Choć Wiktor jest już formalnie (od ponad miesiąca) naszym absolwentem, cieszymy się, iż przez cały czas możemy czytać jego interesujące teksty o tematyce historycznej. Tym razem cofamy się prawie o tysiąclecie i mamy okazje zapoznać się z postacią króla Jerozolimy, Baldwina IV Trędowatego. Artykuł pojawi się w letnim numerze AimHigh Magazine. Zachęcamy do lektury!
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The Leper King
One of the results of the Crusades, which were initiated by Europeans at the end of the 9th century was establishing the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099. Of course, due to the importance of Jerusalem as a city in both religions – Islam and Christianity – the Arabic world did not accept that situation which caused many wars between the Kingdom of Jerusalem allied with the European kingdoms and the Arabic states. The first rulers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were not born in the prominent families from Europe, as in 1131 Fulk the Younger became the king. He was from the house of Plantagenet, a family which started to rule in England 20 years after it. One of his descendants was Baldwin IV who ruled in Jerusalem from 1174 to 1185. He is known first of all for one thing – he had been suffering because of proxy since he was a child. That’s why his nickname is “the Leper King” As a young and inexperienced ruler he had to fight against Saladin. When he was 16 years old, in 1177, his troops defeated Saladin’s troops in the battle of Montgisard in a situation when the Arabic forces were a few times bigger. That battle is known as a symbol of Baldwin’s sacrifice to the kingdom, because, according to chroniclers, he was commanding his soldiers regardless of his severe illness. Another interesting fact about that battle is that Saladin had merely withdrawn and avoided death after the defeat.
Besides wars with the Islamic states, the king of Jerusalem had other problems. One of them was interior fighting between nobles of the kingdom whose goal was to reach as much power in the country as it was possible. The Leper King knew that he could not have any children, thus he understood that his sister’s husband and after him, his children would inherit the throne. He decided that Sybilla (his sister) marry Guy of Lusignan who was a knight from France. He did it because some of his relatives wanted to force him to abdicate and take over the rule in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Nonetheless, despite Baldwin’s getting rid of the one issue, the marriage of his sister to Guy caused other problems. Some nobles of the kingdom assumed that the maternal relatives of the king would be better as the heirs of the kingdom. Historians suppose that the Leper King wanted to abdicate but this would only lead to a worse situation with inheriting the throne. In 1183 the king lost the ability to use his legs or hands, snd additionally, he became blind. Guy became regent of the kingdom. Finally, because of his illness, Baldwin IV died in 1185.
Wiktor Lewczuk (4a)
