Fulk (Anjou) d'Anjou (abt. 1092 - 1144)

Born about 1092 in Anjou, France

Ancestors

Husband of Ermengarde (Maine) d'Anjou — married 11 Jul 1110 in Anjou, Rhone-Alpes, France

Husband of Melisende (Rethel) d'Anjou — married 1129 in France

Descendants

Died 13 Nov 1144 at about age 52 in Acre, Outre-Mer, Jerusalem, Israel

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Biography

Born: 1089-1092 Angers

Died: 13 November 1143 Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Outremer, Levant
Burial: Church of the Holy Sepulcher Jerusalem

Count of Anjou: Fulk was born at Angers, between 1089 and 1092, the son of Count Fulk IV of Anjou and Bertrade de Montfort.

In 1092, Bertrade deserted her husband and bigamously married King Philip I of France. He became count of Anjou upon his father's death in 1109. In the next year, he married Ermengarde of Maine, cementing Angevin control over the County of Maine. He was originally an opponent of King Henry I of England and a supporter of King Louis VI of France, but in 1118 or 1119 he had allied with Henry when Henry arranged for his son and heir William Adelin to marry Fulk's daughter Matilda.

Fulk went on crusade in 1119 or 1120, and became attached to the Knights Templar. (Orderic Vitalis) He returned, late in 1121, after which he began to subsidize the Templars, maintaining two knights in the Holy Land for a year.

Much later, Henry arranged for his daughter Matilda to marry Fulk's son Geoffrey of Anjou, which she did in 1127 or 1128.'

Fulk "the Young"

He became count of Anjou upon his father's death in 1109 ... age of approximately 20. ... originally an opponent of Henry I of England and a supporter of Louis VI of France, but in 1127 he allied with Henry when Henry arranged for his daughter Matilda to marry Fulk's son, Geoffrey of Anjou.

Fulk went on crusade in 1120, and become a close friend of the Knights Templar. After his return he began to subsidize them, and maintained two knights in the Holy Land for a year.

Parents

Count Fulk IV of Anjou and Bertrade de Montfort.^[1]

Marriage

m.1 1110AD Ermengarde of Maine (d. 1126)^[2]

m.2 Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem

Melisende

"1127 Fulk received an embassy from Baldwin II of Jerusalem. Baldwin II had no male heirs but designated his daughter Melisende to succeed.

Baldwin II wanted to safeguard his daughter's inheritance by marrying her to a powerful lord. Fulk was a wealthy crusader and experienced military commander, and a widower. His experience in the field would prove invaluable in a frontier state always in the grip of war.

"However, Fulk held out for better terms ... he wanted to be king. Baldwin acquiesced. Fulk abdicated Anjou to his son Geoffrey and left for Jerusalem ... married Melisende on June 2, 1129. Later Baldwin II bolstered Melisende's position by making her sole guardian of her son by Fulk, Baldwin III, born in 1130.

King of Jerusalem

"Fulk and Melisende became joint rulers of Jerusalem in 1131 with Baldwin II's death. Fulk assumed control of the government, excluding Melisende. He favored Anjou countrymen to native nobility. Crusader states to the north feared that Fulk would impose the suzerainty of Jerusalem over them, as Baldwin II had done; but as Fulk was less powerful than his deceased father-in-law, the northern states rejected his authority.

Melisende's sister Alice of Antioch, exiled from the Principality by Baldwin II, took control of Antioch once more after the death of her father. She allied with Pons of Tripoli and Joscelin II of Edessa to prevent Fulk from marching north in 1132; Fulk and Pons fought a brief battle before peace was made and Alice was exiled again.

"In Jerusalem, Fulk was resented by the second generation of Jerusalem Christians who had grown up there since the First Crusade. These "natives" focused on Melisende's cousin, the popular Hugh II of Le Puiset, count of Jaffa, who was devotedly loyal to the Queen. Fulk saw Hugh as a rival, and it did not help matters when Hugh's own step-son accused him of disloyalty. In 1134, in order to expose Hugh, Fulk accused him of infidelity with Melisende. Hugh rebelled in protest. Hugh secured himself to Jaffa, and allied himself with the Muslims of Ascalon. He was able to defeat the army set against him by Fulk, but this situation could not hold. The Patriarch interceded in the conflict, perhaps at the behest of Melisende. Fulk agreed to peace and Hugh was exiled from the kingdom for three years, a lenient sentence.

"However, an assassination attempt was made against Hugh. Fulk, or his supporters, were commonly believed responsible, though direct proof never surfaced. The scandal was all that was needed for the queen's party to mount a palace coup. Author and historian Bernard Hamilton wrote that Fulk's supporters "went in terror of their lives" in the palace. Contemporary author and historian William of Tyre wrote, Fulk "never attempted to take the initiative, even in trivial matters, without (Melisende's) consent".

Melisende held direct and unquestioned control over the government from 1136 on. Sometime before 1136 Fulk reconciled with his wife, and a second son, Amalric was born.

"Jerusalem's northern border was of great concern. Fulk had been appointed regent of the Principality of Antioch by Baldwin II. As regent he had Raymund of Poitou marry the infant Constance of Antioch, daughter of Bohemund II and Alice of Antioch, and niece to Melisende. However, the greatest concern during Fulk's reign was the rise of Atabeg Zengi of Mosul.

"In 1137 Fulk was defeated in battle near Barin but allied with Mu'in ad-Din Unur, the vizier of Damascus. Damascus was also threatened by Zengi. Fulk captured the fort of Banias, to the north of Lake Tiberiasand thus secured the northern frontier.

"Fulk also strengthened the kingdom's southern border. His butler Paganus built the fortress of Kerak to the south of the Dead Sea, and to help give the kingdom access to the Red Sea, Fulk had Blanche Garde, Ibelin, and other forts built in the south-west to overpower the Egyptian fortress at Ascalon.

"In 1137 and 1142, Byzantine emperor John II Comnenus arrived in Syria attempting to impose Byzantine control over the crusader states. John's arrival was ignored by Fulk, who declined an invitation to meet the emperor in Jerusalem.

Death

In 1143, while the king and queen were on holiday in Acre, Fulk was killed in a hunting accident. His horse stumbled, fell, and Fulk's skull was crushed by the saddle. He was carried back to Acre, where he died and was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Though their marriage started in conflict, Melisende mourned for him privately as well as publicly. Fulk was survived by his son Geoffery of Anjou by his first wife, and Baldwin III and Amalric I by Melisende.

Sources

1. ↑

   1092: Bertrade deserted her husband and became the mistress of King Philip I of France.

2. ↑

   dau. Elias I of Maine.

• "Royal Ancestry" D. Richardson 2013 Vol. I p. 12 (i)

William Of England, son and heir apparent, born in 1103. He married at Lisieux in May 1119 Maud (or Mathilde) Of Anjou, daughter of Fulk V, Count of Anjou. He was drowned in the wreck of the White Ship 25 Nov. 1120.

• "Royal Ancestry" 2013 Douglas Richardson Vol. I. page 20

• Wikipedia page.

• MedLands: Foulques V.

• Henry Project: Fulk V.