Gerold of Lausanne

Last updated

Gerold of Lausanne (Gerald, Gerard, Giraud; died 1238 or 1239), was abbot of Molesme, abbot of Cluny, bishop of Valence, and Latin patriarch of Jerusalem in the 13th century.

Contents

Early life and career

Gerold was said to be from “Losane”, which has traditionally been interpreted as Lausanne. [1] Otherwise his origins are obscure. He was a Cistercian monk who became abbot of Molesme Abbey in 1208, and then abbot of Cluny in 1215. [2] In 1220 he was appointed bishop of Valence. [3]

Patriarch of Jerusalem

He is best-known as the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from 1225 to 1238 or 1239. At the time, the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem was governed by John of Brienne, the widower of the previous queen, Maria of Montferrat. Maria had died giving birth to their daughter, Isabella, in 1212. The city of Jerusalem itself was no longer part of the crusader kingdom, as it had been lost in 1187; the secular and ecclesiastical leadership resided in the coastal city of Acre.

John of Brienne arranged for Isabella to marry the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II. In 1224 a proxy marriage was performed by the patriarch Raoul of Merencourt, who probably died shortly afterwards. Isabella then travelled to Italy to marry Frederick in person in 1225. Frederick claimed the regency of the crusader kingdom, and removed Isabella’s father John from power; this meant there was neither a king or a patriarch residing in Acre. [4] Also in 1225, the pope, Honorius III, appointed Gerold as patriarch. He did not go to the east immediately and in his absence, the church was run by Peter, archbishop of Caesarea. Gerold came east with Frederick’s crusade in 1227, although Frederick himself was too sick to travel with them. Because he had not gone on crusade as promised, Frederick was excommunicated by the new pope, Gregory IX. [5]

Frederick eventually came to the east a year later in 1228, but as he was still excommunicated, Gerold and the other ecclesiastical leaders of the kingdom were unable to cooperate with him. It was expected that Frederick would invade Egypt or take Jerusalem by force, but instead he negotiated the return of Jerusalem with the sultan of Egypt, al-Kamil. Gerold was furious at the truce, which still allowed the Muslims to keep the Temple Mount (the headquarters of the Knights Templar until 1187), and it did not restore most of the church’s territory in and around Jerusalem. He could not accept the return of Jerusalem to an excommunicated person under these terms, so on 18 March, 1229, the archbishop of Caesarea, acting on Gerold's behalf, placed Jerusalem under interdict, meaning no Christian religious services could be performed there. [6]

Frederick retaliated by expelling Gerold from Acre, but he was forced to return home when Gregory IX allied with John of Brienne and invaded Frederick’s territory in Sicily. Frederick was pelted with garbage as he left Acre. Frederick and Gregory eventually made peace and the emperor convinced the pope to recall Gerold to Rome, so from 1233 to 1237 there was no patriarch residing in Acre. When he returned in 1237, Gerold continued to live in Acre, and may have never visited Jerusalem. [7]

The truce with Egypt was set for ten years and expired in 1239. A new crusade arrived, but it was defeated in a battle at Gaza. According to one version of the Estoire d'Eracles , a chronicle written in the crusader kingdom, Gerold participated in the crusade, but because pope Gregory was already searching for a new patriarch at this point, Gerold must have already died the year before in 1238. [8] He bequeathed 16,000 bezants to the Templars to help pay for the defence of the kingdom. [9]

According to Bernard Hamilton, even though medieval Latin Christians in general were unwilling to share Jerusalem with Muslims, Gerold was still rather “bigoted” and thanks to his stubbornness “the recovery of the holy city remained largely a wasted opportunity.” [10]

The canons of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Acre elected the former bishop of Acre, Jacques de Vitry, to replace Gerold. Jacques hated Acre, which he had abandoned years before, so it is unlikely he would have returned as patriarch. Whether he knew about the election or not, Jacques died in 1240. Gerold was succeeded by Robert of Nantes. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Jerusalem</span> Christian state in the Levant (1099–1291)

The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was a Crusader state that was established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1099 until the fall of Acre in 1291. Its history is divided into two periods with a brief interruption in its existence, beginning with its collapse after the siege of Jerusalem in 1187 and its restoration after the Third Crusade in 1192.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1228</span> Calendar year

Year 1228 (MCCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixth Crusade</span> 1228–1229 attempted conquest of the Holy Land

The Sixth Crusade (1228–1229), also known as the Crusade of Frederick II, was a military expedition to recapture Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade and involved very little actual fighting. The diplomatic maneuvering of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, Frederick II, resulted in the Kingdom of Jerusalem regaining some control over Jerusalem for much of the ensuing fifteen years as well as over other areas of the Holy Land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John of Brienne</span> King of Jerusalem and Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople (c. 1170–1237)

John of Brienne, also known as John I, was King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He was the youngest son of Erard II of Brienne, a wealthy nobleman in Champagne. John, originally destined for an ecclesiastical career, became a knight and owned small estates in Champagne around 1200. After the death of his brother, Walter III, he ruled the County of Brienne on behalf of his minor nephew Walter IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem</span> Catholic episcopal see

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, with the Kingdom of Jerusalem encompassing the territories in the Holy Land newly conquered by the First Crusade. From 1374 to 1847 it was a titular see, with the patriarchs of Jerusalem being based at the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome. Pope Pius IX re-established a resident Latin patriarch in 1847.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabella II of Jerusalem</span> Holy Roman Empress (1225–1228) and Queen of Jerusalem (r. 1212–1228)

Isabella II, sometimes erroneously called Yolanda, was a princess of French origin, the daughter of Maria, the queen-regnant of Jerusalem, and her husband, John of Brienne. She was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1212 until her death in 1228. By marriage to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella also became Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Sicily and Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice of Champagne</span> Queen of Cyprus from 1210 to 1218

Alice of Champagne was the queen consort of Cyprus from 1210 to 1218, regent of Cyprus from 1218 to 1232, and regent of Jerusalem from 1243 to 1246. She was the eldest daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem and Count Henry II of Champagne. In 1210, Alice married her stepbrother King Hugh I of Cyprus, receiving the County of Jaffa as her dowry. After her husband's death in 1218, she assumed the regency for their infant son, King Henry I, but her maternal uncle Philip of Ibelin became the actual head of state administration as bailli (governor).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem</span> Seigneuries created in 1099

The Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader states that was created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin, the four highest crown vassals in the kingdom proper were the count of Jaffa and Ascalon, the prince of Galilee, the lord of Sidon, and the lord of Oultrejordain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann von Salza</span> Fourth Master of the Teutonic Knights

Hermann von Salza was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239. A skilled diplomat with ties to the Frederick II and the Pope, Hermann oversaw the expansion of the military order into Prussia.

Raoul of Mérencourt was the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1214 to 1224, succeeding the assassinated Albert Avogadro.

John of Ibelin, called the Old Lord of Beirut, was a powerful crusader noble in the 13th century, one of the best known representatives of the influential Ibelin family. The son of Balian of Ibelin and the dowager queen Maria Comnena, he had close ties with the nobility of both Cyprus and Jerusalem, since he was the half-brother of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem. Before he was 20, he was appointed constable of Jerusalem, and a few years later became Lord of Beirut. John rebuilt Beirut after Saladin's conquest, and established the grand Ibelin family palace. He served as regent of Jerusalem on behalf of his niece Maria of Montferrat from 1205 to 1210 after her mother, Queen Isabella, died. He was also regent for Isabella's grandson Henry I of Cyprus from 1228 until Henry came of age in 1232. John was known as a principled man, and was seen as the natural leader of the Christian barons in the Holy Land. He resisted the power-seeking of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Cyprus, and opposed the imperial forces until King Henry came of age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guérin de Montaigu</span>

Guérin de Montaigu, also known as Garin de Montaigu or Pierre Guérin de Montaigu, was a nobleman from Auvergne, who became the fourteenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, serving from 1207–1228. He succeeded the Grand Master Geoffroy le Rat after his death in 1206, and was succeeded by Bertrand de Thessy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barons' Crusade</span> Crusade of 1239-1241

The Barons' Crusade (1239–1241), also called the Crusade of 1239, was a crusade to the Holy Land that, in territorial terms, was the most successful crusade since the First Crusade. Called by Pope Gregory IX, the Barons' Crusade broadly embodied the highest point of papal endeavor "to make crusading a universal Christian undertaking." Gregory IX called for a crusade in France, England, and Hungary with different degrees of success. Although the crusaders did not achieve any glorious military victories, they used diplomacy to successfully play the two warring factions of the Ayyubid dynasty against one another for even more concessions than Frederick II had gained during the more well-known Sixth Crusade. For a few years, the Barons' Crusade returned the Kingdom of Jerusalem to its largest size since 1187.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Kingdom of Jerusalem</span>

The timeline of the Kingdom of Jerusalem presents important events in the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem—a Crusader state in modern day Israel and Jordan—in chronological order. The kingdom was established after the First Crusade in 1099. Its first ruler Godfrey of Bouillon did not take the title of king and swore fealty to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Daimbert. Godfrey's brother and successor Baldwin I was crowned the first king of Jerusalem without doing homage to the patriarch in 1100. By 1153, Baldwin I and his successors captured all towns on the Palestinian coast with the support of Pisan, Genoese and Venetian fleets and also took control of the caravan routes between Egypt and Syria. The kings regularly administered other crusader states—the Counties of Edessa and Tripoli and the Principality of Antioch—on behalf of their absent or underage rulers.

Robert of Nantes was the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from 1240 to 1254.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip of Tripoli</span>

Philip of Tripoli, sometimes Philippus Tripolitanus or Philip of Foligno, was an Italian Catholic priest and translator. Although he had a markedly successful clerical career, his most enduring legacy is his translation of the complete Pseudo-Aristotelian Secretum secretorum from Arabic into Latin around 1230.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James of Pecorara</span> Italian monk and diplomat

James of Pecorara or Giacomo da Pecorara was an Italian monk, cardinal and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War of the Keys</span> 13th-century Italian conflict

The War of the Keys (1228–1230) was the first military conflict between Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Papacy. Fighting took place in central and southern Italy. The Papacy made strong gains at first, securing the Papal States and invading the Kingdom of Sicily, while Frederick was away on the Sixth Crusade. Upon his return, he defeated the papal forces, forcing Pope Gregory IX to begin peace talks. After drawn-out negotiations, the treaty of San Germano terminated the conflict with no territorial changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter of Limoges (bishop)</span>

Peter of Limoges was the archbishop of Caesarea from 1199 until his death.

Lando was the archbishop of Reggio in Calabria from 1218 to 1232, and archbishop of Messina from 1232 until his death.

References

  1. ↑ Wilhelm Jacobs, Patriarch Gerold von Jerusalem: Ein Beitrag zur Kreuzzugsgeschichte Friedrichs II. (Aachen, 1905), pg. 7.
  2. ↑ Jacobs, pg. 7.
  3. ↑ Jacobs, pg. 11.
  4. ↑ Bernard Hamilton, The Latin Church in the Crusader States (Cambridge University Press, 1980), pg. 256.
  5. ↑ Hamilton, pg. 258.
  6. ↑ Hamilton, pg. 258–259.
  7. ↑ Hamilton, pg. 259.
  8. ↑ Adam M. Bishop, Robert of Nantes, Patriarch of Jerusalem (1240-1254) (Routledge, 2024), p. 72-73.
  9. ↑ Hamilton, pg. 260.
  10. ↑ Hamilton, pg. 261.
  11. ↑ Hamilton, pg. 262.

Sources

Preceded by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
1225–1238		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.