At the time, the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem was governed by John of Brienne, the widower of the previous queen, Maria of Montferrat.
Frederick claimed the regency of the crusader kingdom, and removed Isabella’s father John from power; this meant there was neither a king or a patriarch residing in Acre.
[5] Frederick eventually came to the east a year later in 1228, but as he was still excommunicated, Gerold and the other ecclesiastical leaders of the kingdom were unable to cooperate with him.
Gerold was furious at the truce, which still allowed the Muslims to keep the Temple Mount (the headquarters of the Knights Templar until 1187), and it did not restore most of the church’s territory in and around Jerusalem.
Frederick and Gregory eventually made peace and the emperor convinced the pope to recall Gerold to Rome, so from 1233 to 1237 there was no patriarch residing in Acre.
[9] According to Bernard Hamilton, even though medieval Latin Christians in general were unwilling to share Jerusalem with Muslims, Gerold was still rather “bigoted” and thanks to his stubbornness “the recovery of the holy city remained largely a wasted opportunity.”[10] The canons of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Acre elected the former bishop of Acre, Jacques de Vitry, to replace Gerold.