southern Italy, can only be described as meteoric. Walter of Montbéliard
had quickly become a protégé of Aimery of Lusignan, king of Cyprus and
Jerusalem. As a result, Walter married his daughter, acquired the con-
stableship of the kingdom of Jerusalem, andfinally became regent of
Cyprus when the two realms were separated again upon King Aimery’s
death in April 1205. Walter was thus the leading light in what can be
called the‘Champenois cluster’in the Latin East, which also included
Archbishop Clarembald of Tyre; Ralph of Merencourt, the chancellor
of the kingdom of Jerusalem; and Aimar of Layron, lord of Caesarea
by marriage. Moreover, there is even some evidence to suggest that
John’s principal backers in both East and West were concerting their
action, doing everything they could to ensure that their man secured
the position.
For John’s candidacy to succeed, though, he would have to win over
far more than these few. It is therefore worth focusing on what he had
to offer. He was available, mature and yet unmarried, and he lacked
long-term prospects at home. He seems to have been of proven military
prowess. He may well have been considered a rather good candidate
if the Jerusalemites were prioritizing connections with Champagne,
with France more broadly, and indeed with Cyprus, which had been
so important during previous reigns.Perhaps the most important point,
though, is that byc. 1208–10, the Briennes could be regarded as the
‘family of the moment’, primarily because of the deeds and renown
achieved by Walter III. The main problem with John’s candidacy, of
course, was that he was not quite top-notch, and certainly not the equal
of the king of Aragon. If the Jerusalemites could not have such a
‘princely’figure, however, then the next best thing would surely be
asignificant lord, with an impressive array of connections to the key
Western powers. John had the backing of Blanche, and he soon
acquired the support of King Philip Augustus and Pope Innocent III
as well. By the summer of 1210, the king-elect of Jerusalem could boast
a‘large subsidy’, provided by the latter two. On the downside, he also
had a disappointingly small army,which consisted mostly of his own
close kinsmen and otherregional compatriots:figuressuchasMiloIV,
count of Bar-sur-Seine, and Bartholomew of Vrécourt, the brother of
the lord of Choiseul. The host sailed for the Holy Land in the summer
of 1210. There, John married Maria, and the two were crowned
together.^81
(^81) For a more detailed analysis of the process by which John became king of Jerusalem, see
ibid.,40–50.
John of Brienne and the Call of Jerusalem 49