appointed judges to a trial by combat and defeating them (but this was of course impractical and was never done). The court was also responsible for minting coins. Most importantly, the court elected the king or his regent, or settled disputes between various claimants. Each new reign began with a meeting of the court, to formally recognize the new king and to swear an oath of homage to him. They also gave advice to the king and developed proper procedures for doing so, but in practise they could disagree with the king and override his wishes. Essentially, the king was only "first among equals" while sitting in the court, although he was recognized as its head (in the king's absence the court was presided over by his seneschal). Factions within the court There tended to be two factions within the court, a so-called "court party," consisting of the royal family, the Patriarch, and their supporters, and the "nobles' party," consisting of the higher nobility and the military orders. Disputes between the two factions were frequent. There was a major dispute during the co-reign of Melisende and her son Baldwin III, when Melisende refused to give up the crown after Baldwin came of age. Baldwin eventually gained the support of the nobility and was recognized as sole king. A second major dispute arose during the regency of Raymond III of Tripoli for the child-king Baldwin V, when the relative newcomer Guy of Lusignan was chosen by the court party over more experienced nobles. This decision would eventually lead to increased conflict with the Muslims and the fall of Jerusalem itself in 1187. The Assise sur la ligece Perhaps the most important piece of legislation passed by the court was Amalric I's Assise sur la ligece. The Assise formally prohibited the illegal confiscation of fiefs and required all of the king's vassals to ally against any lord who did so. Such a lord would not be given a trial, but would instead be stripped of his land or exiled. It also made all nobles direct vassals of the king, eliminating the previous distinction between higher and lesser nobles. This distinction still existed in reality, and although lesser nobles now had an equal voice in the court, the more powerful barons refused to be tried by lesser lords who were not their peers. The higher nobles were still able to judge the less