Alice de la Roche

Alice de la Roche, Lady of Beirut, Regent of Beirut (died 1282[1]) was the wife of John II of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut, in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. She was a daughter of Guy I, Lord of Athens. Alice is sometimes referred to as Alice of Athens. Alice was Regent of Beirut for her daughter Queen Isabella of Cyprus, during the latter's absence in Cyprus.[2]

Alice de la Roche
Lady of Beirut
Regent of Beirut
Coat-of-arms de La Roche
BornUnknown
Died1282
Noble familyde la Roche
Spouse(s)John II of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut
Issue
FatherGuy I de la Roche, Lord of Athens

Family

Alice was born on an unknown date. She was one of six children of Guy I de la Roche, Lord of Athens (1205–1263), and his wife, an unnamed woman of the noble House of Villehardouin.[3] Her paternal grandfather was Otho I de la Roche, Lord of Athens. According to a partially fictional tradition, her father Guy was created Duke of Athens in 1260 by King Louis IX of France.[4]

Alice had two brothers and three younger sisters:

Marriage and issue

In 1249/1250, Alice married John II of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut, the son of Balian of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut and Eschiva de Montfaucon de Montbéliard. He was the grandson of John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut and Melisende of Arsuf. In 1260, he led a massive raid alongside the Knights Templars into Galilee. John and the Templars were defeated near Tiberias by the Turcomen. John was taken prisoner and later ransomed.

John and Alice had two daughters:

  • Isabella of Ibelin, Lady of Beirut, Queen of Cyprus (1252- 1282/November 1283), married firstly King Hugh II of Cyprus, secondly Hamo le Strange, and thirdly, William Barlais. All three marriages were childless.
  • Eschive of Ibelin, Lady of Beirut (1253–1312), married firstly, in 1274, Humphrey de Montfort, Lord of Tyre, by whom she had four children, including Rupen de Montfort; she married secondly in 1291, Guy of Lusignan, Constable of Cyprus, by whom she had two children, King Hugh IV of Cyprus, and Isabelle de Lusignan. Upon the death of her sister Isabella, who died without issue, Eschive inherited the lordship of Beirut. She unsuccessfully claimed the dukedom of Athens by right of her mother.

During her daughter Isabella's absence in Cyprus, from 1274–1277, Alice was Regent of Beirut.

Legacy

Alice of Athens, Lady of Beirut, Regent of Beirut died in 1282. Her husband John had died in 1264. Their numerous descendants included Anne de Lusignan, King Charles VIII of France, Anne of France and Mary, Queen of Scots.

In 1308, her nephew Guy II, Duke of Athens died without heirs. Alice's daughter Eschive claimed the dukedom, but lost to Walter V of Brienne, the son of Alice's sister Isabella.

References
  1. Dan Byrnes, Lost Worlds- Women Crusaders
  2. T. S. R . Boase, Kingdoms and Structures of the Crusades, London, 1971. pg. 165
  3. Cawley, Charles (August 2012), Jerusalem, Nobility, Lords of Beirut Ibelin, Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, .
  4. Longnon Jean. Problèmes de l'histoire de la principauté de Morée. (Premier article). In: Journal des savants, Avril-juin 1946, pp. 90-91
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