Crusader King

Hello all, I hope you are doing well! This week will be my last post because work will be picking up for me this week. With that being said, this gives me time to teach as well as find new wacky ideas to write about. For this topic, I recently received a message from a friend asking if I knew any books about Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. I told him that I did not know of any but one looked interesting, which in turn interested me more in Baldwin IV.

While I do not know much about the 1100s there was a major event that most people do know about or at least should know about. There were a series of religious wars from 1096 to 1291 known as the Crusades. There were roughly eight crusades with abysmal outcomes, but it did halt a Catholic dominance in the Middle East as well as a Muslim dominance in Europe. At one point, the crusading countries of Europe, which often consisted of England, France, the German states, and Italian states, created crusader states within the Middle East. These crusader states were called Outremer and had four political bodies known as the Principality of Antioch, counties of Edessa and Tripoli, and lastly the Kingdom of Jerusalem. All of these Outremer would be part of modern-day Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. This would be the main scene for clashes between Catholic-crusader forces as well as the Muslims of the surrounding lands. This brings us to Baldwin IV.

Baldwin, son of Almaric, was born in 1161. He would be diagnosed with leprosy at the age of seven, and become king of Jerusalem at age thirteen when Almaric suddenly passed away from dysentery. It was a big deal back in what some would consider the “ye olden days” if someone was diagnosed with leprosy. Obviously, it sealed their death to a painful one full of symptoms but, that would not be as bad. Leprosy was often seen as a social stigma in which one had committed a grievous sin and had to pay the price through this disease. It meant that nobody would want to talk to you, be near you, or even claim you were worth your salt. This is something that Baldwin would have to live with until he passed away in 1185. Despite this physical ailment, Baldwin still proved to be an effective leader loved by all.

When Baldwin’s father died, he was appointed under the care of Raymond of Tripoli. Once Baldwin was able to take the reigns of Jerusalem, he led campaigns against the Muslims of Egypt. At this time, one of the greatest military leaders of the 1100s as well as the Muslim world was alive, this being Saladin. Saladin was a sultan of Egypt and Syria who fought the European crusaders eventually securing a Muslim stronghold in the Middle East for centuries. Baldwin, however, proved to be a military thorn in Saladin’s side. He took, regained, and took land from the Muslims who hailed him as a hero to the Crusaders. At one point, at the Battle of Montgisard Baldwin felt that he was trapped but still turned around and defeated Saladin’s forces. Because of his military courage, he became a hero to not just the Crusaders but to the people of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This was when Baldwin was sixteen.

Unfortunately, Baldwin knew the circumstance of his own mortality. He attempted to secure an heir by marrying his sister to Guy de Lusignan. Baldwin the IV would pass away when he was twenty-four leaving his nephew, Baldwin V, as heir. He did not live long. Guy de Lusignan would become the next king of Jerusalem. He was not as enigmatic of a king as Baldwin, not as loved, and not as effective or courageous. Seeing an opportune moment, Saladin attacked Jerusalem and seized it for his forces. Despite living a very short life, Baldwin still held strong as a unique crusader king.

Thank you all for your support this summer. If you have any ideas for blogs of the future, please let me know! Also, I implore you all to look into the Children’s Crusade!