There are few records of Henry of Antioch, also known as Henry de Poitiers. He died off the coast of Tyre, in present day Lebanon while sailing on a German ship.

He is my 19 x great-grandfather.

He was born sometime between 1198 and 1217, son of Bohemond IV of Antioch and Plaisance Embriaco de Giblet¹.

Titles

In 1263 Henry’s wife appointed him Bailiff of Jerusalem¹.

Family

In 1233 Henry of Antioch married Isabella de Lusignan^{1 2}. This marked the beginning of the House of Poitiers-Lusignan.

This was a marriage of convenience, designed by the powerful Ibelin family³. Ibelin negotiated with Bohemond so that once Henry and Isabella married, Henry would get great fiefs on Cyprus and, in return, the Ibelin family would get military aid for their own purposes³.

Together they had two children¹:

• Hugh of Antioch who became Hugh III of Cyprus.
• Margaret of Antioch.

Death

He died on 18 June 1276 off the coast of Tyre, present-day Lebanon, while sailing to Tripoli on a German ship¹. In early 1284, they transferred his body to Cyprus together with his son’s¹. They buried him “a l’Hospital” in Nicosia, Cyprus¹.

Lineage

This person is my 19 x great-grandfather.

References

1. Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; “Chapter 2 – Lords of Cyprus 1192-1196, Kings of Cyprus 1196-1267 (Lusignan)” [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. The Manuscript Torino J.II.9: A late medieval perspective on musical life and culture at the court of the Lusignian kings at Nicosia; Andrée Giselle Simard; University of Akron; 2005-12[↩]
3. A History of Cyprus; Sir George Francis Hill; Cambridge University Press; 2010-11[↩][↩]