Raymond of Poitiers

Against the wishes of Alice, a marriage was arranged for Constance with Raymond, at the time staying in England, which he left only after the death of Henry I on 1 December 1135.

[3] The first years of their joint rule were spent in conflicts with the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus, who had come south partly to recover Cilicia from Leo of Armenia, and to reassert his rights over Antioch.

Manuel forced him to a humiliating visit to Constantinople, during which he renewed his oath of homage and promised to acknowledge a Greek patriarch.

In 1144, news of the fall of Edessa reached Europe, and Raymond of Poitiers had already sent a delegation including Hugh, Bishop of Jabala, to seek aid from Pope Eugene III.

Raymond sought to prevent Louis from going south to Jerusalem and to induce him to stay in Antioch and help in the conquest of Aleppo and Caesarea.

Most modern historians dismiss such rumours, however, pointing out the closeness of Raymond and his niece during her early childhood, and the effulgent Aquitainian manner of behaviour.

Raymond is described by William of Tyre (the main authority for his career) as "a lord of noble descent, of tall and elegant figure, the handsomest of the princes of the earth, a man of charming affability and conversation, open-handed and magnificent beyond measure"; pre-eminent in the use of arms and military experience; litteratorum, licet ipse illiteratus esset, cultor ("although he was himself illiterate, he was a cultivator of literature" – he caused the Chanson des chétifs to be composed); a regular churchman and faithful husband; but headstrong, irascible and unreasonable, with too great a passion for gambling (bk.