Agnes of Courtenay
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Agnes of Courtenay (died c. 1184) was the mother of king Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, and an important figure in the politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Agnes was the daughter of Joscelin II of Courtenay, count of Edessa, and sister of Joscelin III. Agnes had lived in Jerusalem since the western remnant of Edessa was lost in 1150. Her first husband was Reynald of Marash, who later died; she was then betrothed to Hugh of Ibelin, but instead married Amalric, count of Jaffa and Ascalon, in 1157, after Hugh was captured in battle by the Muslims. The marriage was opposed by the patriarch Fulk, and it seems that they waited until Fulcher's death to marry. Agnes bore Amalric two children, first Sibylla and then the future Baldwin IV. Both would come to rule the kingdom in their own right.
The marriage, though appropriate in 1157 when Baldwin III could still sire an heir, was objected to again in 1163. The Haute Cour refused to endorse Amalric as king unless his marriage to Agnes was annulled. This was supposedly due to consanguinuity, but, as Agnes was often seen to be a scheming and greedy woman, many of the nobles may have been opposed to her supposedly low morals. Agnes is also credited with preventing William of Tyre from becoming patriarch in 1157, and a slight on moral character as hinted to in the Chronicle of Ernoul, a continuation of William; "car telle n'est que roine doie iest di si haute cite comme de Jherusalem". Both these charges however come from sources biased towards Willaim; Bernard Hamilton suggests that both Amalric and his councillors believed he could make a more advantageous diplomatic marriage. Despite the annulment, their two children were declared legitimate.
Amalric ascended the throne after the marriage was annulled. Agnes continued to hold the title Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon and received a pension from that fief's income. Agnes soon thereafter married to Hugh of Ibelin, to whom she had been engaged before her marriage with Amalric. Meanwhile, Amalric did make a more advantagous marriage to Maria Comnena, great-grandniece to Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus.
The annulment later caused problems for Sibylla in particular, whose right of succession was questioned by supporters of Amalric and Maria's daughter Isabella. There was no such questioning of Baldwin's rights.
Agnes had sufficient revenues to maintain her own household, which later included several nobles as clients, such as Amalric of Lusignan. After Hugh died in 1170, Agnes married Reynald of Sidon. During Amalric's reign she had next to no influence in the kingdom, but her power grew when her son Baldwin IV came to the throne in 1174, especially after Raymond III of Tripoli stepped down as Baldwin's regent. In 1176 she arranged to have her brother Joscelin III released from captivity and appointed seneschal of Jerusalem. She also had Amalric of Lusignan appointed as constable of the kingdom when Humphrey II of Toron died in 1179; there were rumours that she was having an affair with Amalric. She was opposed to William of Tyre, and due to her support Heraclius became archbishop of Caesarea and, in 1180, Patriarch of Jerusalem, although William was the more qualified choice. There were rumours that she was also having an affair with Heraclius.
By now she had emerged as one of the leaders of the "court party" in the kingdom, opposed to the faction of nobles who tended to be more conservative and less adventurous in their decision. In 1180 she gave support to the marriage of Guy of Lusignan (Amalric's younger brother) and her daughter Sibylla, even though Guy was a newcomer to the kingdom, rather than a member of an established family. As an opponent of Raymond III of Tripoli she persuaded Baldwin IV not to allow him to enter the kingdom in 1182. In 1183 she probably helped arrange the marriage of Humphrey IV of Toron to Amalric and Maria's daughter Isabella; one of the terms of marriage was that Toron should become a royal domain. Agnes claimed it for herself in 1184.
In 1183, King Baldwin IV and the Haute Cour decided to alter the succession: Baldwin V, Sibylla's infant son from her first marriage, was placed in precedence over Sibylla, and a process decreed to choose the monarch afterwards between Sibylla and her half-sister Isabella, who despite being younger, was at that point was considered at least equally entitled to succeed. The process consisted of an interim of 10 years, while the Haute Cour and the kings of England, France, and Germany were to choose the next monarch, Sibylla or Isabella. Sibylla herself was not excluded from the succession. Guy had become very unpopular and it was widely held that he should not have even an indirect influence in government. Agnes advanced the compromise that would place her grandson Baldwin V above Sibylla in the order of succession, but she probably was not happy with the provision that Raymond III of Tripoli would act as regent for Baldwin V.
Agnes died at her estates in Acre, sometime in 1184. Baldwin IV himself expired by early 1185, leaving Sibylla's son as king and Raymond as regent. Baldwin V, never a healthy child, died by early 1186, ultimately leaving Sibylla as Queen and Guy as her consort.
A different Agnes of Courtenay was the daughter of Peter of Courtenay, Latin emperor, and Yolanda of Flanders. She married Geoffrey II Villhardouin, prince of Achaea, in 1217.