Hugh De LUSIGNAN, VIII ¹

   Other names for Hugh were "The Brown" and "Le Brun".

   Ancestral File Number: 8RNT-VT. User ID: 631783280.

   General Notes:

"Le Brun", "The Brown".

BOOKS
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1981, Micropaedia, Vol VI, p397, Lusignan: "Noble family of Poitou (a province of western France) that provided numerous crusaders and kings of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Lesser Armenia. A branch of the family became counts of La Marche and Angouleme and played a role in precipitating the baronial revolt in England against King Henry III. The castle of Lusignan is associated with the medieval legend of Melusine.
"Hugh (Hugues) I, Lord of Lusignan, was a vassal of the counts of Poitiers in the 10th century. Early members of the family participated in the crusades; but it was Hugh VIII's sons who established the family fortunes.
"Hugh VIII's eldest son and successor, Hugh IX the Brown (died 1219), held countship of La Marche. In 1200 his fiancee, Isabella of Angouleme, was taken for wife by his feudallord, King John of England. This outrage caused Hugh to turn to the King of France, Philip II Augustus, forming an alliance that culminated in John's loss of his continental possessions.
"Two other sons of Hugh VIII became kings of Jerusalem and Cyprus. Guy, through his marriage to Sibyl, the sister of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, got the kingdom in 1186 but lost his capital city in wars with the Muslims (1187) and finally exchanged his empty title for the sovereignty of Cyprus(1192).
"Guy's brother Amalric II (Died 1 Apr 1205) succeeded to the crown of Cyprus and became king of Jerusalem in 1197 by marrying Sybil's sister Isabella after the death of her two previous husbands. Amalric was the founder of a dynasty of sovereigns of Cyprus...His descendants after 1269 regularly enjoyed the title of King of Jerusalem..."

The New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975, p1630, Lusignan: "French noble family. The name is derived from a castle in Poitou, built, according to legend, by Melusine. The family was powerful in the Middle Ages and ruled (13th-14th centuries) the county of Marche. One branch was prominent in the history of the Crusades. Guy of Lusignan succeeded (1186) Baldwin V as King of Jerusalem; compelled (1192) to resign his title, he received the island of Cyprus from King Richard I of England. His brother Amalric II, succeeded (1194)him as king of Cyprus and was also king of Jerusalem; his descendants continued to claim the kingship of Jerusalem..."
p1743, Melusine or Melusina: "In French legend, a fairy who changed into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She married a mortal, Count Raymond, said to be the ancestor of the house of Lusignan, and made him promise never to visit her on that day. When he broke his agreement and discovered her secret, she fled. The Melusine story has many parallels in Europe and Asia."

FAMILY SEARCH
Ancestral File v4.19 8RNT-VT.

   Marriage Information:

Hugh married Bourgogne De RANCON in 1140 in Fontenaylecomte, Vendee, France. (Bourgogne De RANCON was born about 1110 in Fontenaylecomte, Vendee, France.)