Emperor to take the initiative. He fought heroically in the battle in which Branas was killed, without shield or helmet, and wearing a linen cuirass instead of mail. He was slightly wounded in the shoulder, but unhorsed Branas, who was then killed and beheaded by his bodyguards.
However, feeling that his service had been insufficiently rewarded, wary of Byzantine anti-Latin sentiment (his youngest brother Renier
Renier of Montferrat
Renier of Montferrat was the fifth son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
had been murdered in 1182) and of possible vengeance-seeking by Branas's family, Conrad set off for the Kingdom of Jerusalem in July 1187 aboard a Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
merchant vessel. Some popular modern histories have claimed that he was fleeing vengeance after committing a private murder: this is due to a failure to recognise Branas's name, garbled into "Lyvernas" in the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
(sometimes known as The Chronicle of Ernoul
Ernoul
Ernoul is the name generally given to the author of a chronicle of the late 12th century dealing with the fall of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Biography:Ernoul himself is mentioned only once in history, and only in his own chronicle...
), and Roger of Howden
Roger of Hoveden
Roger of Hoveden, or Howden , was a 12th-century English chronicler.From Hoveden's name and the internal evidence of his work, he is believed to have been a native of Howden in East Yorkshire. Nothing is known of him before the year 1174. He was then in attendance upon Henry II, by whom he was sent...
's abridgement of his own Gesta regis Henrici Secundi (formerly attributed to Benedict of Peterborough
Abbas Benedictus
Abbas Benedictus , abbot of Peterborough, whose name is accidentally connected with the Gesta Henrici Regis Secundi and Gesta Regis Ricardi, among the most valuable of English 12th century chronicles, which are now attributed to Roger of Howden.Benedictus first makes his appearance in 1174, as the...
). Roger had initially referred to Conrad "having slain a prominent nobleman in a rebellion" — meaning Branas; in his Chronica, he condensed this to "having committed homicide", omitting the context.
Defence of Tyre
Conrad evidently intended to join his father, who held the castle of St Elias. He arrived first off Acre, which had recently fallen to SaladinSaladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
(Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb), and so sailed north to Tyre, where he found the remnants of the Crusader army. After his victory at the Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
over the army of Jerusalem, Saladin was on the march north, and had already captured Acre, Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
, and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Prince of Galilee and Tiberias in right of his wife Eschiva.-Early life:...
and his stepsons, Reginald of Sidon
Reginald of Sidon
Reginald Grenier was Lord of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Rise to fame:...
and several other leading nobles who had escaped the battle had fled to Tyre, but most were anxious to return to their own territories to defend them. Raymond of Tripoli was in failing health, and died soon after he went home.
According to the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre, Reginald of Sidon had taken charge in Tyre and was in the process of negotiating its surrender with Saladin. Conrad allegedly threw Saladin's banners into the ditch, and made the Tyrians swear total loyalty to him. His rise to power seems to have been less dramatic in reality. Reginald went to refortify his own castle of Belfort
Beaufort Castle, Lebanon
Beaufort or Belfort The castle was named "bel fort" or "beau fort" by the Crusaders who occupied the castle in the twelfth century. Its Arabic name Qala'at ash-Shqif means Castle of the High Rock...
on the Litani River
Litani River
The Litani River is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding 140 km in length, the Litani River is the longest river in Lebanon and provides an average...
. With the support of the established Italian merchant communities in the city, Conrad re-organised the defence of Tyre, setting up a commune
Medieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
, similar to those he had so often fought against in Italy.
When Saladin's army arrived they found the city well-defended and defiant. As the chronicler Ibn al-Athir wrote of the man the Arabs came to respect and fear as "al-Markis": "He was a devil incarnate in his ability to govern and defend a town, and a man of extraordinary courage". Tyre successfully withstood the siege, and desiring more profitable conquest, Saladin's army moved on south to Caesarea
Caesarea Palaestina
Caesarea Maritima , Caesarea Palaestina from 133 CE onwards, was a city and harbor built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BC. Today, its ruins lie on the Mediterranean coast of Israel about halfway between the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, on the site of Pyrgos Stratonos . Caesarea Maritima was...
, Arsuf
Arsuf
Arsuf also known as Arsur or Apollonia, was an ancient city and fortress located in Israel, about 15 kilometres north of modern Tel Aviv, on a cliff above the Mediterranean Sea. The city site, Tel Arsuf, was intensively excavated from 1994...
, and Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. Meanwhile, Conrad sent Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
Joscius was Archbishop of Tyre in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century.He was a canon and subdeacon of the church of Acre, and became Bishop of Acre on November 23, 1172. He was a member of the delegation from the Latin church of the Crusader states at the Third Lateran...
, to the West in a black-sailed ship, bearing appeals for aid. Arabic writers claimed that he also carried propaganda pictures to use in his preaching, including one of the horses of Saladin's army stabled (and urinating) in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan....
, and another of a Saracen slapping Christ's face.
In November 1187, Saladin returned for a second siege of Tyre. Conrad was still in command of the city, which was now heavily fortified and filled with Christian refugees from across the north of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This time Saladin opted for a combined ground and naval assault, setting up a blockade of the harbour. In an incident described by the Itinerarium Peregrinorum (which is generally hostile to Conrad), the Old French Continuation and Sicardus of Cremona's second chronicle (now known through quotations by Salimbene di Adam
Salimbene di Adam
Salimbene di Adam was an Italian Franciscan friar and chronicler who is a source for Italian history of the 13th century.-Life:...
and Alberto Millioli), Saladin presented Conrad's aged father, William V of Montferrat, who had been captured at Hattin, before the walls of the city. He offered to release William and bestow great gifts upon Conrad if he surrendered Tyre. The old man told his son to stand firm, even when the Egyptians threatened to kill him. Conrad declared that William had lived a long life already, and aimed at him with a crossbow himself. Saladin allegedly said, "This man is an unbeliever and very cruel". But he had succeeded in calling Saladin's bluff: the old Marquis William was released, unharmed, at Tortosa in 1188, and returned to his son.
On December 30, Conrad's forces launched a dawn raid on the weary Egyptian sailors, capturing many of their galleys. The remaining Egyptian ships tried to escape to Beirut, but the Tyrian ships gave chase, and the Egyptians were forced to beach their ships and flee. Saladin then launched an assault on the landward walls, thinking that the defenders were still distracted by the sea battle. However, Conrad led his men in a charge out of the gates and broke the enemy: Hugh of Tiberias distinguished himself in the battle. Saladin was forced to pull back yet again, burning his siege engines and ships to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
Struggle for the crown
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan was a Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of the prominent Lusignan dynasty. He was king of the crusader state of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194...
, the husband of Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem
Sibylla of Jerusalem
Sibylla of Jerusalem was the Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon from 1176 and Queen of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1190. She was the eldest daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay, sister of Baldwin IV and half-sister of Isabella I of Jerusalem, and mother of Baldwin V of Jerusalem...
, from captivity. A year later, in 1189, Guy, accompanied by his brother Geoffrey, appeared at Tyre and demanded that Conrad hand over the keys to the city to him. Conrad refused this demand, and declared that Guy had forfeited his rights to be king of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
. He said that he was holding the city until the arrival of the kings from Europe. By this, he was invoking the terms of Baldwin IV's will, terms already broken by Guy and Sibylla: in the event of the death of his nephew Baldwin V it had been Baldwin's will that Baldwin V's "most rightful heirs" were to hold the regency until the succession could be settled by the King of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, the King of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
, and the Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
. Conrad would not allow Guy and Sibylla to enter the city, but did allow them to camp outside Tyre's walls with their retainers.
Conrad was persuaded by his cousin once-removed, Louis III, Landgraf of Thuringia, to join Guy in the Siege of Acre in 1189. The siege lasted for over two years. In summer 1190, Conrad travelled north to Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
to lead another young kinsman, Frederick of Swabia
Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia
Frederick VI of Hohenstaufen was duke of Swabia from 1170 to his death at the siege of Acre. He was the third son of Frederick I Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy and brother of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor...
, safely back to Acre with the remnants of his cousin Frederick Barbarossa's imperial army.
When Queen Sibylla
Sibylla of Jerusalem
Sibylla of Jerusalem was the Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon from 1176 and Queen of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1190. She was the eldest daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay, sister of Baldwin IV and half-sister of Isabella I of Jerusalem, and mother of Baldwin V of Jerusalem...
and their daughters died of disease later that year, Guy, who had only held the crown matrimonial
Crown Matrimonial
The Crown Matrimonial is a legal concept used to describe a person's right to co-reign equally with his or her spouse.The Crown Matrimonial was offered to King Francis II of France, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, by the Parliament of Scotland and Mary's mother, Mary of Guise, who was regent of...
, no longer had a legal claim to the throne — but refused to step aside. The heiress of Jerusalem was Isabella of Jerusalem
Isabella of Jerusalem
Isabella I was Queen regnant of Jerusalem from 1190/1192 until her death. By her four marriages, she was successively Lady of Toron, Marchioness of Montferrat, Countess of Champagne and Queen of Cyprus....
, Queen Sibylla's half-sister, who was married to Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron was the lord of Toron, Kerak, and Oultrejordain in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Biography:...
, of whom she was fond. However, Conrad had the support of her mother Maria Comnena and stepfather Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin was an important noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century.-Early life:Balian was the youngest son of Barisan of Ibelin, and brother of Hugh and Baldwin. His father, a knight in the County of Jaffa, had been rewarded with the lordship of Ibelin after the...
, as well as Reginald of Sidon
Reginald of Sidon
Reginald Grenier was Lord of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Rise to fame:...
and other major nobles of Outremer. They obtained an annulment on the grounds that Isabella had been under-age at the time of the marriage and had not been able to give consent. Conrad then married Isabella himself, despite rumours of bigamy because of his marriage to Theodora, who was still alive. (However, Choniates, who usually expresses strong disapproval of marital/sexual irregularities, makes no mention of this. This may imply that a divorce had been effected from the Byzantine side before 1190, by which time it was obvious that Conrad would not be returning.) There were also objections on grounds of canonical
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
'incest', since Conrad's brother had previously been married to Isabella's half-sister, and Church law regarded this kind of "affinity" as equal to a blood-relationship. However, the Papal Legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
, Ubaldo Lanfranchi
Ubaldo Lanfranchi
Ubaldo Lanfranchi was an Italian Catholic archbishop.A member of the Lanfranchi family of Pisa, he is mentioned for the first time at his consecration on 11 April 1176. In 1998 he was confirmed as primate of Sardinian dioceses....
, Archbishop of Pisa, gave his approval. (Opponents claimed he had been bribed.) The marriage, on 24 November 1190, was conducted by Philip of Dreux
Philip of Dreux
Philip of Dreux was a French nobleman, Bishop of Beauvais, and figure of the Third Crusade.He was an active soldier, an ally in the field of Philip Augustus, the French king and his cousin, making him an opponent in campaigns in France and elsewhere of Richard I of England. He was in also in...
, Bishop of Beauvais — son of Conrad's cousin Robert I of Dreux
Robert I of Dreux
Robert I of Dreux, nicknamed the Great , was the fifth son of Louis VI of France and Adélaide de Maurienne. Through his mother he was related to the Carolingians and to the Marquess William V of Montferrat.In 1137 he received the County of Dreux as an appanage from his father...
. Conrad was now de jure King of Jerusalem
Kings of Jerusalem
This is a list of kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.-Kings of Jerusalem :...
. However, he had been wounded in battle only nine days previously, and returned with his bride to Tyre to recover. He came back to the siege in spring, making an unsuccessful sea-attack against the Tower of Flies at the harbour entrance.
As Guy was a vassal of Richard I of England
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
for his lands in Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
, Richard supported him in this political struggle, while Conrad was supported by his cousin Leopold V of Austria and cousin once-removed Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
. Conrad acted as chief negotiator in the surrender of Acre, and raised the kings' banners in the city. Afterwards, the parties attempted to come to an agreement. Guy was confirmed as king of Jerusalem, and Conrad was made his heir. Conrad would retain the cities of Tyre, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, and Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
, and his heirs would inherit Jerusalem on Guy's death. In July 1191 Conrad's kinsman, King Philip, decided to return to France, but before he left he turned over half the treasure plundered from Acre to Conrad, along with all his prominent Muslim hostages. King Richard asked Conrad to hand over the hostages, but Conrad refused as long as he could. After he finally relented (since Richard was now leader of the Crusade), Richard had all the hostages killed. Conrad did not join Richard on campaign to the south, preferring to remain with his wife Isabella in Tyre — believing his life to be in danger. It was probably around this time that Conrad's father died.
During that winter, Conrad opened direct negotiations with Saladin, suspecting that Richard's next move would be to attempt to wrest Tyre from him and restore it to the royal domain for Guy. His primary aim was to be recognised as ruler in the north, while Saladin (who was simultaneously negotiating with Richard for a possible marriage between his brother Al-Adil
Al-Adil I
Al-Adil I was an Ayyubid-Egyptian general and ruler of Kurdish descent. From his honorific "Sayf al-Din" he was sometimes known to the Frankish crusaders as "Saphadin".- Life :...
and Richard's widowed sister Joan, Dowager Queen of Sicily) hoped to separate him from the Crusaders. The situation took a farcical turn when Richard's envoy, Isabella's ex-husband Humphrey of Toron, spotted Conrad's envoy, Reginald of Sidon, out hawking with Al-Adil. There seems to have been no conclusive agreement with Conrad, and Joan refused marriage to a Muslim.
Assassination
In April 1192, the kingship was put to the vote. To Richard's consternation, the barons of the Kingdom of Jerusalem unanimously elected Conrad as King. Richard sold Guy the lordship of CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
(where he continued to use a king's title) to compensate him and deter him from returning to Poitou, where his family had long had a reputation for rebelliousness. Richard's nephew Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and King of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197, although he never used the title of king.- Early Life and Family :...
brought the news of the election result to Tyre on 24 April, then returned to Acre.
But Conrad was never crowned. Around late morning or noon on 28 April, Isabella, who was pregnant, was late in returning from the hammam
Hammam
A Turkish bath is the Turkish variant of a steam bath, sauna or Russian Bath, distinguished by a focus on water, as distinct from ambient steam....
to dine with him, so he went to eat at the house of his kinsman and friend, Philip, Bishop of Beauvais. The bishop had already eaten, so Conrad returned home. On his way, he was attacked by two Hashshashin
Hashshashin
The Assassins were an order of Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia that existed from around 1092 to 1265...
, who stabbed him at least twice in the side and back. His guards killed one of his attackers and captured the other. It is not certain how long Conrad survived. Some sources claimed he died at the scene of the attack, or in a nearby church, within a very short time. Richard's chroniclers claimed that he was taken home, received the last rites, and urged Isabella to give the city over only to Richard or his representative: this death-bed scene is open to doubt. He was buried in Tyre, in the Church of the Hospitallers. "[T]he Frankish marquis, the ruler of Tyre, and the greatest devil of all the Franks, Conrad of Montferrat — God damn him! — was killed," wrote Ibn al-Athir. Certainly, the loss of a potentially formidable king was a blow to the kingdom.
The murder remains unsolved. Under torture, the surviving Hashshashin claimed that Richard was behind the killing, though this is impossible to prove. A less likely suspect was Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron was the lord of Toron, Kerak, and Oultrejordain in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Biography:...
, Isabella's first husband. Saladin's involvement has also been alleged, but as Conrad was in the middle of negotiations with him, this also seems unlikely; Saladin himself had no love for the Hashshashin. In 1970, Patrick A. Williams argued a plausible case for Henry of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and King of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197, although he never used the title of king.- Early Life and Family :...
's guilt, but if so, it is difficult to imagine him taking such a bold step without his uncle Richard's approval.
Later, while returning from the crusade in disguise, Richard was recognised by Meinhard II of Görz, who is described as Conrad's nephew (which suggests the identity of his first wife), and then imprisoned by Conrad's cousin, Leopold V of Austria
Leopold V, Duke of Austria
Leopold V , the Virtuous, was a Babenberg duke of Austria from 1177 and of Styria from 1192 until his death...
. Conrad's murder was one of the charges against him. Richard requested that the Hashshashin vindicate him, and in a letter allegedly from their leader, Rashid al-Din Sinan, they appeared to do so. The letter claimed that in 1191, Conrad had captured a Hashshashin ship that had sought refuge in Tyre during a storm. He killed the captain, imprisoned the crew, and stripped the ship of its treasure. When Rashid al-Din Sinan requested that the ship's crew and treasure be returned, he was rebuffed, and so a death sentence was issued for Conrad of Montferrat. However, this letter is believed to have been forged: Sinan was already dead, and apart from this letter and the chronicle entries based upon it, there is no other evidence for the Hashashin being involved in shipping. The timing of the murder, and its consequences — the pregnant Isabella was married off to Henry of Champagne only seven days later, much to the disgust of Muslim commentators — suggest that the chief motive may be sought in Frankish politics.
Family
Conrad's brother BonifaceBoniface of Montferrat
Boniface of Montferrat was Marquess of Montferrat and the leader of the Fourth Crusade. He was the third son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg, born after his father's return from the Second Crusade...
was the leader of the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
and a notable patron of troubadours, as was their sister Azalaïs, Marchioness of Saluzzo
Azalaïs of Montferrat
Azalaïs of Montferrat was marchioness and regent of Saluzzo.-Biography:Azalaïs was one of at least three daughters of William V of Montferrat and his wife Judith of Babenberg...
. Their youngest brother Renier
Renier of Montferrat
Renier of Montferrat was the fifth son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
was a son-in-law of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, and the eldest, William
William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon
William of Montferrat , also called William Longsword , was the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon, the eldest son of William V, Marquess of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
, had been the first husband of Sibylla and father of Baldwin V of Jerusalem
Baldwin V of Jerusalem
Baldwin V of Jerusalem was the son of Sibylla of Jerusalem and her first husband, William of Montferrat...
. Conrad was also briefly Marquis of Montferrat
Montferrat
Montferrat is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy...
, following his father's death in 1191. In Montferrat he was succeeded by Boniface, but his own heiress was born posthumously: a daughter Maria of Montferrat
Maria of Montferrat
Maria of Montferrat was Queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Conrad of Montferrat and Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem...
, 'La Marquise', who in 1205 became Queen of Jerusalem on Isabella's death, but died young in childbirth. Conrad's ex-wife, Theodora, was still living in the mid-late 1190s, when she was having the monastery of Dalmatios converted into a convent, possibly for her own residence.
Role in fiction, film and art
The Monferrine court was Occitan in its literary culture, and provided patronage to numerous troubadors. Bertran de BornBertran de Born
Bertran de Born was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the twelfth century.-Life and works:...
and Peirol
Peirol
Peirol or PeiròlIn Occitan, peir means "stone" and -ol is a diminutive suffix, the name Peirol being understood as the equivalent of "Little Stone" but also "Petit Pierre" or "Pierrot" ; however, "peiròl" also meant a cauldron or a stove...
mention Conrad in songs composed at the time of the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
(see external links below). He was seen as a heroic figure, the noble defender of Tyre — the "Marqués valens e pros" ("the valiant and worthy Marquis") as Peirol called him. In Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana , Latin for "Songs from Beuern" , is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written principally in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces...
50: Heu, voce flebili cogor enarrare, he is described as "marchio clarissimus, vere palatinus" ("the most famous Marquis, truly a paladin"). However, subsequently, the long-term prejudice of popular English-language writing towards Richard I and his "Lionheart" myth has adversely affected portrayals of Conrad in English-language fiction and film. Because Richard (and his chroniclers) opposed his claim to the throne, he is generally depicted negatively, even when Richard himself is treated with some scepticism. A rare exception to this is the epic poem Cœur de Lion (1822), by Eleanor Anne Porden
Eleanor Anne Porden
Eleanor Anne Porden was a British Romantic poet and the first wife of the explorer John Franklin.She was born in London, the younger surviving daughter of the architect William Porden and his wife Mary Plowman...
, in which he is depicted as a tragic Byronic hero
Byronic hero
The Byronic hero is an idealised but flawed character exemplified in the life and writings of English Romantic poet Lord Byron. It was characterised by Lady Caroline Lamb, later a lover of Byron's, as being "mad, bad, and dangerous to know"...
.
An entirely fictionalised, unambiguously wicked version of Conrad appears in Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's The Talisman, misspelled as 'Conrade of Montserrat' (the novelist apparently misreading 'f' as a long 's' in his sources) and described as a "marmoset" and "popinjay". He is also a villain in Maurice Hewlett
Maurice Hewlett
Maurice Henry Hewlett , was an English historical novelist, poet and essayist. He was born at Weybridge, the eldest son of Henry Gay Hewlett, of Shaw Hall, Addington, Kent. He was educated at the London International College, Spring Grove, Isleworth, and was called to the bar in 1891. He gave up...
's fanciful The Life and Death of Richard Yea-and-Nay (1900). He appears briefly, again in a negative light, in Ronald Welch
Ronald Welch
Ronald Welch was the pseudonym of British writer Ronald Oliver Felton TD. He took the name from his wartime regiment. He was for many years Headmaster of Okehampton Grammar School in Devon....
's Knight Crusader
Knight Crusader
Knight Crusader is a children's historical novel by Ronald Welch, first published in 1954. It is set primarily in the Crusader states of Outremer in the twelfth century and depicts the Battle of Hattin and the Third Crusade...
(1954): the description owes much to his portrayal in Cecil B. de Mille's The Crusades, mentioned below. The nadir of his fictional appearances is in Graham Shelby
Graham Shelby
Graham Shelby is a British historical novelist. He worked as a copywriter and book-reviewer before embarking on a series of historical novels, mainly set in the twelfth century.-List of works:...
's 1970 novel The Kings of Vain Intent. In this, he is thoroughly demonised — depicted as a sinister figure, physically resembling a vampire; in a chapter added by the author to the U.S. edition, he beats and rapes Isabella. These works reflect the later Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Gothic novel cultural/ethnic stereotype
Ethnic stereotype
An ethnic stereotype is a generalized representation of an ethnic group, composed of what are thought to be typical characteristics of members of the group.Ethnic stereotypes are commonly portrayed in ethnic jokes.-Ethnic stereotypes:*African Americans...
of the 'Machiavellian' Italian: corrupt, scheming, dandified, not averse to poisoning, even (as in Shelby's novel) sexually sadistic. In contrast, the Russian-born French novelist Zoé Oldenbourg
Zoé Oldenbourg
Zoé Oldenbourg was a Russian-born French historian and novelist who specialized in mediæval French history, in particular the Crusades and Cathars.-Life:...
gives him a more positive but fleeting cameo-role — proud, strong, and as handsome as Choniates described him — in her 1946 novel Argile et Cendres (Clay and Ashes, published in English as The World Is Not Enough in 1948). He is the hero of Luigi Gabotto's 1968 novel Corrado di Monferrato, which covers his whole career. Another sympathetic portrayal is in Alan Gordon
Alan Gordon (author)
Alan Gordon is the author of several mysteries, the first of which is based on the characters from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He lives in New York City and is a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society.-Bibliography:...
's mystery novel, The Widow of Jerusalem (2003), which investigates his murder.
In film, he has been consistently depicted as a villain, and with scant regard for accuracy. In Cecil B. de Mille's 1935 film
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
The Crusades
The Crusades (film)
- Plot :Mostly taking elements from the Third Crusade, King Richard is enlisted in a crusade to bring Jerusalem back into Christian hands in order to get out of a betrothal with Alice, the Princess of France. En route, Richard meets Berengaria the Princess of Navarre and marries her in exchange...
, he is played by Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut was an Austrian stage and film actor.-Early life:Born in Vienna, Austria, Schildkraut was the son of stage actor Rudolph Schildkraut. The younger Schildkraut moved to the United States in the early 1900s. He appeared in many Broadway productions...
as a scheming traitor, plotting Richard's death with Prince John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
in England at a time when he was actually already defending Tyre. The 1954 film
1954 in film
The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
King Richard and the Crusaders
King Richard and the Crusaders
King Richard and the Crusaders is a 1954 historical drama film made by Warner Bros.. It was directed by David Butler and produced by Henry Blanke from a screenplay by John Twist based on Sir Walter Scott's novel The Talisman. The music score was by Max Steiner and the cinematography by J. Peverell...
, loosely based on The Talisman, similarly depicts him as a villain, played by Michael Pate
Michael Pate
Michael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
. Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian director Youssef Chahine
Youssef Chahine
Youssef Chahine was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif...
's 1963 film
1963 in film
The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din (film)
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din الناصر صلاح الدين is a movie that was released in 1963, written by Youssef El Sebai, based on the novel by Naguib Mahfouz directed by Youssef Chahine, and starring Ahmed Mazhar as Saladin, Salah Zulfikar, Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Tewfik El Dekn, Omar El-Hariri, Mahmoud...
also shows Scott's influence in its hostility towards Conrad (played by Mahmoud El-Meliguy) and Philip, while depicting Richard more favourably.
On television, he was played by Michael Peake in the 1962 British television series Richard the Lionheart, which derived some of its plotlines loosely from Scott's The Talisman. In the more faithful 1980–1981 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
serialisation of The Talisman, he was played by Richard Morant
Richard Morant
Richard Morant was an English actor.Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. He was a nephew of actors Bill and Linden Travers, and a cousin of actress Penelope Wilton...
.
In painting and drawing, Conrad figures in a small contemporary manuscript sketch of his ship sailing to Tyre in the Annals of Genoa, and various illustrations to Scott's The Talisman. There is an imaginary portrait of him, c. 1843, by François-Édouard Picot
François-Édouard Picot
François-Edouard Picot was a French painter during the July Monarchy, painting mythological, religious and historical subjects.-Life:Born in Paris, Picot won the Prix de Rome painting scholarship in 1813...
for the Salles des Croisades at Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
: it depicts him as a handsome, rather pensive man in his forties, wearing a coronet and fanciful pseudo-mediæval costume. He is shown with dark hair and beard; it is more likely that, like his father and at least two of his brothers, he was blond.
In the game Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
, set in 1191 during the height of the Crusades, William V of Montferrat, father of Conrad of Montferrat, is one of nine Templars the main character must assassinate. This is based on the real life death of Conrad, who was assassinated by the real life Hashshashin.
External links
- Bertran de Born (with translation by James H. Donalson), Folheta, vos mi prejatz que eu chan
- Bertran de Born (with translation by James H. Donalson), Ara sai eu de pretz quals l'a plus gran
- Find A Grave: Conrad de Montferrat