Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
Baldwin IV, called the Leper or the Saint (Jerusalem, 1161 – March 16, 1185), son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and of His first wife Agnes de Courtenay, was King of Jerusalem from July 15, 1174 until his death in 1185.
Biography
Childhood and minorities
Baudouin spent his childhood and youth at his father's court in Jerusalem, with little contact with his mother, Agnes of Courtenay, Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon (later Lady of Sidon), from whom his father had seen forced to divorce. Baldwin IV was educated by the historian William of Tire (later to be Archbishop of Tire and Chancellor of the kingdom), who discovered that the boy suffered from leprosy: the boy and his friends were playing one day at pricking each other's arms, but Baldwin did not feel pain when he was pricked, Guillermo recognized the fact immediately as a sign of leprosy.
His father died in 1174 and the boy ascended the throne at the age of thirteen. During his minority, the kingdom was ruled by two successive regents, first Miles of Plancy, albeit unofficially, and then by Raymond III of Tripoli. As a leper, Baldwin was not expected to reign for many years or to have an heir, so courtiers and lords sought to influence Baldwin's heirs: his sister Princess Sibila and his half-sister Princess Isabel.
Raymond of Tripoli, as regent, married Sibylla to William of Monferrat in the autumn of 1176, and they were given the titles of Counts of Jaffa and Ascalon. But he died the following year, leaving Sibila pregnant with the future Baldwin V of Jerusalem.
That year, Felipe de Flandes, the king's first cousin and his closest relative on the paternal side, arrived as a crusader. As such, he attempted to rule above the regent's authority, but was denied this by the Haute Cour. Philip abandoned the kingdom and supported the principality of Antioch.
Baudouin's government
That same year, Baldwin came of age. He had few male relatives to delegate to. Agnes gained influence and managed to have her brother Joscelin III of Edessa appointed seneschal.
In 1176 Raynald of Chatillon had been released from captivity in Aleppo, so Baldwin made him lord of Kerak, a fortress on the Dead Sea.
In 1177, Baldwin allowed his stepmother, the widowed queen Maria Komnenos, to marry Balian of Ibelin. It was a dangerous alliance, because with the support of María, the ambitious Ibelín family would try to marry the princesses Sibila and Isabel. During that year, Baldwin won a great victory with Reinaldo de Châtillon at the head of the army of Jerusalem, Saladin invaded the fields of the kingdom, thinking he was attacking a country without defenders. But the young King Baudouin IV gathered all his remaining knights and took the True Cross. He first took refuge in Ascalon with a hastily raised army and only 350 knights among his ranks, and then the Muslims were surprised in the rear, which led to his defeat. Baldwin had saved the kingdom from him with the cunning and skill of a great ruler, for which he was triumphantly received in Jerusalem. It was the last major battle won by the Crusaders in the Holy Land before the capitulation of Jerusalem, remembered as the Battle of Montgisard.
In 1179 the Battle of Jacobo's Ford was fought, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and the Knights Templar began the construction of the castle of Chastellet at Jacobo's Ford (the size that was to be established for the castle was rival to that of the Krak of the Knights) the only crossing point of the Jordan River and the main highway between the Empire of Saladin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The castle was only a day's march from Damascus, Saladin's capital, and this seriously undermined his authority so he could not allow the existence of an enemy fortress so close to his capital, so the sultan decided to attack before the completion of the fortress catching the crusaders practically defenseless. Balduino, seeing his castle on fire, backed down. Saladin dismantled the castle, but not before a "plague" devastate his army by killing ten of his commanders.
In the summer of 1180, Baldwin IV married Sibila to Guy of Lusignan, brother of Constable Amalric of Lusignan. Guido had allied himself with Reinaldo, who was now taking advantage of his position to attack the trade caravans between Egypt and Damascus. After Saladin responded to these attacks, Baldwin made Guido regent of the kingdom.
But in 1183, Baldwin was dissatisfied with Guido's actions as regent, and ended up deposing him, so he retired to Ascalon with his wife, Princess Sibylla.
Also during that year he prevented the conquest of Al Kerak, fortress of Reinaldo de Châtillon, Lord of Oultrejordain, located 124 kilometers south of Amman at the hands of Saladin, because Reinaldo did not stop looting caravans of Muslim merchants who They passed through their territories on the occasion of the peace pact between the Crusaders and the Saracens. The final straw was when he organized an expedition to the Red Sea. He captured the city of Eilat, gaining a base of operations against Islam's holiest city, Mecca. Saladin, the leader of the Muslim forces, could not tolerate this and advanced against Reinaldo's fortress. King Baldwin immediately marched the army from Jerusalem, accompanied by his regent, Raymond III of Tripoli, arriving as Saladin's forces continued to fight the heavy fortifications. Knowing that they lacked troops for a battle, and that they ran the risk of being crushed between the Crusader army and the walls of Kerak, the sultan decided to flee with his army.
The king of Jerusalem had once again outwitted his Muslim rivals, despite suffering from leprosy. Although the fate of the crusaders was tied to the life of the king, this was a decisive show of force.
Illness and death
Although it does not seem that he had animosity towards his sister, in the first months of 1184, Baldwin tried to have the marriage between Sibila and Guido annulled. The couple resisted, so Balduino decided to appoint his nephew as his successor, with the support of Inés, Raymond and many men, thus excluding Sibila from the succession. Rayford would act as the boy's guardian.
The years and illness wreaked havoc on his physical condition: barely 20 years old, the King had serious physical scars, his face was disfigured and it was said that he hid it using a mask, he was practically blind and with his hands and mutilated legs. Baldwin died in 1185, shortly after his mother Agnes. Although he had suffered all his life from the effects of leprosy, he was able to stay on the throne for much longer than expected. He succeeded Baldwin V, as had been decided, with Raymond of Tripoli as regent.
Valuation and legacy
In general, diseases in the Middle Ages and even earlier are usually attributed to the punishment of a higher power. For the different religions that had relations or direct interest with Jerusalem, it was highly questionable that their main ruler suffered from leprosy, a disease that it is detailed "by the most terrible of curses". Guillermo de Tiro explains that day by day his condition worsened; his limbs and face were especially attacked, so that his faithful followers were moved with compassion when they looked at him.
Baldwin IV had a weak image before his enemies, adversaries and his own kingdom (even after his victories against Saladin), but over time, without ceasing to see his precarious health situation (it is said that by 1184 Baldwin entered the last phase of leprosy, where his feet and legs are flaccid and his eyes are very dull), they recognize that Balduino is a subject who “does not lack courage nor common sense”.
He died when he was just twenty-four years old, and for all he did in those few years despite his tormenting illness, his incapacity, and his final blindness, he earned the respect of those who knew his story, and even his enemy Saladin reached out to him. to admire and respect. Therefore not only the Franks bowed to his memory, but also his enemies, the Arabs. The Imam of Isapahan wrote: "That young leper made his authority respected in the manner of great princes like David or Solomon." His stoic and painful figure, perhaps the noblest of the crusades, a symbol of heroism on the border of holiness, has been the victim of unjust historical oblivion.
Baudouin in fiction
In the film Kingdom of Heaven (2005, directed by Ridley Scott), Edward Norton plays Baldwin. Although it contains numerous fictional elements, the figure of the king plausibly conveys his physical courage and dedication to his kingdom. He also wears a metallic mask in the film to hide the effects of leprosy on his face.
In the game "Blasphemous#34;, the main character of the story wears a mask similar to those worn by the inhabitants of Jerusalem to honor the figure of Baldwin.
In the video game "Darkest Dungeon", developed by "Red Hook Studios", we find a playable character known as "The Leper", totally inspired by the figure and history of Baudouin IV.
Fonts
- Guillermo de Tiro, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey, trad., New York, Columbia University Press, 1943.
- Steven Runciman, History of the Crusades, II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, Madrid, Alliance, 1978.
- Bernard Hamilton, "Women in the Crusader States: The Queens of Jerusalem", in Medieval Womened. Derek Baker, Ecclesiatical History Society, 1978.
- Pierre Aubé: Baudouin IV de Jérusalem. Le roi lépreux, Paris, 1983, rééd., 1996.
- Bernard Hamilton, The Leper King and his Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of JerusalemCambridge University Press, 2000.
- René Grousset, "L' Epopée des croisades" in, "Towards the Drama of the Crusades", French Academy, 1996.