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180 Hakalmaz Turaç

Crusader kingdoms. Intermarriage began in the early years of the Cyp-
riot and Armenian kingdoms as King Leo II married Sibylla, Aimery’s
daughter, in 1210, when he visited Cyprus, although at the time Leo
was sixty and Sibylla was twelve 114 . Leo’s marriage was considered
scandalous but an even more dubious marriage was made between
the sister of King Hugh of Cyprus and Leo’s cousin, who eloped to-
gether in 1211 115 . The lack of suitable consorts was an important rea-
son for the papacy ignoring canon law and granting marriage dispen-
sations 116 . Beyond the royal houses, noble families, too, forged alli-
ances via marriage, which continued throughout the latter half of the
thirteenth century 117 due to political interests directly or indirectly re-
lated to the Holy Land and the future of the Latin East. Dispensations
were therefore seen as a key form of political support from the pope by
the rulers and the nobility 118 . Being aware of the advantages of a joint
political approach by the Crusader kingdoms, the papacy was in turn
more tolerant in its approach to intermarriages.

Conclusions

To suggest that ecclesiastical institutions in the High Middle Ages
were closely related to political decisions and could wield political
power to protect religious interests, such as recovering the Holy Land,
should not be controversial, though this is not to say that they made
purely political decisions, or that political and spiritual decisions

114 N. Coureas, Lusignan Cyprus and Lesser Armenia cit., p. 34. Rhc Arm, vol. 1, pp.
424-425; Aimery was succeeded by his son Hugh I in 1205, so when the marriage was
held in 1210, Aimery had already died.
115 N. Coureas, Lusignan Cyprus and Lesser Armenia cit., p. 34.
116 L. Mas Latrie, Histoire, vol. 3 cit., pp. 641-642. In a letter of Pope Gregory IX, he
orders Archbishop Eutorge to revoke the ruling against Queen Alice of Cyprus and Bohe-
mond of Tripoli, who were married against God. See Bullarium, vol. 1, pp. 287-8, n. d-1.
117 Guy of Ibelin’s son Balian married the sister of King Leo III’s wife and his sister
married Roupen of Montfort who was an Armenian nobleman. Balian’s daughter Mar-
garet likewise married an Armenian nobleman named lord Oshin of Corycos, and, their
daughter was to marry the future King Leo V of Armenia. Another Philip, from the Ibelin
family and the uncle of the Cypriot King Henry II, was married to a daughter from an
Armenian noble family. See N. Coureas, Lusignan Cyprus and Lesser Armenia cit., p.
37; Idem, The Latin Church in Cyprus cit. p. 46; for the Ibelins and the kings of Cyprus,
see P. Edbury, Franks cit., pp. 87-92.
118 In 1295, King Henry II of Cyprus and his brother, King Smbat of Armenia and
the Archdeacon of Nicosia, Henry of Gibelet requested nine dispensations, see N.
Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus cit., pp. 44-45; The Ibelin Lombard conflict took
place between 1228-1232. It affected relations adversely and created a lack of suitable
consorts. For connections during the Ibelin-Lombard conflict, see N. Coureas, The Latin
Church in Cyprus cit., pp. 31-43.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XIX - Aprile 2022
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)