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Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check/Example 6/

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Humphrey IV of Toron (c. 1166- c. 1192)¹ was the lord of Toron², Kerak³, and Oultrejordain &sup4; in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem 5.

He was the son of Humphrey III of Toron and Stephanie of Milly&sup6;, and grandson of Humphrey II, former constable of Jerusalem. He was also a stepson of Raynald of Chatillon, who married Stephanie when Humphrey III died. Humphrey's sister Isabella was married to Rupen III of Armenia&sup7;. The lords of Toron were one of the original crusader families and were supporters of the barons' faction&sup8;, as opposed to the new crusader princes who tended to come from Europe to marry into the royal family&sup9;. Humphrey IV became lord of Toron when Humphrey II died in 1179.&sup10;

Humphrey IV, as a member of an old family, was therefore an anomaly in the royal family&sup10;; in 1180 he became betrothed to Isabella of Jerusalem&sup11;, daughter of former king Amalric I, under the agreement that Toron would become a royal territory&sup12;. In November of 1183 Humphrey and the eleven-year old Isabella were married in the fortress of Kerak&sup10;, which was at the same time besieged by Saladin&sup13;. Humphrey's mother convinced Saladin not to direct his attack against the tower in which the marriage was taking place&sup10;, although he continued to besiege the rest of the fortress; Kerak was eventually relieved by king Baldwin IV&sup14;.

In 1186, when Baldwin V died, Raynald tried to convince him to claim the throne through Isabella&sup15;. However, Humphrey, not known to be ambitious or confrontational, instead chose to support Guy of Lusignan&sup16;, husband of Isabella's sister Sibylla, and Raynald and the other nobles followed his support, even though Guy was a newcomer&sup17;.

Guy proved to be an ineffective king&sup18;, and Saladin invaded the kingdom in 1187&sup18;. Humphrey was captured at the Battle of Hattin that year&sup19;, but was let go and returned to Kerak to prepare for its defense&sup20;. He was captured again when Kerak fell in 1189, but was again set free.&sup21;

The barons of Jerusalem had only begrudgingly accepted Guy as king because of Humphrey's influence&sup22;, and after the fall of Jerusalem they turned against him&sup23;. During the Third Crusade in 1190&sup24; the Patriarch annulled Humphrey's marriage to Isabella&sup25;, based on the newcomer Conrad of Montferrat's argument that she had married Humphrey while underage&sup26;. Humphrey and Isabella were a devoted couple and did not want to divorce&sup27;, but Humphrey did not want to cause any conflict with the other barons&sup28;. Humphrey was also intimidated into the divorce by Guy of Senlis, a French noble, who challenged him to combat (Humphrey refused)&sup29;. Conrad then married Isabella himself&sup30; (although he was already married)&sup31;, and claimed the throne of Jerusalem through her&sup32;, with the support of the other barons&sup33;, especially the powerful Ibelin family&sup34;.

Humphrey allied himself with Richard Lionheart&sup35;, first in the capture of Cyprus and then against Saladin&sup36;. As Humphrey was fluent in Arabic he was able to negotiate with Saladin on Richard's behalf&sup36;. In 1192, when Conrad was assassinated by the Hashshashin&sup37;, Humphrey, along with Richard and various others, were suspected to be involved, although this is unlikely&sup38;. Isabella was then married off to Henry II of Champagne&sup39;, over the protests of Humphrey, who argued that the annulment of their marriage was invalid due to Conrad's bigamy&sup39;.

Humphrey probably died soon after this.&sup40;

Category:Crusades


  • 1 "Humphrey IV of Toron (c. 1166- c. 1192)"
  • 2 "was the lord of Toron"
  • 3 "Kerak"
  • 4 "Oultrejordain"
  • 5 "in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem"
  • 6 "He was the son of Humphrey III of Toron and Stephanie of Milly"
  • 7 "Humphrey's sister Isabella was married to Rupen III of Armenia"
  • 8 "The lords of Toron were one of the original crusader families and were supporters of the barons' faction"
  • 9 "as opposed to the new crusader princes who tended to come from Europe to marry into the royal family"
  • 10 "Humphrey IV became lord of Toron when Humphrey II died in 1179"
  • 10a "Humphrey IV, as a member of an old family, was therefore an anomaly in the royal family"
  • 11 "in 1180 he became betrothed to Isabella of Jerusalem"
  • 12 "under the agreement that Toron would become a royal territory"
  • 13 "In November of 1183 Humphrey and the eleven-year old Isabella were married in the fortress of Kerak"
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