Hugh II of Cyprus

Hugh II (French: Hugues; c. December 1252 – November or 5 December 1267) was the king of Cyprus and lord of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He succeeded to the throne of Cyprus when his father, King Henry I, died shortly after his birth; the infant king's mother, Plaisance of Antioch, took up the government as regent. In 1258 he was recognized as the heir presumptive to–and regent for–King Conrad III of Jerusalem. After the death of Queen Plaisance in 1261, Hugh's cousin Hugh of Antioch was recognized as the new regent. Hugh died shortly before he was to reach the age of majority, which spelled the end of the first Lusignan dynasty in Cyprus. He was succeeded by Hugh of Antioch.

Hugh II
Thomas Aquinas presents his book, De regno, ad regem Cypri, to King Hugh
King of Cyprus
Reign	1253 – 1267
Predecessor	Henry I
Successor	Hugh III
Born	c. December 1252
Died	November or 5 December 1267
Spouse	Isabella of Ibelin (possibly only betrothed)
House	House of Lusignan
Father	Henry I of Cyprus
Mother	Plaisance of Antioch

Birth

Hugh was the only child of Henry I, king of Cyprus and lord of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and Henry's third wife, Plaisance of Antioch. He was born after November or December 1252; his father died on 18 January 1253, and there is no evidence suggesting that Hugh was born posthumously.^[1] Henry had been obese^[2] and had apparently been expected to die childless.^[3] Hugh's birth prompted John of Ibelin to scramble to have the pope recognize his title to the County of Jaffa, given to him by Henry; he may have feared that Hugh would one day challenge the legality of the grant.^[4]

Reign

Regency of Jerusalem

Hugh succeeded his father, Henry, as king of Cyprus.^[5] Hugh's mother, Queen Plaisance, was at once recognized by the High Court as his guardian and regent of the kingdom.^[6] In the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a legal principle established in 1243 held that the regency on behalf of the absent king–then Conrad II, who lived in Europe^[7]–should belong to his nearest relative in the Latin East who laid a claim to it; on this basis it had been conferred on Hugh's grandmother Queen Alice and after her death on his father, King Henry.^[8] This became complicated after Henry's death because now the new nearest relative, Hugh, was himself a minor.^[9] The government of the mainland kingdom then fell to John of Arsuf as bailli. Conrad II died in 1254 and was succeeded by his infant son Conrad III.^[10][9] In 1256 Queen Plaisance sent envoys to King Henry III of England proposing that she marry Henry's son Edmund and that Hugh marry Henry's daughter Beatrice.^[11] This scheme failed, probably because of the attempt to place Edmund on the throne of Sicily.^[12]

In the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a war raged between the Knights Templar, the Venetians, and the Pisans on one side and the Knights Hospitaller, the Genoese, and the Catalans on the other. Queen Plaisance's brother, Bohemond VI, prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli, decided to intervene. On 1 February 1258, he brought Hugh and Plaisance to its capital, Acre. At a general assembly of the barons, the military orders, the communes, and the burghers, Bohemond argued for the recognition of Hugh as the heir presumptive to Conrad and lord of the kingdom and of Plaisance as his bailli. The masters of the Temple and the Teutonic Order, the barons, and the representatives of the Venetian and Pisan communes swore fealty to Hugh, but the Hospitallers, the Genoese, and the Catalans insisted that the crown belonged to Conrad III. Having failed to achieve peace, Bohemond took Plaisance and Hugh to Tripoli, from where they returned to Cyprus.^[13][9]

King Hugh's mother, Queen Plaisance, died in September 1261.^[14] His closest relative and heir presumptive was his only surviving aunt, Isabella.^[15] Her son, Hugh of Antioch, succeeded Plaisance as regent of Cyprus, while Isabella claimed the bailliage of Jerusalem.^[16] Because she failed to bring Hugh II before the High Court of Jerusalem when laying claim to the bailliage, Isabella's powers were restricted^[17] and the High Court refused to do homage and fealty to her.^[18][19] After Isabella's death in 1264, the bailliage was claimed by Hugh of Antioch and another cousin of Hugh II, Hugh of Brienne, whose mother, Maria, was the elder sister of King Henry and Isabella. Hugh of Antioch obtained the office on the basis of being the elder of Hugh II's cousins and the son of the previous bailli.^[16]

Thomas Aquinas, the most famed Christian philosopher of the 13th century, wrote the tractate De regno, ad regem Cypri in 1265-66 and addressed it to King Hugh II.^[a] Thomas was a proponent of absolute monarchy and may have hoped to influence the young king at a time when his cousin and regent, Hugh of Antioch, was struggling to control the barons of Cyprus. The book was never finished probably because of the early death of Hugh II.^[21]

Marriage and succession

By May 1265, a marriage was being planned between Hugh and Isabella of Ibelin, lady of Beirut.^[2] On 21 May, Pope Clement IV granted a dispensation, which was necessary because Hugh and Isabella were fourth cousins.^[22] Only one near-contemporary source, the Lignages d'Outremer, states that the marriage was concluded.^[2] They had no children, and probably did not consummate their union.^[22]

Hugh died in November or on 5 December 1267,^[23] shortly before he was to reach his majority on his fifteenth birthday. The preparations for his marriage with Isabella of Ibelin suggest that he had not been expected to die so young, but his mother had died at about 25 at most and his grandfather King Hugh I at 23.^[2] The first dynasty of the Lusignan kings of Cyprus was thus extinguished.^[22] He was buried in the grand chapel of the Church of Saint Dominic in Nicosia, which he had enriched and endowed with privileges.^[24] Hugh II's cousin and hitherto regent, Hugh of Antioch, was crowned king of Cyprus on Christmas, but the other cousin, Hugh of Brienne, continued to regard himself as the rightful successor.^[25]

Hugh's relationship with the kings and queens (bold) and regents (italics) of Jerusalem and the other rulers of the Latin East[26][27]

Conrad of Montferrat Isabella I of Jerusalem Henry II of Champagne Bohemond IV of Antioch Plaisance of Gibelet Maria of Jerusalem Alice of Champagne Hugh I of Cyprus Bohemond V of Antioch Lucia of Segni Isabella II of Jerusalem Maria of Cyprus Isabella of Cyprus Henry of Antioch Henry I of Cyprus Plaisance of Antioch Bohemond VI of Antioch Conrad II of Jerusalem Hugh of Brienne Hugh III of Cyprus Hugh II of Cyprus Conrad III of Jerusalem

Notes

1. Stephen of Lusignan wrote that the intended recipient of De regno was Hugh II's successor, Hugh of Antioch (Hugh III). Modern historians consider Hugh II the likelier candidate because the book's author was a subject of King Charles I of Sicily, a rival of Hugh III; it was never completed, which may be explained by the early death of the intended recipient; and the exhortative tone was not suited to addressing an adult.^[20]