his mother, Isabella. Thefirst of these contentions, certainly, had con-
siderable legal weight. In particular, Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan could
point back to the events of 1261, when he had been chosen as the regent
of Cyprus. In answer, though, Hugh of Brienne said that he himself
had deliberately waived his rights then, and so this was irrelevant to the
present case. Hugh of Brienne also had an answer to his cousin’s other
principal point: he was able to show that the regency was not legally
inheritable in this way. Nevertheless, Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan had a
number of examples to hand which demonstrated that, quite often, the
new regent had been the closest relative of the previous incumbent.
It can come as no surprise that Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan won the
case. As regent of Cyprus, quite apart from all his other dynastic connec-
tions, he had so much more to offer the beleaguered kingdom of Jerusa-
lem than Hugh of Brienne. Even so, it is worth adding that by seeing off
one rival claimant in this way, Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan eventually
opened himself up to challenge from quite another quarter: from hisfirst
cousin once removed, Maria of Antioch. Moreover, on this occasion,
he could not argue on the basis of seniority in blood, since he himself
had torn that point apart in his earlier struggle against Hugh of Brienne.
As a result, Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan was forced to rely on the legally
dubious matter of his relationship with the previous regent, and on a
technicality, to win the case against Maria. Whatever one may think
about the earlier decision, this one, certainly, looks like a stitch-up.
The real point has been neatly summarized by Peter Edbury. Whether
in competition with Hugh of Brienne or Maria of Antioch, the ruler of
Cyprus was always much betterfitted for the job–and‘constitutional
considerations could be manipulated to ensure that, on each occasion,
the more suitable candidate emerged victorious’.^126
The full impact of all of this became clear just a few years later.
In 1267, the young King Hugh II died, still a minor. Hugh of Brienne
might well have intended to revive his claims at this critical juncture, but
he may not have been in Cyprus at the time. According to the much later
Egyptian chronicler, ibn Furāt, Hugh was‘away in the land of Sis’. Quite
possibly, he was sounding out prospective allies in Cilician Armenia.^127
However, there is reason to believe that, even if Hugh had been present
in Cyprus at the right moment, he still would not have been able to
prevent the inevitable. Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan was installed as King
Hugh III on Christmas Day, and a seal was set on his triumph when he
(^126) This account of the case has been drawn fromibid.,1–47.
(^127) Ayyubids, Mamlukes and Crusaders: Selections from theTārīkh al-Duwal wa’l-Mulūkof Ibn
al-Fūrat, ii, 129.
Cyprus and the Holy Land 101