1105–1161 · Queen of Jerusalem (1131–1153)
Melisende
Daughter of Baldwin II and queen of Jerusalem; she governed the kingdom first with her husband Fulk and then with her son Baldwin III, and was one of the most powerful political figures of her age.
BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER
Life and historical role
Life and political setting
Melisende was the daughter of Baldwin II, count of Edessa, and the Armenian noblewoman Morphia. Her father named her his heiress and in 1129 married her to Count Fulk of Anjou. After her father's death in 1131 she was crowned together with Fulk and her son Baldwin.
Role in the Crusades
Fulk's attempt to exclude her from government failed, and Melisende was accepted as co-ruler. After her husband's death in 1143 she became regent for her young son and effectively ruled the kingdom during the Second Crusade. When she would not relinquish power after her son came of age, a civil war broke out in 1152; Baldwin III won and Melisende withdrew to Nablus.
Historical significance and source problems
Melisende is also known as a patron of churches and monasteries; the Melisende Psalter named after her is one of the important works of Latin Eastern art. She died in September 1161. William of Tyre praises her intelligence and ability to govern.
Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.