| St. Hilarion Castle, in North Cyprus not far from Girne, was built on Byzantine foundations by the Crusading Lusignan dynasty. Richard the Lionheart gave Cyprus to Hugh Lusignan. King Peter I, who ruled from 1359 to 1369, was his descendant. Eleanor of Aragon was Peter’s wife. Melusine d’Ibelin was a noble lady in waiting to the queen, and she will give you an “insider’s” tour of the castle.
“Good day, and welcome to St. Hilarion Castle. I am Melusine d’Ibelin, once in the service of Eleanor, Queen of Cyprus, now paying for my sins by greeting visitors to this place. Oh, once this castle was filled with life, for the breeze is cooling in the summer and my Lady came here often. Now it is a haunted, empty place.
“The saintly hermit, Hilarion, lived in a cave. Then came the Byzantine monastery with its church. Next the tower, built to watch for Arab raids. But the castle itself was built in 1228 by my own relative, Jean d’Ibelin, Regent for the young King Henry I. It has three parts-- this lower ward; the middle ward, where the garrison lived and the King’s business was done; and the upper ward, where the royal family lived. Standing high and alone is Prince John’s Tower, a place of evil memory.
“This lower ward was a little village. Cyprus (in those days there was no North Cyprus, of course) was the last bastion against the Muslims—home of daring deeds. Of course we Frankish nobles did not indulge in trade, but the Venetians and the Genoese did brisk business.
“People were constantly coming and going. There were landless knights eager to fight the pagans and win both salvation and booty; skilled tradespeople eager to work for our wealthy nobility; merchants of all sorts; the thieves and cutpurses who preyed upon them; and, of course, the women who comforted them all.
“You can see a chapel, too, which is Byzantine work. See the arches? Those narrow red bricks are typical of Byzantine building, and so are the wide bands of mortar. The bath house is a Byzantine idea too, borrowed from the sinful, lascivious, marvelous East.
“But we will go up this footpath to the middle ward, the main part of the castle.
“Who were the Kings of Cyprus? They were French, or Franks as they call us in these Eastern lands.
“When Richard Lionheart sailed past Cyprus, his fleet was caught in a storm. At that time one Isaac Comnenus had seized the island, holding it in defiance of the Byzantine Emperor. This Isaac insulted Richard’s Queen Berengaria when that poor lady came storm-tossed to his shores. Richard was so angry he took the island from him and in 1192 gave it to Guy of Lusignan. At that time many Franks were driven from their estates in Syria and Palestine by the Muslims. Guy encouraged them to settle here. My Lady’s husband, King Peter, was Guy’s descendant.
“But here is the Byzantine Church. Jean d’Ibelin strengthened the dome, but that has long since gone. There in the east end of the church was the altar. On the north side of the Church is this little chapel with the picture of the Annunciation. Once the whole church and much of the royal quarters were painted—so lovely.
“North of the church property is the old refectory. Many a time I sat in this hall, a handsome knight at my side, laughing and flirting, drinking and eating, dancing and, yes, well, as I say, I am being punished for my sins. But you imagine the hall filled with us Frankish lords and ladies, in our brightly colored shimmering silks and satins, in gold jewelry, and good steel armor. Can you hear, even faintly, the lutes and tabors and the minstrels singing? Well, it is a long time ago now. Come out this way to the east. This is the belvedere. Have you ever seen such a fine view? After the evening meal, many a damsel and her knight stole out of the hall to … admire the view.
“Now north again, through the buttery and the kitchens. Here is the terrace where the royalty and their favorites behaved much as we lesser folk did on the belvedere. All along here are the rooms where the King transacted business.
“In these rooms the men-at-arms slept while they were on duty. They guarded the King, and the great open cistern which held much of the water supply for the castle. We always had to fear poisoning. In fact, we were afraid all the time. We were afraid of the Muslims, whom we Franks could defeat in battle, but not in a long war. We were afraid of our Cypriot serfs, with their Greek language and their Orthodox religion. And we were afraid of one another, always jostling for power and influence, for land and wealth. When warriors jostle, blood flows. And let me tell you, their women are no gentler.
“Now we will go back this way and scramble up to the upper ward. Past the entrance is the old Byzantine watchtower. To the north you can see the kitchens. Along the north wall are various buildings and cisterns.
“That two-story building on the west holds the royal apartments. A wooden gallery connected the main floor rooms. Gracefully arched windows gave lovely views from the upper floor. You must imagine the rooms hung with tapestries, with chairs of lemonwood and inlaid tables. Many an hour I spent here stitching and gossiping. My task, and those of all her ladies, was to keep Queen Eleanor happy.
“That was easy when she was first married to King Peter. You know royalty marries for reasons of state. But Eleanor was a stranger to a very clannish and inbred nobility. All she had was Peter, and she actually fell in love with him.
“He was all a woman could ask—handsome, chivalrous, daring in battle. He took the city of Adalia and its impregnable castle from the Turks. Peter hoped that would encourage Europe to undertake another Crusade. In 1362 he sailed for Europe to recruit an army, leaving Eleanor and her young son with his brother Prince John as Regent.
Peter traveled from Flanders to Prague, from Vienna to Avignon, but received no aid. Finally, Venice and Genoa gave ships in return for huge trading concessions.
Then, instead of attacking Syria as planned, he sacked Alexandria. Now, Alexandria was a trading partner of the Italians and some Italian merchants had even been killed in the attack. So there was no more help from Venice and Genoa. In 1367, he again left for Europe to recruit. But this time he left a troubled home.
Did Eleanor really throw Peter’s mistress, Joana the German, into a dungeon and torture her? Dungeon, certainly. But torture? The creature was eight months pregnant. She would not have survived the rack or the whip. And, remember, Joana was unmarked when Peter returned.
Did Eleanor have an affair with Jean de Morphou, wealthiest baron in the land? He wore her scarf at tournaments and was often in her rooms. She would not be the first woman to take a lover in revenge for her own broken heart.
Peter came back unsuccessful and in a towering rage. He was angry at Europe, at his brothers, at his barons. He was furious with Eleanor, since the story of her dalliance with Jean was common gossip in the courts of Europe, as was the torture of Joana. Peter treated the Queen and his brothers abominably and outraged the nobles.
A group of barons murdered him as he slept. Eleanor believed her brother-in-law John was behind the plot. For years she kept vengeance in her heart. John’s mind became more and more clouded until he took only Bulgarians into his bodyguard. Captives from a raid on their homeland, they depended entirely on him. He holed up here, at St. Hilarion.
Eleanor saw her chance. She convinced John that his Bulgarians were plotting against him. He had them thrown, one-by-one, from this tower. Then Eleanor lured John into the city of Kyrenia, where he could be killed.
And what of my lady? Peter II lacked the Crusading spirit of his father, and Eleanor could not abide her daughter-in-law. Cyprus was in debt to the Genoese. Many of the barons blamed Eleanor, since she had called on Genoese help after Peter I was killed. She was desperately unhappy. She returned to Aragon in 1380 and died in Barcelona the day after Christmas 1417.
Copyright 2006 SeaTerra
For a non copyrighted version of this article which can be
reprinted please go to St Hilarion Castle Archeological Site in North Cyprus
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