Robert of Nantes, Patriarch of Jerusalem (1240-1254)

Robert of Nantes was Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from 1240 to 1254, and, according to Bernard Hamilton, was “the most important single person” in the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem after the Battle of Forbie in 1244. Despite this importance, he was a rather obscure figure: almost nothing is known about him before he became bishop of Nantes in 1236. How did he rise to such a prominent position in Jerusalem?

Robert of Nantes, Patriarch of Jerusalem (1240–1254) follows Robert from his probable...