King James I – Jacques, Giacomo – of Cyprus was regent for his infant nephew King Peter II before he became King. He was also titular King of Armenian Cilicia and Jerusalem.

He is my 15 x great-grandfather.

James was born in 1334, son of Hugh IV of Cyprus and Alix of Ibelin, Cyprus^{1 2}.

Titles

Between 1369-1375 James was co-regent of Cyprus for his nephew Peter II of Cyprus¹.

In 1382, he succeeded his nephew as King of Cyprus and Titular King of Jerusalem^{2 3 4 5} and his coronation was in May 1385, in Nicosia’s Saint Sophia Cathedral^{1 4} .

In 1393, the fifth Latin king of Armenia Leo de Lusignan, died⁴. Leo was related to James so the title went to him as the closest living male relative⁴.

Leo and James shared a great-grandfather in Hugh III of Cyprus. They were second-cousins.

They crowned him Titular King of Armenia in Santa Sophia Cathedral, Nicosia⁴. This was only a title because at this point Armenia controlled a single fortress⁴.

Family

Pope Urban V granted papal dispensation for James’ marriage to Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, his step-sister^{5 6}, on 1 May 1365^{1 2}. They wed 14 days later; Helvis was only 12 at the time¹.

Together they had 12 children¹:

1. An unnamed daughter born in 1372, who died at the age of 2.
2. Janus, who became Janus I of Cyprus.
3. Philippe, who became the Constable of Cyprus in 1401.
4. Eudes, who became Count of Tripoli.
5. Hugh, who became Archbishop of Nicosia.
6. Henry, who became the titular Prince of Galilee.
7. Marie, who married the King of Naples².
8. Isabelle, who married the Constable of Jerusalem.
9. Eschiva
10. Agnes, or Anne, who died in Savoy. (She married Duke Louis of Savoy and Louis’ father saw this as a reason to claim Cyprus as his own. He even had coins minted with the legend “Cypria Recepta” which translates as “[girl] received” or “[girl] accepted”⁷.)
11. Guy.

Notable events

While he was still co-regent, James led a war against the Genoese in 1372⁸. His nephew Peter betrayed him by signing a pact with Genoa whereby he kept Famagusta but James had to leave Cyprus¹. James tried to seek refuge in Rhodes but Genoa found him. International treaties stipulated that James had to pay the cost of the damages incurred⁸. Since he couldn’t pay, Genova imprisoned him in 1375 at ‘la Mal paga‘^{1 8} which was a debtors prison. They locked him up with Helvis and this is where he finally consummated his marriage.

In 1385, Peter II died without issue¹. The Supreme Court of Cyprus decided James should be king¹. In April 1385, Genoa released James and he returned to Cyprus. Janus and Helvis travelled to Nicosia with two of their sons, leaving their first-born son in prison as a hostage¹.

Cyprus bought James’ freedom by granting Genoa commercial monopolies for trade to the Levant, paying annual taxes to them and by transferring Famagusta to Genoan control¹. These conditions crippled the Kingdom. It took a further 5 years before James managed to buy his son’s freedom and bring him to Cyprus¹.

Despite the economic warfare, James managed to fortify Larnaca and its port⁴. Larnaca became the principal trading port for the Lusignan kingdom⁴. It was a small step to weakening the Genoese hold of Famagusta, and the island.

Death

He died in Nicosia, Cyprus on September 9th³ or 20th¹, 1398^{2 5} due to unknown causes. They buried him in the San Domenico church in Nicosia, Cyprus^{1 2}.

Lineage

James I of Cyprus is my 15 x great-grandfather.

References

1. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2022-03-19) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. List of Cypriot sovereigns; Royal Tombs; (Retrieved 2024-05-21) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia; As observed by author; 2022-04-10[↩][↩]
4. The Reign of Jacques I; Cyprus History; (Retrieved 2024-05-28) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
5. 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[↩][↩][↩]
6. Brunswick; Medieval lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-05-20) [↩]
7. Aftermath of War: Cypriot Christians and Mediterranean Geopolitics, 1571-1625; Lubin, Matthew; University of North Carolina; 2012[↩]
8. Cipro Veneziano; Evangelia Skoufari; Rome; 2011 [↩][↩][↩]