Sibylla of Anjou
| Sibylla of Anjou | |
|---|---|
| Countess consort of Flanders | |
 |
|
| Born | c. 1112 |
| Died | 1165 (aged c. 53) Abbey of Sts. Mary and Martha, Bethany (now al-Eizariya, West Bank) |
| Burial | Abbey of St Lazarus |
| Spouse |
William Clito, Count of Flanders m. 1123; ann. 1124 Thierry, Count of Flanders m. 1139; wid. 1165 |
| Issue |
Philip, Count of Flanders Matthew, Count of Boulogne Margaret I, Countess of Flanders Gertrude, Countess of Savoy Matilda, Abbess of Fontevrault Peter, Bishop of Cambrai |
| House | House of Anjou |
| Father | Fulk of Jerusalem |
| Mother | Ermengarde of Maine |
Sibylla of Anjou (c. 1112–1165) was a countess consort of Flanders. She was the daughter of Fulk V of Anjou and Ermengarde of Maine, and wife of William Clito and Thierry, Count of Flanders. She was the regent of Flanders in 1147-1149.
In 1123 Sibylla married William Clito, son of the Norman Robert Curthose and future Count of Flanders. Sibylla brought the County of Maine to this marriage, which was annulled in 1124 on grounds of consanguinity. The annulment was made by Pope Honorius II upon request from Henry I of England, William's uncle; Fulk opposed it and did not consent until Honorius excommunicated him and placed an interdict over Anjou. Sibylla then accompanied her widower father to the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, where he married Melisende, the heiress of the kingdom, and became king himself in 1131. In 1139 she married Thierry, Count of Flanders, who had arrived on his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
She returned to Flanders with her new husband, and during his absence on the Second Crusade the pregnant Sibylla acted as regent of the county. Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut took the opportunity to attack Flanders, but Sibylla led a counter-attack and pillaged Hainaut. In response Baldwin ravaged Artois. The archbishop of Reims intervened and a truce was signed, but Thierry took vengeance on Baldwin when he returned in 1149.
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