Damsel of Cyprus

The Damsel of Cyprus (born c. 1177), possibly named Beatrice or Maria,[1] was the daughter of Isaac Komnenos, emperor of Cyprus, and an Armenian princess. She was her father's sole heiress. Her given name is not known with certainty and she is known by convention as the "Damsel of Cyprus".

She was a hostage in the Principality of Antioch from 1182 until at least 1184. She was captured in 1191 during a brief war between her father and King Richard I of England. She remained an English prisoner, although treated well, until 1194. During her captivity she travelled throughout the Holy Land, Italy and France. After her release, she remained in France. In 1199 or 1200, she married Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, becoming his fifth wife. They divorced by late 1202 or early 1203, when she married Thierry of Flanders, who attempted to claim Cyprus on her behalf. After this failed venture, the couple went to Armenia. Her fate thereafter is unknown.

  1. ^ Parks 2010, pp. 286–289.

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