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Isabella II of Jerusalem

"Isabella of Brienne" redirects here. For the countess, see Isabella, Countess of Brienne.
Isabella II
The death of Queen Isabella (From MS of William of Tyre's Historia and Old French Continuation, painted in Acre, 13C. Bib. Nat. Française)
Queen of Jerusalem
Reign1212 – 4 May 1228
CoronationAugust 1225
PredecessorMaria
SuccessorConrad II
Co-rulerJohn (1212–1225)
Frederick (1225–1228)
Holy Roman Empress;
Queen consort of Sicily and Germany
Tenure1225 – 4 May 1228
Born1212
Died4 May 1228 (aged 15–16)
Andria, Kingdom of Sicily
Burial
Andria Cathedral
SpouseFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
IssueConrad II of Jerusalem
HouseHouse of Brienne
FatherJohn of Brienne
MotherMaria of Montferrat

Isabella II (Old French: Ysabel; 1212 – 4 May 1228), sometimes called Isabella of Brienne and erroneously Yolanda,[a] was the queen of Jerusalem who reigned from 1212 to 1228. She was the daughter and successor of Maria of Montferrat, who died shortly after giving birth to her. Isabella's father, John of Brienne, ruled during her minority. She was crowned queen in 1225. She then sailed to Sicily, where she married Emperor Frederick II, becoming queen of Sicily and empress of the Holy Roman Empire. She died shortly after giving birth to her only son, Conrad II, who succeeded her under Frederick's tutelage.

Minority

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Constitutional position

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Isabella was born in late 1212 in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[2] She was the only child of the queen of Jerusalem, Maria of Montferrat, who died from childbirth complications.[3][4] The infant was named after Maria's mother and predecessor, Queen Isabella I.[5] Isabella II thus inherited the rump kingdom within days of her birth,[2] but the situation was unprecedented because her father, John of Brienne, was still alive. He had become king when he married Maria and expected to keep the crown for his lifetime. While most nobles were apparently willing to still recognize him as king, a faction aligned with the powerful Ibelin family considered John's reign to be over and held that, at best, he could rule only as regent on Isabella's behalf.[6][7] In a letter of condolence on the queen's death, Pope Innocent III promised to John that he would support him and Isabella, and further wrote to Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch and the clergy of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to instruct them to do the same.[8]

Isabella's heir presumptive was her aunt Alice of Champagne, queen of Cyprus and half-sister of Queen Maria. Because Alice and her sister Philippa held a strong claim to the County of Champagne, Blanche of Navarre, the ruling countess, pressed for an inquiry into the validity of Isabella I's marriages, hoping to weaken the sisters' position by questioning their legitimacy. Her argument carried weight: Isabella I's marriage to Humphrey IV of Toron had been annulled under dubious circumstances, and he lived throughout her two subsequent unions. Maria, Isabella II's mother, was herself the child of one of these disputed marriages. Nevertheless, Pope Innocent III refused to pursue the case, likely wary of the political consequences in the Latin East, and Isabella II's claim to the throne of Jerusalem stood unchallenged.[9]

Isabella's father, King John, remarried in 1214. His second wife, Stephanie of Armenia, died in 1220. According to the Chronicle of Ernoul and Bernard the Treasurer, she had tried to poison Isabella; when John heard about it, he beat her so hard that–rumor had it–she died from it. The historians Ludwig Böhm and Guy Perry dismiss this account.[10][11] In 1221, Isabella started giving her consent to her father's acts.[12][7] In the only surviving such document, she is referred to simply as the king's daughter, in contrast to her mother, Maria, who had been titled "the honourable lady of the kingdom" prior to her coronation. The lack of reference to her status may reflect John's insistence that he was the reigning king rather than merely regent for Isabella.[13]

Marriage negotiations

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In late 1222, after the failure of the Fifth Crusade, King John travelled to Europe to solicit support for the kingdom. Although she was only nine or ten, John took this opportunity to seek a husband for Isabella. The objective was to find a powerful leader who could summon substantial Western aid for the beleaguered kingdom. John nevertheless continued to regard the kingship as his for life and assumed that Isabella's future husband would only take up rule after John's death.[4][14]

At a conference in Ferentino in March 1223, Isabella was proposed as a bride for Frederick II, the recently widowed emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and king of Sicily, who was preparing to lead the next crusade.[15] The match was suggested by Hermann of Salza, grand master of the Teutonic Knights. Although John welcomed the prospect of such a distinguished alliance, he wavered until Hermann secured his consent by promising him the kingdom’s government for life.[16] Pope Honorius III may also have encouraged the union since he soon issued a dispensation permitting the couple to marry despite being third cousins. Frederick then persuaded John to remain in Europe and join the forthcoming crusade.

At a conference held in Ferentino in March 1223, it was proposed that Isabella should marry Frederick II, the recently widowed emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and king of Sicily, who was expected to lead the next crusade.[15] The idea came from Hermann of Salza, grand master of the Teutonic Knights. John was flattered by the suggestion of such a prestigious match for his daughter, but hesitated until Hermann promised government of the kingdom to him for life.[16] Pope Honorius III too may have promoted the union; soon after the conference he issued a dispensation allowing Isabella and Frederick to marry despite being third cousins. Frederick persuaded John to remain in Europe and return with the planned crusade.[15]

Empress and queen

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At a conference in San Germano in July 1225, Frederick swore that he would depart on crusade by 15 August 1227 and received John's permission to marry Isabella without delay. A fleet was promptly sent to fetch her.[17] Count Henry of Malta and James, archbishop-elect of Capua, reached Acre with fourteen imperial galleys in August. Isabella was married by proxy in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, with James standing in for Frederick. She was then taken to Tyre and crowned queen of Jerusalem by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Ralph of Mérencourt. The ceremony was attended by the leading nobles, including the constable and bailiff, Odo of Montbéliard; the archbishop of Tyre, Simon of Maugastel; and even the lord of Caesarea, Walter III, who had once been her father's opponent. The Ibelins, however, were absent.[18][19] After a fortnight of celebrations, Isabella embarked together with the archbishop of Tyre and her cousin the lord of Sidon, Balian Grenier.[18] According to the Gestes de Chiprois, a pro-Ibelin chronicle, Isabella made a stop at Cyprus, where she met with her aunt Queen Alice.[20]

Isabella disembarked at Brindisi, where she was received with full imperial ceremony. Frederick and John awaited her there, and she was married to the 31-year-old emperor in person in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist on 9 November. [18] Isabella thus became also empress of the Holy Roman Empire and queen of Sicily.[2]

Shortly after the wedding, Frederick summoned John and declared that he, Frederick, would take the Kingdom of Jerusalem and all the rights of Isabella. Although this was clearly a breech of his agreement with John, the leading figures of the kingdom who had arrived with Isabella–including the lord of Sidon and the archbishop of Tyre, one of John's chief supporters among the clergy–accepted Frederick as their new king. Frederick then sent a delegation to the kingdom, where the bailif, Odo of Montbéliard, promptly recognized Frederick and was reconfirmed as bailif in Frederick's name. Because Isabella was the rightful heir and queen regnant, Frederick's assumption of power rested on firm legal grounds.[21] According to the Estoire d'Eracles, John had expected to continue as regent at least until Isabella reached the age of majority in 1227.[22] For the next six years, the Holy See refused to address Frederick as king of Jerusalem and continued to recognize John.[23]

According to the Colbert–Fontainebleau continuation of the Estoire d'Eracles, Frederick seduced John's niece, a cousin and companion of Isabella, soon after the wedding, and Isabella informed her father about this in tears. Several contemporary sources state that Isabella was mistreated by Frederick.[24] Ernoul-Bernard narrates that, when in 1226 John went to Lombardy to incite a rebellion against the emperor, Frederick beat Isabella so hard that she almost miscarried.[25] Perry does not credit the stories of domestic abuse or illicit seduction.[24][b] The historian David Abulafia says that the "hostile tales" come from sources close to John. He concedes that Isabella may have been neglected in favor of her husband's harem women, but also notes that the couple frequently travelled together.[26]

Soon after the wedding, Frederick placed Isabella in relative seclusion in his harem at Palermo.[27][28] When in September 1227 he finally set sail to her kingdom to fulfill his promise to lead a crusade, he did not take her with him; he left the fleet after an outbreak of malaria and was swiftly excommunicated by the new pope, Gregory IX.[27]

Isabella gave birth on 25 April 1228 and died in early May.[c] She was succeeded by her newborn son, Conrad.[28] She was buried in the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Andria.[30]

Like Isabella I and Maria, Isabella II is largely neglected in the studies of the kings and queens of Jerusalem.[31]

Notes

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  1. ^ In all the contemporary chronicles and in all the documents issued by her, her father, and her husband, she is named "Isabella" (or variants thereof). From the seventeenth until the nineteenth century, the name "Yolanda" was frequently applied to Isabella's mother. From the nineteenth century it became attached to Isabella and has remained in use in historiography alongside the correct name.[1]
  2. ^ Isabella likely did have a cousin in her entourage, namely John's niece Margaret of Reynel, who was married to Balian of Sidon.[24]
  3. ^ The date of Isabella's death is variously given as 1 May,[28] 4 May,[4] or 5 May.[29]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Perry 2015, pp. 77–83.
  2. ^ a b c Perry 2015, p. 74.
  3. ^ Perry 2018, p. 68.
  4. ^ a b c Waag 2024, p. 169.
  5. ^ Perry 2015, pp. 79, 82.
  6. ^ Perry 2018, pp. 69–71.
  7. ^ a b Murray 2015, p. 156.
  8. ^ Perry 2018, p. 74.
  9. ^ Hamilton 2016, pp. 228–229.
  10. ^ Perry 2018, p. 114.
  11. ^ Böhm 1938, p. 58.
  12. ^ Perry 2018, p. 52.
  13. ^ Waag 2024, pp. 168–169.
  14. ^ Perry 2018, p. 120.
  15. ^ a b c Perry 2018, pp. 123–124.
  16. ^ a b Runciman 1989, p. 174.
  17. ^ Perry 2018, pp. 125–127.
  18. ^ a b c Runciman 1989, p. 175.
  19. ^ Perry 2018, pp. 134–135.
  20. ^ Perry 2015, p. 84.
  21. ^ Perry 2018, pp. 135–137.
  22. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 176.
  23. ^ Perry 2018, p. 139.
  24. ^ a b c Perry 2018, pp. 135–136.
  25. ^ Perry 2018, pp. 140–141.
  26. ^ Abulafia 1992, p. 153.
  27. ^ a b Perry 2018, p. 136.
  28. ^ a b c Runciman 1989, p. 177.
  29. ^ Lock 2013, p. 171.
  30. ^ Perry 2015, p. 76.
  31. ^ Waag 2024, p. 157-158.

Sources

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  • Abulafia, David (1992). Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-508040-7. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  • Böhm, Ludwig (1938). Johann von Brienne, König von Jerusalem, Kaiser von Konstantinopel (um 1170-1237) (in German). Heidelberg: A. Lippl.
  • Hamilton, Bernard (2016). "Queen Alice of Cyprus". In Boas, Adrian J. (ed.). The Crusader World. The Routledge Worlds. The University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 225–240. ISBN 978-0-415-82494-1.
  • Lock, Peter (15 April 2013). The Routledge Companion to the Crusades. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-13137-1. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  • Murray, Alan V. (2015). "Women in the Royal Succession of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291)". In Zey, Claudia (ed.). Mächtige Frauen? Königinnen und Fürstinnen im europäischen Mittelalter (11.–14. Jahrhundert). Jan Thorbecke Verlag. pp. 131–162. ISBN 978-3-7995-5176-2.
  • Perry, Guy (2015). "Isabella II or Yolanda? The Name of the Queen of Jerusalem and Spouse of the Emperor Frederick II". Medieval Prosopography. 30. Board of Trustees of Western Michigan University through its Medieval Institute Publications: 73–86. ISSN 0198-9405. JSTOR 44946925. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  • Perry, Guy (2018). The Briennes: The Rise and Fall of a Champenois Dynasty in the Age of the Crusades, c. 950–1356. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-19690-2.
  • Runciman, Steven (1989). A History of the Crusades. Vol. III: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-06163-6.
  • Waag, Anaïs (2024). "Dei gratia Ierosolimorum regina. Articulating the Proprietary Queen of Jerusalem's Rulership in Solemn Royal Documents". Lincoln Readings of Texts, Materials, and Contexts: Supplementum to Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Sources. Arc Humanities Press. ISBN 978-1-80270-181-4. JSTOR jj.20261314.11. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Isabella II of Jerusalem.
Regnal titles
Preceded by Queen of Jerusalem
1212–1228 		Succeeded by
Royal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Constance of Aragon 		Queen consort of Sicily
1225–1228 		Vacant
Title next held by
Isabella of England
Holy Roman Empress
Queen consort of Germany
1225–1228