Hugh Grenier

Hugh Grenier (bef. 1139 – 1168/74) was the Lord of Caesarea from 1149/54 until his death. He was the younger son of Walter I Grenier and his wife, Julianne. His older brother, Eustace (II), was prevented by leprosy from inheriting the lordship and it passed to Hugh.

The date of Walter I's death and Hugh's accession is unknown. Walter was still alive and ruling in 1149, and Hugh's lordship is first attested by a royal charter of 1154. Unlike his father, Hugh had a close relationship with the Kings of Jerusalem, but like his father he was a patron of the Order of the Hospital.

Hugh was a regular attendant at the royal court under Baldwin III (1143–63), Melisende (regent, 1153–61) and Amalric I (1163–74): he signed as a witness to nine acts of each of the two kings and one of Melisende's. Hugh also witnessed several aristocratic charters: one of Amalric's from 1155, while Amalric was still just Count of Jaffa; another of Hugh of Ibelin from the same year; and one of Walter of Saint-Omer, Prince of Galilee, from 1168.

Hugh participated in two royal expeditions: the siege of Blahasent, near Sidon, and Amalric's invasion of Egypt. According to William of Tyre, he was "a young man of admirable wisdom and discretion far beyond his years" when Amalric sent him to negotiate with the Egyptians in 1167. At the court of the Fatimid caliph, al-'Āḍid, Hugh demanded to shake the caliph's ungloved hand to ratify the treaty signed by the two, a demand which, though met, shocked the caliph's courtiers. William of Tyre's description of the caliphal palace in Cairo is based on the description he received from Hugh.

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