Sybil of Anjou 1 2
- Born: Cir 1112-1114
- Marriage (1): William III Clito of Flanders 1122 or 1123
- Marriage (2): Thierry of Alsace de Lorraine in 1139
- Died: 1165, Abbey of St Lazarus, Bethlethem aged 53
General Notes:
Sibylla of Anjou was a daughter of Fulk V of Anjou and Ermengarde of Maine, and wife of William Clito and Thierry, Count of Flanders.
In 1123 Sibylla married to William Clito, son of the Norman Robert Curthose and future Count of Flanders. Sibylla brought the County of Maine to this marriage, which was annulled in 1124 on grounds of consanguinity. The annulment was made by Pope Honorius II upon request from Henry I of England, William's brother; Fulk opposed it and did not consent until Honorius excommunicated him and placed an interdict over Anjou. Sibylla then accompanied her widower father to the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, where he married Melisende, the heiress of the kingdom, and became king himself in 1131. In 1139 she married Thierry of Alsace, the new Count of Flanders, who had arrived on his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
She returned to Flanders with her new husband, and during his absence on the Second Crusade the pregnant Sibylla acted as regent of the county. Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut took the opportunity to attack Flanders, but Sibylla led a counter-attack and pillaged Hainaut. In response Baldwin ravaged Artois. The archbishop of Reims intervened and a truce was signed, but Thierry took vengeance on Baldwin when he returned in 1149.
In 1157 she travelled with Thierry on his third pilgrimage, but after arriving in Jerusalem she separated from her husband and refused to return home with him. She became a nun at the convent of St. Lazarus in Bethany, where her step-aunt, Ioveta of Bethany, was abbess. Ioveta and Sibylla supported Queen Melisende and held some influence over the church, and supported the election of Amalric of Nesle as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem over a number of other candidates. Sibylla died in Bethany in 1165.
Sybil married William III Clito of Flanders, son of Robert II Curthose of Normandy and Sibylla of Conversano, 1122 or 1123. (William III Clito of Flanders was born on 25 Oct 1102 in Rouen, Caux, France, died on 27 Jul 1128 in Abbey of St. Bertin, St. Omer, Flandre, Belgium and was buried in Abbey of St. Bertin, St. Omer, Flandre, Belgium.) The cause of his death was wounds received at the Battle of Alost.
Sybil next married Thierry of Alsace de Lorraine, son of Thierry II de Lorraine and Gertrude of Flanders, in 1139. (Thierry of Alsace de Lorraine was born circa 1099 and died on 17 Jan 1168.)
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