Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem

In Our Time: History

BBC

History

4.4 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2019

⏱️ 53 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most powerful woman in the Crusader states in the century after the First Crusade. Melisende (1105-61) was born and raised after the mainly Frankish crusaders had taken Jerusalem from the Fatimids, and her father was King of Jerusalem. She was married to Fulk from Anjou, on the understanding they would rule together, and for 30 years she vied with him and then their son as they struggled to consolidate their Frankish state in the Holy Land. The image above is of the coronation of Fulk with Melisende, from Livre d'Eracles, Guillaume de Tyr (1130?-1186) Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France With Natasha Hodgson Senior Lecturer in Medieval History and Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Nottingham Trent University Katherine Lewis Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Huddersfield and Danielle Park Visiting Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London Producer: Simon Tillotson

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:05.0	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:07.6	There's a reading list to go with it on our website and you can get news about our
0:10.9	programs if you follow us on Twitter at BBC In Our Time.
0:14.9	I hope you enjoyed the programs.
0:17.1	Hello, Melison was queen of Jerusalem in the 12th century AD and held power there alongside
0:22.5	three different kings, her father, her husband and her son and sometimes against them.
0:28.3	The Crusader States were a new Frankis project, begun as they captured Jerusalem in 1099 and
0:33.8	vitally she balanced the interests of the first Crusader settlers and the new arrivals from
0:38.5	France as the states were threatened by inviting as well as by their Islamic neighbours.
0:43.8	With me to discuss Melison, Queen of Jerusalem, Natasha Hodson, senior lecturer in Medieval
0:48.9	history and director of the Centre for the Saudi Religion and Conflict and Nottingham Trent
0:53.4	University.
0:54.7	Daniel Park, visiting lecturer at Royal Holloway University of London and Catherine Lewis,
1:00.0	senior lecturer in history at the University of Huddersfield.
1:02.7	Catherine Lewis, what brought the Franks to the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the
1:06.4	11th century?
1:07.8	The Franks were in the Eastern Mediterranean behest of Pope Urban II who inspired this huge
1:12.8	military campaign which we now call the first Crusade and it was essentially aimed at
1:17.6	recapturing from Jerusalem from Islamic rule.
1:21.3	Urban had been under Islamic rule since the 7th century and Urban essentially wanted
1:25.0	Jerusalem to become a Christian power again and for the surrounding area to become Christian
	...

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