ABSTRACT
Charles of Anjou purchased Maria of Antioch’s rights and claims to the Jerusalemite crown in 1277. Later that year he sent Roger of San Severino to Acre to inaugurate his regime. This article explores the possibility that the nobles of Frankish Syria were far more hostile to Angevin rule than has been understood previously, resenting the Angevins as meddlesome outsiders – foreigners, even. It takes as its starting point the Templar of Tyre’s vivid description of lavish celebrations at Acre and Tyre in 1286 following the ousting of the Angevins. After considering the challenges and merits of the Templar of Tyre as a source for local sentiment in Syria, it demonstrates how, through placement of non-locals in important positions and reliance on the Templars, Venetians, and the French garrison, the Angevins pushed the local nobles aside. Finally, as a point of comparison and connection, the article considers evidence of anti-foreign sentiment from the same period in the County of Tripoli, thereby lending further weight to the possibility that the Angevins may have been viewed negatively because they were outsiders.
