-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Those are some ugly borders you finished with! 
Interesting getting to see and overview of your entire history before we jump in for the detail.
Interesting getting to see and overview of your entire history before we jump in for the detail.
Really hope I don't have to remember how to spell ''Athanasoisid'' in the end of course test.
Thank you. I wanted to try a different approach than my previous AAR attempts.
The result of several attempts by outside forces to establish a small kingdom in center of a large and hostile Empire. If at first you don't succeed try and try and try again.
To steal from Marcus Aurelius (Peter O'Toole) in Gladiator, "There was a dream that was Jerusalem. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish, it was so fragile." And that dream lead to my dynasty clinging to their toe hold in the Holy Land through thick and thin, and to the Catholics launching 11 Crusades to try and make the dream stick.
Thank you.
Starting as a count level vassal in a newly created Kingdom of Jerusalem leaves lots of events outside of your control. So need to ride along until you get strong enough to try to help the Kingdom survive, and even then it wasn't always enough, and you had to start over again in the ashes.
Those are some ugly borders you finished with!
Interesting getting to see and overview of your entire history before we jump in for the detail.
Yes, ran out of time to clean it up more. My approach is based on the conceit that my "class" is made up of history majors taking a higher level class and had already taken the prerequisite courses. So they should already know much of this general history
.Really hope I don't have to remember how to spell ''Athanasoisid'' in the end of course test.
That and having Oultrejourdain as the central Duchy in the story had me continually going back and fixing typos and I'm still sure I'll miss some.
- 2
Day 3 - The de Cognac Family Tree
Day 3 - The de Cognac Family Tree
Today, I will provide an overview of the de Cognac family tree and ruling members, and then throughout the rest of the course we will look at each of these individuals and their relations to their various lieges more in depth.
What makes the de Cognac dynasty unique is that from the founding of the Second Kingdom through the turbulent years when the Christian influence waxed and waned across the Holy Lands until Matthew de Cognac was crowned King, the de Cognacs remained in the Middle East and ultimately thrived while holding onto both their Catholic and English heritage. For two hundred and fifty years, the de Cognacs survived where every other Christian was either exterminated or driven into exile at one point or another. This stability would become the rock upon which the foundations of the Third Kingdom of Jerusalem were built.
As all know, the de Cognac dynasty is a bastard branch of the Plantagenet dynasty that appeared around 1200 AD, carrying the bloodline of Richard 'the Lionheart' Plantagenet (1157-1199), the King of England (1189-1199). Richard was married to Berengaria of Navarre, but that union produced no legitimate children. But Richard would have one illegitimate child by an unknown mother. Richard's younger brother, John 'the Black' Plantagenet, inherited his lands and titles following his death (though he did not hold them long) and Richard's natural son was forced to make his own way in the world.
Issue of Richard Plantagenet and an unknown woman:
1. Philip de Cognac (1181-1218), a bastard.
1. Philip de Cognac, (1181 - 1218) Captain of the Middlesexian Band (1199 - 1218) Married Princess Ingeborg Estrid of Denmark, the Countess of Negev, they had four children.
1.a. Princess Ingeborg Estrid of Denmark, (1174 - 1223) Countess of Negev (1203 - 1223) Countess of Al Jawf (1209-1223) Married to Philippe II Capet, King of France, marriage annulled/widowed. Second marriage, Philip de Cognac, they had four children. Third marriage to Bohemond de Poitou, 'the Just', Emir of Tripoli, later Prince of Antioch, they had no children (he had five by a previous wife).
Issue of Philip and Ingeborg:
12. Richard de Cognac, 'the Blessed' (1209-1272), Count of Negev (1223-1267), Count Al Jawf (1223-1272), Count of Monreal (1237-1267), Duke of Oultrejourdain, Count of Madaba (1256-1267). Married Signe Hvide, Countess of Kerak, they had four children. Richard also had two illegitimate children with Richara, the German widow of one of his councilors.
I
ssue of Richard and Signe:
Issue of Richard and Richara:
24. Richard de Cognac, 'the Able', 'the Crusader' (1242-1289) Duke of Oultrejourdain (1272-1289) Count/Sheik of Al Jawf (1289) Married to his cousin, Matilda de Cognac, daughter and heir to Mahaut, the Lady of Cappadocia, (but the Sultan of Rum soon reclaimed Anatolia and Mahaut was stripped of her land and titles). They had 5 children. Richard also rumored to have fathered a child on the wife of courtier.
Issue of Richard and Matilda:
Rumored issue of Richard and Sacmis (suspected lover of Richard):
31. Richard de Cognac 'the Just' (1261-1298) Sheik of Al-Kerak (1275-1289) Sheik of Al Jawf (1289-1298) Sheik of Al'Ula (1297-1298), Sheik of Khaybar (1298-1298). Married to Chrissa Merkouriosid, a Nubian Miaphysite. They had three daughters. Richard also had illegitimate son with Entaeiri Daw.
Issue of Richard and Chrissa:
Issue of Richard and Entaeiri Daw:
41. Amice de Cognac - 'the Just' 'the Lionheart' (1279-1337) Shaykah of Al Jawf, Al'Ula, and Khaybar (1298-1337) Emira of Oultrejourdain (1332-1337). Married matrilineally to Meletios Rentakenos, later Doux of Thessalonika, then Emperor of Byzantine Empire, then Baron of Lucano. They had 3 daughters and one son.
Issue of Amice and Meletios:
52. Anselm de Cognac 'the Lion' (1305-1366) Wali (Baron) of Higra (1325-1366) Sheikh of Al-Karak (1334-1366) Emir/Duke of Oultrejourdain (1337-1366). Was betrothed to Maria Scarponis, Princess of the Holy Roman Empire, but marriage never took place. Married Joan von Babenberg, daughter of Duke of Austria, later Duchess of Steiermark. Died from Cancer.
Issue of Anselm and Joan:
61. Godfrey de Cognac 'Godfrey of Lucano' (1342-1371) Baron of Lucano (1345-1371) Duke of Oultrejourdain (1366-1371) married to Joscella, a low born Italian Orthodox woman. They had four children. Godfrey of Lucano was killed in the Battle of Mafraq during the Holy War for Damascus against the Ayyubid Empire.
Issue of Godfrey and Joscella:
71. Anselm de Cognac 'the Apostle' (1360-1403) Duke of Austria (1364-1403) Duke of Oultrejourdain, Baron of Lucano (1371-1403) Duke of Damascus (1373-1403) Duke of Steiermark (1379-1390) Archduke of Austria (1390-1403). Married Ursula von Sponheim, Princess of the Holy Roman Empire, later Countess of Saintois. They had 4 children. Anselm also has a bastard son with lover Adalgisa Embriaco. Anselm died from complications related to Gout.
Issue of Anselm and Ursula:
Issue of Anselm and Adalgisa Embriaco:
81. Matthew de Cognac 'the Monk' (1378-1448) Archduke of Austria, Duke of Austria and Damascus (1403-1448), Duke of Oultrejourdain (1403 -1427), King of Jerusalem (1415-1448). Married to Benedicta 'the Gentle' von Halle, genius sister to the Baron Kuno of Halle. They had five children. Then second marriage to Princess Ilknur Ayyubid, Daughter of Padishah Tayyib of the Ayyubid Empire and sister to Badshah Uhҫ 'the Cleansing Flame' of the Ayyubid Empire. They had two children.
Issue of Matthew and Benedicta:
Issue of Matthew and Princess Ilknur:
Today, I will provide an overview of the de Cognac family tree and ruling members, and then throughout the rest of the course we will look at each of these individuals and their relations to their various lieges more in depth.
What makes the de Cognac dynasty unique is that from the founding of the Second Kingdom through the turbulent years when the Christian influence waxed and waned across the Holy Lands until Matthew de Cognac was crowned King, the de Cognacs remained in the Middle East and ultimately thrived while holding onto both their Catholic and English heritage. For two hundred and fifty years, the de Cognacs survived where every other Christian was either exterminated or driven into exile at one point or another. This stability would become the rock upon which the foundations of the Third Kingdom of Jerusalem were built.
As all know, the de Cognac dynasty is a bastard branch of the Plantagenet dynasty that appeared around 1200 AD, carrying the bloodline of Richard 'the Lionheart' Plantagenet (1157-1199), the King of England (1189-1199). Richard was married to Berengaria of Navarre, but that union produced no legitimate children. But Richard would have one illegitimate child by an unknown mother. Richard's younger brother, John 'the Black' Plantagenet, inherited his lands and titles following his death (though he did not hold them long) and Richard's natural son was forced to make his own way in the world.
Issue of Richard Plantagenet and an unknown woman:
1. Philip de Cognac (1181-1218), a bastard.
1. Philip de Cognac, (1181 - 1218) Captain of the Middlesexian Band (1199 - 1218) Married Princess Ingeborg Estrid of Denmark, the Countess of Negev, they had four children.
1.a. Princess Ingeborg Estrid of Denmark, (1174 - 1223) Countess of Negev (1203 - 1223) Countess of Al Jawf (1209-1223) Married to Philippe II Capet, King of France, marriage annulled/widowed. Second marriage, Philip de Cognac, they had four children. Third marriage to Bohemond de Poitou, 'the Just', Emir of Tripoli, later Prince of Antioch, they had no children (he had five by a previous wife).
Issue of Philip and Ingeborg:
11. Mahaut de Cognac (1208-1269), 'Lady of Cappadocia' 'the Drunkard', matrilineally married to a lowborn Turkish Muslim named Hasan, (his secondary wife, one of his four wives). Two legitimate children, Matilda de Cognac and Philipa de Cognac. Two illegimate children, Ela de Vere and Mary FitzMahaut.
12. Richard de Cognac (1209-1272), See below.
13. Juliana de Cognac, (1211-1235) married to Count Ebles of Genfergau, vassal to the Duke of Savoy, no children.
14. Ela de Cognac, (1213-1263) married to William de Turberville, Earl of Cornwall, has at least 4 children including Guy de Turberville, Edith de Turberville, and Constance de Turberville and another daughter.
12. Richard de Cognac, 'the Blessed' (1209-1272), Count of Negev (1223-1267), Count Al Jawf (1223-1272), Count of Monreal (1237-1267), Duke of Oultrejourdain, Count of Madaba (1256-1267). Married Signe Hvide, Countess of Kerak, they had four children. Richard also had two illegitimate children with Richara, the German widow of one of his councilors.
I
ssue of Richard and Signe:
21. Eleanor de Cognac (1232-1308) twin. matrilineally married to Kristian Hvide, until it was annulled when he abandoned her to join a Holy Order. One child, Geoffrey de Cognac. Second marriage to Prince Ninoslav Nemanjic of Serbia, later King of Serbia, who was murdered by his own sister. no children from second marriage.
22. Elizabeth de Cognac (1232-1283) twin. Had illegitimate child, Aveline, with liege Duke Raoul de Lusignan of Oultrejourdain. Married to Duke Budivol of Provence. Had 5 children, 3 sons and two daughters. Executed by Duke Budivol, who had her mauled by a bear.
23. Isabella de Cognac (1239-1287) Married to Friedrich 'the Evil' von Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily. Had one daughter, Kunigunde 'the Missionary', Queen of Sicily.
24. Richard de Cognac (1242-1289) See below.
Issue of Richard and Richara:
25. Reginald (Reinhold) de Cognac (1245-1309) legitimized bastard. married Samboja Bogorski. They have at least three children- Robert de Cognac, Arthur de Cognac, and Cecilia de Cognac. Reginald also had an illegitimate child, Catherine FitzHawise.
26. Elisabeth de Cognac (1248-1273) married to Prince Staurakios de Poitou of Antioch. no children. Second marriage to the Count of Sandomierz, one child Zbigniew Swidnicki, later Count of Sandomierz.
24. Richard de Cognac, 'the Able', 'the Crusader' (1242-1289) Duke of Oultrejourdain (1272-1289) Count/Sheik of Al Jawf (1289) Married to his cousin, Matilda de Cognac, daughter and heir to Mahaut, the Lady of Cappadocia, (but the Sultan of Rum soon reclaimed Anatolia and Mahaut was stripped of her land and titles). They had 5 children. Richard also rumored to have fathered a child on the wife of courtier.
Issue of Richard and Matilda:
31. Richard de Cognac (1261-1298) see below.
32. Martin de Cognac (1266-1282) died of pneumonia.
33. Alice de Cognac (1272-?) twin, married matrilineally to Micheal Angelos, Prince of Byzantium. Had 3 daughters (Sybilla de Cognac and two others) and one son, Jordan (Iordanes) de Cognac, Doux of Achaia, father of Basileus Anatolios de Cognac of the Byzantine Empire.
34. Margaret de Cognac (1272-?) twin, married to Alan Plantagenet, King of England. Had 3 children, Constance Plantagenet, Countess of Saumur and Armagnac, and twins Alan II de Cognac, King of England and Hawise de Cognac (born after King Alan's death, bugged into de Cognac dynasty). 2nd marriage to Count Gerald 'the Unchaste' of Rennes. One daughter Matilda de Camville, who died young.
35. Edmund de Cognac (1276-1319) betrothed to Helga von Sponheim, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor, but broke betrothal when he joined the Knights of Santiago.
Rumored issue of Richard and Sacmis (suspected lover of Richard):
36. Adelaide Leon (1289-?) raised as daughter of Aubrey Leon and Sacmis. Married to Baron Randolph of Stahleck. Had two daughters.
31. Richard de Cognac 'the Just' (1261-1298) Sheik of Al-Kerak (1275-1289) Sheik of Al Jawf (1289-1298) Sheik of Al'Ula (1297-1298), Sheik of Khaybar (1298-1298). Married to Chrissa Merkouriosid, a Nubian Miaphysite. They had three daughters. Richard also had illegitimate son with Entaeiri Daw.
Issue of Richard and Chrissa:
41. Amice de Cognac (1279-1337) see below.
42. Matilda de Cognac (1282-1313) married matrilineally to David de Briquessart until marriage annulled when he was elevated to Bishop of Narni. They had one son Eionkouda de Cognac. Then married Duke Dobromir of Moesia, later Grand Prince of Moesia. They had one daughter Dana Asen, later Grand Princess of Moesia. Matilda died of the Plague in 1313.
43. Sybilla de Cognac (1288-1318) Married Prince Michael Angelos (after death of her aunt, Alice de Cognac), later Basileus of Byzantine Empire. Had one son, Porphyrios Angelos. Sybilla died of the Plague in 1318.
Issue of Richard and Entaeiri Daw:
44. Thomas (Daw) de Cognac (1289-1358) recognized bastard, later founder of the FitzInga dynasty. Granted title of Earl of Safed as beneficiary to half-sister Amice's victory in 8th Crusade. Stripped of title in Holy war, regained it, then stripped of title after 9th Crusade. Descendants became Dukes of Galilee and Doux of Aegean Isles.
41. Amice de Cognac - 'the Just' 'the Lionheart' (1279-1337) Shaykah of Al Jawf, Al'Ula, and Khaybar (1298-1337) Emira of Oultrejourdain (1332-1337). Married matrilineally to Meletios Rentakenos, later Doux of Thessalonika, then Emperor of Byzantine Empire, then Baron of Lucano. They had 3 daughters and one son.
Issue of Amice and Meletios:
51. Isabella de Cognac (1300-1356) Married cousin, King Alan II de Cognac of England. Had two children, Anne and Amice, both inbred. Princess Amice died young, Anne de Cognac was briefly Queen of England in her own name, deposed and died as Duchess of Essex at age 20, no issue. 2nd marriage to Philip Ua Caerbhaill, no issue.
52. Anselm de Cognac (1305-1366) see below.
53. Beatrice de Cognac (1309-1353) Married Lanfranco de Lacon Gunale, King of Italy. Had one son, Lanfranco, King of Italy, who died under suspicious circumstances. Married second husband Iliya Vladimirovich Rurikid. Beatrice disappeared without a trace two years after second marriage.
54. Chrissa de Cognac (1315-1370) Married Henry 'the Scholar' de Ferrers, Duke of Brittany. Had one son, Walter de Ferrers, who gave up inheritance to join Knights of Sardinia. Later became Bishop of Posada.
52. Anselm de Cognac 'the Lion' (1305-1366) Wali (Baron) of Higra (1325-1366) Sheikh of Al-Karak (1334-1366) Emir/Duke of Oultrejourdain (1337-1366). Was betrothed to Maria Scarponis, Princess of the Holy Roman Empire, but marriage never took place. Married Joan von Babenberg, daughter of Duke of Austria, later Duchess of Steiermark. Died from Cancer.
Issue of Anselm and Joan:
61. Godfrey de Cognac (1342-1371) see below.
62. Eleanor de Cognac (1345-?) Eleanor had one natural born daughter, Svatava of Tyrus (father unknown), then married to King Bretislav ‘the Guardian’ Přemyslid of Jerusalem, later King of Bohemia and England. They had five children - two sons Rajmund Přemyslid, King of Bohemia, Jerusalem, and England and Prince Boleslav, and four daughters. Second marriage to Theopanes Angelos, Mayor of Egrisi, had one child, Iakobos Angelos.
63. Emma de Cognac (1349- ) Married to Doge Ermenegildo di Gaeta of Ancona, later Grand Mayor of Ancona. Had one son, the Blessed Ermenegildo 'the Tenacious', Doge of Ancona, Patrician of the di Gaeta.
64. Juliana de Cognac (1354-1358) Murdered on the orders of Catherine de Vere, the mad Countess of Armagnac.
61. Godfrey de Cognac 'Godfrey of Lucano' (1342-1371) Baron of Lucano (1345-1371) Duke of Oultrejourdain (1366-1371) married to Joscella, a low born Italian Orthodox woman. They had four children. Godfrey of Lucano was killed in the Battle of Mafraq during the Holy War for Damascus against the Ayyubid Empire.
Issue of Godfrey and Joscella:
71. Anselm de Cognac (1360-1403) see below.
72. John de Cognac (1362-1415) Married to Doubravka Vitkovec. Later granted County of Eppenstein, and then Duchy of Steiermark by his brother. Had 6 children - 2 boys 4 girls, oldest boy died young.
73. Alice de Cognac (1364-1418) Married to Amund Drotning, King of Norway, his third wife. no issue.
74. Joan de Cognac (1366-1425) Married King Guerau 'the Hammer' d'Urgell of Aragon. Had 4 children - 3 sons and a daughter including King Ott 'the Apostle' of Aragon and Grandmaster Raimond-Berenguié 'the Mutilator' of the Knights of Sardinia.
71. Anselm de Cognac 'the Apostle' (1360-1403) Duke of Austria (1364-1403) Duke of Oultrejourdain, Baron of Lucano (1371-1403) Duke of Damascus (1373-1403) Duke of Steiermark (1379-1390) Archduke of Austria (1390-1403). Married Ursula von Sponheim, Princess of the Holy Roman Empire, later Countess of Saintois. They had 4 children. Anselm also has a bastard son with lover Adalgisa Embriaco. Anselm died from complications related to Gout.
Issue of Anselm and Ursula:
81. Matthew de Cognac (1378-1448) see below.
82. Isabella de Cognac (1383-1426) Married King Kazimierz Rurikid of Hungary. They had three daughters. Queen Angieszka of Hungary (died age 9). Queen Ludmila 'the Great' of Hungary, and Matylda, Duchess of Vladimir. 2nd marriage to Tello de Bolea, annulled when he joined Knights of Calatrava. Had one daughter, Halima de Bolea.
83. Joanna de Cognac (1384-1449) Married to Blessed Aubrey 'the Just' Mowbray-Aubigny. Duke of Anjou, beatified after martyred in dungeon of Aldrich Welf. Had two daughters. Duchess Anne of Anjou and Beatrice Mowbray-Aubigny.
84. Simon de Cognac (1388-?) Married Countess Xenia 'the Young' of Tver. Had 6 children. 2nd marriage to Countess Ulyana of Kholm. one child.
Issue of Anselm and Adalgisa Embriaco:
85. Severino de Cognac (1392-) acknowledged bastard. Bishop of Sidon.
81. Matthew de Cognac 'the Monk' (1378-1448) Archduke of Austria, Duke of Austria and Damascus (1403-1448), Duke of Oultrejourdain (1403 -1427), King of Jerusalem (1415-1448). Married to Benedicta 'the Gentle' von Halle, genius sister to the Baron Kuno of Halle. They had five children. Then second marriage to Princess Ilknur Ayyubid, Daughter of Padishah Tayyib of the Ayyubid Empire and sister to Badshah Uhҫ 'the Cleansing Flame' of the Ayyubid Empire. They had two children.
Issue of Matthew and Benedicta:
91. Martin de Cognac (1397-1445) Earl of Al Jawf (1409-1445). Died in dungeons of Badshah Abdul-Aziz II of the Ayyubid Empire. Married to Zoe Tornikos, had 6 children including King Simon of Jerusalem.
92. Adelaide de Cognac (1401-1444) Married Despot Staurakios of Epirus, later Basileus Staurakios of Byzantine Empire, then Basileus Staurakios 'the Lionheart' of Achaian Empire following the 'Rape of Constantinople'. Had 6 children including Basileus Matthaios of Achaia.
93. Constance de Cognac (1405-) genius. Married matrilineally to Walram con Meissen, later Count of Varazdin. Had one child, Beatrice de Cognac, Countess of Varazdin.
94. Anselm de Cognac (1409- ) genius. 'the Witch Hunter'. Duke of Oultrejourdain, Earl of Madaba (1427- ) Married to Princess Ayten 'the Ill-tempered' Ayyubid. Had 4 daughters.
95. Edith de Cognac (1410-1443) 'the Unfaithful'. Married to King Rolf 'the Bold' Drotning of Norway. Had one legitimate daughter, Princess Gyrid of Norway. And two illegitimate daughters by the infamous Earl Kaspar 'the Lecher' of Traungau.
Issue of Matthew and Princess Ilknur:
96. Prince Laurence de Cognac (1433-) Duke and Earl of Ascalon (1436- ). Married to his niece, Constance de Cognac (daughter of Anselm ‘the Witch Hunter’). One child, Laurence de Cognac.
97. Princess Philippa de Cognac (1438-1453) Died of Cancer at age of 15.
- 2
Following 250 years of the main branch of the family, it adds up.
I decided to play this particular game when I noticed Paradox had given Richard the Lionheart a bloodline. But of course he had no legitimate heir and the bloodlline didn't go anywhere, so I was originally going to play as Richard and try to get him some legitimate children. When I loaded him up I saw Paradox had included his illegitimate son, Philip, who had the bloodline, though he just faded away in most games. So I decided to play as Philip, but he didn't hold land so I needed to come up with a scenario where his descendants were landed and thrived. Which lead to this AAR.
- 1
Day 4 - Philip de Cognac
Day 4 - Philip de Cognac
Starting today and for the remainder of the course, we will focus on the key individuals of the de Cognac dynasty and their relationships with their lieges and other "princes" that they dealt with. Today we will start with the founder of the de Cognac line, Philip de Cognac.
Through Philip, the de Cognac dynasty carry on the bloodline and legacy of Richard Plantagenet, first of his name, King of England, Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and overlord of Brittany. But perhaps best known to history as Richard Coeur de Lion… Richard the Lionheart.
On the 6 day of the 4 month of the year of our Lord 1199, when Richard, the King of England, Lord of Anjou and Aquitaine, the Great Crusader, died from a wound at Limousin while suppressing a revolt by Viscount Aimar V of Limoges, Philip de Cognac would find himself cast out into the world.
Little is known Philip de Cognac’s early life. His mother’s name and lineage are lost, his childhood was spent in some comfort near the City of Cognac in his father’s lands in Aquitaine, but it is unclear who raised him. He had been acknowledged by King Richard as his natural son and was even presented to Richard's mother, the famed Eleanor of Aquitaine, as a boy, but was then secluded at Cognac. Many were aware that Richard had planned to bestow lands and titles on Philip when he came of age, but the King's constant time in the field on campaign had delayed Richard in acting on that pledge. Richard's unexpected death left young Philip, at the age of 18, without the inheritance he had been promised.
The first official record of Philip is found in a transcript of a petition brought before the court of King John of England in June of 1199, some two months after King Richard's death. John Plantagenet had inherited the English throne following Richard's death as Richard had no legitimate children. The petition was from "Philip of Cognac, natural born child of Richard Plantagenet." The petition asked for the lands and titles promised by his father.
While the transcript indicates that King John “embraced” Philip as his nephew, he apparently saw no good reason to elevate and empower a possible claimant to his throne. Instead, he arranged for the organization of a mercenary company under the command of Philip and sent the young man off into the world.
In the docudrama on Philip's life, Mercenary, King John gives this justification to Philip for his decision:
Philip would spend the rest of his life as a mercenary captain leading the Middlesexian Band.
Most of his early campaigns, where he fought and who he fought for, are not recorded, but he had traveled far, and he was known to wield a fine quality Jian sword of a type commonly used in the Far East. What is known is that shortly after the successful Fourth Crusade, Philip and his Middlesexian Band were in the Holy Land under contract to King Amaury 'the Holy' of Jerusalem, helping the new Crusader State defend itself from its unhappy Muslim neighbors. It was during this time that Philip met and married the Countess of Negev. They would have four children together, though Philip would not live to see any of them reach maturity and in fact would never meet his youngest child. But his legacy would live on by giving his name and culture to one of the most important dynasties in history.
Philip's service to Jerusalem is touched upon in both Countess Ingeborg's letters as well as Magus Arnoul's books. Those accounts mainly focus on how his duties pulled him away from his family in the Negev. Under King Amaury 'the Holy', Philip's forced absences were to attend legitimate duties in defense of the realm. However, following the death of King Amaury and the elevation of Guy II to the throne of Jerusalem, both sources indicate that King Guy used any feeble excuse to keep Philip from his family in order to punish his rival, Countess Ingeborg. This persisted until the contract between Jerusalem and the Middlesexian Band ended in 1209.
The Middlesexian Band would then enter a new contract with Philip's wife to help her conquer Al Jawf. The next three years of war would be last the time the family would all be together. Following the usurpation of Al Jawf in 1212, the Middlesexian Band would accept a contract with King Alfons of Aragon to aid him in the Holy War for Mallorca. Philip de Cognac would never return to his family in the Negev.
After spending his entire adult life in exile from England, Philip would return to die in England's service. The docudrama, Mercenary, also contains a monologue delivered by Godfrey, the second in command of the Middlesexian Band, upon his return to Negev to deliver the news of Philip's death to his family which gives a succinct account of the last years of Philip's life, it is based on a scene described in Magus Arnoul's "Sang du Couer de Lion". In the scene, Godfrey was relaxing in the great hall after an evening meal with the four de Cognac children crowded around him to hear about his adventures since they last saw him. Let's watch:
The return of a large contingent of Englishmen from the Middlesexian Band, along with their wives and families after Philip's death would explain the persistence of the English culture within the de Cognac dynasty down the years.
There has been some speculation that Philip may have been murdered, deliberately poisoned, rather than dying to some random shellfish. The most likely suspects were agents of the Holy Roman Emperor. This is based on certain information found in letters from Prince-Bishop Ebbon, the Regent for King Arnold, that hint that the Regency Council was considering offering the crown of England to Philip. Not only was he the acknowledged son of King Richard 'the Lionheart', he was an adult who had already fathered four children and was a proven general, the hero of the Gascoigne Revolt. He was more suited to lead the defense against the Holy Roman Empire than a young boy, the son of an usurper. Philip's death in Dax forestalled this plot and within a few months the Holy Roman Emperor would move to place Lothar Welf upon the English throne and bring England forcibly into the Holy Roman Empire.
Starting today and for the remainder of the course, we will focus on the key individuals of the de Cognac dynasty and their relationships with their lieges and other "princes" that they dealt with. Today we will start with the founder of the de Cognac line, Philip de Cognac.
Through Philip, the de Cognac dynasty carry on the bloodline and legacy of Richard Plantagenet, first of his name, King of England, Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and overlord of Brittany. But perhaps best known to history as Richard Coeur de Lion… Richard the Lionheart.
On the 6 day of the 4 month of the year of our Lord 1199, when Richard, the King of England, Lord of Anjou and Aquitaine, the Great Crusader, died from a wound at Limousin while suppressing a revolt by Viscount Aimar V of Limoges, Philip de Cognac would find himself cast out into the world.
Little is known Philip de Cognac’s early life. His mother’s name and lineage are lost, his childhood was spent in some comfort near the City of Cognac in his father’s lands in Aquitaine, but it is unclear who raised him. He had been acknowledged by King Richard as his natural son and was even presented to Richard's mother, the famed Eleanor of Aquitaine, as a boy, but was then secluded at Cognac. Many were aware that Richard had planned to bestow lands and titles on Philip when he came of age, but the King's constant time in the field on campaign had delayed Richard in acting on that pledge. Richard's unexpected death left young Philip, at the age of 18, without the inheritance he had been promised.
The first official record of Philip is found in a transcript of a petition brought before the court of King John of England in June of 1199, some two months after King Richard's death. John Plantagenet had inherited the English throne following Richard's death as Richard had no legitimate children. The petition was from "Philip of Cognac, natural born child of Richard Plantagenet." The petition asked for the lands and titles promised by his father.
While the transcript indicates that King John “embraced” Philip as his nephew, he apparently saw no good reason to elevate and empower a possible claimant to his throne. Instead, he arranged for the organization of a mercenary company under the command of Philip and sent the young man off into the world.
In the docudrama on Philip's life, Mercenary, King John gives this justification to Philip for his decision:
"My late brother's wars and paying his ransom to Duke Leopold have left England deep in debt. All the crown's lands are working hard to produce enough to clear that debt and so it will be sometime before we can afford to release land from our personal demesne. However, what we do have in plenty due to my late brother's wars are veteran soldiers."
"You claim the blood of King Richard the Lionheart. We will give you an opportunity to demonstrate it. I propose to outfit a company of those veteran soldiers and put them under your command, you will take those soldiers and put them to use as mercenaries in other king's wars and help earn the crown gold to help pay off our debts".
"Go and be a good soldier like your father, and in time we will decide if you are worthy of a title."
Philip would spend the rest of his life as a mercenary captain leading the Middlesexian Band.
Most of his early campaigns, where he fought and who he fought for, are not recorded, but he had traveled far, and he was known to wield a fine quality Jian sword of a type commonly used in the Far East. What is known is that shortly after the successful Fourth Crusade, Philip and his Middlesexian Band were in the Holy Land under contract to King Amaury 'the Holy' of Jerusalem, helping the new Crusader State defend itself from its unhappy Muslim neighbors. It was during this time that Philip met and married the Countess of Negev. They would have four children together, though Philip would not live to see any of them reach maturity and in fact would never meet his youngest child. But his legacy would live on by giving his name and culture to one of the most important dynasties in history.
Philip's service to Jerusalem is touched upon in both Countess Ingeborg's letters as well as Magus Arnoul's books. Those accounts mainly focus on how his duties pulled him away from his family in the Negev. Under King Amaury 'the Holy', Philip's forced absences were to attend legitimate duties in defense of the realm. However, following the death of King Amaury and the elevation of Guy II to the throne of Jerusalem, both sources indicate that King Guy used any feeble excuse to keep Philip from his family in order to punish his rival, Countess Ingeborg. This persisted until the contract between Jerusalem and the Middlesexian Band ended in 1209.
The Middlesexian Band would then enter a new contract with Philip's wife to help her conquer Al Jawf. The next three years of war would be last the time the family would all be together. Following the usurpation of Al Jawf in 1212, the Middlesexian Band would accept a contract with King Alfons of Aragon to aid him in the Holy War for Mallorca. Philip de Cognac would never return to his family in the Negev.
After spending his entire adult life in exile from England, Philip would return to die in England's service. The docudrama, Mercenary, also contains a monologue delivered by Godfrey, the second in command of the Middlesexian Band, upon his return to Negev to deliver the news of Philip's death to his family which gives a succinct account of the last years of Philip's life, it is based on a scene described in Magus Arnoul's "Sang du Couer de Lion". In the scene, Godfrey was relaxing in the great hall after an evening meal with the four de Cognac children crowded around him to hear about his adventures since they last saw him. Let's watch:
".......Well, after we took Mallorca for Alfons, we were called back to serve England by the Regent, Prince-Bishop Ebbon of Durham.
See England was in trouble. King Geoffrey the Usurper had been killed in personal combat by some Bishop in Aquitaine and so his grand nephew Arnold, the grandson of the other Geoffrey, Geoffrey of Nantes, inherited the crown of England. I think that makes him your second cousin? But he's only a lad, still in the nursery. So the Prince-Bishop is the Regent.
Anyways, with the old King dead, all hell breaks loose, pardon my French. The other boy King, Philippe III of France, and his Regent, the Duke of Toulouse, make a play for Normandy, then a bunch of peasants rise up to try to liberate Aquitaine, and finally, the Duchess of Gascogne decides that they should change the inheritance laws in England and launches her own revolt and a bunch of other Dukes follow her lead... Mercia, Ulster, Auvergne, and even the King's own mother, the Duchess of Anjou. So, the Regent, he sends for us, saying we were needed in England, not off fighting some foreign war. Since we were already in Aragon, we were tasked with dealing with the Duchess Navar of Gascogne first, while the Regent would deal with the French. He figured we could deal with the peasant uprising later... that was a big mistake.
Anyways, our part went smooth as silk, the Captain... your Da, he led us west along the foothills of the Pyrenees, then we came up on Dax from the south, no one knew we were coming. The Duchess had sent her army north so no one was left in Dax to stop us from sacking and pillaging all their cities and towns for the next two years. First in Dax and then in other parts of Gascogne. Finally, the Duchess brought a part of her army back south to try and chase us off. But the Captain sets up a pretty ambush in Agen. We catch them crossing the Garonne River and beat the stuffing out of them. On top of that we take the prize. We capture the Duchess herself. That put an end to her revolt.
But in the meantime, the Regent was not doing so well. His army had been battered by the Duchess' allies and by the French armies. Normandy was overwhelmed, the castles and cities falling like dominoes to young Phillipe. So even before we took the Duchess, the Regent was forced to surrender Normandy to the French.
Now all this time, everyone had been ignoring the peasants in Aquitaine. Turns out the peasant leading the revolt had secured every city and castle and proclaimed himself King Miguel the Liberator, taking all of Aquitaine, except Gascogne which had still been in the middle of the Duchess' revolt. So, in a few short years, England had lost half of it's holdings on the Continent."
Juliana piped up, "Did this Liberator kill Father?"
Godfrey, "No poppet, the Captain couldn't be beaten on the field of battle. It was a bad oyster that killed your Da. It made him terrible sick. We were in Dax, waiting for ships to take us to England. Had a meal in a tavern down by the docks. Your Da and a couple of other lads took sick, most recovered, but not your Da.... I'm so sorry, poppet."
After a few moments of sad silence, Richard spoke up, " Did you take command of the Middlesexian Band, Godfrey?"
Godfrey shook his head, " No lad, the Band is done. The Regent said he had no one of noble birth to take command and wouldn't give command to a commoner like me. So, he paid us all off, and cut us loose. Said he had better things to spend money on. Most of the boys went home to England, but a few of us had gotten used to the warm weather, and didn't like the cold back there. So, we came back here to offer our services to the Princess. We plan on sticking around from now on. Get you all trained up proper like the Captain would want."
The return of a large contingent of Englishmen from the Middlesexian Band, along with their wives and families after Philip's death would explain the persistence of the English culture within the de Cognac dynasty down the years.
There has been some speculation that Philip may have been murdered, deliberately poisoned, rather than dying to some random shellfish. The most likely suspects were agents of the Holy Roman Emperor. This is based on certain information found in letters from Prince-Bishop Ebbon, the Regent for King Arnold, that hint that the Regency Council was considering offering the crown of England to Philip. Not only was he the acknowledged son of King Richard 'the Lionheart', he was an adult who had already fathered four children and was a proven general, the hero of the Gascoigne Revolt. He was more suited to lead the defense against the Holy Roman Empire than a young boy, the son of an usurper. Philip's death in Dax forestalled this plot and within a few months the Holy Roman Emperor would move to place Lothar Welf upon the English throne and bring England forcibly into the Holy Roman Empire.
- 4
I actually did not know that Richard even had a bastard son, until you wrote this. Although it does seem familiar in the back of my head, so I might have read about him at some point when I read about Richard. I am quite a history enthusiast, I often end up spending hours on wikipedia or other sites reading about lands and characters from the game. Strange how I missed it so far.
On the side note, I also considered Richard as starting character for my AAR, or his father Henry and (re)creating Angevin Empire, but in the end decided to go a bit earlier with William Clito and The Anarchy.
Fascinating background. it is not often you get to hear about the life and times of a mercenary but through them you get a remarkably wide view of Europe at the time - though I suppose with his father's legacy de Cognac was not just another sellsword!
I had forgotten about Philip's existence until preparing to start this game had rekindled my interest about Richard the Lionheart.
I am enjoying your story. I recognized the White Ship incident in your opening, mainly from digging into it after reading the Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.
I wish I had more information on what he had done before I married him to Ingeborg. I was surprised to see he had high quality Jian sword in his treasury he picked up sometime in the first 5 years as a mercenary. Unfortunately, the sword wasn't inherited by his son when he died, it just vanished. I filled in some of the gaps in the story with a little artistic license.
I am reading that book currently, that was what inspired me to start at that timeline, among other things.
I read it years ago, but liked how it kind of gives a slice of life through all levels of medieval society, peasants artisans, monks and clergy and the nobles.
Day 5 – Princess Ingeborg Estrid
Day 5 – Princess Ingeborg Estrid
No story of the de Cognacs can leave out the Lady of Negev. For without her, Philip de Cognac would have faded from history, a forgotten bastard son, and the bloodline of Richard the Lionheart would have been lost for all time. The Lady of Negev gave Philip de Cognac and his dynasty a place in the world and a home, and tied them and their future to the Holy Land, to Jerusalem.
The Lady of Negev was, of course, Ingeborg Estrid, Princess of Denmark, daughter of King Valdemar the Great, sister to King Knud VI of Denmark, and briefly, Queen of France.
Princess Ingeborg Estrid had been named the beneficiary of Denmark's share of land and titles at the conclusion of the Fourth Crusade by her brother, King Knud VI. This was not exactly a reward, but rather banishment from her brother's court.
Ten years earlier, in 1193, Ingeborg had been married to King Philippe II of France, who received a sizable dowry from her brother. Philippe had originally asked, as dowry, Denmark's navy and army to aid him in a war for England, but King Knud VI refused that commitment and had instead provided a dowry of 10,000 silver marks. Within days after the wedding, Philippe spurned Ingeborg and tried to send her back to Denmark. He had the marriage annulled, falsely claiming he had found evidence that they were too closely related to be married. The French King had not gotten the only dowry he had wanted from Denmark and so he had no use for Ingeborg, but he did intend to hold onto the coin.
Ingeborg fled to a convent in Soissons and protested to Pope Celestine III. The Pope determined that the claim of consanguinity was indeed false and ruled the annulment invalid, but King Philippe ignored the Pope's ruling and refused to recognize Ingeborg as his wife and Queen.
Ingeborg and her brother continued to fight Philippe, determined to have him either accept her as Queen or return the dowry. On Pope Celestine III death, they gained the aid of his successor, Pope Innocent III, who also insisted the annulment was invalid, and Ingeborg was Philipe's wife. Philippe continued to refuse, and threw out various claims, one that the original marriage was unconsummated, which Ingeborg was forced to embarrassingly claim otherwise, and then he later even accused her of witchcraft. The Pope refused all his arguments, so in response, Philip had Ingeborg seized and imprisoned in a tower in the Château d'Étampes in Essonne and moved forward with plans to take another wife. Pope Innocent III then responded by excommunicating the French King.
The Lords of France rose up and deposed the excommunicated Philippe in favor of his young son, Louis. Within a year, after Philippe had died of poor health, the question of the Ingeborg's marriage was now irrelevant and she was released from the tower. But the Regency Council of France refused to acknowledge the receipt of a dowry for a marriage that their former King had said never happened.
So, Ingeborg returned to Denmark and her brother's court without her dowry. Her brother tried to marry her off again, but he refused to supply her with a new dowry claiming she had already cost Denmark too much. With no dowry, the options were lesser nobles and second sons. Ingeborg refused them all as beneath her as she had been the Queen of France.
Her sharp wit, cynicism, and cruel tongue long discouraged any new would-be suitors, so five years later, at the age of 28, she remained a spinster at her brother's court and a thorn in his side. But with the conclusion of the Fourth Crusade and Denmark receiving a grant of land, her brother had finally found a way to remove her from his court. So, Ingeborg had been sent off on a journey south to receive Denmark's share of lands and titles.
Soon after her arrival in the Holy Land, the Princess of Denmark had humiliated the Crown Prince of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan, while publicly rejecting his lecherous advances. (She very publicly kneed him in the balls in front of the whole court of Jerusalem, leaving him curled up in a fetal position at his father's feet.) The enmity of the de Lusignan family, including her direct liege the Duke of Oultrejourdain, had made things difficult for the Princess from then on.
This appeared evident from the start, when King Amaury invested Princess Ingeborg as Countess of Negev, rather than as Countess of Ascalon, the much richer lands her brother had told her were the expected grants to be ceded to Denmark's beneficiary. Princess Ingeborg briefly considered petitioning her brother for help to reclaim her rightful grant, but quickly concluded that King Knud would have little care as to which patch of desert his sister was exiled in. (Magus Arnoul, however, would later postulate that King Amaury actually did this out of kindness, noting the growing enmity between his son, who had been granted the Duchy of Ascalon, and the Princess, he decided making her a direct vassal to Prince Guy would place her in immediate danger).
The county of Negev sat in the heart of the Negev desert, but the desert stretched far beyond the borders of the county, bounded by the Red Sea and the Jordan River to the south and east, by the more fertile coastal Mediterranean lands to the west and the Dead Sea to the north. The other parts of the desert had value as they contained important cities, were along important trade routes, or were adjacent to coastal territory. The actual county of Negev was in the part of the desert that was absolutely worthless and no one else wanted. It was here in this hostile land, that the de Cognac dynasty first took root and were tempered. They would be shaped by the forge of the desert and quenched in the blood of their infidel neighbors.
Princess Ingeborg's surprising marriage to Philip de Cognac very soon after her arrival provided her with a much-needed ally as she became settled in Negev. The young mercenary captain had come to meet her while under contract to King Amaury ‘the Holy’ of Jerusalem. And they soon wed to form an alliance in the Holy Land. Philip's lineage and mercenary company offered respect, prestige and protection to Negev, and Negev became the home base for Philip’s mercenary company while in the Holy Land.
Magus Arnoul's "La Dame du Néguev" makes it clear that Ingeborg initiated the marriage proposal. He provided the story as he heard it. The Middlesexian Band were escorting the newly invested Lady of Negev and her retainers to her lands as part of their duties patrolling the southern borders of Jerusalem. Below is the translation from the French of the actual proposal as it was told to Arnoul by the Lady herself:
* The Butcher of Ayyadieh was a nickname given King Richard for killing thousands of Muslim prisoners at Acre so he would not have to guard them while on the march.
Negev would become the cradle of the de Cognac dynasty. However, on the death of King Amaury, Guy De Lusignan became King Guy II of Jerusalem and would soon cancel Philip's mercenary contract with Jerusalem after first using it to disrupt Ingeborg’s family life. The cancellation of the contract with Jerusalem freed Philip to then help the Lady of Negev press a war to claim Al Jawf, but she did not have the funds to keep them under contract after that victory and so he and Middlesexian Band had to soon take on a new contract that would take them to the far end of the Mediterranean to fight in the Holy War for Mallorca under contract to King Alfons of Aragon. Philip would never return to the Holy Land, leaving behind his wife, son and three daughters. He died in Dax in the Duchy of Gascogne while serving under contract to his cousin, King Arnold of England.
With the departure of the Middlesexian Band, Ingeborg's only ally was Johannes Hvide, the Count of Kerak, a fellow Dane and another vassal of the Duke of Oultrejourdain. Even before the death of King Amaury, her rival Prince Guy had begun spreading slander and lies about Princess Ingeborg, further cutting her off from any support among the other lords of Jersualem. Once Philip left the Holy Land, King Guy II actively encouraged his uncle, Duke Geoffroy de Lusignan, to revoke Al Jawf from Ingeborg. However, Ingeborg refused the revocation and revolted against Duke Geoffroy. Her friend, Count Johannes of Kerak, could not support her directly, but as Marshal of Oultrejourdain, he avoided prosecuting the war as effectively as he could, and Ingeborg avoided attacking Kerak directly. Duke Geoffroy was no soldier and without the full support of his marshal, he made several military blunders, which in the end cost him the war. One of the conditions of his surrender was that he abdicate in favor of his son, 5-year old Guilhelm de Lusignan. Johannes Hvide would become regent for the new Duke and help shield Ingeborg from all but King Guy II's continued slander, until Johannes' death in 1220.
However, by that time, Ingeborg had learned of Philip's death and had remarried, with another business proposition. This time she chose the Emir of Tripoli, Bohemond 'the Just' de Poitou. The Frenchman was a widower, a few years older than herself with four sons and a daughter already, so he wasn't looking for a young wife to bear him more children, his titles were already secure for when he died. He was one of the only Christian lords in the Holy Land not beholden to the King Guy II of Jerusalem, making him a useful ally for Negev. In fact, he was a vassal of the Ayyubid Sultanate, so he was protected from King Guy's wrath. With his own lands to tend to and his duties to the Sultan, Al-Ashraf the Monster, Bohemond was someone who would leave Ingeborg to rule her own lands as she saw fit.
He was also heir to the Principality of Antioch, which was currently held by his nephew Prince Raimon-Roupen de Poitou. And neither the Emir nor the Prince were happy with King Guy II, and had good reason to hate him. In 1215, while Ingeborg had been fighting to depose Duke Geoffroy, King Guy II had launched a war against the Prince of Antioch in order to make him pay tribute. It had been a short, brutal war and had left Antioch deep in debt and forced to pay tribute and provide troops to their stronger neighbor. While the Prince couldn't act against Guy due to the treaty that had made Jerusalem suzerain over Antioch, his uncle had no such constraints and welcomed a chance to make a gesture of defiance by allying with the King's hated rival, Countess Ingeborg. The other benefits the business proposition brought to the Emir included having an ally close by in the Holy Land, where another marriage would have led to allies somewhere in Europe where they would never be able to respond in time if he really needed them. And, though Ingeborg might see herself as a black sheep and exile from her family, she was still a Princess of House Estrid, with all the prestige a marriage to her would bring.
Ingeborg would die of cancer some three years after her second marriage, but she would live long enough to see her rival, King Guy II, dead, killed when a balcony collapsed under him throwing him to his death. She would also see her new husband inherit the Principality of Antioch following the unexpected death of his beloved nephew.
No story of the de Cognacs can leave out the Lady of Negev. For without her, Philip de Cognac would have faded from history, a forgotten bastard son, and the bloodline of Richard the Lionheart would have been lost for all time. The Lady of Negev gave Philip de Cognac and his dynasty a place in the world and a home, and tied them and their future to the Holy Land, to Jerusalem.
The Lady of Negev was, of course, Ingeborg Estrid, Princess of Denmark, daughter of King Valdemar the Great, sister to King Knud VI of Denmark, and briefly, Queen of France.
Princess Ingeborg Estrid had been named the beneficiary of Denmark's share of land and titles at the conclusion of the Fourth Crusade by her brother, King Knud VI. This was not exactly a reward, but rather banishment from her brother's court.
Ten years earlier, in 1193, Ingeborg had been married to King Philippe II of France, who received a sizable dowry from her brother. Philippe had originally asked, as dowry, Denmark's navy and army to aid him in a war for England, but King Knud VI refused that commitment and had instead provided a dowry of 10,000 silver marks. Within days after the wedding, Philippe spurned Ingeborg and tried to send her back to Denmark. He had the marriage annulled, falsely claiming he had found evidence that they were too closely related to be married. The French King had not gotten the only dowry he had wanted from Denmark and so he had no use for Ingeborg, but he did intend to hold onto the coin.
Ingeborg fled to a convent in Soissons and protested to Pope Celestine III. The Pope determined that the claim of consanguinity was indeed false and ruled the annulment invalid, but King Philippe ignored the Pope's ruling and refused to recognize Ingeborg as his wife and Queen.
Ingeborg and her brother continued to fight Philippe, determined to have him either accept her as Queen or return the dowry. On Pope Celestine III death, they gained the aid of his successor, Pope Innocent III, who also insisted the annulment was invalid, and Ingeborg was Philipe's wife. Philippe continued to refuse, and threw out various claims, one that the original marriage was unconsummated, which Ingeborg was forced to embarrassingly claim otherwise, and then he later even accused her of witchcraft. The Pope refused all his arguments, so in response, Philip had Ingeborg seized and imprisoned in a tower in the Château d'Étampes in Essonne and moved forward with plans to take another wife. Pope Innocent III then responded by excommunicating the French King.
The Lords of France rose up and deposed the excommunicated Philippe in favor of his young son, Louis. Within a year, after Philippe had died of poor health, the question of the Ingeborg's marriage was now irrelevant and she was released from the tower. But the Regency Council of France refused to acknowledge the receipt of a dowry for a marriage that their former King had said never happened.
So, Ingeborg returned to Denmark and her brother's court without her dowry. Her brother tried to marry her off again, but he refused to supply her with a new dowry claiming she had already cost Denmark too much. With no dowry, the options were lesser nobles and second sons. Ingeborg refused them all as beneath her as she had been the Queen of France.
Her sharp wit, cynicism, and cruel tongue long discouraged any new would-be suitors, so five years later, at the age of 28, she remained a spinster at her brother's court and a thorn in his side. But with the conclusion of the Fourth Crusade and Denmark receiving a grant of land, her brother had finally found a way to remove her from his court. So, Ingeborg had been sent off on a journey south to receive Denmark's share of lands and titles.
Soon after her arrival in the Holy Land, the Princess of Denmark had humiliated the Crown Prince of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan, while publicly rejecting his lecherous advances. (She very publicly kneed him in the balls in front of the whole court of Jerusalem, leaving him curled up in a fetal position at his father's feet.) The enmity of the de Lusignan family, including her direct liege the Duke of Oultrejourdain, had made things difficult for the Princess from then on.
This appeared evident from the start, when King Amaury invested Princess Ingeborg as Countess of Negev, rather than as Countess of Ascalon, the much richer lands her brother had told her were the expected grants to be ceded to Denmark's beneficiary. Princess Ingeborg briefly considered petitioning her brother for help to reclaim her rightful grant, but quickly concluded that King Knud would have little care as to which patch of desert his sister was exiled in. (Magus Arnoul, however, would later postulate that King Amaury actually did this out of kindness, noting the growing enmity between his son, who had been granted the Duchy of Ascalon, and the Princess, he decided making her a direct vassal to Prince Guy would place her in immediate danger).
The county of Negev sat in the heart of the Negev desert, but the desert stretched far beyond the borders of the county, bounded by the Red Sea and the Jordan River to the south and east, by the more fertile coastal Mediterranean lands to the west and the Dead Sea to the north. The other parts of the desert had value as they contained important cities, were along important trade routes, or were adjacent to coastal territory. The actual county of Negev was in the part of the desert that was absolutely worthless and no one else wanted. It was here in this hostile land, that the de Cognac dynasty first took root and were tempered. They would be shaped by the forge of the desert and quenched in the blood of their infidel neighbors.
Princess Ingeborg's surprising marriage to Philip de Cognac very soon after her arrival provided her with a much-needed ally as she became settled in Negev. The young mercenary captain had come to meet her while under contract to King Amaury ‘the Holy’ of Jerusalem. And they soon wed to form an alliance in the Holy Land. Philip's lineage and mercenary company offered respect, prestige and protection to Negev, and Negev became the home base for Philip’s mercenary company while in the Holy Land.
Magus Arnoul's "La Dame du Néguev" makes it clear that Ingeborg initiated the marriage proposal. He provided the story as he heard it. The Middlesexian Band were escorting the newly invested Lady of Negev and her retainers to her lands as part of their duties patrolling the southern borders of Jerusalem. Below is the translation from the French of the actual proposal as it was told to Arnoul by the Lady herself:
Every evening during the journey, she shared a meal with Captain de Cognac, sometimes with Godfrey or one of the other officers and sometimes just the two of them. On this night Ingeborg and the Captain were alone, enjoying a meal of roast gazelle and leeks. She had learned a lot about the Captain's life and he hers during these nightly chats. Tonight, Philip had been talking about his future, "When my uncle, Geoffrey, usurped the throne of England from John the Black last year, I realized I was never going to get the lands and titles my father had pledged. But King Geoffrey the Usurper has continued to support the Middlesexian Band with the understanding that I never return to England, and I can live that."
Ingeborg decided to broach a topic with Philip that she had been thinking about for the past week.
"I have a business proposition for you, Captain"
"Yes, Princess?"
"I propose that we....marry."
" I... How is that a business proposition?"
"It is mutually beneficial; we both will profit from it."
She pushed on," You will gain a home, family, and title."
"England is my home."
"Please, you were born and raised in Aquitaine, all alone; you have only been to England proper once in your life. And you said yourself, the Kings of England have sent you away, hoping you would die. You have never truly had a home. "
"What would be the benefit to you? I am a landless bastard and penniless soldier. I can not stay and help you manage you lands as my duties will take me where ever the next contract and next employer requires. Even my rank and army can be stripped from me at the whim of a man I have never met. "
"I am not a young girl, and now with land and title I must think of marrying and getting an heir. I have spent the last five years of my life in a crowded court and never found a suitable husband and now I am heading off to spend the rest of my life in a desolate corner of the world where the chances of finding a good match are even more remote. My only marriage prospects will be low born or desperate adventurers who would only hope to marry me to claim my land and titles. I aim to rule my lands my way, and will not give up that freedom to some stranger. Our marriage would allow you to continue with you own affairs and leave me to mine."
"Also, though you are a bastard, you are Richard the Lionheart's bastard. That carries weight, especially here in the Holy Land. To the crusaders, he is a legend and I would tie myself to that. To the Muslims, he is an honored enemy, and yet also the Butcher of Ayyadieh*. Marriage to you will give me added respect among my peers and a little fear among my native subjects and Muslim neighbors."
"And lastly, while not free of obligations, you currently command one of the largest armies currently in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. If that gives my enemies even some pause before acting against me, then I'll take it."
"I presume you would want any children to carry your name and lineage."
"No, they would be your children and carry your name, you will not be forgotten."
"Why would you want give a bastard's name to your children?"
"There are plenty of Estrids in the world already. And my brother, the King, and the rest of my family have abandoned me as surely as the Plantagenets have abandoned you. Let us create something new, a de Cognac dynasty who may out shine them both."
Philip sat for a moment staring into the fire, his right hand twisting his left hook as he thought things over. Finally, he looked up at her and nodded.
* The Butcher of Ayyadieh was a nickname given King Richard for killing thousands of Muslim prisoners at Acre so he would not have to guard them while on the march.
Negev would become the cradle of the de Cognac dynasty. However, on the death of King Amaury, Guy De Lusignan became King Guy II of Jerusalem and would soon cancel Philip's mercenary contract with Jerusalem after first using it to disrupt Ingeborg’s family life. The cancellation of the contract with Jerusalem freed Philip to then help the Lady of Negev press a war to claim Al Jawf, but she did not have the funds to keep them under contract after that victory and so he and Middlesexian Band had to soon take on a new contract that would take them to the far end of the Mediterranean to fight in the Holy War for Mallorca under contract to King Alfons of Aragon. Philip would never return to the Holy Land, leaving behind his wife, son and three daughters. He died in Dax in the Duchy of Gascogne while serving under contract to his cousin, King Arnold of England.
With the departure of the Middlesexian Band, Ingeborg's only ally was Johannes Hvide, the Count of Kerak, a fellow Dane and another vassal of the Duke of Oultrejourdain. Even before the death of King Amaury, her rival Prince Guy had begun spreading slander and lies about Princess Ingeborg, further cutting her off from any support among the other lords of Jersualem. Once Philip left the Holy Land, King Guy II actively encouraged his uncle, Duke Geoffroy de Lusignan, to revoke Al Jawf from Ingeborg. However, Ingeborg refused the revocation and revolted against Duke Geoffroy. Her friend, Count Johannes of Kerak, could not support her directly, but as Marshal of Oultrejourdain, he avoided prosecuting the war as effectively as he could, and Ingeborg avoided attacking Kerak directly. Duke Geoffroy was no soldier and without the full support of his marshal, he made several military blunders, which in the end cost him the war. One of the conditions of his surrender was that he abdicate in favor of his son, 5-year old Guilhelm de Lusignan. Johannes Hvide would become regent for the new Duke and help shield Ingeborg from all but King Guy II's continued slander, until Johannes' death in 1220.
However, by that time, Ingeborg had learned of Philip's death and had remarried, with another business proposition. This time she chose the Emir of Tripoli, Bohemond 'the Just' de Poitou. The Frenchman was a widower, a few years older than herself with four sons and a daughter already, so he wasn't looking for a young wife to bear him more children, his titles were already secure for when he died. He was one of the only Christian lords in the Holy Land not beholden to the King Guy II of Jerusalem, making him a useful ally for Negev. In fact, he was a vassal of the Ayyubid Sultanate, so he was protected from King Guy's wrath. With his own lands to tend to and his duties to the Sultan, Al-Ashraf the Monster, Bohemond was someone who would leave Ingeborg to rule her own lands as she saw fit.
He was also heir to the Principality of Antioch, which was currently held by his nephew Prince Raimon-Roupen de Poitou. And neither the Emir nor the Prince were happy with King Guy II, and had good reason to hate him. In 1215, while Ingeborg had been fighting to depose Duke Geoffroy, King Guy II had launched a war against the Prince of Antioch in order to make him pay tribute. It had been a short, brutal war and had left Antioch deep in debt and forced to pay tribute and provide troops to their stronger neighbor. While the Prince couldn't act against Guy due to the treaty that had made Jerusalem suzerain over Antioch, his uncle had no such constraints and welcomed a chance to make a gesture of defiance by allying with the King's hated rival, Countess Ingeborg. The other benefits the business proposition brought to the Emir included having an ally close by in the Holy Land, where another marriage would have led to allies somewhere in Europe where they would never be able to respond in time if he really needed them. And, though Ingeborg might see herself as a black sheep and exile from her family, she was still a Princess of House Estrid, with all the prestige a marriage to her would bring.
Ingeborg would die of cancer some three years after her second marriage, but she would live long enough to see her rival, King Guy II, dead, killed when a balcony collapsed under him throwing him to his death. She would also see her new husband inherit the Principality of Antioch following the unexpected death of his beloved nephew.
- 4
An intriguing woman and a remarkable individualist! One can see why someone so stubborn would only really find room to bloom in the bleak soil of the desert.
Ingeborg initially tried the more traditional route, aiding her family by marrying King Phlippe of Fance, but he betrayed her and then her brother blamed her for Philippe's action, so Ingeborg was happy to be free fom the control of such men and make her own way, Philip de Cognac allowed her to do that.