Reinald of Châtillon

Kingdom I of Châtillon or Kingdom I of Antioch (c.1125 – 4 July 1187) was a French knight who participated in the Second Crusade and remained in Holy Land after its failure. He was prince of Antioch from 1153 to 1160, thanks to his marriage to Constance of Antioch, the heiress of the principality.

Biography

Reinaldo in the Second Crusade and his relationship with Manuel I

He was a second son of Henry, lord of Châtillon, descendant of a family of the middle nobility of Champagne, to which Eudes de Châtillon, Pope Urban II, also belonged. He joined the Second Crusade in 1147 to seek his fortune. He entered the service of Constance of Antioch, whose first husband had died in 1149, and married her secretly in 1153, without consulting the feudal lord of Constance, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. Neither Baldwin nor Americus of Limoges, Latin Patriarch of Antioch, looked favorably on Constance's marriage to a man of inferior lineage. Thanks to this marriage, Reinaldo became prince of Antioch.

In 1156 Reynald, arguing that the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus had not kept his promise to pay him a certain amount of money, decided to attack the island of Cyprus in retaliation. The Latin Patriarch of Antioch refused to cover the expenses of the expedition. Reinaldo had him tortured and then ordered that he be stripped, his wounds covered with honey and left uncovered. After a day of suffering this torment, the Patriarch agreed to finance the expedition to Cyprus. Reinaldo's forces devastated the island, looting and raping.

As a consequence, Emperor Manuel I Comnenus set out on the march towards the principality of Antioch. Faced with a much superior force, Reinaldo chose to humiliate himself: barefoot and ragged, he publicly begged the king's forgiveness, prostrating himself before him. In 1159 he was forced to pay tribute to the emperor as punishment for his attack, and agreed to accept a Greek Patriarch of Antioch. When Manuel visited Antioch the following year to meet Baldwin III of Jerusalem, Reinald entered the city leading Manuel's horse by the bridle, thus expressing his submission to the emperor.

Imprisonment and revenge

Shortly later, in 1160, Reinald was captured by the Muslims during a plundering expedition against the Syrian and Armenian peasants of Marash. He was confined in Aleppo for seventeen years and was only released when he paid himself in 1176 the extraordinary sum of 120,000 gold dinars. Reinaldo returned from his captivity more ambitious and bloodthirsty than ever. Since his wife, Constance, had died in 1163 and his stepson had inherited the principality, he married another wealthy widow, Stephanie of Milly, widow of Humphrey III of Toron and Miles of Plancy, and heir to the lordship of Transjordan, including the castles of Kerak and Montreal, southeast of the Dead Sea. These fortresses controlled the caravan route between Egypt and Damascus, and allowed access to the Red Sea. He became famous for his cruelty, as he often threw his enemies from the top of the castle so that they shattered the rocks at the foot of the fortress.

In November 1177, at the head of the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. The sultan himself was only saved thanks to his personal guard, made up of Mamluks. In 1181, violating the truce that had been signed between Christians and Muslims, Châtillon dedicated himself to raiding the Arab caravans that passed through the vicinity of Kerak. Although Saladin demanded that the king of Jerusalem punish Reinald, Baldwin IV confessed himself powerless to control his vassal. The result was the resumption of hostilities between crusaders and Muslims.

In 1182 Reinald put into practice a project that he had cherished for a long time: launching a squadron through the Red Sea to attack the rich maritime caravans that were going to Mecca and even attack the Holy City of Islam itself. Towards the end of the year he went to Aila, at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, carrying galleys that he had built with wood from the forests of Moab and that he had tested in the waters of the Dead Sea. Aila, which had been in Muslim power since 1170, was occupied by him, but the fortress of the nearby island, the Isle of Graye, held out to the Frankish chroniclers, and Reinald kept two of his ships to blockade it. The rest of his fleet set sail merrily, with indigenous pirates as pilots. They sailed up the African coast of the Red Sea, attacking the small coastal towns they passed, and finally attacked and sacked Aidib, the large Nubian port opposite Mecca. There they captured several merchant ships loaded with riches that came from Aden and India. A group landed and plundered a huge defenseless caravan that had passed through the desert from the Nile Valley. From Aidib the corsairs crossed to the coast of Arabia.

The Muslim world in chaos by Reinaldo

They set fire to the boats in al-Hawra and Yambo, the ports of Medina, and penetrated to ar-Raghib, one of the ports of Mecca itself. They then sank a pilgrim ship going to Jedda.

The entire Muslim world was gripped by horror. Even the princes of Aleppo and Mosul, who had requested Frankish aid, were ashamed to have allies who committed such outrages to the faith. Saladin's brother, Malik al-Adil, governor of Egypt took action. He sent the Egyptian admiral Husan ed-Din Lulu with a fleet manned by Moroccan sailors in pursuit of the Franks. Lulu ran first to Castle Graye and reconquered Aila, from which Reinald had retreated, and then engaged the corsair fleet in the waters of al-Hawra, destroying it and taking prisoner almost all the men he had on board. Some of them were sent to Mecca, to be ceremoniously executed at the place of sacrifice, in Mina, during the next pilgrimage. The remaining prisoners were taken to Cairo, where they were all beheaded. Saladin solemnly swore that Reinaldo would never be forgiven for the outrage committed and, if necessary, he would kill him with his own hands.

That same year, 1182, the sultan attacked Kerak while the marriage of Reinald's stepson, Humphrey IV of Toron, to Elizabeth of Jerusalem was taking place in the castle. The siege was lifted thanks to the intervention of Raymond III of Tripoli, and Reinaldo was able to be quiet again until 1186.

That year he allied himself with Sibylla and Guido de Lusignan against Raymond III of Tripoli, and his influence contributed to achieving the recognition of Guido as the new king of Jerusalem to the detriment of Count Raymond. Also in 1186 Reinald attacked a caravan in which Saladin's sister was traveling, thus breaking the truce that had been established between the sultan and the Crusader States. Although Guido rebuked him for his action, thus attempting to appease Saladin, Reinaldo replied that he was lord of his own lands and that he had not made peace with the Muslims.

In 1187, Saladin invaded the kingdom of Jerusalem and defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. Both Reinaldo and King Guido were taken prisoners in the battle. The chronicler Imad al-Din reports what happened next (in the Arab chronicles Reinald is called Arnat):

Salah al-Din invited the king to sit next to him and when Arnat (Reinaldo) came in, he installed him near his king and reminded him of his misdeeds: "How many times have you sworn and then you have violated your oaths, how many times have you signed agreements that you have not respected!" Arnat sent him to answer the interpreter: "All kings have always behaved like this. I have done nothing more than they do." In the meantime, Guido boasted of thirst, he seemed to be drunk and his face was a great fear. Salah al-Din directed reassuring words and ordered them to bring iced water, which he offered. The king drank and then gave the rest to Arnat who turned his thirst off. The sultan then told Guido: "You have not asked me for permission before giving him a drink. I am not obliged, therefore, to grant him grace. After having uttered these words, the sultan went out, rode on horseback and then walked away, leaving the captives prey of terror. He supervised the return of the troops and then returned to his tent. Once there, he commanded to bring Arnat, he advanced toward him with the saber in his hand and struck him between the neck and the omoplate. When Arnat fell to the ground, they cut off his head and then dragged his body down his feet before the king, who shook. When he saw him so impressed, the sultan told him with a reassuring tone: "This man has only died for his wickedness and perfidy."

King Guido's life was spared. He was imprisoned in Damascus for a time, and then released.

Marriage and offspring

Reinaldo and Constanza had two daughters:

• Ines de Châtillon, who married Prince Bela, who lived in the court of the emperor in Constantinople, future King Bela III of Hungary.
• Juana de Châtillon, probably the second wife of Marquis Bonifacio de Montferrato.

Reinaldo and Estefanía had a son and a daughter:

• Queen of Châtillon, who died young.
• Alix (Alice) of Châtillon, who married Azzo VI d'Este.

In the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven, the character of Reinaldo de Châtillon was played by actor Brendan Gleeson.