Category Archives: Women

The Saint and the Seventh Crusade, 1248-54

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Ruth

Of course, the Pope called a new crusade. But Europe was in bad shape for a Crusade. In the Sixth Crusade, the King of Hungary had led, but now Hungary was in ruins. Europe’s bad boy Frederick II was not … Continue reading →

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Second Crusade: Queen Eleanor

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Ruth

If you singled out just one person to stand for the Second Crusade, it should be not King Louis or King Conrad, but Queen Eleanor. She is one of the pivotal figures in European history. Eleanor was the grand-daughter of … Continue reading →

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Hodierna of Tripoli, 1137

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Ruth

Hodierna, Baldwin’s third daughter, didn’t marry until she was about 25 (in 1137). It’s not clear why she stayed home so long when her sister Alice was married off at 16. It may have just been a lack of opportunity; … Continue reading →

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Melisende and Fulk, 1129-43

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Ruth

Melisende was named after the Countess of Rethel, Baldwin II’s mother; it’s a variant of Millicent, an old Germanic compound name. Now it has become the name of a fairy-tale heroine of an opera, so it sounds fanciful, but when … Continue reading →

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Alice, Princess of Antioch, 1126-36

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Ruth

Alice, King Baldwin’s second daughter, was married to the son of Prince Bohemund, the baby who had been born while he was back in Sicily. Bohemund II grew up in Europe. Around age 18, he came to Antioch to take … Continue reading →

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King Baldwin’s Feminist Daughters

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Ruth

I’ve described King Baldwin II as a family man, the fact that sets him apart from the other First Crusaders. Coming with the Boulogne brothers as a landless knight, he had inherited Edessa and immediately married Morphia, the heiress of … Continue reading →

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Hostages and Ransom, 1103

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Ruth

By 1103, Count Baldwin II of Edessa, his lieutenant Joscelin of Tel Bashir, and other Crusaders had finally raised the sum of gold to buy Bohemund’s freedom. A tenth of the gold was levied from a local Muslim who wanted … Continue reading →

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The Council of Piacenza, 1095: Politics Just Before the First Crusade

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Ruth

We remember the Council of Clermont, in 1095, as the launchpad of the First Crusade. But in order to understand why the Crusade was called, we need to look at the Council of Piacenza, held earlier in the same year. … Continue reading →

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The New French Capet Dynasty and Anne of Kiev, 1051

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Ruth

Hugh Capet, who was descended from Charlemagne, was elected King of the Franks in 987. Although they were still Carolingians, his descendants are known as the Capets, who continued to rule for centuries. Hugh’s son Robert II ruled for 35 … Continue reading →

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Early Abbasid Queens, 754-809

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Ruth

The early Abbasid period was a time of unimaginable wealth. The empire was at its fullest extent, although tax and tribute from al-Andalus had dried up with going independent under Abd al-Rahman the Umayyad. Still, gold and jewels rolled in … Continue reading →

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