Bohemond III (The Stammerer)

Bohemond III was known as Bohemond the Stammerer because of a pronounced speech impediment he had. He ascended the throne when Antiochene nobility dethroned his mother.

He is my 21 x great-grandfather.

He was born around 1144, son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers¹. We don’t know where he was born, though it is likely to have been Antioch.

A picture of Bohemond III — *Bohemond III*

Titles

He succeeded his mother as Bohemond III, Prince of Antioch in 1163 when his mother was exiled¹.

Family

In or around 1170, he married Orgueilleuse of Harenc, who gave him two sons¹:

Raymond
Bohemond IV

After divorcing Orgueilleuse Bohemond married Theodora, who was a niece of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos¹.

Talk about keeping it in the family! Bohemond married the niece of Manuel. Manuel had previously married Bohemond’s sister Maria. This means Bohemond’s uncle was also his brother-in-law!

Bohemond’s third wife, Sybilla, attracted much jealousy. She was called a witch and a whore. Together they had two children: Alice and William¹.

He married his fourth wife Isabella sometime in 1194¹.

Notable events

His mother was regent for some time. She wanted to continue reigning even when Bohemond reached the age of majority. Antiochene nobility united with Thoros II of Armenian Cilicia to dethrone his mother and let him ascend to the throne.

The ruler of Aleppo captured him in battle in August 1164 but later released him when a ransom was paid¹.

He and his wife donated land by charter²:

In 1170, they donated land to the Church of Santa Maria and the Archbishop of Pisa.
In September 1172, they donated property to the Knights Hospitaller.
On 4 January 1174, they granted land to Peter of Melfia.

Bohemond installed a Greek Orthodox patriarch in Antioch, to get monetary aid from Constantinople. The Roman Catholic Church placed the city under interdict because of this. ¹.

Bohemond was in the news in 2024 when a British metal detectorist decided to bury coins minted under Bohemond in the Welsh counryside³ ⁴. There was no trade between Antioch and Wales, so if this had been an authentic find it would have changed the history of Wales.