Triumph of Melisende
Scandalous rumors about Melisende and Hugh spread throughout the kingdom of Jerusalem, creating hostility between the royal couple. One could blame Hugh for those rumors, but was he to blame entirely?
Fulk made some very grievous mistakes which nearly brought the kingdom of Jerusalem to its destruction. Rather than working together with his wife, Melisende, he ignored her and exercised power in his own right. He also dismissed Levantine nobles from key positions of authority and replaced them with Angevin newcomers whom had no experience in Levantine politics and warfare.
His careless and thoughtless actions enraged those Levantine nobles, especially Hugh. For those reasons alone, it was completely understandable why Hugh hated Fulk so much. Under such circumstances, he could not be blamed for the rumors and dissention that had come between the royal couple.
As for Melisende, she did not let Fulk undermine her authority. Hugh’s resistance worked in her favor because it undermined Fulk’s already fragile authority as king. Backed by her supporters, of which she had several, Melisende forced her husband to recognize her power as queen. Without her help, he was incapable of ruling a kingdom that was still foreign to him. That was how Melisende was able to preserve her rightful inheritance to the throne.
Fulk must not have been too stubborn, neither was he so arrogant because he quickly realized the errors of his ways. He also knew that if he didn’t let go of his foolish pride, the Kingdom of Jerusalem would fall and he certainly did not want to shoulder the responsibility for that. Neither did he wish to see the kingdom fail; rather, he wanted to build upon what his predecessors had accomplished. Moreover, Fulk must have loved Melisende because he wanted to share an intimate relationship with her.
Their relationship was restored because, in 1136, their second son, Amalric – the future king of Jerusalem – was born (Jonathan Phillips). Melisende was supposedly devastated when Fulk died in an accident while on a hunt near Acre in 1143. Jonathan Phillips wrote; “Fulk was catapulted out of the saddle and landed on his head. Melisende soon arrived at the scene and became hysterical with grief and anxiety, screaming, crying and hugging her husband’s inert form.” Such a response strongly indicates that their marriage did eventually become a happy one.
The death of Fulk left Melisende alone to rule. However, since she was a woman, the odds were heavily stacked against her. Women at that time were prevented from holding any position of power outside of their household. Female warriors were also labeled as savages. Faced with all this potential scrutiny, Melisende had to find a way to overcome it and succeed as Queen of Jerusalem. In order to do so, she had to find the right balance, meaning she had to show strong political judgment without being too aggressive or ambitious.
Fortunately for Melisende, she had many male friends at court who mentored her. It was likely because of them she triumphed as queen. She ruled in her own right until 1151 or 1152 when her son Baldwin came of age and demanded to take over the throne, thus forcing her to step down. Even after Melisende retired, she “maintained a position of great honour and influence until her declining years” (Jonathan Phillips).
William of Tyre described Melisende as a “woman of unusual wisdom and discretion who had set out to emulate the magnificence of the greatest and noblest of princes and to show herself in no ways inferior to them” (quoted in Jonathan Phillips).
Sadly, according to sources, Melisende suffered from some type of illness in her later years which eventually took her life. She died in September 1161 and was buried in the Church of the Virgin Mary in the valley of Jehosaphat just outside the walls of Jerusalem (Jonathan Phillips).
Sources Used
Philips, Jonathan. Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades. New York; Random House, 2009