Raynald of Châtillon (also
Reynald,
Reynold,
Renald, or
Reginald;
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
:
Renaud de Châtillon,
old FrenchOld French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 900 to 1300...
:
Reynaud de Chastillon) (c. 1125 – July 4 1187) was a
knightA knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport...
who served in the
Second CrusadeThe Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. It was called in 1145, in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...
and remained in the
Holy LandThe Holy Land , generally refers to the geographical region of the Levant called Land of Canaan or Land of Israel in the Bible, and constitutes the Promised land...
after its defeat. He ruled as
Prince of AntiochThe Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...
from 1153 to 1160 and through his second marriage became Lord of Oultrejordain. He was a controversial character in his own lifetime and beyond.
Background
Raynald's origins are obscure; Du Cange believed he was from
Châtillon-sur-MarneChâtillon-sur-Marne is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France.It lies in the valley of the Marne River, surrounded by the Parc Naturel de la Montagne de Reims. It lies in the historic province of Champagne...
, but according to
Jean RichardJean Richard is a leading French historian, who specializes in medieval history. He is an authority on the Crusades, and his work on the Latin missions in Asia has been qualified as "unsurpassed". Richard is a member of the Institut de France...
, he was a son of Hervé II of Donzy, and he inherited Châtillon-sur-Loing sometime before joining the Second Crusade in 1147. Other sources, however, say he was a second son of Henri I de Châtillon, Lord of Châtillon-sur-Loing, and wife Ermengarde de Montjay, dame and heiress of
MontjayMontjay may refer to the following places in France:* Montjay, Hautes-Alpes, a commune in the department of Hautes-Alpes* Montjay, Saône-et-Loire, a commune in the department of Saône-et-Loire...
. In the east, he entered the service of
Constance of AntiochConstance of Antioch was the only daughter of Bohemund II of Antioch by his wife Alice, princess of Jerusalem . She was also Princess regnant of the Principality of Antioch from 1130 to her death.- Life :...
, whose first husband had died in 1149. She married Raynald in secret in 1153, without consulting her first cousin and liege lord,
Baldwin III of JerusalemBaldwin III of Jerusalem was king of Jerusalem from 1143–1162. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and the grandson of Baldwin II of Jerusalem.-Succession:...
. Neither King Baldwin nor
Aimery of LimogesAimery or Aymery of Limoges , Aimerikos in Greek and Hemri in Armenian, was a Roman Catholic ecclesiarch in Frankish Outremer and the fourth Latin Patriarch of Antioch from c. 1140 until his death. Throughout his lengthy episcopate he was the most powerful figure in the Principality of Antioch...
, the
Latin Patriarch of AntiochThe Latin Patriarch of Antioch was an office created in 1098 by Bohemund, founder of the Principality of Antioch, one of the crusader states....
, approved of Constance's choice of a husband of such low birth.
In 1156 Raynald claimed that the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus had reneged on his promise to pay Raynald a sum of money, and vowed to attack the island of
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
in revenge. When the
Latin Patriarch of AntiochThe Latin Patriarch of Antioch was an office created in 1098 by Bohemund, founder of the Principality of Antioch, one of the crusader states....
refused to finance this expedition, Raynald had the Patriarch seized, stripped naked, covered in honey, and left in the burning sun on top of the citadel. When the Patriarch was released, he collapsed in exhaustion and agreed to finance Raynald's expedition against Cyprus. Raynald's forces attacked Cyprus, ravaging the island and pillaging its inhabitants.
The Emperor Manuel I Comnenus raised an army and began a march into Syria. Faced with a much larger and more powerful force, Raynald was forced to grovel, barefoot and shabby, before the emperor's throne for forgiveness. In 1159 Raynald was forced to pay homage to Manuel as punishment for his attack, promising to accept a Greek Patriarch in Antioch. When Manuel came to Antioch later that year to meet with
Baldwin IIIBaldwin III of Jerusalem was king of Jerusalem from 1143–1162. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and the grandson of Baldwin II of Jerusalem.-Succession:...
,
King of JerusalemThis is a list of Kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.-Kings of Jerusalem :...
, Raynald was forced to lead Manuel's horse into the city.
Soon after this, in 1160, Raynald was captured by the
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
s during a plundering raid against the
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
n and
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n peasants of the neighbourhood of Marash. He was confined at
AleppoAleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population...
for the next seventeen years. As the stepfather of the Empress
MariaMaria of Antioch was the daughter of Constance of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers. She married the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.- Life :...
, he was ransomed by Manuel for the extraordinary sum of 120,000
gold dinarA Gold Dinar is a gold coin first issued in 77 AH by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The name “dinar” is derived from denarius, a Roman currency...
s (500 kg of gold-worth of 12 500 000 US $ today) in 1176.
Rise to prominence
Raynald served as
Baldwin IVBaldwin IV of Jerusalem , called the Leper or the Leprous, the son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay, was king of Jerusalem from 1174 to 1185. His full sister was Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem and his nephew through this sister was the child-king Baldwin V...
's envoy to Manuel and, because his wife Constance had died in 1163, was rewarded with marriage to another wealthy widow,
StephanieStephanie of Milly was Lady of Oultrejordain and an influential figure in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. She was also known as Stephanie de Milly, Etienette de Milly, and Etiennette de Milly....
, the widow of both Humphrey III of Toron and
Miles of PlancyMiles of Plancy , also known as Milon or Milo, was a noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.He was born in Champagne and came to the east in the 1160s, where he served King Amalric I, to whom he was distantly related. Amalric made him seneschal of Jerusalem, and in 1167 he participated in...
and the heiress of the lordship of Oultrejordain, including the castles Kerak and
MontrealMontreal was a Crusader castle on the eastern side of the Arabah, perched on the side of a rocky, conical mountain, looking out over fruit trees below. The ruins, called Shobak or Shawbak in Arabic, are located in modern Jordan....
to the southeast of the
Dead SeaThe Dead Sea is a salt lake in Jordan to the east and in the West Bank and Israel to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's...
. These fortresses controlled the trade routes between
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
and
DamascusDamascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
and gave Raynald access to the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
. He became notorious for his wanton cruelty at Kerak, often having his enemies and hostages flung from its castle walls to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below.
In November 1177, at the head of the army of the
kingdomThe Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. It lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks....
, he helped King Baldwin defeat
SaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a Kurdish Muslim who became the Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He led Islamic opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
at the
Battle of MontgisardThe Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Ayyubids and the Kingdom of Jerusalem on November 25, 1177. The 16 year old King Baldwin IV, seriously afflicted by leprosy, led an out-numbered Christian force against the army of Saladin...
; Saladin narrowly escaped. In 1181 the temptation of the caravans which passed by Kerak proved too strong and, in spite of a truce between Saladin and the king, Raynald began to plunder. Saladin demanded reparations from Baldwin IV, but Baldwin replied that he was unable to control his unruly vassal. As a result, war broke out between Saladin and the Latin kingdom in 1182. In the course of the hostilities, Raynald launched ships on the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
, partly for piracy, but partly as a threat against
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
and
MedinaMedina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province...
, challenging
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
in its own holy places. His pirates ravaged villages up and down the Red Sea, before being captured by the army of
Al-Adil IAl-Adil I was an Ayyubid-Egyptian general and ruler of Kurdish descent. From his honorific "Sayf al-Din", he was sometimes known to the Frankish crusaders as "Saphadin."- Life :...
only a few miles from Medina. Although Raynald's pirates were taken to Cairo and beheaded, Raynald himself escaped to the
MoabMoab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In ancient times, it was home to the kingdom of the Moabites, a people often in conflict with their Israelite neighbors to the west...
. Saladin vowed to behead Raynald himself, and at the end of the year Saladin
attacked KerakThe Siege of Kerak took place in 1183, with Saladin's forces attacking and being repelled from the Crusader stronghold.- Prelude :Kerak was the stronghold of Raynald of Chatillon, Lord of Oultrejordain, 124km South of Amman. The fortress was built in 1142 by Pagan the Butler, Lord of Montreal...
, during the marriage of Raynald's stepson
Humphrey IV of ToronHumphrey IV of Toron was the lord of Toron, Kerak, and Oultrejordain in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.He was the son of Humphrey III of Toron and Stephanie of Milly, heiress of Oultrejourdain, and grandson of Humphrey II, constable of Jerusalem. He was also a stepson of Stephanie's second and...
to
Isabella of JerusalemIsabella I of Jerusalem was Queen of Jerusalem 1190/1192–5 April 1205. She was the daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Comnena, making her a half-sister of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Sibylla of Jerusalem...
. The siege was raised by Count
Raymond III of TripoliRaymond III of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Prince of Galilee and Tiberias in right of his wife Eschiva.-Early life:...
, and Raynald was quiet until 1186.
That year he allied with
SibyllaSibylla of Jerusalem was the Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon from 1176 and Queen of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1190. She was the eldest daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay, sister of Baldwin IV and half-sister of Isabella of Jerusalem, and mother of Baldwin V of Jerusalem...
and
Guy of LusignanGuy of Lusignan, Guy of Jerusalem or Guy of Cyprus was a French Knight who, through marriage, became King of Jerusalem, and led the kingdom to disaster at the Battle of Hattin in 1187....
against Count Raymond, and his influence contributed to the recognition of Guy as king of Jerusalem, although Raymond and the Ibelins were attempting to advance the claim of his stepson Humphrey's wife Princess Isabella. Humphrey remained loyal to his stepfather and Guy.
Later in 1186 Raynald attacked a
caravanA caravan is a group of people traveling together, often on a trade expedition. Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups aided in defense against bandits as well as helped to improve economies of scale in trade.One example is a camel train.-...
travelling between Cairo and Damascus, breaking the truce between Saladin and the Crusaders. Saladin sent troops to protect a later caravan (in March 1187) in which his sister was returning from a
pilgrimage to MeccaHáj may refer to:* Háj in Turčianske Teplice District, Slovakia* Háj in Košice-okolie District, Slovakia...
. Later writers (such as the 13th century
Old French Continuation of William of Tyre and the
Latin Continuation of William of Tyre) conflated these two incidents, claiming erroneously that Saladin's sister, aunt, or even mother, had been taken prisoner, but this is contradicted by Arabic sources, such as Abu Shama and Ibn al-Athir. King Guy chastised Raynald in an attempt to appease Saladin, but Raynald replied that he was lord of his own lands and that he had made no peace with Saladin. Saladin swore that Raynald would be executed if he was ever taken prisoner.
Capture and execution
In 1187
SaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a Kurdish Muslim who became the Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He led Islamic opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
invaded the kingdom, defeating the Crusaders at the
Battle of HattinThe Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
. The battle left Saladin with many prisoners. Most prominent among these prisoners were Raynald and King Guy, both of whom Saladin ordered brought to his tent. The chronicler
Imad ad-Din al-IsfahaniMuhammad ibn Hamed Isfahani , more popularly known as Imad ad-din al-Isfahani Muhammad ibn Hamed Isfahani (1125 – June 20, 1201) , more popularly known as Imad ad-din al-Isfahani Muhammad ibn Hamed Isfahani (1125 – June 20, 1201) , more popularly known as Imad ad-din...
, who was present at the scene, relates:
King Guy was spared and was taken to
DamascusDamascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
for a time, then allowed to go free.
To a few Christians of his time, Raynald was considered a martyr killed at the hands of the Muslims. However, documentary evidence tends to refute this idealized picture, giving the impression of Raynald as a freebooter and pirate who had little concern for the welfare of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It could be argued that the successes of the Kingdom were undone in large measure by Raynald's recklessness, which had the effect of provoking needlessly the Muslim states surrounding Outremer.
Saladin's actions ultimately proved to be beneficial to his own interests. By killing Raynald while sparing Guy, the faction struggle in Jerusalem continued. This struggle would later greatly diminish the potency of the Third Crusade.
Personal life
- Raynald and Constance had two daughters: Agnes de Châtillon
Agnes of Antioch, , Queen Consort of Hungary.Agnes was the daughter of Raynald of Châtillon, Prince of Antioch by right of his wife, and his first wife, Constance of Antioch...
, who married King Béla III of HungaryBéla III , , King of Hungary . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
and Jeanne de Châtillon, probably the second wife of Marquis Boniface I of Montferrat.
- From his second marriage with Stephanie de Milly, he had two children: a son, Raynald of Châtillon, who died young, and a daughter, Alix (Alice) de Châtillon, who married Azzo VI d'Este
Azzo VI , known as Azzolino, was the Marquis of Este from the death of his father, Azzo V, in 1190 until his death...
.
Some sources stated that Alix was also a daughter of Constance of Antioch, but this is chronologically unlikely, considered the rank of years between the death of Constance (1163) and Alix's marriage with Azzo d'Este (1204).
In Literature and Film
- The Passio Raginaldi principis Antiochae, an account of Raynald's death, was written by Peter of Blois
Peter of Blois or Petrus Blesensis was a French poet and diplomat who wrote in Latin. Peter studied law in Bologna and theology in Paris...
c. 1200.
- Raynald is portrayed in the 1963 Egyptian movie Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din (film)
Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din الناصر صلاح الدين is a movie that was released in 1963, written by Youssef El Sebai, based on the novel by Naguib Mahfouz directed by Youssef Chahine, and starring Ahmed Mazhar, Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Tewfik El Dekn, Omar El-Hariri, Mahmoud El-Meliguy, Leila Fawzi, Hamdi...
.
- A largely fictionalized version of Raynald is played by Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson is an Irish character actor. His best-known films include the Harry Potter films, Kingdom of Heaven, Beowulf, Troy, Gangs of New York, 28 Days Later, In Bruges, Braveheart, The General, Lake Placid, and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty.-Early life:Gleeson was born in...
in the 2005 movieThe year 2005 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top–grossing films:...
Kingdom of Heaven.
- Raynald is featured as an NPC in the game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems, it was the second game in the Age of Empires series...
as one of Saladin's nemeses
- In the novel The Knights of Dark Renown (1969), by author, Graham Shelby
Graham Shelby is a British historical novelist. He worked as a copywriter and book-reviewer before embarking on a series of historical novels, mainly set in the twelfth century.-List of works:...
, Raynald is depicted as the malevolent 'Red Wolf of Kerak'.
- Appears as a NPC in the computer game "Baldur's Gate 2", in the Bridge District of the city of Amn.
- In the historical Knights Templar Trilogy
The Knight Templar is a series of books about the fictional character of Arn Magnusson. The series is written by Swedish author and journalist Jan Guillou....
by the Swedish author Jan GuillouJan Oscar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou is a Swedish author and journalist. Among his many books, the most well-known are the spy fiction novels about Swedish spy Carl Hamilton and the historical fiction trilogy about Knight Templar Arn Magnusson.Guillou rose to fame following his role in the...
, Raynald is depicted as a scheming, incompetent and selfish villain accelerating the loss of the Holy Land to SaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a Kurdish Muslim who became the Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He led Islamic opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
.
Sources
- Hamilton, Bernard, "The Elephant of Christ: Reynald of Châtillon", Studies in Church History 15 (Oxford, 1978), pp. 97-108.
- Hamilton, Bernard, The Leper King and His Heirs, 2000.
- Hillenbrand, Carole
Carole Hillenbrand OBE is professor of Islamic History at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently the Vice-President of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies and a Member of the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics....
, "Some reflections on the imprisonment of Reynald of Chatillon", in Texts, Documents and Artefacts: Islamic Studies in Honour of D.S. Richards, ed. C.F. Robinson, Leiden, 2003.
- Maalouf, Amin, Crusades Through Arab Eyes, 1985.
- Peter of Blois
Peter of Blois or Petrus Blesensis was a French poet and diplomat who wrote in Latin. Peter studied law in Bologna and theology in Paris...
Petri Blesensis tractatus duo: Passio Raginaldi principis Antiochie, Conquestio de dilatione vie Ierosolimitane, ed. R.B.C Huygens, in Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis vol. CXCIV, 2002.
- Richard, Jean, "Aux origines d'un grand lignage: des palladii Renaud de Châtillon", in Media in Francia: Recueil de mélanges offert à Karl Ferdinand Werner, 1989.
- Runciman, Steven, A History of the Crusades: Volume 2, The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East (1952)