The Women who Bought Back the Holy Land: A Study of Latin Motives for Purchasing Property in Mamluk Jerusalem

After the fall of the Crusader States, six laywomen from Europe played a crucial role in regaining a Latin presence in the fourteenth-century Levant: Sancia, Margherita, Sofia, Albira, Clelia, and Joanna. By negotiating with the Egyptian sultans and purchasing land in Jerusalem, they helped establish a convent of Franciscan friars and a pilgrim hospice in the Holy City. Through an examination of papal documents and Mamluk purchase deeds, many of which remain unedited, this article considers the motives of these women and why they, rather than non-Franciscan men, played such a notable role in this reacquisition of land. While some patronesses were drawn to Jerusalem for pious pursuits, others had interests in making a profit or promoting family connections and personal prestige. No single motive unites all six efforts, but the Franciscan friars’ aversion to other Latin men sharing their custodial enterprise may have facilitated this female-directed purchase of property.