Rainald I Masoir

Last updated
Rainald I Masoir
Governor of Antioch
In office
1132–1135

Rainald I Masoir, also known as Renaud I Masoir (died around 1135), was constable of the Principality of Antioch from around 1126, and also baillif (or governor) of the principality from 1132. Although he was a prominent military commander and held important offices, most details of his life are unknown. He received his first estates in the southern regions of Antioch in the 1110s. He made the strong fortress of Margat the center of his domains. He regularly witnessed the Antiochene rulers' diplomas from the 1120s. He was most probably still the actual ruler of the principality when he died.

Contents

Early career

Rainald's origins and family are unknown, but he was most probably born in France. [1] [2] He may have received the fortress of Baniyas (near Jabala) shortly after it was captured by Antiochene troops in May 1109, according to historian Thomas Asbridge. [3] Rainald persuaded the commander of Margat to surrender the fortress to him, along with the nearby forts Maniqa, Qulay'ah and Hadid in 1118 or 1119. [4] Their possession secured the Franks' control of the mainland routes between Antioch and the County of Tripoli. [5] Marqat developed into the center of Rainald's domains. [6]

The Artuqid emir, Ilghazi, and the atabeg (or governor) of Damascus, Toghtekin, invaded Antioch in the spring of 1119. [7] Roger of Salerno, who had ruled the principality since 1112, sent envoys to Baldwin II of Jerusalem, seeking his assistance. [8] [7] Urged by the Antiochene marcher lords, Roger decided not to wait until the arrival of the Jerusalemite troops and led his troops to meet the enemy near the borders. [7] He ordered Rainald to lead "three divisions of troops" to Sarmada, most probably because he wanted to encircle the invaders' camp. [9] Ilghazi and his allies almost annihilated the Antiochene army in the Battle of the "Field of Blood" on 28 June. [10] Rainald was seriously wounded in the battlefield and withdrew to Sarmada together with his few retainers who survived the massacre. [11] Ilghazi approached Sarmada and promised to release Rainald a month later if Rainald did not resist. [9] After Ilghazi gave his ring to Rainald as a guarantee, Rainald surrendered the fortress without resistance. [9] [12]

Great officer

Baldwin II reached Antioch weeks after the battle. [12] He was elected baillif (or regent) for the absent and minor prince, Bohemond II. [13] [14] Baldwin II's charter of grant to the Abbey of Our Lady of Josaphat which was issued in 1122 is the first extant document which was witnessed by Rainald. [15] He was listed as the last among the witnesses. [15] Bohemond II assumed the government of the principality in October 1126. [16] He confirmed the privileges of the Genoese in 1127. [15] Bohemond's diploma refers to Rainald as constable, showing that Rainald had already been appointed to that office. [17] Rainald signed the document as the first among the lay witnesses. [18] He is the only lay landholder who was elevated to a great office in the principality in the 12th century. [19]

The Assassins stirred up a riot at Bikisrail in 1131. [20] He hurried to the region to mediate a settlement, but the Assassins could not be pacified for long. [20] They seized Qadmus in the mountains two years later. [20]

Bohemond II's widow, Alice of Jerusalem, claimed the regency for her minor daughter, Constance of Antioch, against her brother-in-law, King Fulk of Jerusalem in 1132. [21] Counts Pons of Tripoli and Joscelin II of Edessa and the powerful Antiochene barons William of Zardana and Garenton of Saone supported Alice, but Fulk came to Antioch and defeated her supporters near Chastel Rouge. [21] Before leaving the principality, Fulk made Rainald his baillif. [6]

Rainald's activities cannot be documented after around 1135. [22] His son, Rainald II Masoir, married Pons of Tripoli's daughter, Agnes. [23] His descendants were the most influential barons of the principality for decades. [23] [6] Their domains included most of the southern region of the principality. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemond II of Antioch</span> Prince of Antioch

Bohemond II was Prince of Taranto from 1111 to 1128 and Prince of Antioch from 1111/1119 to 1130. He was the son of Bohemond I, who in 1108 was forced to submit to the authority of the Byzantine Empire in the Treaty of Devol. Three years later, the infant Bohemond inherited the Principality of Taranto under the guardianship of his mother, Constance of France. The Principality of Antioch was administered by his father's nephew, Tancred, until 1111. Tancred's cousin, Roger of Salerno, managed the principality from 1111 to 1119. After Roger died in the Battle of the Field of Blood, Baldwin II of Jerusalem took over the administration of Antioch. However, he did acknowledge Bohemond's right to personally rule the principality upon reaching the age of majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baldwin II of Jerusalem</span> King of Jerusalem from 1118 to 1131

Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq, was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the Holy Land during the First Crusade. He succeeded Baldwin of Boulogne as the second count of Edessa when he left the county for Jerusalem following his brother's death. He was captured at the Battle of Harran in 1104. He was held first by Sökmen of Mardin, then by Jikirmish of Mosul, and finally by Jawali Saqawa. During his captivity, Tancred, the ruler of the Principality of Antioch, and Tancred's cousin, Richard of Salerno, governed Edessa as Baldwin's regents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crusader states</span> Christian states in the Levant, 1098–1291

The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities that existed in the Levant from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade, which was proclaimed by the Latin Church in 1095 in order to reclaim the Holy Land after it was lost to the 7th-century Muslim conquest. Situated on the Eastern Mediterranean, the four states were, in order from north to south: the County of Edessa (1098–1150), the Principality of Antioch (1098–1268), the County of Tripoli (1102–1289), and the Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principality of Antioch</span> Crusader state in the Levant from 1098 to 1268

The Principality of Antioch was one of the Crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of Anatolia and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extended around the northeastern edge of the Mediterranean, bordering the County of Tripoli to the south, Edessa to the east, and the Byzantine Empire or the Kingdom of Armenia to the northwest, depending on the date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Field of Blood</span> Battle in the Middle East in 1119

In the Battle of Ager Sanguinis, also known as the Battle of the Field of Blood, the Battle of Sarmada, or the Battle of Balat, Roger of Salerno's Crusader army of the Principality of Antioch was annihilated by the army of Ilghazi of Mardin, the Artuqid ruler of Aleppo on 28 June 1119.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pons, Count of Tripoli</span> Count of Tripoli from 1112 to 1137

Pons was count of Tripoli from 1112 to 1137. He was a minor when his father, Bertrand, died in 1112. He swore fealty to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in the presence of a Byzantine embassy. His advisors sent him to Antioch to be educated in the court of Tancred of Antioch, ending the hostilities between the two crusader states. Tancred granted four important fortresses to Pons in the Principality of Antioch. Since Pons held his inherited lands in fief of the kings of Jerusalem, Tancred's grant strengthened the autonomy of the County of Tripoli. On his deathbed, Tancred also arranged the marriage of his wife, Cecile of France, to Pons.

Constance of Hauteville was the ruling princess of Antioch from 1130 to 1163. She was the only child of Bohemond II of Antioch and Alice of Jerusalem. Constance succeeded her father at the age of two after he fell in battle, although his cousin Roger II of Sicily laid claim to Antioch. Alice assumed the regency, but the Antiochene noblemen replaced her with her father, Baldwin II of Jerusalem. After he died in 1131, Alice again tried to take control of the government, but the Antiochene barons acknowledged the right of her brother-in-law Fulk of Anjou to rule as regent for Constance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemond III of Antioch</span> Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201

Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer, was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. He was the elder son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband, Raymond of Poitiers. Bohemond ascended to the throne after the Antiochene noblemen dethroned his mother with the assistance of the lord of Armenian Cilicia, Thoros II. He fell into captivity in the Battle of Harim in 1164, but the victorious Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo released him to avoid coming into conflict with the Byzantine Empire. Bohemond went to Constantinople to pay homage to Manuel I Komnenos, who persuaded him to install a Greek Orthodox patriarch in Antioch. The Latin patriarch of Antioch, Aimery of Limoges, placed Antioch under interdict. Bohemond restored Aimery only after the Greek patriarch died during an earthquake in 1170.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemond IV of Antioch</span> Count of Tripoli from 1187 to 1233, and Prince of Antioch from 1201 to 1216 and from 1219 to 1233

Bohemond IV of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the One-Eyed, was Count of Tripoli from 1187 to 1233, and Prince of Antioch from 1201 to 1216 and from 1219 to 1233. He was the younger son of Bohemond III of Antioch. The dying Raymond III of Tripoli offered his county to Bohemond's elder brother, Raymond, but their father sent Bohemond to Tripoli in late 1187. Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt and Syria, conquered the county, save for the capital and two fortresses, in summer 1188.

Alice of Jerusalem was the princess of Antioch from 1126 to 1130 and, from 1130 to 1136, a contender for the regency of the principality. Because of her ambition to rule she is unfavorably portrayed by the chronicler William of Tyre, who is the main narrative source of information about her life. William's hostile account has affected the historiographical assessment of Alice's career.

The Principality of Antioch mirrored the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in its selection of great offices: constable, marshal, seneschal, chamberlain, butler, chancellor and at certain times also bailiff.

Zardana is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. The village lies in a relatively flat plain. Nearby localities include Taftanaz to the southeast, al-Fu'ah and Binnish to the south, Maarrat Misrin and Kafriya to the southwest, Kafr Yahmul to the west, Hizano to the northwest, Ibbin to the north, Kafr Nouran to the northeast and Maaret Elnaasan to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Zardana had a population of 5,767 in the 2004 census.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Principality of Antioch</span> Chronological list of events of the history of the Principality of Antioch

The timeline of the Principality of Antioch is a chronological list of events of the history of the Principality of Antioch.

William of Zardana, also known as William of Saone, was a powerful baron who held Balatanos, Saone and Zardana in the Principality of Antioch. After his father, Robert the Leper, was executed by the atabeg of Toghtekin in 1119, William inherited Balatanos and Saone. Zardana, that his father had lost before his death, was restored to William by Baldwin II of Jerusalem in 1121. He supported Baldwin II's daughter, Alice, against her brother-in-law, Fulk of Jerusalem, in 1132, but Fulk defeated her allies. William died fighting either against Fulk's troops or against a Muslim army.

Robert fitz-Fulk the Leper, also known as Robert Fulcoy, Robert the Leprous, or Robert of Saone, was a powerful baron in the Principality of Antioch.

The siege of Aleppo by Baldwin II of Jerusalem and his allies lasted from 6 October 1124 to 25 January 1125. It ended in a Crusader withdrawal following the arrival of a relief force led by Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi.

Maniqa is a castle located in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, dated back to the Roman era, it was also known as "Malikas" or "Malghanes" during the Crusader rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the County of Tripoli</span>

The history of the County of Tripoli, a crusader state in the Levant, spans the period between 1103 and 1289. The county was established in the aftermath of the First Crusade by the Toulousian crusader leader Raymond of Saint-Gilles. He laid siege to the city of Tripoli with Byzantine support in 1103. Although the city resisted, Raymond adopted the title of count of Tripoli in the same year. After he died of wounds, his kinsman Willam Jordan assumed the command of the siege but his claim to rule was challenged by Raymond's son Bertrand who came to the Levant in 1109. William Jordan was assassinated and a large assembly of troops from all over the Latin East captured the city with Genoese and Pisan naval support in June 1109.

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

The Council of Tripoli was an assembly of the leaders of the crusader states in 1109, towards the end of the prolonged siege of the city of Tripoli. The crusader states—Jerusalem, Antioch, Edessa and the nascent Tripoli—had been established on lands in the Levant conquered by western European aristocrats during and in the aftermath of the First Crusade. Early in 1109, Jerusalem was ruled by King Baldwin I, Edessa by his vassal Count Baldwin II, Antioch by Tancred as regent for the absent Prince Bohemond, and the lands around Tripoli by Willam Jordan who had assumed the command of the troops besieging the city after the death of his kinsman Count Raymond. Relationship between Tancred and Baldwin II was tense, for Tancred had seized lands in the County of Edessa and refused to restore them to the Count. In April, Raymond's son, Bertrand came to the Levant at the head of 4,000-strong army. He laid claim to lands held by Tancred and William Jordan, stating that he had inherite them from his father. William Jordan swore fealty to Tancred to secure his protection, whereas Bertrand accepted the suzerainty of King Baldwin I.

References

  1. ↑ Asbridge 2000, p. 168.
  2. 1 2 Buck 2017, p. 129.
  3. ↑ Asbridge 2000, p. 64.
  4. ↑ Asbridge 2000, pp. 73, 161.
  5. ↑ Asbridge 2000, p. 73.
  6. 1 2 3 Asbridge 2000, p. 161.
  7. 1 2 3 Barber 2012, p. 122.
  8. ↑ Lock 2006, p. 31.
  9. 1 2 3 Asbridge 2000, pp. 76, 175.
  10. ↑ Barber 2012, pp. 123, 360.
  11. ↑ Asbridge 2000, p. 175.
  12. 1 2 Barber 2012, p. 124.
  13. ↑ Lock 2006, p. 34.
  14. ↑ Barber 2012, p. 125.
  15. 1 2 3 Asbridge 2000, p. 177.
  16. ↑ Lock 2006, p. 39.
  17. ↑ Asbridge 2000, pp. 161, 184.
  18. ↑ Asbridge 2000, p. 184.
  19. ↑ Buck 2017, p. 89.
  20. 1 2 3 Buck 2017, p. 26.
  21. 1 2 Lock 2006, p. 41.
  22. ↑ Buck 2017, p. 160.
  23. 1 2 Kennedy 1994, p. 78.

Sources

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.