Isabella II of Jerusalem

Yolande/Isabella II
The death of Queen Isabella-Yolande (From MS of William of Tyre's Historia and Old French Continuation, painted in Acre, 13C. Bib. Nat. Française)
Queen of Jerusalem
Reign	1212 – 25 April 1228
Predecessor	John and Maria
Successor	Conrad II
Holy Roman Empress; Queen consort of Sicily
Tenure	1225 – 25 April 1228
Born	c. 1212
Died	25 April 1228 (aged 15–16) Andria, Italy
Burial	Andria Cathedral
Spouse	Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Issue	Conrad II of Jerusalem
House	House of Brienne
Father	John of Brienne
Mother	Maria of Montferrat

Isabella II (1212 – 25 April 1228) also known as Yolande of Brienne, was a princess of French origin who became monarch of Jerusalem.

Infant Queen

Isabella II was born in Andria, in the southern Italian Kingdom of Sicily. She was the only child of Maria of Montferrat, Queen of Jerusalem, and John of Brienne.^[1] Maria was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem by her second husband Conrad I, and heiress, on her mother's death, of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Maria died shortly after giving birth to Isabella II in 1212,^[2] possibly by puerperal fever. Because of this, Isabella II was proclaimed Queen of Jerusalem when she was only a few days old. Because her father John did not have a direct claim on the throne, he ruled as regent.

Marriage with Frederick II

Isabella II as Queen

During a meeting between John of Brienne, the Pope Honorius III and Frederick II in the city of Ferentino in 1223, Isabella's fate was decided: Frederick accepted to finally go to the Crusade, but only as the legitimate King of Jerusalem, and this was only possible if he agreed to take the young Queen Isabella II as his wife (by this time, Frederick was a widower).^[3] This was planned by the Pope, who hoped by this bond to attach the Emperor firmly to the Sixth Crusade. The betrothal was confirmed, but the Emperor still delayed his departure until August 1225, when he and Isabella were married by proxy in the City of Acre.^[4] Days later, Isabella II was crowned as Queen of Jerusalem.

Isabella arrived in Italy with twenty galleys sent by Frederick II to bring her to her father and married in person to Frederick II in the cathedral of Brindisi, on 9 November 1225.^[5] During the ceremony, Frederick declared himself King of Jerusalem and immediately saw to it that his new father-in-law John of Brienne, the current regent of Jerusalem, was dispossessed and his rights transferred to him. The contemporary chronicles described the exotic wedding celebrations, which took place in the Castle of Oria, and the indignant reaction of her father John of Brienne, now without royal authority.

Death

After the wedding, Isabella was kept in seclusion by her husband, in Palermo.^[5] In November 1226, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter (referred to by some sources as Margaret); the baby died in August 1227. Isabella died 4 May after giving birth to her second child, a son, Conrad, in Andria, Bari, on 25 April 1228.^[5] She was buried in the Andria Cathedral.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Isabella II of Jerusalem

16. Erard I of Brienne               8. Gautier II of Brienne                       17. Alix of Roucy-Ramerupt               4. Erard II of Brienne                             18. John I, Count of Soissons               9. Adele of Soissons                       19. Aveline de Pierrefonds               2. John, King of Jerusalem                                   20. Richard II of Montfaucon               10. Amadeus II of Montfaucon                       21. Sophie of Montbéliard               5. Agnes of Montfaucon                             11. Beatrice of Grandson-Joinville                       1. Isabella II of Jerusalem                                         24. Rainier, Marquess of Montferrat               12. William V, Marquess of Montferrat                       25. Gisela of Burgundy               6. Conrad I, King of Jerusalem                             26. Leopold III, Margrave of Austria               13. Judith of Babenberg                       27. Agnes of Germany               3. Maria, Queen of Jerusalem                                   28. Fulk, King of Jerusalem               14. Amalric I of Jerusalem                       29. Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem               7. Isabella I, Queen of Jerusalem                             30. John Doukas Komnenos               15. Maria Komnene                       31. Maria Taronitissa

Notes

1. Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, Volume III: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades, (Cambridge University Press, 1989), 134.
2. Guy Perry, John of Brienne: King of Jerusalem, Emperor of Constantinople, c.1175-1237, (Cambridge University Press, 2013), 68.
3. David Abulafia, Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor, (Oxford University Press, 1988), 150.
4. The proxy marriage was performed by Giacomo, Bishop of Patti (Riccardo di San Germano, Cronaca).
5. Jaroslav Folda, Crusader Art in the Holy Land, From the Third Crusade to the Fall of Acre, (Cambridge University Press, 2005), 148.

References

• Uwe A. Oster: Die Frauen Kaiser Friedrichs II, Piper, Munich 2008.
• Alberto Gentile: LE QUATTRO MOGLI DI FEDERICO II: FRA MITO E REALTÀ (Italian) in stupormundi.it [retrieved 22 May 2014].