Philip of Milly | |
|---|---|
 Philip of Milly's Coat of Arms | |
| Grand Master of the Knights Templar | |
| In office 1169–1171 | |
| Preceded by | Bertrand de Blanchefort |
| Succeeded by | Odo de St Amand |
| Lord of Oultrejordain | |
| In office 1161–1168 | |
| Preceded by | Maurice of Montreal |
| Succeeded by | Walter III Brisebarre |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1120 |
| Died | 3 April 1171 |
| Nationality | French |
| Spouse | Isabella |
| Children | |
| Parents |
|
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Kingdom of Jerusalem Knights Templar |
| Years of service | 1147–1171 |
| Battles/wars | Second Crusade (1147-49) Jerusalem Civil War (1152) Siege of Ascalon (1153) Siege of Paneas (1157) Crusader invasion of Egypt (1165-68) Siege of Bilbeis (1168) Siege of Gaza (1170) |
Philip of Milly, also known asPhilip of Nablus (Latin:Philippus Neapolitanus; c. 1120 – April 3, 1171), was a baron in theKingdom of Jerusalem and the seventhGrand Master of the Knights Templar. He briefly employed the troubadourPeire Bremon lo Tort in the Holy Land.
Philip was the son of Guy of Milly, who witnessed a dozen ofroyal charters in theKingdom of Jerusalem between 1108 and 1126.[1] Guy's origins are not certain. The historianMalcolm Barber considers it most likely that he came fromNormandy or, alternatively,Picardy.[2] Guy held fiefs in the royal demesne aroundNablus andJerusalem.[3][4] Philip's mother was aFlemish noblewoman, Stephanie, according to the late 13th-centuryLignages d'Outremer.[3] The same source stated that Philip was his parents' eldest son, but the sobriquet of his brother, Guy—Francigena (or "born in France")—implies that Guy was Philip's elder brother, born before their parents came to the Holy Land.[1][2] TheLignages d'Outremer also claimed that Philip was a nephew ofPagan the Butler, but no other primary source refers to Pagan as Philip's uncle.[5]
The date of Guy's death is unknown, but he was most probably still alive in the early 1130s.[4] Philip inherited his father's estates around Nablus.[4] He married a noblewoman, Isabella, before 1144.[4] Her name is the only known fact about her,[6] butSteven Runciman writes that she was a niece of Pagan the Butler.[7]
Philip first appeared in a royal charter in 1138.[4] He and his brothers are absent from the lists of witnesses of royal charters in the 1130s. Their absence shows that they could not secure their father's position during the reign ofKing Fulk,[8] who seized the throne through his marriage withQueen Melisende and appointed his own men to the most important offices.[8]
Philip's career started only after Fulk died and Melisende became the actual ruler of Jerusalem.[8] He was first mentioned as lord of Nablus in 1144.[4] Late in that year, the queen appointed Philip along withElinand,Prince of Galilee, andManasses of Hierges, to lead a relieve army toEdessa, butImad ad-Din Zengicaptured the town before they approached it.[9] During the following years, he seized further fiefs, including lands in the hills near Nablus and Tyre.[8] In 1148, upon the arrival of theSecond Crusade, Philip participated in thecouncil held at Acre, where he and the other native barons were overruled and the ill-fated decision toattack on Damascus was made.[8]
Along with the powerfulIbelin family, Philip was a supporter of Melisende during her conflict with her sonBaldwin III.[10] In the division of the kingdom in 1151, Melisende gained control of its southern part, including Nablus.[10] Despite this arrangement, Philip assisted Baldwin during thesiege of Ascalon in 1153.[10] He granted estates toOrder of Saint Lazarus in 1153.[6] From 1155, Philip was regularly listed among the witnesses on Baldwin's charters.[11] He participated in therelief of Banyas in June 1157, but he and his troops soon returned home, and were not present at Nur ad-Din's subsequent ambush of Baldwin atJacob's Ford.[11]
Philip exchanged the lordship of Nablus with Baldwin III forOultrejordain on 31 July 1161.[11] For Melisende was dying, the agreement was confirmed by her sister,Hodierna, on her behalf.[11] The king retained the revenues from tolling the caravans and theBedouin tribes crossing Oultrejordain.[12] One of Philip's new vassals, John Gothman, was required to directly swear fealty to the king.[12][13] Philip strengthenedKerak Castle with a ditch and towers.[14] He made a pilgrimage toSaint Catherine's Monastery in the early 1160s.[6]
Philip joined themilitary order of theKnights Templar in January 1166, passing on to them a significant part of Oultrejordain, including the castle ofAhamant.[6] Acting against the decision of the Templars, Philip joined Amalric'sinvasion of Egypt in 1167. The Ibelin family later recalled an event during the siege ofBilbeis, in which Philip saved the life ofHugh of Ibelin, who had broken his leg when his horse fell in a ditch.[15] The Templars as a whole refused to support Amalric's invasion, and the king blamed them for the failure of the expedition. After the death of their Grand MasterBertrand de Blanchefort in January 1169, Amalric pressured them to elect Philip in his place in August of that year. With the election of Philip, Amalric regained Templar support for the invasion of Egypt, although by the end of the year Amalric was forced to retreat.[16]
For unknown reasons Philip resigned as Grand Master in 1171, and was succeeded byOdo de St Amand. Philip accompanied Amalric toConstantinople as ambassador to theByzantine Empire in order to restore good relations with them after the failure of the Egyptian invasion. He probably died on April 3, before reaching Constantinople.[17]
Philip's personal life is largely a mystery.William of Tyre describes him as one of the "brave men, valiant in arms and trained from their earliest years in the art of war" who accompanied Amalric to Egypt.[18] Sometime after he became lord of Oultrejordain, he made apilgrimage to the monastery ofSaint Catherine's Monastery onMount Sinai.[19] With his wife Isabella he had a son, Rainier (who predeceased him), and two daughters,Helena andStephanie.[20] Isabella died probably in 1166, which may have led to Philip's decision to take vows as a brother of the Knights Templar.[19] His lands were inherited by his elder daughter, Helena, wife ofWalter III Brisebarre, lord of Beirut, and then by Stephanie and her husbands.[21]
| Titles of nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Maurice of Montreal | Lord of Transjordan 1161–1166 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Grand Master of the Knights Templar 1169–1171 | Succeeded by |