rightthatheissaidtohaveinthekingdomofCyprus’as thefirst step on
theroadtowinningbacktheHolyLanditself.^154
The truce of 1289 provided Hugh with a welcome opportunity to turn
his attention back to Greece. His brother-in-law, Duke William of
Athens, had died a couple of years earlier, leaving behind a young son,
Guy II (sometimes called‘Guyot’), under the guardianship of the boy’s
mother, Helena Doukaina. It seems that Hugh met his bereaved sister-
in-law at Thebes, and theChronicle of the Moreatakes this as the start of a
bit of a romance.‘And they were closeted so much together that each
grew to desire the other, and, with good agreement, the count then
married his in-law the duchess; he took to wife the wife of his wife’s
brother.’^155 It is possible to take an alternative view, and argue that it was
all very well-planned. Hugh married Helena at the end of 1291, and in
this way, he became the new regent (bailli) of Athens.^156 He and Helena
had a daughter together, Jeanne, who later married Niccolò Sanudo,
duke of the Archipelago. However, theChronicleoffers dark hints that
this match was much less successful:‘these two never did have good
agreement. Unfortunately, they did not have a child...’^157
Hugh’s elevation embroiled him in the difficult question of whether the
duchy of Athens was held directly from the Angevin crown, or whether it
was held, at a lower rung of the tenurial hierarchy, of the neighbouring
principality of Achaia. In many ways, the problem was made much worse
by an apparent inconsistency in the attitude of Charles II. He wrote that
he was prepared to allow the newbailliof Athens to do homage to the
crown, but without prejudice to the rights of Florent and Isabella of
Achaia. Although the king summoned the interested parties to appear
before him so as to clear up the matter once and for all, his commands
went unanswered. As a result, there was no solution in sight when the
young Guy II came of age in June 1294. Whilst Charles was willing to
accept the obeisance of the new duke, he also wanted Guy to perform it
to the prince and princess of Achaia. Moreover, he added a significant
rider: if Hugh and Helena were going to continue to exercise some
kind of tutelage over Guy, then they should do homage to Florent and
(^154) Pierre Dubois,The Recovery of the Holy Land, ed. and tr. W. I. Brandt (New York,
1956), 206. It is worth noting that the author is sometimes quite confused about the
various lines of the Brienne dynasty and their claims in the Latin East. He seems to
think, for example, that the count of Eu had the right to the kingdom of Jerusalem, and
should cede whatever claims he had to a son of the king of France (199–200).
(^155) Adapted fromCrusaders as Conquerors, 296.
(^156) SeeRCA, xxxv, reg. 24, no. 398; xxxviii, reg. 30, no. 715; xli, reg. 40, nos. 2–5; and also
157 xlviii, reg. 64, no. 21.
Adapted fromCrusaders as Conquerors, 297.
The Briennes of Lecce and Athens 133