Conclusion
One of the most remarkable things about the Briennes is how completely
they have slipped off the mental horizon for anyone other than medieval
historians. Certain great aristocratic families are still sometimes regarded
as representative of the‘age of the Crusades’–such as, for example, the
Lusignans, the Ibelins and the Montforts. These dynasties may continue
to command at least aflash of recognition from a wider public, but the
Briennes themselves do not fall into this category.^1 Even in the charming
little town of Brienne-le-Château itself, the family is more than eclipsed
by the memory of the great Napoleon, who attended the famousécole
there, and later fought some of his last battles nearby.^2
To understand this relative neglect, it is well worth looking at an
exception that proves the rule. A rare modern example of a cultural
depiction of the Briennes can be found in Alexander Glazunov’s crusade
fantasy balletRaymonda, which premiered in Saint Petersburg in 1898. It
has to be admitted that, even by the genre’s standards, the plot of this
work is wafer-thin. In Act 1, the plans for Countess Raymonda’s mar-
riage to the crusader hero, Jean de Brienne, are thrown into doubt by the
mysterious and sexy Saracen, Abderakhman. Raymonda’s ghostly pro-
tectress, the‘White Lady’, proceeds to conjure up a dazzling image of
Jean as the proverbial knight in shining armour, but, to Raymonda’s
horror (or not, depending on how you interpret it), the vision transforms
into Abderakhman. In the second act, the Saracen promptly tries to
abduct Raymonda, but he is prevented from doing so by the timely
arrival of Jean, who kills him in a duel (with a little unchivalric assistance
from the White Lady). In Act 3, the happy couple’s marriage is blessed
by John’s lord, King Andrew II of Hungary, amidst an enormous
amount of dancing–culminating, of course, in a magnificentpas classique
(^1) The Montlhérys are far less celebrated, despite Jonathan Riley-Smith’s efforts inThe First
2 Crusaders, 1095–^1131 (Cambridge, 1997), 169–88.
For this, see esp. David Chandler’s classic,The Campaigns of Napoleon(London, 1966),
6 – 7, 958–64.
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