The Armenian crown handed to Lusignan, miniature

This French miniature comes from the French manuscript collection “The Romance of Melusine”, created in 1401–1405 and kept in Paris at the National Library of France. It depicts the founding of the Lusignan dynasty in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia when, according to the source, Guy de Lusignan ascended the throne in 1343 as King of Armenia Constantine III.

A young man in a blue robe steps ashore from a ship along a plank, where two clergymen offer him a crown. On the right is a castle with the French inscription “Armenia”, from whose tower window a crowned woman looks out. Above, a French inscription reads: “How Guion de Lusignan became King of Armenia”.

Constantine III (1342–1344) founded the Armenian branch of the French noble house of Lusignan, which ruled Cilicia until the fall of the kingdom in 1375. He was the son of Amaury of Tyre, regent of Cyprus, and of Zabel, daughter of the Hetumid king Levon III.