Leo V of Armenia
| Levon V | |
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Armenian Catholic | |
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Leo V or Levon V (occasionally Levon VI;
Reign in Cilicia
In 1365, Pope Urban V selected Leo as the potential ruler of Cilician Armenia, but Constantine IV ascended the throne instead. After Constantine IV's murder, Catholicos Constantine V led the people in crowning Leo on September 14, 1374. However, his reign encountered internal opposition concerning the spiritual authority of the Pope.[3]
Leo ruled until April 13, 1375 when he was overthrown and captured following the fall of Sis by an invading army from the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. In July 1377, he met monk Jean Dardel, who accompanied him as counselor, ambassador, and historian-biographer. Leo was held hostage in Egypt with his wife and daughter for five years until ransomed by the King of Castile, John I. In October 1382, he embarked from Alexandria to Europe.[4]
Life in Europe
Leo arrived ill and poor to
.According to father Juan de Mariana, Leo left Castile for France after the death of his protector in 1390. Federico Bravo, however, states that he left after two years of ruling, and five years later, the Madrilenians were conceded the revocation of the lordship by John.
Leo V apparently went to Paris in June 1384, and received the Saint-Ouen castle and a sizable pension from King Charles VI of France.[7] He attempted to reconcile the French and the English (at the time fighting the Hundred Years' War) in order to set up a new Crusade[1] and obtain help to recover his lands, but the meeting he organized in 1386 between Boulogne and Calais were unsuccessful.[7] Leo continued his diplomatic mission to England in 1389 and in 1392.
Death
Leo V never recovered his throne, and died in Paris on November 29, 1393. His remains were laid to rest in the
Leo received lavish funerals and had a lavish tomb, located in the choir of the church. However, the convent was profanated during the
The effigy on the tombstone, by an anonymous artist, is of a high realism and quality, and it is thought that it was made while Leo was still alive.[7] Leo V is depicted holding a scepter (now broken) and gloves, symbol of great princes.
The tombstone bears the following inscription in Old French:[9]
Cy gist tres noble et excellent prince Leon de Lizingnen quint roy latin du royaume d'Armenie qui rendit l'ame a Dieu a Paris le XXIXe jour de novembre l'an de grace M.CCC.IIIIXX.XIII.
Priez pour luy.
English translation:[10]
Here lies the right noble and excellent Prince Leon de Lusignan V, Latin king of the kingdom of Armenia, who passed away in Paris on the 29th day of November of the year of Grace 1393. Pray for him.
He had one legitimate daughter, Marie de Lusignan (ca 1370 –
Upon his death the title of King of Armenia was claimed by Leo's distant cousin James I.
See also
- Armenia-France relations
Notes
- ^ a b c Mutafian, p.90
- ^ Full text of the cenotaph with translation hereunder.
- ^ Dadoyan 2013, pp. 190–191.
- ^ Dadoyan 2013, p. 191.
- ISBN 84-7491-630-5. The book, however, talks about Leon V of Armenia since Leo I of Armeniaisn't counted as a King by some authors.
- ^ "¿Sabías que Madrid fue durante 8 años un reino independiente?".
- ^ a b c Mutafian, Leon V
- ^ a b Basmadjian, K. J. (Nov–Dec 1920). "Cilicia: Her Past and Future". The New Armenia. 12 (11–12): 168–9.
- ^ "Tombeau du roi Léon V de Lusignan". acam-france.org (in French). Association Culturelle Arménienne de Marne-la-Vallée (France). Archived from the original on 23 January 2021.
- ^ Translation by Pierre-Yves Le Pogam, Tomb of Leon V de Lusignan
References
- Boase, T. S. R. (1978). The Cilician Kingdom of Armenia. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7073-0145-9.
- Mutafian, Claude (2001). Le Royaume Arménien de Cilicie. Paris: CNRS Editions. ISBN 2-271-05105-3.
- Claude Mutafian, Leon V of Lusignan, last king of Armenia (PDF) [dead link]
- Pierre-Yves Le Pogam, Tomb of Leon V de Lusignan (PDF) [dead link]
- Dadoyan, Seta B. (2013). The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: Armenian Realpolitik in the Islamic World and Diverging Paradigmscase of Cilicia Eleventh to Fourteenth Centuries. Vol. 2. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4128-4782-7.
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