Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/56

34 her youth, on some prince of sufficient power to restrain the ambitious projects of her relatives. With this object he cast his eyes on Raymond of Poitiers, youngest son of William, duke of Aquitaine, then residing at the court of Henry I. of England. As negotiator in this delicate mission, he selected Joubert, a knight of St. John. Joubert had by this time gained much celebrity both as a soldier and statesman, and was rising rapidly to the highest dignities in the gift of his Order. He acquitted himself of the mission in a manner which quite justified his selection. Raymond accepted the hand thus offered to him, and hastened to throw himself at the feet of his youthful fiancée, then still a mere child.

Roger of Apulia, to whom the idea of any such alliance was very distasteful, tried to prevent Raymond from landing in Syria. Joubert, however, who accompanied the gallant suitor, succeeded in evading the machinations of Roger, and under the disguise of merchants they passed unsuspected into the territories of Fulk, where they were warmly welcomed, and the marriage solemnized without delay. Thus, by the judicious services of a knight of St. John, the affairs of the principality of Antioch were once more brought into a satisfactory condition, and the danger of a civil embroilment, which at that moment would have been suicidal, was averted.

A service of a somewhat similar nature,but not so successful in its issue, was at the same time undertaken by Raymond du Puy himself. Alfonso I., king of Aragon and Navarre, had been so impressed with the gallantry and devotion displayed by the military Orders, who from their European commanderies were assisting him in his warfare against the Moors, that he actually nominated them joint heirs to his crown. Soon afterwards he met his death in battle. The grandees of his two kingdoms were, however, by no means prepared to carry into effect this disposition of the vacant thrones. Taking advantage of the absence of both the respective Masters in the East, and being at the same time at variance with each other, they selected separate successors for each of the two kingdoms, ignoring the claims of the Orders altogether. It was at once decided by both fraternities that Raymond, accompanied by some of his knights and by deputies named to act on behalf of the Templars, should proceed