1185
Death of the Leper King
After the success of the First Crusade, the invading western knights set up four feudal states along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. The largest, and most dominant of these, was the Kingdom of Jerusalem which ruled over a mixed population of Muslims, Jews, and Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian Christians. The politics of this state were turbulent, as the kingship was only partly hereditary, with a strong elective element. The High Court, composed of the great nobles, played a role in choosing the kings and limiting their power.
In 1174 Baldwin IV (1161-85) became king, but his rule was always overshadowed by the fact that he had contracted leprosy. In the medieval illustration above the boy is seen (on the left) not showing any pain in his arms as he plays with his friends and being diagnosed (on the right) by his tutor. Despite his illness he was able to lead his crusader armies into battle and once defeated the fabled Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. Though he had no sensation in his right arm, he was able to wield a sword with his left hand.
It was clear that Baldwin would not live long or produce male heirs, so the kingdom looked to his sister Sibylla to succeed him. Baldwin unwisely chose Guy de Lusignan, a charming but weak-willed adventurer, to be her husband. When Guy proved unreliable, Baldwin chose his nephew, a 5-year-old child, to be the next king and to co-rule with him as Baldwin V. By this time Baldwin was blind and unable to walk. He died in 1185 but his nephew only survived him by a year. When Baldwin V died Guy and Sibylla took the throne, a disaster which ended with the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187.
The cinematic atrocity, Kingdom of Heaven, which purports to cover many of these events, is utterly not to be trusted and should be cast into the outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.