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Damsel of Cyprus
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Damsel of Cyprus
The Damsel of Cyprus (born c. 1177), possibly named Beatrice or Maria, was the daughter of Isaac Komnenos, emperor of Cyprus, and an Armenian princess. She was her father's sole heiress. Her given name is not known with certainty and she is known by convention as the "Damsel of Cyprus".
She was a hostage in the Principality of Antioch from 1182 until at least 1184. She was captured in 1191 during a brief war between her father and King Richard I of England. She remained an English prisoner, although treated well, until 1194. During her captivity she travelled throughout the Holy Land, Italy and France. After her release, she remained in France. In 1199 or 1200, she married Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, becoming his fifth wife. They divorced by late 1202 or early 1203, when she married Thierry of Flanders, who attempted to claim Cyprus on her behalf. After this failed venture, the couple went to Cilician Armenia. Her fate thereafter is unknown.
The Damsel of Cyprus referred to in contemporary chronicles and documents as "Isaac's daughter" (filia Isaaci) or the "daughter of the emperor [of Cyprus]" (filia imperatoris [Cypri], fille de l'Empereor de Chypre). The chronicles that record her second marriage do not name her husband either, although his identity can be deduced from the information given.
Wipertus Rudt de Collenberg suggests that Isaac's daughter may be the domicella (damsel) Beatrice who is listed first among the female beneficiaries of the will of Joan of England, queen of Sicily and fourth wife of Raymond of Toulouse, in 1199. She received 200 marks, while the other ladies received 140 marks (Alice), 100 (Helysabeth), 60 (Philippa), and 15 (Malekakxa). She and Alice also inherited two coffers at Verdun and their contents. The title domicella (diminutive of lady) implies an unmarried girl of noble birth. The name Beatrice would have been appropriate for Isaac's daughter, since both of her maternal great-grandparents bore the name: Beatrice of Saone and the daughter of Count Hugh of Rethel. Her great-great-grandmother, the daughter of Constantine I of Armenia, was also named Beatrice. The unusual Greek name of the maid Malekakxa suggests she may have been picked up in Cyprus, perhaps in association with the Damsel.
George Jeffery calls her Maria, without explanation. Annette Parks uses Beatrice, provisionally. The editors of Matthew Paris call her Bourgogne.
The Damsel was born probably in 1177 or 1178. She had a brother, whose name is also unknown. Her parents were probably married in 1175 or 1176. Her father, who was born between 1155 and 1160, had recently been appointed governor of Cilicia (between 1173 and 1175). Her mother, whose name is also unknown, was the daughter of Prince Thoros II of Armenia and Isabella, daughter of Count Joscelin II of Edessa. The Damsel was thus related to the ruling families of the Byzantine Empire and Armenia as well as one of the leading families of the Crusader states.
After fighting broke out between the Byzantine Empire and Armenia, Isaac was captured. This happened perhaps as early as 1176, certainly by 1180. In 1182, he was handed over to Prince Bohemond III of Antioch in a prisoner exchange. He gave his children as hostages to Bohemond in exchange for being released to raise his ransom. When the final payment of 30,000 bezants was stolen by pirates, he refused to re-raise it and the Damsel and her brother thus remained hostages at the court of the prince of Antioch for another two years, when they were released for reasons of state. This was probably around 1184, but Roger of Howden places it around the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187.
The death of her brother between 1187 and 1191, left the Damsel the sole heir of her father. According to Howden, Isaac killed his wife and then his son, but this is extremely unlikely. His first wife had probably died by 1184 or else opted to remain in her homeland, in which case he would have obtained a divorce. By 1191, he had remarried to an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Sicily.
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Damsel of Cyprus
The Damsel of Cyprus (born c. 1177), possibly named Beatrice or Maria, was the daughter of Isaac Komnenos, emperor of Cyprus, and an Armenian princess. She was her father's sole heiress. Her given name is not known with certainty and she is known by convention as the "Damsel of Cyprus".
She was a hostage in the Principality of Antioch from 1182 until at least 1184. She was captured in 1191 during a brief war between her father and King Richard I of England. She remained an English prisoner, although treated well, until 1194. During her captivity she travelled throughout the Holy Land, Italy and France. After her release, she remained in France. In 1199 or 1200, she married Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, becoming his fifth wife. They divorced by late 1202 or early 1203, when she married Thierry of Flanders, who attempted to claim Cyprus on her behalf. After this failed venture, the couple went to Cilician Armenia. Her fate thereafter is unknown.
The Damsel of Cyprus referred to in contemporary chronicles and documents as "Isaac's daughter" (filia Isaaci) or the "daughter of the emperor [of Cyprus]" (filia imperatoris [Cypri], fille de l'Empereor de Chypre). The chronicles that record her second marriage do not name her husband either, although his identity can be deduced from the information given.
Wipertus Rudt de Collenberg suggests that Isaac's daughter may be the domicella (damsel) Beatrice who is listed first among the female beneficiaries of the will of Joan of England, queen of Sicily and fourth wife of Raymond of Toulouse, in 1199. She received 200 marks, while the other ladies received 140 marks (Alice), 100 (Helysabeth), 60 (Philippa), and 15 (Malekakxa). She and Alice also inherited two coffers at Verdun and their contents. The title domicella (diminutive of lady) implies an unmarried girl of noble birth. The name Beatrice would have been appropriate for Isaac's daughter, since both of her maternal great-grandparents bore the name: Beatrice of Saone and the daughter of Count Hugh of Rethel. Her great-great-grandmother, the daughter of Constantine I of Armenia, was also named Beatrice. The unusual Greek name of the maid Malekakxa suggests she may have been picked up in Cyprus, perhaps in association with the Damsel.
George Jeffery calls her Maria, without explanation. Annette Parks uses Beatrice, provisionally. The editors of Matthew Paris call her Bourgogne.
The Damsel was born probably in 1177 or 1178. She had a brother, whose name is also unknown. Her parents were probably married in 1175 or 1176. Her father, who was born between 1155 and 1160, had recently been appointed governor of Cilicia (between 1173 and 1175). Her mother, whose name is also unknown, was the daughter of Prince Thoros II of Armenia and Isabella, daughter of Count Joscelin II of Edessa. The Damsel was thus related to the ruling families of the Byzantine Empire and Armenia as well as one of the leading families of the Crusader states.
After fighting broke out between the Byzantine Empire and Armenia, Isaac was captured. This happened perhaps as early as 1176, certainly by 1180. In 1182, he was handed over to Prince Bohemond III of Antioch in a prisoner exchange. He gave his children as hostages to Bohemond in exchange for being released to raise his ransom. When the final payment of 30,000 bezants was stolen by pirates, he refused to re-raise it and the Damsel and her brother thus remained hostages at the court of the prince of Antioch for another two years, when they were released for reasons of state. This was probably around 1184, but Roger of Howden places it around the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187.
The death of her brother between 1187 and 1191, left the Damsel the sole heir of her father. According to Howden, Isaac killed his wife and then his son, but this is extremely unlikely. His first wife had probably died by 1184 or else opted to remain in her homeland, in which case he would have obtained a divorce. By 1191, he had remarried to an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Sicily.