Plivain

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Plivain, also known as Plivano or Pleban, was the lord of Botrun (now Batroun in Lebanon) in the County of Tripoli from around 1180 to around 1206. He was a merchant from Pisa who settled in the county in the late 1170s. He seized Botrun through his marriage to its heiress, Lucia. According to a late source, he bribed Lucia's suzerain, Count Raymond III of Tripoli, into allowing the marriage. He fell into captivity in the Battle of Hattin on 4 July 1187.

Contents

Life

Plivain was a wealthy merchant from Pisa who settled in the County of Tripoli. [1] His presence in the county was first recorded on 9 August 1179. [2] He married Lucia, the only daughter of William Dorel, Lord of Botrun, and thus seized the lordship, around 1180. [1] [3] According to a folkloristic story recorded in the Estoire de Eracles , to seize her hand, Plivain had offered her weight in gold to Count Raymond III of Tripoli, her suzerain. [1] [4] Raymond accepted the offer, although he had promised the hand of the first wealthy heiress in the county to a Flemish knight, Gerard of Ridefort. [4] [5] Plivain was first mentioned as the lord of Botrun in March 1181. [1] [6]

Plivain participated in the Battle of Hattin and fell into captivity on 4 July 1187. [7] [8] Although the Estoire de Eracles claimed that Saladin captured Botrun, historian Kevin J. Lewis argues that Plivain paid a huge ransom for his release and retained his lordship. [9] He was last mentioned as lord of Botrun in 1206. [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lewis 2017, p. 159.
  2. Lewis 2017, p. 252.
  3. Runciman 1989, p. 406.
  4. 1 2 Runciman 1989, p. 404.
  5. Hamilton 2000, p. 146.
  6. Hamilton 2000, p. 147.
  7. Barber 2012, pp. 304, 365.
  8. Lewis 2017, p. 269.
  9. 1 2 Lewis 2017, p. 271.

Sources