Isabella I of Jerusalem tried to play Isabella and her husband off against him, but Humphrey did homage to the royal couple. Isabella was the daughter of Amalric, King of Jerusalem, by his second wife, Maria Comnena. Maria Comnena (who was a grandniece of the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel I Komnenos) married Amalric on 29 August 1171. Isabella was born before September 1172. Amalric died unexpectedly on 11 July 1174. His son by his first marriage, Baldwin IV, was crowned king two weeks later. Before long, it became obvious that Baldwin suffered from lepromatous leprosy. To secure the succession of the ailing king, his sister,
History of Christchurch, Dorset the 12th century Christchurch became the caput of a feudal barony when it was granted by King Henry I (1100–1135) to Richard de Redvers (d.1107), feudal baron of Plympton, Devon. The castle was originally built as a wooden motte and bailey fort, and its placement seems to have caused the realignment of nearby streets. After Richard's death the Manor of Christchurch passed to his son, Baldwin de Redvers (d.1155). Baldwin was one of the primary barons to support Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I, in her claim for the crown against her cousin King Stephen (1135–1154) during The