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Baldwin IV (1161–1185), known as the Leper King, was the king of Jerusalem from 1174 until his death in 1185. He was admired by his contemporaries and later historians for his dedication to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the face of his debilitating leprosy. Choosing competent advisers, Baldwin ruled a thriving crusader state and succeeded in protecting it from the Muslim ruler Saladin.
Baldwin's parents, King Amalric and Agnes of Courtenay, separated when Baldwin was two. At nine years old, he was sent to be educated bz Archbishop William of Tyre. William noticed preliminary symptoms of leprosy, but Baldwin was only diagnosed after he succeeded his father as king. Thereafter, his hands and face became increasingly disfigured. He mastered horse riding despite gradually losing sensation in his extremities and was able to fight in battles until his last years. Miles of Plancy ruled the kingdom in Baldwin's name until his murder, and Count Raymond III of Tripoli took over until the king reached the age of majority in 1176. Baldwin's mother then returned to court, and the two became close. As soon as he assumed government, Baldwin planned an invasion of Egypt, which fell through because of his vassals' uncooperativeness. Leprosy prevented Baldwin from marrying; he hoped to abdicate when his older sister, Sibylla, married William of Montferrat in 1176, but William declined and died the next year.
Saladin attacked Baldwin's kingdom in 1177, but the king and the nobleman Raynald of Châtillon repelled him at Montgisard, earning Baldwin fame. In 1180, to forestall a coup by Count Raymond III of Tripoli and Prince Bohemond III of Antioch, Baldwin had Sibylla marry Guy of Lusignan. Guy was opposed by a large fraction of the nobility, and soon permanently impaired his relationship with Baldwin through his insubordination. Although he wished to abdicate, the internal discord that followed forced Baldwin to remain on the throne, as only he was capable of uniting the quarreling nobility. Baldwin again repelled Saladin in 1182 at the Battle of Le Forbelet, but leprosy rendered him blind and unable to walk or use his hands in 1183. After Guy's failure as a commander and regent, Baldwin disinherited him and had Sibylla's son, Baldwin V, crowned co-king before having himself taken in a litter to lift Saladin's Siege of Kerak. Because of their refusal to attend court, Baldwin failed to have Sibylla's marriage to Guy annulled and Guy's fief of Ascalon confiscated. In 1184, he repelled Saladin from Kerak again. In early 1185, he arranged for Raymond to rule as regent for Sibylla's son, dying before 16 May 1185.
ChildhoodEdit
Baldwin was born in mid-1161. His parents were Amalric, then the count of Jaffa and Ascalon, and Agnes of Courtenay. Baldwin's godfather was his paternal uncle, King Baldwin III, who joked that his christening present was the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn The kingdom and other crusader principalities, though surrounded by Arab Muslim states, were ruled by Franks, French-speaking Catholics who had arrived in the Levant from Western Europe and remained Western in culture.Template:Sfn The king was young and recently married, making a nephew's accession seem unlikely; yet Baldwin III died childless in 1163.Template:Sfn Amalric was his heir, but the nobles of the kingdom were strongly opposed to Amalric's wife, Agnes; historian Bernard Hamilton suggests that they were likely threatened by the prospect of her increased influence.Template:Sfn The High Court forced Amalric to agree to an annulment of his marriage on the grounds of consanguinity in order to be accepted as king.Template:Sfn Amalric succeeded in having his and Agnes's children, Sibylla and Baldwin, declared legitimate despite the annulment.Template:Sfn
As Agnes remarried soon after the annulment (firstly to Hugh of Ibelin and then to Reynald of Sidon), Baldwin grew up without a mother;Template:Sfn Hamilton surmises that she only saw Baldwin on public occasions. He also seldom saw his sister, Sibylla, who was raised in the Convent of Saint Lazarus by their grandaunt Ioveta.Template:Sfn At the age of six, Baldwin gained a stepmother, Maria Komnene, with whom he was not close; Queen Maria was an ambitious woman who, in Hamilton's opinion, likely saw Baldwin as an obstacle to her progeny.Template:Sfn
To ensure that his son and heir apparent received a good education, King Amalric sent the 9-year-old Baldwin to live with William of Tyre, a sophisticated and well-traveled cleric famed for his learning. William noticed that, unlike other noble children in the playground, Baldwin did not cry when pinched by his peers. After multiple reports of this, William realized that Baldwin could not feel pain in his right arm and grew worried about the boy's health.Template:Sfn The king hired the Arab physician Abu Sulayman Dawud to treat Baldwin, and Abul'Khair, Abu Sulayman's brother, to teach him horse riding, an essential skill for a Frankish nobleman. Having sensation in only one hand, Baldwin learned to control his horse using solely his knees, and he mastered riding despite this handicap. It was suspected that Baldwin had leprosy, but since there were no visible symptoms yet, the physicians hesitated to diagnose him because of the stigma and limitations the boy would face;Template:Sfn had such a diagnosis been made when he was a child, Baldwin might have been required by law to enter the Order of St Lazarus, a military order composed of affected knights and serjeants.Template:Sfn
As an adolescent, Baldwin was precocious, determined, and optimistic in the face of his illness. He took after his father in good looks, body shape, and manner of walking and expressing himself. Baldwin was a quick learner and enjoyed talking, but he stuttered. He enjoyed listening to stories and history lessons. His tutor, William, remarked on Baldwin's excellent memory, stating that he forgot neither kindness nor slights done to him by others.Template:Sfn
When physicians informed him that Baldwin could develop leprosy, Amalric began viewing Sibylla as a potential monarch instead of Baldwin. The king attempted to have Sibylla marry the French Count Stephen I of Sancerre, who would rule the kingdom as regent on Baldwin's behalf if the king died early, but the match fell through.Template:Sfn In June 1174, Amalric came down with dysentery, and died on 11 July 1174, leaving an underage heir as he had feared might happen.Template:Sfn
AccessionEdit
Upon Amalric's death, High Court of Jerusalem convened to discuss the kingdom's succession; in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, each monarch was elected by the High Court, a feudal council of the king or queen's vassals responsible for decision making.Template:Sfn Though Baldwin was not diagnosed, Hamilton believed the High Court must have been aware of the royal physicians' suspicions that Baldwin had contracted leprosy.Template:Sfn Despite concerns about his health, there was no viable alternative to succeed Amalric. Baldwin was the king's only son, and Amalric's second marriage had produced two daughters, of which only Isabella survived infancy.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Female succession was expressly allowed, but Sibylla was an unmarried adolescent (which meant that she would not have a king to rule alongside her), and Isabella was only two years old.Template:Sfn The male candidates, Amalric's cousins Prince Bohemond III of Antioch, Baldwin of Antioch, and Count Raymond III of Tripoli, were politically unsuitable: Bohemond was bound to distant Antioch, Baldwin was in the service of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and Raymond, despite being the closest male relative, was virtually a stranger to the barons after nine years spent in Muslim captivity.Template:Sfn
After three days of deliberation,Template:Sfn Baldwin IV was unanimously chosen, with the expectation that a husband would be found for Sibylla to succeed him if he proved to be affected.Template:Sfn The young king's coronation by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Amalric of Nesle, took place immediately in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.Template:Sfn Although medieval rulers were typically crowned on Sundays, 15 July 1174 was chosen for Baldwin's coronation instead as it was the 75th anniversary of the First Crusade's seizure of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn
RegencyEdit
Until he reached the age of majority (which was 15 in the Kingdom of Jerusalem), Baldwin needed a bailiff, or regent, to rule in his name.Template:Sfn The government was initially assumed by the Kingdom's seneschal, a powerful officer responsible for overseeing the High Court, Miles of Plancy.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Shortly thereafter, Count Raymond III of Tripoli, taking advantage of Miles's unpopularity, arrived in Jerusalem and attempted to claim the regency as the king's closest kinsman.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, Miles postponed Raymond's claim, stating that only a plenary session of the High Court could hear it.Template:Sfn Raymond returned to Tripoli,Template:Sfn and Miles was murdered in October of 1174 while trying to extend his hold on the government.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn With the unanimous support of the bishops and most of the kingdom's noblemen,Template:Sfn Raymond was crowned regent; this arrangement was made after two days of debate, most likely thanks to various other aristocrats distrusting him.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Although Raymond appointed William of Tyre as chancellor, an officer responsible for drawing up deeds and charters, no new seneschal was appointed for two years. As a result of this, the young and sickly king presided over burdensome High Court meetings when Raymond was away on military duties or in Tripoli despite his minority.Template:Sfn
When Raymond became regent, Baldwin's mother, Agnes, was allowed to returned to court. Although she is frequently accused by historians of exploiting her son's condition for self-gain, Hamilton notes that contemporary sources, including Baldwin's tutor, William of Tyre, are strongly biased against her.Template:Sfn Hamilton believes that Baldwin had no memories of his mother since he grew up without her since the age of two, but that she became devotedly kind to him and he developed a strong attachment to her. Therefore, according to Hamilton, Baldwin would have undoubtedly embraced the return of his mother, who would be able to take charge of the household effectively and felt genuinely concerned for her son's health.Template:Sfn
During the regency, it was confirmed that the king was affected by leprosy.Template:Sfn It is unknown who he caught it from, but medical historian Piers Mitchell concludes that it must have been someone with whom Baldwin had spent a lot of time at a young age (such as a family member, a wet nurse, or another servant), and who did not exhibit easily visible symptoms.Template:Sfn Puberty likely accelerated the development of the lepromatous form of Baldwin's illness, and his condition worsened rapidly. Most severely affected were his extremities and face, which made his subjects feel piteous when they approached him.Template:Sfn Yet, contrary to the common practice,Template:Sfn and to the surprise of Muslim observers, Baldwin was never segregated from the other noblemen.Template:Sfn As a leper, Baldwin could not marry or expect to have children;Template:Sfn it thus became a priority to arrange a marriage for Baldwin's sister and heir presumptive, Sibylla. Raymond's choice was William of Montferrat, son of Margrave William V of Montferrat in Piedmont, Italy, and cousin of both the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and King Louis VII of France.Template:Sfn
Personal ruleEdit
Planned offensiveEdit
On the second anniversary of his coronation, 15 July 1176, Baldwin reached the age of majority;Template:Sfn Raymond's regency lapsed, and he promptly returned to Tripoli.Template:Sfn At the suggestion of his mother, the king appointed his maternal uncle, Joscelin of Courtenay, who was recently released from Muslim captivity, to the office of seneschal and arranged for him to marry a rich heiress, Agnes of Milly.Template:Sfn Baldwin was able to trust Joscelin as he was his closest kinsman who had no claim to the throne. This change in government signaled a new Frankish approach to the Egyptian ruler Saladin, who had encircled the crusader states during Raymond's regency by conquering Muslim principalities in Syria.Template:Sfn Baldwin did not ratify Raymond's peace treaty with Saladin,Template:Sfn firmly agreeing with Joscelin that the sultan's power needed to be curbed.Template:Sfn
As soon as he took over the government, Baldwin began planning a full-scale attack on Egypt with his advisers.Template:Sfn The king took advantage of Saladin's campaign in Aleppo to lead a raid around Damascus.Template:Sfn This was his first experience of warfare, and despite having sensation in only one hand, he refused to delegate his military duties and took part in fighting.Template:Sfn He and his advisers decided to intervene in Saladin's war against the Order of Assassins, and on 1 August 1176, Baldwin and Raymond led the armies of Jerusalem and Tripoli, respectively, in a raid of the Beqaa Valley (modern-day Lebanon). They successfully defeated the garrison of Damascus, forcing Saladin to abandon his campaign.Template:Sfn
William of Montferrat married Baldwin's sister Sibylla in November of 1176 and was made count of Jaffa and Ascalon, but the nobles no longer trusted his cousin Emperor Frederick's ability to aid the kingdom. William of Tyre reported that William of Montferrat's marriage was "unwelcome to and openly opposed by certain of those men by whose advice he had been summoned."Template:Sfn According to Sicard of Cremona, Baldwin offered to resign the throne to William; if he did, William declined because he knew he lacked the support of the nobility.Template:Sfn
To carry out his attacks on Egypt, Baldwin needed naval support; the king wished to reach out to the Byzantine Empire for help, hoping to revive the protectorate created by his father in 1171. He thus sent Raynald of Châtillon to lead an embassy to Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, the latter's stepson-in-law, in Constantinople in the winter of 1176–77.Template:Sfn Manuel agreed to take part in the invasion in return for the establishment of Byzantine protectorate over the kingdom and restoration of the Orthodox patriarch, Leontius II, in Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Raynald's mission was successful, and Baldwin consented to his marriage with the lady of Transjordan, Stephanie of Milly.Template:Sfn
In April 1177, William of Monferrat fell sick with malaria in Ascalon,Template:Sfn and when Baldwin visited him, he became gravely ill too. William died two months later in June, leaving Sibylla pregnant and Baldwin incapacitated without a deputy ahead of a major war offensive; the king entrusted the government and military command to Raynald, snubbing the count of Tripoli.Template:Sfn Baldwin's first cousin, Count Philip I of Flanders, arrived in the East in September.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He brought to Baldwin financial aid from another cousin, King Henry II of England;Template:Sfn Henry was invested because he and Baldwin both belonged to the Angevin family.Template:Sfn Still in sickbed in Ascalon, the king had himself taken back to Jerusalem in a litter and convened a general council, on the advice of which he offered regency to Philip. Baldwin said, "He should have full jurisdiction, both inside and outside the kingdom, over all men, both small and great, in time of peace and during war; and he should have complete control over the treasury and the revenues of the kingdom."Template:Sfn Philip declined, saying that he had "not come to acquire power of any kind," and Raynald retained his post.Template:Sfn
The Byzantines sent a war fleet in preparation of the invasion of Egypt,Template:Sfn but to Baldwin's regret, they withdrew because of the uncooperativeness of Philip of Flanders, Bohemond of Antioch, Raymond of Tripoli, and the grand master of the Knights Hospitaller, Roger de Moulins.Template:Sfn As a result, Saladin's power remained unchecked, and the Byzantine alliance collapsed.Template:Sfn Despite the hostility of the Latin patriarch, Amalric of Nesle, Baldwin continued to court the Greek patriarch, Leontius, in hopes that the Byzantines would remain committed to his kingdom.Template:Sfn
Initial conflicts with SaladinEdit
Philip left the Kingdom of Jerusalem with his troops in late October 1177 to help Raymond of Tripoli attack the Muslim-held city of Hama.Template:Sfn With the Frankish army in northern Syria, Saladin seized the opportunity to invade Baldwin's kingdom on 18 November. Though still recovering from malaria, Baldwin and the nobleman Raynald of Châtillon rode to meet the sultan, while the Knights Templar hurried to defend Gaza.Template:Sfn The king took his humble host to Ascalon, where in desperation he issued an arrière-ban, summoning all able-bodied men to join the army and fight alongside him. However, many of them were captured and sold into slavery by Saladin's army on their way, which was plundering the countryside at this time.Template:Sfn
Saladin reached Ascalon on 22 November 1177 and Baldwin led his troops out to meet him, but seeing how drastically outnumbered he was, the king retreated into the city. William of Tyre reported Saladin's strength as 26,000 men, but this number was most likely a great exaggeration.Template:Sfn Saladin, seeing the strength in his numbers and concluding that Baldwin's army posed no threat to him, confidently proceeded towards Jerusalem.Template:Sfn In the meantime, the king managed to contact the Templars and ordered them to abandon Gaza and join him.Template:Sfn Baldwin and Raynald then rode out of Ascalon joined up with the Templars along the coast; Saladin was not anticipating this, and did not send any of his men to monitor the city.Template:Sfn Baldwin and Raynald attacked his dispersed army at Montgisard; the young king was in the forefront, while Raynald directed much of the cavalry.Template:Sfn Saladin, who barely survived, suffered a crushing defeat; only a tenth of his army made it back to Egypt, and one of his great-nephews was killed.Template:Sfn His army would additionally be routed for twelve miles after the battle was lost.Template:Sfn Saladin later remarked on his devastating defeat, telling the chronicler Ibn Shaddad, "Although it was so great a disaster, God, blessed be His name, made it good in the end by the famous victory at Hattin."Template:Sfn
Without enough men to launch an offensive on the retreating Muslims, Baldwin decided to fortify the Damascene frontier. The Templars pressured him to build a castle, Chastellet, on the upper Jordan River, but the king was reluctant to do so because the Franks had promised not to mark that part of the border. After protests of local Muslims, Saladin offered Baldwin 60,000 dinars in exchange for aborting the construction, but the king refused; Saladin then offered Baldwin 100,000 dinars, which he refused again.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1178, Baldwin hosted the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Michael the Syrian, in Jerusalem and won his lasting loyalty to the Frankish cause.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
In April 1179, Baldwin intended to pillage the sheep passing from Damascus to Banias. Saladin's nephew, Farrukh Shah, was sent to monitor and investigate the king's movement when he suddenly ran into him. A skirmish followed,Template:Sfn and while both sides fought fiercely, the crusader army was routed and the king's horse bolted. Baldwin was nearly taken prisoner, but the elderly constable, Humphrey II of Toron, an officer responsible for commanding the army, sustained fatal wounds while protecting the king. Defeated, Baldwin escaped the battle unharmed while Humphrey died a few days later. Historian Ibn al-Athir later wrote of the constable: "His name was a byword for bravery and courage in battle. He was a kind of affliction unleashed by God against the Muslims."Template:Sfn
A few weeks later, Baldwin rode out to intercept Bedouin raids of Beirut and Sidon, where the harvest had recently been reaped, and in June, a battle took place. Baldwin and his army marched to the hills of Marj Ayyun, accompanied by Raymond of Tripoli and Odo of St Amand, the grand master of the Knights Templar. The crusaders had no difficulty routing Saladin's army, and believing the battle to be won, they let their guard down; Raymond and Odo moved with their templars to an area between Marj Ayyun and the Litani River. Saladin's raiding party then attacked the crusaders by surprise and routed Baldwin's army, defeating the Christians badly; the king was unhorsed and carried to safety on a Frankish knight's back because he could not remount on his own. Many crusaders were taken prisoner, including Odo, Baldwin of Ibelin, and Raymond's stepson Hugh of Saint Omer.Template:Sfn Raymond notably escaped to Tyre, which William of Tyre called "disgraceful."Template:Sfn
On 24 August 1179, Saladin, who found that the Templars at Le Chastellet posed a serious issue, laid siege to the fortress. Saladin's most trusted officers advised a hasty assault rather than a regular siege, and the Muslims immediately stormed the outer defences.Template:Sfn When Baldwin heard of this, he summoned a host to Tiberias to respond to Saladin's siege of Le Chastellet. In the meantime, the Muslims were able to mine the inner walls of the castle, breaching it on 29 August 1179 and capturing it on the same day. The castle fell before the relic of the True Cross could be fetched from Jerusalem to accompany the Christian troops; as Le Chastellet was specifically built to withstand a long siege, the crusaders saw no reason to rush. The historian William of Newburgh said that "the Christian army assembled at Tiberias, but not with the speed which was customary."Template:Sfn Saladin remained at the castle for a fortnight, demolishing the building and executing the Christian soldiers there who were not killed in battle.Template:Sfn
Rise of factionsEdit
In the winter of 1177–78, the king's widowed sister, Sibylla, gave birth to a son, Baldwin. In June, a year of official mourning for the child's father, William, concluded, and it became necessary to seek another husband for Sibylla. Baldwin of Ibelin's wish to marry the princess was well known, but not entertained. His brother, Balian of Ibelin, married the king's stepmother, Dowager Queen Maria Komnene, in late 1177; Hamilton believes that the king allowed the match to avoid antagonizing the powerful Ibelins. In July 1178, Baldwin IV began associating Sibylla with him in some public acts, thereby acknowledging her as next in line to the throne.Template:Sfn He contemplated his sister's marriage to Duke Hugh III of Burgundy, and wrote to the king of France: "To be deprived of the use of one's limbs is of little help to one in carrying out the work of government ... It is not fitting that a hand so weak as mine should hold power when fear of Arab aggression daily presses upon the Holy City and when my sickness increases the enemy's daring... I therefore beg you that, having called together the barons of the kingdom of France, you immediately choose one of them to take charge of this Holy Kingdom."Template:Sfn
During the Holy Week in 1180, Raymond III of Tripoli and Bohemond III of Antioch marched with their armies to Jerusalem. It is impossible to know what their intentions were; Hamilton considers it most likely that they intended to force the king to have Sibylla marry Baldwin of Ibelin and then to abdicate the throne to the new couple.Template:Sfn Their motivations for doing this were most likely to promote a local noble to the throne rather than a foreign one, and to expel the Courtenay family from power.Template:Sfn Although Baldwin did wish to abdicate and offered the crown to various nobles, he was not keen on having terms forced on him; he had never approved of Baldwin of Ibelin's ambition to marry his sister, and if he did, he would have approved it when it was discussed by the High Court in 1178.Template:Sfn Baldwin acted decisively before his kinsmen's armies reached Jerusalem, arranging for Sibylla to marry a Poitevin knight, Guy of Lusignan, even though she was promised to Hugh III of Burgundy.Template:Sfn Raymond and Bohemond had no option but to accept the fait accompli, and the coup was foiled. After this, Raymond would not be allowed to return to Jerusalem for the next few years.Template:Sfn
Alternatively, historians Steven Runciman and Marshall Baldwin propose that Sibylla was in love with Baldwin of Ibelin, but her mother, Agnes, disliked his family and objected the match. Agnes would then seek the assistance of Aimery of Lusignan, the kingdom's seneschal, who introduced Sibylla to his brother, Guy. Sibylla would subsequently fall in love with him and convince her brother to sanction their marriage,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn with Baldwin adding that Raymond and Bohemond intended to prevent this match when they arrived.Template:Sfn
Baldwin tried to abdicate many times, but was prevented by a deep political rift within his court.Template:Sfn The historian Steven Runciman speaks of a division already existing at the beginning of Baldwin's reign, with the diplomatic native barons and the Hospitallers on one side and the "aggressive, militantly Christian" newcomers from Western Europe and Templars on the other.Template:Sfn This view, though common in older historiography, is rejected by modern authors such as Bernard Hamilton and Peter Edbury; Hamilton posits that the factions arose only after Sibylla's marriage to Guy and centered on the king's paternal relatives (cousins Raymond of Tripoli and Bohemond of Antioch; stepmother, Maria; and her new family, the Ibelins) and maternal relatives (mother, Agnes; stepfather, Reynald of Sidon; sister, Sibylla; brother-in-law, Guy; uncle, Joscelin; and Raynald of Châtillon), of whom the king supported the latter.Template:Sfn In light of these problems, Baldwin proposed a two-year truce with Saladin, who was glad to accept and campaign freely in northern Syria. However, this truce did not include Tripoli, which enabled Saladin to launch raids there.Template:Sfn Baldwin sent his uncle and chief minister, Joscelin, to assure the Byzantine court that Jerusalem still needed their protection, but the seneschal had to spend the entire winter there to complete these negotiations thanks to Emperor Manuel's death. During Joscelin's absence from mid-1180 to mid-1181, the full burden of government fell on the shoulders of the sickly king, who relied chiefly on his mother during this period.Template:Sfn
To secure Guy's position and prevent the emergence of an alternative claimant, Baldwin had his eight-year-old half-sister, Isabella, the daughter of Maria Komnene, solemnly betrothed to the teenage lord of Toron, Humphrey IV, in October 1180. Isabella was subsequently sent to live at Kerak Castle with Stephanie of Milly, Humphrey's mother, as far as possible from her own maternal kin and any potential conspirators.Template:Sfn By the terms of the marriage contract, Humphrey ceded Toron to Baldwin, who thus prevented the union of two great fiefs under one vassal and strengthened his position against the count of Tripoli.Template:Sfn Template:Chart top Template:Chart/start Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Tree chart Template:Chart/end Template:Chart bottom
Truce and resumed hostilitiesEdit
Baldwin used his truce with Saladin to strengthen the position of his maternal kin, granting Maron and Chastel Neuf to Joscelin and usufruct of Toron to Agnes, while associating Guy and Sibylla with him in public acts. Most likely under the influence of his mother and uncle, he remained unreconciled with Raymond and forbade the count to enter the kingdom in early 1182, owing to suspicions of another conspiracy.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Baldwin probably intended to charge Raymond with treason and deprive him of the Principality of Galilee, a fief of Jerusalem held by Raymond through his marriage to Eschiva of Bures. The law prevented the king from seizing the fief without the assent of the High Court, and its members urged the king to reconcile with Raymond; Baldwin reluctantly heeded his vassals' advice.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Baldwin's truce with Saladin was due to expire in May 1182,Template:Sfn but was broken by Raynald in mid-1181, who seized a merchant caravan on its way from Egypt to Damascus. Raynald ignored the king's request to make restitution to Saladin, who was preparing to annex the Zengid-ruled Aleppo.Template:Sfn The king, who consistently acted against Saladin's attempts to expand into northern Syria, decided to oppose him.Template:Sfn The recent anti-Catholic coup in Constantinople gave Saladin confidence to attack the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and in July, Baldwin marched with his host to relieve the Muslims' siege of Bethsan. His outnumbered army won the Battle of Le Forbelet, historian Bernard Hamilton attributing the victory to the respect and loyalty commanded by Baldwin,Template:Sfn who stayed on the battlefield despite his illness and intense heat; according to William of Tyre, as many men died of sunstroke as men died by the sword.Template:Sfn
The defeated sultan took his host to besiege Beirut, while another army from Egypt attacked the south of the kingdom. Baldwin knew he was being provoked into dividing his forces, and deciding that Beirut was of a greater strategic importance, he ignored the southern attack and moved with his troops to Tyre. From there, he procured assistance from the Italian maritime republics in lifting Saladin's naval blockade of Beirut.Template:Sfn Saladin abandoned the siege, but declined to make a truce, worrying Baldwin and his advisers.Template:Sfn Saladin proceeded north to fight the Zengids, thereby expanding his realm, while Baldwin first led an attack on Saladin's Damascene territory, and then on Bosra, before finally laying siege to and capturing Cave de Sueth.Template:Sfn In the winter of 1182–1183, after agreeing on a strategy with his council, Baldwin attacked Damascus again; he threatened to destroy a mosque in Darayya, but local Christians convinced him not to for fear of losing their churches in retaliation.Template:Sfn
Last yearsEdit
Progressing disabilityEdit
Baldwin could not walk unsupported or use his hands from 1183;Template:Sfn because of an inability to blink, his cornea dried and he became blind,Template:Sfn but he nevertheless had to summon his troops in response to Saladin's march south following the Egyptian conquest of Aleppo in June. However, the king then developed a life-threatening fever, leaving him unlikely to survive. He was attended by his mother and the new patriarch, Heraclius, at nearby Nazareth, and having summoned the High Court to his bedside, Baldwin entrusted the government to his brother-in-law, Guy, who was next in line to succeed him.Template:Sfn Guy's appointment to regency was meant to be permanent; the king retained only the royal title and authority over the city of Jerusalem, but he had Guy swear that, while Baldwin lived, he would not make himself king or alienate parts of the royal demesne.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Fearing discontent among his barons, Baldwin had failed to give Guy any experience in military leadership before making him regent.Template:Sfn The great lords of the kingdom, the independent rulers of Antioch and Tripoli, and the grand masters of the military orders refused to cooperate with Guy.Template:Sfn However, Baldwin recovered unexpectedly and returned to Jerusalem. Having found that the coastal climate suited his health, Baldwin offered Jerusalem to Guy in exchange for Tyre. Guy brusquely refused, possibly because Tyre was more lucrative, leaving Baldwin gravely insulted.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
The wedding of Baldwin's half-sister, Isabella, and Humphrey IV of Toron was celebrated in Kerak in late 1183. Saladin attacked during the festivities and laid siege to the castle, hoping to capture the king's half-sister and her husband.Template:Sfn Meanwhile, the retired king had gathered a council in Jerusalem to inform him about the government of the kingdom when news about the siege reached him. The defence of such a vital fortress and the king's half-sister within it could not be entrusted to Guy, who had proven unable to command the troops; despite the burden of his illness, Baldwin immediately dismissed him from the regency and resumed power. Guy's removal from power was effectively disinheritance, and at the council's insistence, deliberations about the kingdom's succession followed. Although Heraclius, along with the grand masters of the Templars and Hospitallers, tried to intervene on Guy's behalf, it was no use; Raymond, Bohemond, and Reynald easily convinced the king to dismiss Guy.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The proposal of the king's mother that Sibylla's five-year-old son, Baldwin, be made co-king was accepted, and the boy was crowned on 20 November 1183.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
In late November, Baldwin ordered the lighting of a beacon on the Tower of David, which may have been the first in a chain of such beacons to hearten the defenders of the intensely bombarded Kerak.Template:Sfn Baldwin accompanied his troops again, but having become blind and immobile, he went in a litter slung between two horses.Template:Sfn His presence was essential to unite the discordant barons, and even his humiliated brother-in-law led his men. Since Baldwin was far too ill to take part in any fighting, he appointed Raymond III of Tripoli as field commander. Warned by his scouts about the king's approach and concerned about having left Egypt unguarded, Saladin abandoned the siege on 4 December, and Baldwin entered Kerak triumphantly.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Brother-in-law's insubordinationEdit
The question of regency for his nephew troubled Baldwin; the only way to ensure that Guy could not claim it was to have his marriage to Sibylla annulled. Baldwin discussed this with the patriarch, Heraclius,Template:Sfn intending to claim that he had forced his sister to marry Guy and that the marriage was unlawful because of that. However, Sibylla's unwavering loyalty to Guy thwarted his plans, as the couple refused to appear at court.Template:Sfn
Early in 1184, Baldwin ordered Guy to attend him as a vassal in Jerusalem, but Guy declined, citing poor health. After this was repeated several times, Baldwin had himself carried to Ascalon in the company of the High Court, where Guy refused to let him into the city. From the battlements and towers, the inhabitants witnessed the king ceremoniously raise his hand to knock on the gates and demand admission, only for the gates to remain closed. The king was then welcomed in Jaffa, however, where he installed a governor, thereby depriving Guy of half of his county. In Acre, Baldwin summoned his council, probably to gain support to seize Guy's fief on the grounds of refusal of the royal summons. However, the patriarch and the grand masters begged Baldwin to forgive Guy to avoid a civil war. This was as unacceptable to Baldwin, as it would have been to any contemporary king, but the patriarch and the grand masters stormed out of the council, swaying the rest of the assembly to withhold support for the action.Template:Sfn
Baldwin was reconciled with the patriarch and the grand masters by June when he sent them to Europe on a diplomatic mission to seek aid for the kingdom. He informed them by letter that Saladin was once more besieging Kerak,Template:Sfn and again, Saladin abandoned the siege when the litter-bound king approached with his army. Once in Kerak, Baldwin ordered and financed the repairs of the damaged castle.Template:Sfn
Last months, death, and aftermathEdit
In late 1184,Template:Sfn Baldwin was shocked to learn about Guy's massacre of the Bedouin of the royal fief of Darum, who were under royal protection and who provided information about the Egyptians' movements.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, the king developed another fever. When Baldwin returned to Jerusalem in late 1184 or early 1185, he bestowed regency on Raymond of Tripoli, the man whom he had never trusted, but to whom he could find no better alternative.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn At the time, Baldwin expected to survive the illness (having done so twice before), but within weeks, it was evident that he would not. On his deathbed, the king summoned the High Court to appoint a permanent regent for his nephew, Baldwin V, and Raymond was chosen.Template:Sfn The dying king ordered that homage be rendered to his nephew as king and to Raymond as regent, to be followed by a solemn crown-wearing ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.Template:Sfn
Baldwin IV died, attended by his vassals, in March of 1185,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn or before 16 May 1185 at the latest when Baldwin V is recorded as the sole king. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,Template:Sfn close to his father, King Amalric.Template:Sfn The young Baldwin V died the next year,Template:Sfn and Sibylla, who succeeded her late son,Template:Sfn made Guy king.Template:Sfn Baldwin IV's realm was destroyed by Saladin following the sultan's decisive victory over Guy at the Horns of Hattin in 1187. Sibylla and her daughters died in 1190, leaving Isabella I as the heir to the defeated kingdom.Template:Sfn
Assessment and legacyEdit
Christian defeat at Hattin two years after Baldwin's death marred the king's legacy, with historians tracing fatal discord to his reign. Yet, while Baldwin was on the throne, the kingdom lost no territoryTemplate:Sfn and flourished both economically and spiritually.Template:Sfn As king, Baldwin understood the importance of curbing Saladin's power, which was reflected in his choice of ministers. He did not devise strategy or diplomacy alone, and delegated Church patronage and finances to his mother, Agnes, and uncle, Joscelin, respectively.Template:Sfn His chief contribution was his determination not to abdicate before finding a suitable successor despite leprosy making government an unbearable burden.Template:Sfn As was clear during his reign and especially in its disastrous aftermath, Baldwin alone preserved unity in the kingdom, and he is often remembered as the last successful King of Jerusalem as a result.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Contemporary Christian theologians were divided on the issue of Baldwin's leprosy. Pope Alexander III showed little sympathy when writing about Baldwin, declaring his leprosy a "just judgement of God", but another school of thought encouraged the faithful to see Christ in the affected.Template:Sfn Baldwin's reign may have led to a lesser stigmatization of the illness in the 13th-century Kingdom of Jerusalem,Template:Sfn but his subjects' acceptance of his illness confounded some Muslims. Muslim historian Imad al-Din al-Isfahani wrote:
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In spite of illness the Franks were loyal to him, they gave him every encouragement ... being satisfied to have him as their ruler; they exalted him ... they were anxious to keep him in office, but they paid no attention to his leprosy.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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The Andalusian pilgrim Ibn Jubayr, who visited the kingdom in 1184, also had a negative impression of the king:
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The pig, the lord of Acre whom they call king, lives secluded and is not seen, for God has afflicted him with leprosy ...Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Baldwin's public image may have been aided by his chastity; this was seen as evidence of extraordinary sanctity since lepers were thought to be deeply lustful at this time, and his success against Saladin was interpreted as a sign of God's favor.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn After the disastrous Seventh Crusade, a crusader was told by an old man in Damascus:
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I have seen a time when King Baldwin of Jerusalem, the one who was a leper, beat Saladin although he only had 300 armed men against Saladin's 3,000. But now your sins have come to such a pass that we round you up in the fields like cattle.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Despite perceived sanctity, Baldwin was not particularly devout, and although he openly wished to abdicate, he had no intentions of entering a monastic life. He was primarily a knight, both in character and in upbringing, and to his contemporaries his most distinctive traits were his courage and honourableness.Template:Sfn
See alsoEdit
- Kingdom of Heaven – film in which Edward Norton plays Baldwin, who is portrayed as an androgynous, orientalized, and fragile king bound to his chamber
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
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