Biography of Isabella Anjou Queen Jerusalem 1172-1205

Paternal Family Tree: Anjou aka Plantagenet

In 1157 [her father] Almaric I King Jerusalem (age 21) and [her step-mother] Agnes Courtenay Queen Jerusalem (age 21) were married. She by marriage Queen Jerusalem. She the daughter of Joscelin Courtenay II Count Edessa. He the son of [her grandfather] Fulk "Young" King Jerusalem and [her grandmother] Melisende Queen of Jerusalem (age 52). They were third cousins.

In 1167 [her father] Almaric I King Jerusalem (age 31) and [her mother] Maria Komnenos Queen Jerusalem (age 13) were married. She by marriage Queen Jerusalem. He the son of [her grandfather] Fulk "Young" King Jerusalem and [her grandmother] Melisende Queen of Jerusalem.

In 1172 Isabella Anjou Queen Jerusalem was born to [her father] Almaric I King Jerusalem (age 36) and [her mother] Maria Komnenos Queen Jerusalem (age 18).

On 11th July 1174 [her father] Almaric I King Jerusalem (age 38) died. His son [her half-brother] Baldwin (age 13) succeeded IV King Jerusalem.

On 16th March 1181 Henry Blois I Count Champagne (age 53) died. His son [her future husband] Henry (age 14) succeeded II Count Champagne.

In August 1186 [her nephew] Baldwin V King Jerusalem (age 9) died. His mother [her half-sister] Sibylla (age 26) succeeded Queen Jerusalem.

In August 1186 [her half-brother] Baldwin IV King Jerusalem (age 25) died at Jerusalem [Map]. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre [Map]. His nephew [her nephew] Baldwin (age 9) succeeded V King Jerusalem.

The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy

The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.

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In August 1186 [her brother-in-law] Guy I King Jerusalem (age 36) and [her half-sister] Sibylla Anjou Queen Jerusalem (age 26) were married. She the daughter of [her father] Almaric I King Jerusalem and [her step-mother] Agnes Courtenay Queen Jerusalem.

In 1190 Conrad of Montferrat King of Jerusalem (age 44) and Isabella Anjou Queen Jerusalem (age 18) were married; see Ralph of Coggeshall. The difference in their ages was 26 years. She the daughter of Almaric I King Jerusalem and Maria Komnenos Queen Jerusalem (age 36).

In 1190 [her half-sister] Sibylla Anjou Queen Jerusalem (age 30) died. Her half sister Isabella (age 18) succeeded Queen Jerusalem.

On 28th April 1192 [her husband] Conrad of Montferrat King of Jerusalem (age 46) died.

On 6th May 1192 Henry of Champagne (age 25) and Isabella Anjou Queen Jerusalem (age 20) were married eight days after the assassination of her husband Conrad of Montferrat (deceased). She the daughter of Almaric I King Jerusalem and Maria Komnenos Queen Jerusalem (age 38). He the son of Henry Blois I Count Champagne and Marie Capet Countess Champagne (age 47). They were half third cousin twice removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

On 10th September 1197 [her husband] Henry Blois II Count Champagne (age 31) died.

On 5th April 1205 Isabella Anjou Queen Jerusalem (age 33) died.

Chronicum Anglicanum by Ralph Coggeshall. After these things had been done, King Philip wished to hand over that city [Acre], and the other cities which were to be taken, to the marquis of Montferrat¹, and to establish him as king in the land of Jerusalem, since he had married the younger daughter of King Amalric, whose sister, namely the queen, had already died. But King Richard altogether opposed this plan, asserting that it would be more just to restore the kingdom, long since despoiled, to King Guy, rather than to substitute another while he was still living, since it was clear that Guy had not lost the kingdom through cowardice or sloth, but in hard battle, when, because of the number of the enemy and the fewness of his own forces, he had been captured by the Saracens together with the Lord's Cross. This, indeed, is recognised as having been the seed of an inexorable discord between the aforesaid princes. Yet this discord had first sprouted earlier, at the city of Messina in Sicily, when King Richard had taken that city by armed force, and slain many, while King Philip was staying there, on account of the insults and vexations which the army of the king of France was inflicting on his own army.

His itaque gestis, voluit rex Philippus urbem illam, et reliquas quas capturi erant urbes, marchisio de Monteferrato tradere, eumque in terra Hierosolymitana regem constituere, eo quod juniorem filiam regis Amalarii duxisset in uxorem, sorore ejus, regina scilicet, jam defuncta. Cujus voluntati rex Ricardus prorsus obstitit; asserens justius fore regi Guidoni, regno jampridem spoliato, regnum suum restituere, quam alium, illo adhuc vivente, substituere, cum constaret hunc non per ignaviam vel socordiam regnum amisisse, sed in gravi belli certamine, ob inimicorum numerositatem ac sui exercitus paucitatem, simul cum cruce Dominica a Sarracenis fuisse captum. Quod nimirum inexorabilis discordiæ inter prædictos principes seminarium ibidem fuisse dinoscitur. Cum tamen hæc discordia primo apud Messanam Siciliæ civitatem inter eosdem pullulaverat, cum rex Ricardus eamdem urbem armata manu cepit, plurimosque prostravit, rege Philippo in ea commorante, ob convitia et vexationes quæ exercitus regis Francorum exercitui suo inferebat.

Note 1. Conrad of Montferrat King of Jerusalem had married Isabella following the death of her sister [her half-sister] Sibylla Anjou Queen Jerusalem in 1190 and so became, jure uxoris i.e. by right of his wife, King of Jerusalem. King Richard's plan to reinstate Guy had no basis in the laws of succession since Guy was King by right of his wife who had died.

The History of William Marshal, Earl of Chepstow and Pembroke, Regent of England. Book 1 of 2, Lines 1-10152.

The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.

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Chronicum Anglicanum by Ralph Coggeshall. The wife¹ of the marquis King Richard gave to his nephew Henry, count of Troyes, together with the kingdom of Jerusalem, for she was the heiress of the whole kingdom, her sister the queen being now dead, with King Guy of Lusignan gladly consenting to this arrangement for the sake of establishing peace. But the island of Cyprus, which he had taken from the emperor, he granted to King Guy, having received his homage.

Uxorem vero marchisii dedit rex Ricardus Henrico nepoti suo, comiti Trecensium, cum regno Hierosolymitano, utpote hæredem totius regni, sorore ejus regina jam defuncta, rege Guidone de Lezinan hoc ipsum pro pacis stabilitate libenter annuente. Insulam autem Cypri, quam ab imperatore obtinuerat, regi Guidoni concessit, accepto ejus homagio.

Note 1. Isabella Anjou Queen Jerusalem and Henry of Champagne were married eight days after her husband Conrad's murder. He, Henry, was a son of Henry I, Count of Champagne, and Marie of France, one of two daughters of King Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine.