A cross in Egypt – A fourth crusade timeline

[kasumigenx]

On June 1, 1199, Pope Innocent III ultimately decreed that the Archbishopric of Dol should be placed under the authority of the Metropolitan of Tours. Conseqquently, the archbishop lost his title and pallium, leading the archbishopric to revert to a bishopric once again. Disagreeing with this decision, which favored Philip II of France over Brittany, Constance of Britany faced being excommunicated and she would negotiate a betrothal of her daughter, Eleanor of Brittany and Prince Louis which would make her the bride who would marry Prince Louis in the treaty of Le Goulet in 1200 as Eleanor was under the custody of King John who has just succeeded her brother, Richard, her planned marriage with Prince Louis was being negotiated since 1195 but opposed by the Henry VI of HRE.

In September or October 1199, Constance of Brittany chose Guy of Thouars as her subsequent husband after successfully negotiating the betrothal of her daughter to the French King which would result in a marriage the following year.

From 1198 until 1203[1], Constance co-ruled with her son Arthur. Throughout this period, she guided her son toward a French alliance, adhering to the policy of her late husband Geoffrey II.

On 1200, Constance of Brittany would bear a son with Guy of Thouars named Conan who would be followed by twins named Margaret and Catherine in 1201.

The Treaty of Le Goulet in May 1200 would divide the Angevin Empire between Arthur who would secure his inheritance of Anjou and Brittany and King John who secured his inheritance of Aquitaine and Normandy as vassals of the French King while John would be recognized as the King of England by Philip II of France and Arthur of Brittany and his sister, Eleanor are barred from inheriting England and Aquitaine by the treaty of Le Goulet and Eleanor (sister of Arthur of Brittany and niece of King John of England)and Louis of France would be married as a part of the treaty and Graçay and Issoudun would be the dowry of Eleanor of Brittany.

Eleanor of Brittany and Louis VIII would marry in May 23, 1200 in Port-Mort, situated on the right bank of the Seine in the territory of King John, as Philip’s domains were subject to an interdict.

1. Arthur still dies in 1203 in the battle against his own uncle but his mother, Constance of Brittany lives longer than Arthur.

note:
They are not the focus of this timeline.

 

[kasumigenx]

Theobald III of Champagne would lead the Crusade in 1202 and left his wife and children in Champagne with his wife, Blanche of Navarre as the regent.

On 1202, Theobald III of Champagne and Simon de Montfort would tell the crusaders to not to attack any lands of their fellow Christians, which angered the Count of Flanders and Philip of Swabia as they have interests and favors and wanted to attack fellow Christians and wanted to restore the relative of Philip of Swabia to the Eastern Roman Empire and help the venetians who would not gain support and decided to desert and not support the Fourth Crusade.

The Crusades would be started by determined leaders and would be able to do what they are asked to do by the pope which is to attack Egypt and defend Jerusalem, compared to his relatives John of England and Arthur who fought over territory, he would be pious and would guard the Holy Land against the Muslims.

In the Present Day, Theobald III of Champagne, the father of Theobald I of Navarre as one of the great defenders of Christianity and Western Civilization due to his discipline and courage to defend against the enemies of Christendom.

 

[kasumigenx]

Arthur I of Brittany and the Lusignan forces were captured in the battle of Mirabeau in August of 1202 after trying to besiege Eleanor of Aquitaine as Philip II had decided to attack Chateau Gaillard, the revolt and the battle was caused by the marriage of Isabella of Angouleme to John of England, the Lusignan and Breton force were put in captivity and Constance, Duchess of Brittany would try her best to secure funds to release Arthur I of Brittany, but unfortunately for Arthur he would disappear and was presumed to be dead by April of 1203, which would make the half-brother of Arthur, Conan as the new successor to Duchess Constance of Brittany, although after the fighting between 1202-1204, the Duchy of Normandy, counties of Maine, Anjou, and Touraine are now under the French Royal Domain.

Being safe and hearing about the start of Fourth Crusade, the Old Eleanor of Aquitaine would be happy about her grand children who are crusaders like her when she was young and she was happy to see that her grandchildren have heard the call of the Crusades, she would die happy in 1204 with her duchy passing to John of England.

Philip II would later annex the County of Poitou from John after the death of Eleanor of Aquitaine, he would not proceed to annex the other parts of Aquitaine as it would violate the Treaty of Le Goulet, he would justify the annexation as the County of Poitou was separate from Aquitaine at one point.

Eleanor of Brittany would demand Philip II to avenge her brother, Arthur of Brittany and confiscate her uncle’s lands in Aquitaine completely but Philip II would say to her that it is them that violated the Treaty of Le Goulet and they should suffer the consequences of it and Eleanor of Brittany would storm out of the court of Philip II as he would would ignore her at that encounter after saying that.

Mathew of Paris would later say that Arthur was the one who violated the Treaty of Le Goulet not John of England or Philip II of France which would put a shade on the reputation of Arthur of Brittany.

 

[kasumigenx]

The novel about Theobald I of Navarre, set in 1220 recounts the love affair between Theobald I of Navarre and Blanca of Castile the widowed wife of Ferdinand of Leon, Blanca of Castile was widowed for a long time and meets the son of the leader of the fourth crusade, Theobald who had assumed the rule of Navarre, the protagonist of the story is Theobald I of Navarre and Blanca of Castile who revealed that she actually liked Theobald the first time she saw him, and she had no love since her first husband Ferdinand, Prince of Leon died and her only reason for living after Ferdinand, Prince of Leon died was his son Alfonso(1209) who would be soon nearing his majority.

The novel would discuss about Blanca and Theobald’s difficulty in maintaining the relationship as the two are in charge of their Kingdoms and their eventual marriage in 1221 which caused complications in the custody of Blanca’s son, Alfonso as Berengaria is scheming to get rid of Alfonso in favor of her son, the uncle of Alfonso, Ferdinand as the heir of Alfonso IX of Leon and Blanca was able to thwart the plots of Berengaria to get rid of her son or his rights to succession.

 

[kasumigenx]

On 1204, Theobald III of Champagne and his army would land in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and greeted by Isabella I of Jerusalem, she had her own daughters, Alix and Philippa who claimed Champagne as well, they are the daughters of his elder brother, Henry II of Champagne, he is sad about the loss of his own inheritance in Champagne, with her son and heir, Amaury being healthy, there would be no chance that Alix and Philippa would have their own power to challenge Champagne.

Isabella would tell Theobald III that he should stay for a time in Jerusalem and wait for going to Jerusalem, but Theobald III would refuse and he insisted that he would embark on to Egypt as soon as possible and attack Egypt to reclaim it to Christianity, after leaving Isabella I of Jerusalem, Theobald III and his army would go to Saint Catherine’s monastery before he would start his plan to conquer Egypt for Christianity and would study his own uncle Richard the Lionheart and his dealings with Saladin.

 

[kasumigenx]

Surviving Plantagenets

Constance of Brittany II m. Geoffrey II of Brittany(a) Ranulf of Blondeville(b) Guy of Thouars(c)

1a. Eleanor of Brittany b. 1182/1184- m. Louis VIII

1a1a. Constance b. 1204 m. Henry I of Castile d. 1217(a) Ferdinand III of Castile(b)

1a2a. Catherine b. 1207 m. Frederick I of Sicily

1a3a. Philip b. 1209 d. 1216

1a4a. Louis IX b. 1214 d. 1270 m. Alix of Vienne

1a5a. Robert, Count of Artois b. 1216 d. 1250 m. Margaret I, Countess of Provence

1a6a. Geoffrey b. 1220 m. Joanna, Countess of Toulouse

1a3a. Isabelle b. 1224

1a4a. Charles, Count of Anjou b. 1226 m. Matilda of Brabant

2a. Matilda of Brittany b. 1185 d. 1189

3a. Arthur of Brittany b. 1187 d. 1203 b. Marie of France

4c. Conan V of Brittany 1200

5c. Margaret b. 1201

6c. Catherine b. 1201



Berengaria of Castile m. Conrad II of Swabia(a) Alfonso IX ann. 1204(b) Robert Dreux(c)

1b. Eleanor b. 1198

2b. Constance b. 1200

3b. Ferdinand b. 1201

4b. Alfonso b. 1203

5b. Berenguela b. 1204

6c. Anna Dreux b. 1208

7c. Yolande of Dreux b. 1210

8c. John I of Dreux b. 1212



Isabella of Angouleme m. John I of England(a) Hugh X of Lusignan(b)

1a. Henry III of England b. 1207

2a. Richard II of Aquitaine b. 1209

3a. Joanna of England b. 1210

4a. Isabella of England b. 1214

5a. Eleanor of England b. 1215

6b. Hugh XI of Lusignan b. 1221

7b. Aymer of Lusignan b. 1222

8b. Agnès de Lusignan b. 1223

9b. Alice of Lusignan b. 1224

10b. Guy of Lusignan b. 1225

11b. Geoffrey of Lusignan b. 1226

12b. Isabella of Lusignan b. 1226/1227

13b. William of Lusignan b. 1228

14b. Marguerite de Lusignan b. 1229

Since Eleanor of Brittany is disinherited from Aquitaine, she and Louis VIII would not have any justification to try to gain Aquitaine proper completely but Philip II would still seize Poitou from the Angevins.

 

[kasumigenx]

On 1204, Theobald III would plan his own approach against the Ayubbids to free Egypt and the Holy land from the Saracens.

Theobald III would conquer Sinai from the Ayubbids led by Saphadin and establish a foothold in Egypt in 1205, which would be his own first territory in North Africa and supported the monastery of Catherine of Alexandria in Sinai, he would sack Alexandria and reclaim Alexandria for the Christians in the same year as he had established Sinai as his foothold in Egypt.

Theobald III would attract many volunteers in Europe after his own victory against the Ayubbids led by Saphadin in Alexandria and Alexios III Angelos would send support to Theobald III of Champagne as he had heard that he was against the plan of installing his rival in his territory and Theobald III’s brother in law, Sancho VII of Navarre would want to support Theobald III of Champagne as well.

 

[Rommel1941]

On board. Look forward to next chapter

 

[kasumigenx]

On board. Look forward to next chapter

Thanks.

 

[kasumigenx]

Philip of Swabia and Baldwin IX would desert and leave the fourth crusade on 1206 before the victory of Theobald III of Champagne which basically made the army of the Fourth Crusade more united, this would allow Philip of Swabia to sire three more children with his wife, Irene.

Theobald III of Champagne is happy that the two men have left the crusades

On 1206, Theobald III of Champagne and his army would sack Cairo and claim all of Jerusalem and capture Saphadin who would be held in Jerusalem until a certain time until he is ransomed by his subjects in 1208.

Eleanor of Brittany would celebrate her cousins win against the Saracens by naming her daughter in 1207 as Catherine after Catherine of Alexandria.

Theobald III of Champagne would be crowned as King of Egypt as Theobald I and made Alice of Champagne as his heir to Egypt but he would die of dysentery a month after that and he willed the Kingdom of Egypt as a compensation of her loss of Champagne, Alice of Champagne and Jerusalem who is crowned as Alice I of Egypt who found herself as an interesting match, Frederick II of Sicily wanted her hand but Isabella I of Jerusalem would offer instead her eldest daughter, Maria of Montferrat, as the succession of Jerusalem is secured due to her son, Amalric surviving.



Children of Philip of Swabia and Irene Angelina

Beatrice b. 1198

Maria b. 1200

Kunigunde b. 1202

Catherine b. 1206[1]

Frederick b. 1208

Elizabeth b. 1210

1. Due to Philip of Swabia leaving in 1206, the birth of Elizabeth of Swabia is butterflied, Ferdinand III would have Constance of France, Louis VIII's eldest daughter as his new bride.

 

[kasumigenx]

In 1215, the English Barons rebelled against John of England and proclaimed Eleanor of Brittany and Louis of France as the rightful monarchs of England and offered the throne to Louis of France, the new papal legate Guala Bicherri opposed the plan of Louis and Philip II of France would not support it as it is against the treaty with England which disinherited Eleanor of Brittany from Aquitaine and England.

There was little resistance when Louis of France entered London and was proclaimed as Louis I in St. Paul’s cathedral with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Even not crowned many nobles including Alexander II of Scotland on behalf of his English possessions would gather to give homage to him. At Winchester May 29, Cardinal Bicherri would excommunicate Prince Louis and his supporters.

On June 14, 1216, Louis captured Winchester and soon gained control of half of the English Kingdom. King John’s death in October 1216 would cause many of the rebellious nobles to desert Louis in favor of Henry III of England. Louis undeterred by the reissuing of Magna Carta would besiege and invest the Castle of Hertford in December 1216. By December 20, 1216 he would receive a proposal from William Marshal of a truce lasting from Christmas until January 13. Louis accepted those terms and travelled to London threatening to burn St. Albans. For the Abbots not recognizing him as King.

After Louis’ forces were defeated in the Battle of Lincoln in May 20, 1217 and Battle of Sandwich on August 24, 1217, Louis was forced to make peace on English terms. The principal terms of the Treaty of Lambeth was for Louis not to attack England again, and 10,000 marks were given to Louis. In return Louis’ excommunication was lifted.

In 1215, the English Barons rebelled against John of England and proclaimed Eleanor of Brittany and Louis of France as the rightful monarchs of England and offered the throne to Louis of France, the new papal legate Guala Bicherri opposed the plan of Louis and Philip II of France would not support it as it is against the treaty with England which disinherited Eleanor of Brittany from Aquitaine and England.

There was little resistance when Louis of France entered London and was proclaimed as Louis I in St. Paul’s cathedral with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Even not crowned many nobles including Alexander II of Scotland on behalf of his English possessions would gather to give homage to him. At Winchester May 29, Cardinal Bicherri would excommunicate Prince Louis and his supporters.

On June 14, 1216, Louis captured Winchester and soon gained control of half of the English Kingdom. King John’s death in October 1216 would cause many of the rebellious nobles to desert Louis in favor of Henry III of England. Louis undeterred by the reissuing of Magna Carta would besiege and invest the Castle of Hertford in December 1216. By December 20, 1216 he would receive a proposal from William Marshal of a truce lasting from Christmas until January 13. Louis accepted those terms and travelled to London threatening to burn St. Albans. For the Abbots not recognizing him as King.

After Louis’ forces were defeated in the Battle of Lincoln in May 20, 1217 and Battle of Sandwich on August 24, 1217, Louis was forced to make peace on English terms. The principal terms of the Treaty of Lambeth were amnesty for rebels and for Louis not to attack England again, and 10,000 marks were given to Louis. In return Louis’ excommunication was lifted.

When King John died in October 1216, Isabella of Angouleme would arrange the speedy coronation of her nine year old son at the city of Gloucester on October 28. As the royal crown had recently lost in the wash, along with the rest of King John’s treasure, she supplied her own golden circlet in lieu of a crown.

The following July, less than a year after the crowning of Henry III, Isabella of Angouleme would leave her son to William Marshal, the regent of Henry III and brought with her, John’s other, son, Richard who was invested Gascony and Poitou as his inheritance and Isabella of Angouleme would assume the control of Angouleme, Isabella of Angouleme would negotiate with Philip II about Aquitaine and recognized that Poitou was lost and is now a royal domain and the young Richard would be recognized and invested as the Duke of Aquitaine as Richard II of Aquitaine by Philip II of France in exchange, he would be raised in Paris in the court of Philip II.

Isabella of Angouleme would remarry to Hugh X of Lusignan in 1220 who she was betrothed to before she married King John.

 

[kasumigenx]

 

[kasumigenx]

Pope Innocent III as the regent for Frederick I of Sicily would seek the hand of Alice I of Egypt as he wanted an expansion of his influence in Egypt via Frederick I in the end of 1207, Alice I of Egypt is the niece of Theobald I of Egypt, Isabella II of Jerusalem would convince Innocent III to choose Maria of Montferrat as the wife of Frederick I of Sicily instead of Alice I of Egypt as it can cause the Egyptian Kingdom to be weak due to a personal union and they would pick Peter Mauclerc of the Dreux lineage as the husband of Alice I of Egypt.

Maria of Montferrat would marry Frederick I of Sicily in late 1208 and bore him of a surviving daughter named Elizabeth of Sicily on 1210, she would live until 1220 and Frederick I of Sicily would marry Catherine of France after the death of Maria of Montferrat due to malaria.