A hundred or so knights were riding through the canyon at full speed, leaving a great cloud of dust behind them. At the head of the column, the steward, the chancellor and the marshal of Jerusalem were pushing their beasts to their last entrenchment.
Chancelor Jean of Shammar, Marshal Etienne Mellent and Steward Barthélémy of Medina
“With this heat, the horses won't last long," shouted Duke Bartholomy of Medina.
-We must hurry," replied Duke Jean of Shammar. “And we are almost there." He pointed to the Kerak Cstle in the distance.
The imposing fortress of the dukes of Outre-Jourdain was built on a rocky plateau from which it dominated the entire region. It was built by the first duke Gerard I to defend the heart of the kingdom of Jerusalem against the numerous Mohammedan raids. However, Kerak had not guarded the frontier for a long time and it had not been considered necessary to replace its square towers with more modern round ones. The castle was nonetheless impressive and could easily rival the most recent Krak des Chevaliers built in Syria.
The column of knights did not slow down at the foot of Kerak and moved into the gentle slope leading to the gates.
"The marshal! The marshal is here! Open the gates!" shouted the guards on the ramparts. They were quickly obeyed and the three councillors soon entered the fortress.
Etienne pulled sharply on his reins to bring his steed to a trot. He was pleased to discover a lower ward full of soldiers preparing to go on campaign. Not all of them belonged to Duke André, far from it. The prince saw the banners of the dukes of Amman and Tiberias as well as soldiers from Upper Egypt.
The three councillors left part of their retinue behind and then walked through the second wall to the upper ward.
In the centre of the latter stood a large gallows where a dozen men, women and children were swinging from a rope. In front of them were Princess Eve, Etienne's sister, and her son André the Giant, heir to the Duchy of Outre-Jourdain. The young man was a real colossus with hideous features.
Princess Eve of Montoire and her son André the Giant
"We were expecting you earlier, my lords," said the Giant in a stern, deep voice as the councillors dismantled.
“We moved as quickly as we could, nephew," Etienne replied as he carefully removed a packet from his saddlebag. "It was difficult for us to slip away from the council without arousing suspicion. The Greek thinks we've come to levy the hosts in the south.”
“Don't mind my son, brother, he's a brute," said Eve, kissing him. “I'm glad to see you here.”
“And your husband?" asked Etienne.
“In the great hall with his brother Onfroy and the other lords who support their cause. They're probably stuffing their faces," she said with a look of disgust. As her thinness attested, Eve had always had a problem with food.
"Did you have any problems while raising the levies?" asked Etienne, pointing to the gallows.
“Yes," said André the Giant. “Some of the burghers were recalcitrant and one of them even insinuated that my father was not worthy of the Juliers. He had him and his family hanged. The others obeyed without making a fuss," said the colossus in a neutral tone, as if he were reporting a banality.
Eve rolled her eyes and sighed. "My son is no softie, and my husband even less so. There's a reason the peasants call him the Tyrant. The recalcitrant one had little sense, however. Mentioning the house of Juliers, folly! You know the unhealthy relationship my husband has with the mythical dukes of Outre-Jourdain. One day he admires them, the next he is jealous of them. To deny him the right to present himself as their heir is to condemn himself to a certain and painful death."
The Dukes of Oultre-Jordain
The princess shrugged, then invited her brother and his companions to follow her into the keep.
Guided by Eve and André, the three councillors quickly passed through the residence of the dukes of Outre-Jourdain. The only originality of this austere building was perhaps the indecent number of coats of arms of the House of Juliers. They could be found in every room and decorated all the furniture and tapestries. Next to each of them, Duke André had added the Montoire coat of arms.
In the corridor leading to the great hall, the personal arms of each of the dukes had also been hung on the wall. Etienne noticed, however, that those of Robin of Franche-Comté had been removed. The fourth duke, grandson of Gerard III, was one of the Three Traitors. Eighty years ago, Robin and two other lords had rebelled against King Hugues II the Broken. The Traitors had not hesitated to crown Hugues the Frank, the king's uncle, hence the name of the First Frankish War. Etienne could not help but smile as this story resonated with the current situation.
The Three Trairots in 1225, to the right: Robin of Franche-Comté
His throat tightened, however, as he recalled the end of the story. The loyalists had won and the Three Traitors had been imprisoned. Robin had never seen the light of day again, except once, nine years after his rebellion, at the judgment of Nablus that had ended the Second Frankish War. Robin was dragged before Crown Prince Henri the Black and stripped of his lands. He was then sent back to the dungeon to finish his days. Etienne quickened his pace, determined not to end up like the Traitor.
Robin of Franche-Comté (left), at the Judgment of Nablus (1239)
The doors of the great hall opened with a bang before Etienne. Two large tables had been set up on either side of the room and the lords stood up in respect. There were all the leading barons of the noble party.
Fron left to right: Duke Josselin of Homs, Duke Onfroy II of Al-Wahat, Duke Hamelin III of Amman, Duke Payen III of Al-Saïd, Duke Philippe of Palmyra, Duke Alain III of Tiberias and Duke Guichard of Alexandria
The three councillors moved to the centre of the room, while Eve joined her husband on the dais. The Duke of Outre-Jourdain shared the high table with Duke Onfroy du Désert and his family.
At the centre of the high table: Duke André the Tyran of Oultre-Jordain and his brother Duke Onfroy of the Desert
"Here you are at last, Prince Etienne," said the Duke of Outre-Jourdain without preamble.
“André!" laughed Onfroy. “Where are your manners? Our good cousin has surely been riding all day in this cursed heat. You should not blame him, but offer him a glass of chilled wine, I heard he loves it. And it will make a change from the Greek's goat's milk.""
He let out a long, fat laugh and some of the lords followed suit, probably out of pure sycophancy. Onfroy waved to one of the maids and took the opportunity to grab her buttocks.
The gesture hardly shocked his wife, Theocariste Komnenos, who was sitting next to him. Perhaps she was used to it, or perhaps she simply did not understand the situation. The result of generations of incestuous relationships, the duchess was sickly and foolish. Looking at their children, Etienne wondered if they would not have been successful at the fairs. Only Hildegarde was more or less normal, her sister Ermengarde was born with red eyes and white hair and her brother Baudouin was a dwarf.
Duchess Theocariste Komnenos and her children Ermengarde, Baudouin and Hildegarde
“So?" asked Duke Guichard of Alexandria. “Has the emperor given up his foolish plans?”
“No," said Etienne. “He won't listen to reason. He plans to leave for Constantinople before Easter.”
“You should have insisted," said Duke André, "it is your role as Marshal. As I said, iI should have been chosen at the High Court a year ago. I'm sure he would have listened to me as Duke of Outre-Jourdain and hero of the Blachernae Gate."
Therein lay the root cause of Duke André's animosity towards Etienne. The three Gerards of Outre-Jourdain had been given the marshalate and he felt that the position was his. He also had a high opinion of himself and his - exaggerated - achievements during the siege of Constantinople.
"Allow me to doubt it, cousin," replied Etienne. “My nephew has a certain tropism for Greek affairs.”
“We must not bleed again to save the Greeks!" intervened Duke Philippe of Palmyra. From the battle of Constantinople, he had brought back a nasty wound and several scars. This was the reason why he had joined the nobles’ party.
"And even less for a bastard," said Duke Alain III of Tiberias. During the Greek campaign, he had become close to Onfroy, and never missed an opportunity to show himself as his most loyal supporter.
"Like many of the children of our late emperor," added Onfroy.
“Only the children of Maria Komnenos," said Eve, who clearly had no desire to be accused of bastardy. "As for Agathe, she deserves our respect." If Eve abhorred the other children of Queen Maria, she strangely had a certain tenderness for her hal-siblings Agathe and Henri.
"My brother did not mean to offend you, woman. No one here questions the legitimacy of Empress Athanasia's children," Duke André lied. In fact, many barons did not hesitate to regard children of the second marriage as bastards. Etienne and Eve's mother had been caught in bed with Duke Guichard of Cairo, and would have ended up like Maria Comnenus if she had not fled.
The Athanasia Bryennios scandal (1281)
“As for Agathe," continued the Duke, "whatever her qualities, there is little doubt that she is an illegitimate child, as was Hugues the Dark.”
“And once again, it is for bastards and Greeks that we will have to fight”, said Duke Hamelin III of Amman.
“No," Etienne simply replied. He went to stand in the centre of the room so that he can address the barons.
"My Lords, if the Dukes of Shammar and Medina and I have gathered you here, it is not to join the imperial host. We decided it was time."
A certain tension fell over the room. Onfroy was staring at him. His eyes were shining with pleasure and he could not hold back a toothy grin.
"We suspected that the Greek would refuse to change his plans," continued Etienne, "but now we are certain. His heart is in Constantinople, so be it. But it is time for us to choose a true Outremer to guide us as king of Jerusalem.”
“You?" asked Duke André, who, unlike his brother, did not trust Etienne.
“No, my lord," the prince replied firmly. “I know that many of you have doubts about the legitimacy of the children of the Glorious, and I do not wish to become King of Jerusalem."
I prefer to leave that honour to a man less ambitious than me, he added to himself.
"Therefore, I, Etienne Mellent, renounce for myself and my heirs all rights to the kingdom of Jerusalem.”
“So who do you propose?" said Onfroy, standing up and walking towards the centre of the room.
“You, Sir! There is no doubt about your legitimacy, you are a true descendant of Hugues I the Great. Moreover, you are a true Outremerprince, and have never ceased to defend the interests of the barons.”
He turned to the lords. "Duke Onfroy is without doubt the true heir to the crown. I appeal to you, lords of the Holy Land. Join this new Council of Crusaders and elect this gallant Hierosolymitan prince as the head of the Kingdom of Jerusalem!"
His words convinced the last recalcitrants, and the barons unanimously acclaimed Onfroy.
Jean of Shammar stood behind Onfroy and passed him a cloak with the arms of Jerusalem, while Barthélémy of Medina handed him the sword of Henri III. Etienne finally revealed the contents of his package, the crown of Henri I the Wise. He had stolen it that morning from the imperial palace. He placed it on Onfroy's head.
The lords stamped their feet and cheered the new king as Patriarch Leonard of Alexandria advanced towards him. It had been fortunate that his de jure and de facto lords, Guichard of Alexandria and Josselin of Homs, were, despite their rivalry, both members of the nobles’ party. The patriarch blessed Onfroy, eliciting another ovation from the barons.
Patriarch Leonard of Alexandria and his de lure lord Duke Guichard of Alexandria and de factor lord Duke Josselin of Homs
When the lords finally calmed down, Duke André, who had not left his seat, asked sternly. "And the emperor?”
“We will inform him of the will of the Council of the Barons," replied Etienne.
Etienne's letter to Emperor Jean the Greek: To my liege lord, To rule over Jerusalem is a divine right that belongs to Duke Onfroy of the Desert, and we have the necessary backing to enforce it. Accept this fact peacefully or we will use force!
“And if he refuses?”
“Then it will be war," said the prince as the barons drew their swords.