King Hugh IV of Cyprus took the throne when his childless uncle died. Unwilling to start a new crusade to fight the Arabs, Hugh was content to deal with the Venetians for a peaceful life.

He is my 16 x great-grandfather.

Hugh was born, in Cyprus, sometime between 1293-1296, son of Guy, constable of Cyprus, and Eschiva of Ibelin^{1 2}.

Titles

Hugh’s uncle King Henri II appointed him Constable of Jerusalem in 1318¹.

When Hugh’s uncle died, all lords assembled in the palace at Nicosia in the morning³. To avoid any confusion they all pledged an allegiance to Hugh as guardian of the realm³. After King Henri II’s funeral, they held a general assembly that included the Church and religious orders³. Hugh demanded to be the heir to the throne³. He had good reason to think the assembly would grant his demand; his uncle had no children and he was the closest male relative³.

He then succeeded his uncle as Hugh IV, King of Cyprus on 15 April 1324^{1 2 3 4} or in 1326⁵. They crowned him at the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia^{1 2 3 6}.

They crowned him as titular King of Jerusalem at Saint Nicholas Cathedral on 13 May 1324 in Famagusta^{1 3 6}.

Family

Hugh married twice; first on 16 July 1307 to Marie d’Ibelin^{2 7 4} with whom he had a son Guy de Lusignan (born between 1315 and 1316 and died before 13 September 1343). Pope Clement V signed the Papal dispensation for this marriage⁷.

He married again on 18 June 1318, to Alix (or Alice) of Ibelin^{2 7 4}. Pope John XXII signed the Papal dispensation for this marriage⁷. Together they had 9 children⁷:

• Guy of Cyprus
• Eschiva of Lusignan, born in 1325, died in 1363 of the plague.
• Peter (Pierre) who became Pierre I, King of Cyprus. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Peter I is the “worthy Peter” in his catalogue of fallen heros⁸.
• John (Jean) of Cyprus (born between 1329 and 1330), murdered in Nicosia in 1375. He inherited the title of Titular Prince of Antioch.
• James (Jacques) I of Lusignan (1334-1398).
• Thomas of Cyprus, who died on 15 November 1340.
• Isabelle, who died in June 1340.
• Marguerite of Lusignan who married in 1337 and in 1347.

Hugh may have had an illegitimate son, Pierre, but it is not clear with whom⁷.

Notable events

Hugh was content to rule Cyprus and he prevented his son from getting support from Western European powers for a new crusade. In 1344, he joined a league with Venice and the Knights Hospitaller to fight the Turks in Smyrna (present day Turkey), where they captured the city^{1 6}. This was a crusade organised by Pope Clement VI⁷.

Also in 1344, an anonymous Englishman who was in Cyprus described the security arrangements that Hugh employed when he left home.

He has a hundred swordsmen with drawn swords before him and as many lancers with lances and shields behind him³.

Anonymous

Two notable natural disasters befell Cyprus during Hugh’s reign³:

• In 1330 it rained continuously for 28 days and nights causing the Pedieos river to burst its banks killing thousands; the death toll reaching as many as 8 000. The Archbishop of Nicosia opened churches to the homeless and fed people from the church’s granaries.
• In 1351, a plague of locusts attacked the island.

He abdicated in 1358, in favour of his son^{2 6}.

Death

Hugh died in Nicosia, Cyprus on 10 October 1359^{2 3 4 5 7}. The cause of death is unknown. They buried him next to Queen Alice in St Dominic’s church in Nicosia^{2 3}.

Lineage

This person is my 16 x great-grandfather.

References

1. “Medieval Lands Project – Jerusalem nobility: Genealogy of the Count and Lords of Jaffa (Ibelin)”. Foundation for medieval genealogy[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. List of Cypriot sovereigns; Royal Tombs; (Retrieved 2024-05-21) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. A History of Cyprus; Sir George Francis Hill; Cambridge University Press; 2010-11[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
4. 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[↩][↩][↩][↩]
5. Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia; As observed by author; 2022-04-10[↩][↩]
6. The Reign of Hugues IV; Cyprus History; (Retrieved 2024-05-21) [↩][↩][↩][↩]
7. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2018-10-01) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
8. History, Mission, and Crusade in the “Canterbury Tales”; Celia M Lewis; The Chaucer Review Vol. 42, No. 4 (2008) [↩]