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distinction between higher and lesser nobles. This distinction still existed in reality, and although lesser nobles now had an equal voice in the court, the more powerful barons refused to be tried by lesser lords who were not their peers. The higher nobles were still able to judge the less powerful lords themselves. There were about 600 men eligible to vote in the Court according to the Assise.
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in the kingdom but in the 12th century the two do not seem to have met together. They began to do so in the 13th century when the capital of the kingdom had been moved to Acre, and the leaders of the merchant colonies in the coastal cities were also allowed to sit (but not vote). By this time central
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Most importantly, the court elected the king or his regent, or settled disputes between various claimants. Each new reign began with a meeting of the court, to formally recognize the new king and to swear an oath of homage to him. They also gave advice to the king and developed proper procedures for
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formally prohibited the illegal confiscation of fiefs and required all of the king's vassals to ally against any lord who did so. Such a lord would not be given a trial, but would instead be stripped of his land or exiled. It also made all nobles direct vassals of the king, eliminating the previous
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The court levied taxes on the inhabitants of the kingdom, and voted on military expeditions. A formal vote for war would mobilize all the vassals of the kingdom. The court was the only judicial body for the nobles of the kingdom, hearing cases of murder, rape, assault, wardship, debt, recovery of
345:, and it was temporarily abolished from 1232 to 1244. In its place the Commune of Acre was set up, which invoked the Assise against him, although his army was much larger than any force the remnant of the kingdom could muster. The Commune, unlike the Court, included the burgesses. Meanwhile, the
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government – in fact it developed the opposite way, with the king losing more and more power to the barons. The court had essentially fossilized the feudalism of northern France circa 1100; because the kingdom was constantly at war, covered so little land, had so few westerners, and survived in
369:, the first king of Jerusalem, had personally established it and that it had remained unchanged since then (in the 13th century Godfrey was already a legendary figure). This was not the case, although it did develop much more slowly than similar contemporary courts elsewhere in Europe. Unlike
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slaves, sales and purchases of fiefs and horses, default of service, inheritance, and treason. Punishments included forfeiture of land and exile, or in extreme cases, death. It was possible to escape punishment from the court by challenging all the appointed judges to a
281:, when Melisende refused to give up the crown after Baldwin came of age. Baldwin eventually gained the support of the nobility and was recognized as sole king. A second major dispute arose during the regency of
273:, and their supporters, and the "nobles' party", consisting of the higher nobility and the military orders. Disputes between the two factions were frequent. There was a major dispute during the co-reign of
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John of Ibelin's description, while useful, was taken too literally by later historians. In the 19th century, the court was commonly held to be the purest representation of feudalism in all of the
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were entitled to sit and vote as well. During the 12th century there was also a smaller group of advisors to the king, but by the end of the century this group had fallen out of use.
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was chosen by the court party over more experienced nobles. This decision would eventually lead to increased conflict with the
Muslims and the fall of Jerusalem itself in 1187.
193:) and lesser nobles (indirect vassals, who owed service to the higher nobles), with different privileges depending on idiosyncratic circumstances. Anyone who had committed
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201:(whether a higher or lesser noble) forfeited his right to speak and vote. Only four votes (the king and any three vassals) were required to form a
365:'s description of it, written in the 1260s. His description was an idealized explanation of the laws and procedures, based on the idea that
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doing so, but in practise they could disagree with the king and override his wishes. Essentially, the king was only "
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There tended to be two factions within the court, a so-called "court party," consisting of the royal family, the
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and defeating them (but this was of course impractical and was never done). The court was also responsible for
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which were subject to its decisions had the right to sit and vote, but in practice only the more wealthy
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Jerusalem for less than a hundred years, it did not have a chance to develop into a true
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authority had eroded so much that the more powerful nobles often had their own courts.
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when necessary. This developed into a system of higher nobles (direct vassals of the
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opposed the authority of the court while he was staying in Acre during the
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did so; certain nobles attended regularly and tended to serve as presiding
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Perhaps the most important piece of legislation passed by the court was
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desired the consent of his subjects in certain matters, such as
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The
Crusaders' Kingdom: European Colonialism in the Middle Ages
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Feudal
Monarchy in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1100-1291
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The court developed gradually during the early 12th century
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The court could meet wherever necessary, not solely in
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212:. After around 1120 the court also included
421:John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem
16:Feudal council of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
77:Learn how and when to remove this message
94:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
353:adopted basically the same structure.
454:Feudalism in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
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139:The Haute Cour was a combination of
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430:. Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1932.
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323:The court in the 13th century
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423:. Rochester, New York: 1997.
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