Mary of Antioch

Lynda Garland; Andrew Stone

Mary of Antioch

Lynda Garland
, Andrew Stone

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

At the death of his first wife, Bertha of Sulzbach in 1158, Manuel I Comnenus was left with one surviving daughter, Maria 'Porphyrogenita' who was as yet unmarried. The need for a male heir to the throne was of paramount importance and Manuel decided to use this as an opportunity to cement his alliance with the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem and its dependent principalities. Whereas the emperor Manuel I Comnenus' grandfather Alexius I and his father John II had attempted to solve the question of Latin Crusader Principalities in Syria and Palestine through absorption, whether by treaty or by conquest, Manuel's policy differed from theirs in his acceptance of the independence of the principalities as a fait accompli. So come Eastertide (12 April) 1159 Manuel made a triumphal procession through Antioch, waited on by the prince of Antioch and followed by the king of Jerusalem, who were doubtless pleased to have a powerful Christian suzerain in the region. At Antioch, Choniates tells us, Manuel took part in a tournament with blunted lances, in which the men of Reynald of Chatillon, prince of Antioch, were outmatched and Manuel excelled himself by unhorsing two knights with one blow. About this time, Manuel conceived his idea of a marriage alliance with one of the principalities. Marguerite-Constance of Antioch, the daughter of Raymond of Poitiers and Constance of Antioch (who had married Reynald of Chatillon after Raymond's death), was one of the two main contenders for the position of Manuel's new bride, the other being Melisende, sister of Raymond III of Tripoli. After negotiations for an alliance with Tripoli had fallen through (Antioch being the better alliance), Manuel had Marguerite-Constance escorted to Constantinople by an entourage led by Alexius Comnenus, the Grand 'Dux' (son of Anna Comnena), a certain Nicephorus Bryennius, and the eparch Andronicus Camaterus. The marriage took place in St Sophia on Christmas Day 1161 (we unfortunately have no rhetorical texts commemorating the event). The princess had been born in the 1140s and so was probably in her mid-teens; she now took the name Maria.

Original language	English
Journal	DIR: De Imperatoribus Romanis ("On The Rulers of Rome") - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Publication status	Published - 2006

Keywords

Classical Greek and Roman History

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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/1162

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title = "Mary of Antioch",

abstract = "At the death of his first wife, Bertha of Sulzbach in 1158, Manuel I Comnenus was left with one surviving daughter, Maria 'Porphyrogenita' who was as yet unmarried. The need for a male heir to the throne was of paramount importance and Manuel decided to use this as an opportunity to cement his alliance with the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem and its dependent principalities. Whereas the emperor Manuel I Comnenus' grandfather Alexius I and his father John II had attempted to solve the question of Latin Crusader Principalities in Syria and Palestine through absorption, whether by treaty or by conquest, Manuel's policy differed from theirs in his acceptance of the independence of the principalities as a fait accompli. So come Eastertide (12 April) 1159 Manuel made a triumphal procession through Antioch, waited on by the prince of Antioch and followed by the king of Jerusalem, who were doubtless pleased to have a powerful Christian suzerain in the region. At Antioch, Choniates tells us, Manuel took part in a tournament with blunted lances, in which the men of Reynald of Chatillon, prince of Antioch, were outmatched and Manuel excelled himself by unhorsing two knights with one blow. About this time, Manuel conceived his idea of a marriage alliance with one of the principalities. Marguerite-Constance of Antioch, the daughter of Raymond of Poitiers and Constance of Antioch (who had married Reynald of Chatillon after Raymond's death), was one of the two main contenders for the position of Manuel's new bride, the other being Melisende, sister of Raymond III of Tripoli. After negotiations for an alliance with Tripoli had fallen through (Antioch being the better alliance), Manuel had Marguerite-Constance escorted to Constantinople by an entourage led by Alexius Comnenus, the Grand 'Dux' (son of Anna Comnena), a certain Nicephorus Bryennius, and the eparch Andronicus Camaterus. The marriage took place in St Sophia on Christmas Day 1161 (we unfortunately have no rhetorical texts commemorating the event). The princess had been born in the 1140s and so was probably in her mid-teens; she now took the name Maria.",

keywords = "Classical Greek and Roman History",

author = "Lynda Garland and Andrew Stone",

year = "2006",

language = "English",

journal = "DIR: De Imperatoribus Romanis ({"}On The Rulers of Rome{"}) - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families",

publisher = "Loyola University Chicago",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mary of Antioch

AU - Garland, Lynda

AU - Stone, Andrew

PY - 2006

Y1 - 2006

N2 - At the death of his first wife, Bertha of Sulzbach in 1158, Manuel I Comnenus was left with one surviving daughter, Maria 'Porphyrogenita' who was as yet unmarried. The need for a male heir to the throne was of paramount importance and Manuel decided to use this as an opportunity to cement his alliance with the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem and its dependent principalities. Whereas the emperor Manuel I Comnenus' grandfather Alexius I and his father John II had attempted to solve the question of Latin Crusader Principalities in Syria and Palestine through absorption, whether by treaty or by conquest, Manuel's policy differed from theirs in his acceptance of the independence of the principalities as a fait accompli. So come Eastertide (12 April) 1159 Manuel made a triumphal procession through Antioch, waited on by the prince of Antioch and followed by the king of Jerusalem, who were doubtless pleased to have a powerful Christian suzerain in the region. At Antioch, Choniates tells us, Manuel took part in a tournament with blunted lances, in which the men of Reynald of Chatillon, prince of Antioch, were outmatched and Manuel excelled himself by unhorsing two knights with one blow. About this time, Manuel conceived his idea of a marriage alliance with one of the principalities. Marguerite-Constance of Antioch, the daughter of Raymond of Poitiers and Constance of Antioch (who had married Reynald of Chatillon after Raymond's death), was one of the two main contenders for the position of Manuel's new bride, the other being Melisende, sister of Raymond III of Tripoli. After negotiations for an alliance with Tripoli had fallen through (Antioch being the better alliance), Manuel had Marguerite-Constance escorted to Constantinople by an entourage led by Alexius Comnenus, the Grand 'Dux' (son of Anna Comnena), a certain Nicephorus Bryennius, and the eparch Andronicus Camaterus. The marriage took place in St Sophia on Christmas Day 1161 (we unfortunately have no rhetorical texts commemorating the event). The princess had been born in the 1140s and so was probably in her mid-teens; she now took the name Maria.

AB - At the death of his first wife, Bertha of Sulzbach in 1158, Manuel I Comnenus was left with one surviving daughter, Maria 'Porphyrogenita' who was as yet unmarried. The need for a male heir to the throne was of paramount importance and Manuel decided to use this as an opportunity to cement his alliance with the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem and its dependent principalities. Whereas the emperor Manuel I Comnenus' grandfather Alexius I and his father John II had attempted to solve the question of Latin Crusader Principalities in Syria and Palestine through absorption, whether by treaty or by conquest, Manuel's policy differed from theirs in his acceptance of the independence of the principalities as a fait accompli. So come Eastertide (12 April) 1159 Manuel made a triumphal procession through Antioch, waited on by the prince of Antioch and followed by the king of Jerusalem, who were doubtless pleased to have a powerful Christian suzerain in the region. At Antioch, Choniates tells us, Manuel took part in a tournament with blunted lances, in which the men of Reynald of Chatillon, prince of Antioch, were outmatched and Manuel excelled himself by unhorsing two knights with one blow. About this time, Manuel conceived his idea of a marriage alliance with one of the principalities. Marguerite-Constance of Antioch, the daughter of Raymond of Poitiers and Constance of Antioch (who had married Reynald of Chatillon after Raymond's death), was one of the two main contenders for the position of Manuel's new bride, the other being Melisende, sister of Raymond III of Tripoli. After negotiations for an alliance with Tripoli had fallen through (Antioch being the better alliance), Manuel had Marguerite-Constance escorted to Constantinople by an entourage led by Alexius Comnenus, the Grand 'Dux' (son of Anna Comnena), a certain Nicephorus Bryennius, and the eparch Andronicus Camaterus. The marriage took place in St Sophia on Christmas Day 1161 (we unfortunately have no rhetorical texts commemorating the event). The princess had been born in the 1140s and so was probably in her mid-teens; she now took the name Maria.

KW - Classical Greek and Roman History

UR - http://www.roman-emperors.org/maryant.htm

M3 - Article

JO - DIR: De Imperatoribus Romanis ("On The Rulers of Rome") - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

JF - DIR: De Imperatoribus Romanis ("On The Rulers of Rome") - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

ER -

Mary of Antioch

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