When Fulk King of Jerusalem was born on February 19, 1089, in
Anjou, Isère, France, his father, Fulk, was 45 and his mother, Bertrade, was
19. He had a son with Ermengarde Countess of Maine in 1113. He died on November
13, 1143, in Hazafon, Israel, at the age of 54.
Fulk V was also known as Fulk the Younger, the Count of Anjou
and the King of Jerusalem. Originally,
Fulk was opposed to King Henry I of England and supported King Louis VI of
France. However, sometime between
1118-1119 he changed allegiances. With
this shift his daughter, Matilda would marry Henry's son and heir, William
Adelin. His son Geoffrey of Anjou would
then marry Henry's daughter, also named Matilda in 1127 or 1128.
By 1120, Fulk had gone on crusade and had become acquantainted
to the Knights Templar (Orderic Vitalis).
By 1127 Fulk was ready to return home when King Baldwin II of Jerusalem
sent him word of a possible match to his daughter, Melisende. Baldwin II did not have a male heir so he had
already made it that his daughter would succeed him. However, Baldwin wanted to make sure that she
would be secured in her position and the best way to do that would be to marry
her to a powerful man. Fulk fit the bill
in all aspects being that he was a wealthy crusader, experienced military
commander, and a widower.
He did not agree right away because he hoped to become more than
the mere consort of the Queen. Baldwin
II knew that Fulk was the best man for the sake of his daughter and kingdom and
the terms were changed. Fulk then gave
his title for Anjou and all that came with it to his son, Geoffrey and left for
Jerusalem. He and Melisende married on
June 2, 1129. Baldwin II would later be
able to give Melisende more standing by appointing her by the sole guardian of
her son by Fulk, Baldwin III.
Upon Baldwin II's death in 1131, Fulk and Melisende became the
joint rulers of Jerusalem. From the very
beginning Fulk took control of their government. He was known to favor his own people, rather
than the native nobilty. Many of the
crusader areas north of Jerusalem feared the Fulk would attempt to take control
of them as well. However, the northern
territories would then refuse his authority.
Melisende's sister, Alice of Antioch, would then use this chance to take
control of Antioch. She allied with Pons
of Tripoli and Joscelin II of Edessa to keep Fulk from trying to invade their
lands. Fulk and Pons fought briefly
which then allowed them to make peace again.
Afterwards, Alice was once again exiled.
Fulk didn't just have to worry about the people of the north
lands. He was resented by the second
generation of Jerusalem Christians who had come to adulthood after the First
Crusade. Their loyalties were with Hugh
II of Puiset, count of Jaffa, who was Melisende's cousin. In 1134, Fulk decided to try to discover any
proof against Hugh's disloyalty. In
order to do so he accused Hugh of sleeping with Melisende. Hugh launched a rebellion in protest. Hugh allied himself with the Muslims of
Ascalon. Eventually, peace was declared
and Hugh was given the light sentence of exile for three years.
Not long after, an assassination attempt was made against
Hugh. Although it was believed to be
Fulk or his supporters, no proof to support this theory was ever
uncovered. Because of this Melisende and
her supporters were able to take control from 1136 onwards. Fulk and Melisende would reconcile sometime
afterwards and their second son was born.
In 1143, Fulk and Melisende went on holiday in Acre. During their vacation, Fulk decided to go on
an hunt. At some point his horse
stumbled, fell, and Fulk's skull was crushed by the saddle. He was carried back to Acre, where he lay
unconscious for three days before he died.
He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
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