Sibylla has come down to us more as a silly and fickle woman than as a reigning queen. But was she as silly as all that?
Sibylla of Jerusalem (1160-1190) is remembered today as a pawn in crusader politics in the decade before the Third Crusade. But though history recalls her as a fickle and silly heiress, Sibylla had several similarities to the queens in the rest of our lineup. She inherited her realm as the oldest surviving child, not as a wife or mother. She was confirmed as a legitimate heir to the throne and she made independent decisions as a reigning queen. Finally, she was a diplomatic and military leader, organizing the defense of Jerusalem against Saladin after the Battle of Hattin in 1187.
Born in 1160, Sibylla was overshadowed both by outside events (the rise of Saladin) and by her grandmother Melisende (1105-1161), herself a powerful ruler and eldest daughter of the first king of Jerusalem, Baldwin I. Since her brother, Baldwin IV, suffered from leprosy, it was critical that Sibylla, as his heir, be married off early and well. Her first husband was William Longsword of Montferrat. She married him at age 16 and bore him a son who became Baldwin V before his premature death in 1176. William did not live to see his son born-he died in 1177.
Sibylla married again in 1180. The three-year delay was a result, not of lack of interest, but of the intensive rivalries over her hand. Whoever married her would become the next King of Jerusalem. She eventually married Guy of Lusignan, a suitor she and her faction apparently hoped would bring military support from Europe. Her brother, who ruled as Baldwin IV until he died in 1185, disliked Guy, though Sibylla apparently was able to avoid any censure due her husband. From 1186 onward, Sibylla ruled as Queen of Jerusalem. Though she supported Guy, the nobles followed him only through her and her death in 1190 curtailed his hold on the crown.
A measure of her true independence can be found in the intrigues surrounding her second husband. Guy was so unpopular that the kingdom's nobles forced Sibylla to divorce him. She agreed to do so only if they would unconditionally accept her choice for her next husband. To their consternation, she chose Guy. Whether she did this for love or for political reasons, we do not know.
Sibylla bore Guy two daughters, but they died before her, like her son. Her heir (and rival) was her half-sister Isabella. This, and Sibylla's early death at 30 from disease while on the Third Crusade, ensured that the line would continue to pass via the women of the family.
