Historical Characters appearing in the series so far:-
Aaron ben Asher - Jewish sage, who annotated the sacred Torah known as the Keter Aram Sola/ the Aleppo Codex
Abd-al-Malik - the last King of Zaragoza, grandfather of my invented character Malik
Aliénor of Aquitaine/ Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine and Queen of France
Abraham ben Isaac/ Raavad II - Jewish leader in Narbonne
Alphonse, nicknamed ‘Jourdain’/ ‘Jordan’, Comte de Toulouse, father of Raymond, killed by poison in Caesarea in 1148
Alphonso, King of Castile, Emperor of Spain - died in 1144 leaving his estate to the Templars
Amaury - younger son of Mélisende
Archbishop of Narbonne, Pierre d’Anduze - brother of Ermengarda’s husband
Archbishop Suger - royal prelate in Paris, adviser to King Louis
Baudouin, King of Jerusalem - Mélisende’s son
Bèatriz - the future Comtesssa de Dia/Comtesse de Die and famous troubairitz
Bernard de Clairvaux - advisor to Louis, abbot leading and reforming the Cistercian order
Bernard d’Anduze - Ermengarda’s titular husband, brother of the Archbishop of Narbonne
Bernard de Tremelay, Templar Grand Master 1151
Chirkhouh - Nur ad-Din’s general, killed Prince Raymond of Antioch
Constance - widow of the Prince of Antioch, Mélisende’s niece
Conrad - Holy Roman Emperor, ruler of the Germanic peoples
Dolca - Etiennette’s sister, heir to Provence, grandmother to the young Comte, Ramon Berenguer II
Ermengarda/Ermengarde - Viscomtesse of Narbonne
Etiennette/Stéphania - widowed Lady of Les Baux-de-Provence
Everard des Barres, Grand Master of the Templars during the Second Crusade
Foulques, King of Jerusalem by marriage to Mélisende - died 1146
Geoffroi de Rançon (the father), Commander of Aliénor’s Guard 1148
Geoffroi de Rançon (the son) - possibly more than one
Guilhelm de Poitiers - married Bèatriz
Henri d’Anjou, King of England - married Aliénor (2nd husband)
Hodierne, Comtesse de Tripoli - sister of Mélisende, Queen of Jerusalem
Hugues des Baux - Lord of Les-Baux-de-Provence, son of Etiennette
Isoard, Comte de Die/Dia - Bèatriz’ father (very little known about Bèatriz)
Ismat ad-Dhin - Nur ad-Din’s wife, Unur’s daughter
Joscelyn, Comte d’Edessa - deserted and lost the city to Muslim forces, starting the Second Crusade
Jarl Rognvaldr Kali Kolsson - Prince of Orkney
Louis VII - King of France, married to Aliénor
de Maurienne, Comte - uncle and adviser to Louis VII
Maimonides - Jewish philosopher
Manuel Komnenos/Comnenus - Emperor of Byzantium
Manassés - Constable of Jerusalem
Mélisende - Queen of Jerusalem
Mujir ad-Din - ruler of Damascus, 1151
Nur ad-Din - Muslim Atabeg (ruler and general), uncle of Saladin
Pope Eugene III
Petronilla - Queen of Aragon, married to Ramon Berenguer IV
Porcelet family - (First names are my invention)
Pons family - the rulers of Les-Baux-de-Provence
Ramon Trencavel - brother to Roger and Comte de Carcassonne on his brother’s death in 1150
Ramon Berenguer IV -‘El Sant’, Comte de Barcelona, Prince of Aragon and Regent of Provence
Ramon Berenguer II - Comte de Provence, nephew to ‘El Sant’
Raymond V - Comte de Toulouse
Raymond Comte de Tripoli, Hodierne’s husband and relation of Toulouse, killed by Assassins in 1152
Raymon/Ramon/Raymond, Prince of Antioch - Aliénor’s uncle and rumoured lover, killed by Saracen troops in 1148
Raymond and Stephanie (Etiennette) of Les Baux - rulers in Provence
Raymond de Puy - Hospitalers’ Grand Master 1151
Roger Trencavel, Comte de Carcassonne - died in 1150
Saint Paul/ Saul of Tarsus - famously converted on the road to Damascus
Salah ad-Din/Saladin - Muslim leader during the Third Crusade
Sicard de Llautrec - ally of Toulouse
Unur - Muslim general, defended Damascus in the Second Crusade
Zengi/Imad ad-Din Zengi - father of Nur ad-Din, murdered in 1146
The Hashashins/Assassins - the Isma’ili Muslim sect
the troubadours - Jaufre Rudel, Marcabru, Cercamon, Peire Rogier from the Auvergne, Raimbaut d’Aurenja/Raymon of Aurenja, Guiraut de Bornelh
Persian poets - Omar Khayyam, Sanai
Medical authorities - Galen, Nicolaus of Salerno, Trota, Hildegard von Bingen
In charge of the Templar Commandery at Douzens - Peter Radels, Master; Isarn of Molaria and Bernard of Roquefort, joint
Commander