Notes |
- Fulk "le Jeun" (the Younger) became King of Jerusalem in 1131 on the death of Baldwin II, his father-in-law by his second marriage. Fulk is buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The Crusaders set up the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem after killing many thousands of the Arab and Jewish inhabitants of the area. At its greatest extent under Fulk "le Jeun", the Kingdom comprised most of present day Israel and part of Syria. Muslim counterattack steadily shrank the size of the crusading kingdom. In 1187, Jerusalem was retaken by by Saladin. Eventually, the last Christian stronghold at Acre surrendered in 1291 and the Crusaders departed from the Holy Land.
Fulk married first circa 1108 to Erembourge (died in 1126), heiress of Maine, daughter of Helias, Seigneur de la Flèche, Count of Maine.
Fulk and Erembourge had the following children:
* Geoffrey Plantagenet
* Isabella or Mathilda who married William the Aetheling, Duke of Normandy who was the only legitimate son of King Henry Beauclerc of England. William drowned when the White Ship was wrecked on the deadly rock. A boat was launched and William was rowed to safety. The cries of his half-sister Maud, Countess of Perche, induced him to return to the wreck where they sank together. This was considered by some to be punishment for Henry's sins of lust in having so many illegitimate offspring. He had four legitemate children and at least twenty-five illegitimate children.
Fulk "le Jeun" married second on June 2, 1129 to Mélesinde, daughter of Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. On the death of Baldwin II in 1131, Fulk "le Jeun" became King of Jerusalem.
|