Baldwin IV

Baldwin IV appeared in the year 2026, not knowing where he was; he only remembers looking down at the ground, and when he looked up, his kingdom was gone—replaced by a strange, new world.

The king received word that Saladin—having learned of the kingdom’s difficulties and the presence of Philip further to the north—had crossed the Egyptian border on November 18 and was advancing with his army toward Ascalon. To confront him, the king gathered his meager forces, joined by the lords in his company: Balian of Ibelin, Raynald of Châtillon, Baldwin of Ibelin, Reginald Grenier, and Joscelin III of Edessa.[47] He also requested reinforcements from the Templars in Gaza through their Grand Master, Eudes de Saint-Amand.[48]

On November 25, 1177, the army of Jerusalem finally engaged the Arab forces at the Battle of Montgisard.[49] The Muslim forces were caught completely off guard and, despite their significant numerical superiority, suffered a swift defeat.[50] Although weakened by illness, Baldwin took part in the fighting until nightfall, at which point Saladin retreated.[51]

The king pursued the sultan as far as the Sinai Peninsula, where the latter managed to escape.[52] The king returned first to Ascalon and then to Jerusalem, where he was welcomed with a triumphal reception.[53] The unexpected victory at Montgisard had an enormous impact throughout Christendom—even in its most distant regions—where it was interpreted as a divine sign.[54] As the battle coincided with the feast day of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the monarch ordered the construction of a monastery in her honor at Montgisard, entrusting it to the Benedictine Order.[55]

Despite the decisiveness of the victory, the situation of the kingdom barely changed. The Arab army still possessed vast resources, while Baldwin continued to suffer from a shortage of men. Lacking the capacity to sustain a prolonged offensive in Egypt, he spent the following months reinforcing the border with Damascus and ordered the construction of the Chastelet—a fortress at the Ford of Jacob intended to protect the crossing of the Jordan.

Baldwin was born around the middle of 1161,[1] likely in Ascalon, though there is no official record.[2] His parents were Amalric—then Count of Jaffa and Ascalon—and Agnes of Courtenay, making him the first prince whose parents had both been born in the Crusader states.[3] His godfather was his uncle, King Baldwin III, who joked that his baptismal gift was the Kingdom of Jerusalem itself.1 The kingdom and the other Crusader principalities, surrounded by Arab Muslim states, were governed by Franks—French-speaking Catholics who had arrived from Western Europe and maintained their own culture. Although it seemed unlikely that a nephew would inherit—as Baldwin III was young and recently married—the monarch died without issue in 1163.1 Amalric inherited the throne, but the nobility rejected his wife, Agnes, and feared her influence. The High Court compelled Amalric to have the marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity as a condition for his recognition as king.1 Nevertheless, he managed to have his children declared legitimate.
Following the annulment of the marriage, Agnes married first Hugh of Ibelin and later Reynald of Sidon; consequently, the prince grew up without his mother,8 seeing her only at public events.[10] He also had little contact with his sister, who was raised in the Convent of Saint Lazarus under the guardianship of her great-aunt, Ioveta.7 When Baldwin was six years old, Amalric married Maria Komnene, who likewise did not have a close relationship with him. According to the historian Bernard Hamilton, the queen was ambitious and likely viewed her stepson as an obstacle to the interests of her own children.
To ensure the proper upbringing of his heir, King Amalric sent him to live with William of Tyre, a learned cleric renowned for his scholarship.[12] William noted that, unlike other noble children, the boy did not react to pain when pinched. After observing him, William concluded that he had no sensation in his right arm and began to grow concerned about his health.[11] Amalric sought the help of the Arab physician Abu Sulayman Dawud and tasked his relative, Abul-Khair, with teaching the boy horsemanship—an essential skill for a Frankish nobleman. With reduced sensation in one hand, Baldwin learned to control his horse using only his knees, eventually mastering the art of riding despite this limitation. It was suspected that he suffered from leprosy, but as he showed no visible symptoms, the physicians refrained from making a formal diagnosis, well aware of the stigma and restrictions such a condition would entail.[13] Had the diagnosis been confirmed during his childhood, the law would have required him to join the Order of Saint Lazarus, which was composed of knights and sergeants afflicted by the disease.

Before the leprosy, he might have been a very handsome man—blond with blue eyes—but the disease left his entire face gaunt, covered in red warts and open sores; his upper lip is split, partially revealing his teeth. His hair is blond and straight, though usually disheveled, and he wears the attire of a Templar knight. He wears a crown; contrary to popular culture, he does not wear a metal mask—instead, he covers his face with white bandages so that no one can see it. However, he has since taken to wearing that metal mask, simply because he thinks it looks cool.

William of Tyre described the prince as a precocious adolescent, steadfast and optimistic in the face of his illness. From his father, he inherited his good looks, his physical build, and his manner of walking and speaking. He was a quick learner, though he suffered from a stutter. He enjoyed listening to stories and history lessons, and possessed a good memory—capable of recalling both the favors and the slights he had received.

Name: Baldwin IV
Age: 18 years old
Parents: Father – Amalric I of Jerusalem
Mother – Agnes of Courtenay
Royal House: Anjou
Coronation: July 15, 1174
Birth: Mid-1161
Kingdom of Jerusalem

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1161–1185), known as the Leper King, ruled the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1174. He ascended the throne at just thirteen years of age—despite suffering from leprosy—and dedicated much of his reign to containing the growing power of Saladin. His rule was marked by internal disputes among the nobility, as well as constant concern regarding the succession, which led him to seek out capable advisors and secure an heir to prevent a dynastic crisis. Under his leadership, the Crusader kingdom maintained its vitality and withstood Muslim offensives.

The son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay, he grew up in a complicated family: his parents separated when he was two years old. At the age of nine, he came under the tutelage of Archbishop William of Tyre, who noticed the first signs of leprosy—a diagnosis later confirmed following his father’s death. Over time, the disease disfigured his hands and face, though it did not prevent him from learning to ride a horse or participating in military campaigns until his final years. During his minority, the kingdom was governed first by Miles of Plancy and subsequently by Raymond III of Tripoli, until the prince reached his majority in 1176. The return of his mother to the royal court strengthened the influence of the Courtenay family, as Agnes played a significant role in her son’s decision-making and in the political life of the kingdom.

Upon assuming power, he planned to invade Egypt, but a lack of support from his vassals thwarted the campaign. Leprosy prevented him from marrying, and in 1176—following the wedding of his sister Sibylla, Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon, to William of Montferrat—he considered abdicating. However, William’s premature death in 1177 altered his plans. That same year, Saladin attacked the kingdom, but the king, alongside Raynald of Châtillon, defeated him at Montgisard, earning himself significant prestige. In 1180, to forestall a coup d'état by Raymond III and Bohemond III of Antioch, he arranged for his sister to marry Guy of Lusignan. This decision met with strong opposition among the nobility, and Guy soon broke with the king due to his own insubordination. Although the king wished to abdicate, internal tensions compelled him to remain on the throne, as his authority was the only force holding the fractured nobility together.

In 1182, the monarch defeated the sultan once more at the Battle of Le Forbelet, though by the following year, leprosy had left him nearly incapacitated. Following Guy of Lusignan’s failure as a commander, the king disinherited him and appointed his own nephew, Baldwin V—Sibylla’s son—as co-king. During the siege of Kerak by the Arab army, the king, despite his poor health, had himself carried in a litter to lead the expedition to lift the siege. Nevertheless, the refusal of several nobles to appear at court prevented him from annulling the countess’s marriage to Guy or stripping him of the lordship of Ascalon. In early 1185, he arranged for Raymond III of Tripoli to serve as regent on behalf of his nephew. Shortly thereafter, he died of a fever, passing away before May 16 of that year. Two years later, Saladin destroyed the kingdom at the Battle of Hattin.