Baldwin IV of Jerusalem/Tatsobatso

## History

### Childhood

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. The king was then young and recently married, so a nephew's accession seemed unlikely, but he died childless in 1163. Amalric was his heir, but the nobles of the kingdom were strongly opposed to Amalric's wife, Agnes; they were likely threatened by the prospect of her increased influence. 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. Amalric succeeded in having his and Agnes's children, Sibylla and Baldwin, declared legitimate despite the annulment. Baldwin grew up without a mother, who soon married the nobleman Hugh of Ibelin and 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. At the age of six Baldwin gained a stepmother, Maria Komnene, with whom he was not close. The queen was an ambitious woman who likely saw Baldwin as an obstacle to her own children.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem and other crusader states were ruled by Franks, French-speaking Catholics who had arrived in the Levant from Western Europe and remained Western in culture. Amalric ensured that Baldwin, as the heir apparent, received a good education. The nine-year-old prince was sent to live with William of Tyre, a sophisticated and well-traveled cleric who was famed for his learning. William noticed that, unlike other children in the playground, Baldwin did not cry when pinched by his peers. After a while it became apparent to the tutor that Baldwin could feel no pain in his right arm. The king hired Arabs to treat Baldwin and to teach him horse riding, an essential skill for a Frankish nobleman. Having sensation in only one hand, Baldwin needed to learn to control the horse in battle using solely his knees, and mastered riding despite the handicap. Leprosy was suspected, but there were no visible symptoms yet and physicians hesitated to diagnose because of the stigma the boy would face. Had the 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.

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, 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.

Amalric attempted to have Sibylla marry the French Count Stephen I of Sancerre, who would rule the kingdom as regent on Baldwin's behalf if Amalric died early. When physicians informed him that Baldwin could develop leprosy, Amalric may have begun viewing Sibylla and Stephen as eventual monarchs instead of Baldwin, but the match fell through. In June 1174, the king came down with dysentery. He died on 11 July, leaving an underage heir, as he had feared might happen.

### Accession

Upon Amalric's death, the High Court convened to discuss the succession. Though he had not yet been diagnosed, the High Court must have been aware of the royal physicians' suspicions that Baldwin had contracted leprosy. Yet there was no viable alternative. Baldwin was the king's only son; from his second marriage Amalric had two daughters, of which only Isabella survived infancy. Female succession was expressly allowed, but Sibylla was an unmarried adolescent and Isabella only two years old. 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 in the service of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and Raymond virtually a stranger to the barons.

After three days of deliberations, Baldwin IV was chosen, with the expectation that a husband would be found for Sibylla to succeed him if he proved to be affected. The young king's coronation by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Amalric of Nesle, took place immediately in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Medieval rulers were normally crowned on Sundays, but in Baldwin's case 15 July 1174 was chosen instead because it was the 75th anniversary of the First Crusade's seizure of Jerusalem.

### Regency

Until he reached the age of majority, which was 15 in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Baldwin needed a regent to rule in his name. The government was initially assumed by the seneschal, Miles of Plancy. Shortly thereafter Count Raymond III of Tripoli arrived in Jerusalem and succeeded in claiming regency as the king's closest kinsman. Miles was murdered while trying to extend his hold on the government. No new seneschal was appointed for two years, and so the young and sickly king presided over burdensome High Court meetings when the regent was away on military duties or in Tripoli.

Baldwin's mother, Agnes, returned to court when Raymond became regent. She is frequently accused by historians of exploiting her son's condition for self-gain, but the contemporary sources, including Baldwin's tutor, William of Tyre, are biased against her. Having grown up without her since the age of two, Baldwin IV had no memories of his mother, but she became devotedly kind to him and he developed a strong attachment to her.

During the regency it became clear that the king was indeed affected by leprosy. It is not clear from whom he caught it, but it must have been someone with whom he spent a lot of time and who did not exhibit easily visible symptoms. Puberty may have accelerated the development of the lepromatous form of the illness. His condition worsened rapidly. Most severely affected were his limbs and face, which made his subjects uneasy when they approached him. Yet, contrary to the common practice and to the surprise of Muslim observers, Baldwin was never segregated. As a leper, Baldwin could not marry or expect to have children. 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.

### Ragnarok

Baldwin was chosen by Brunnhilde to fight in the fourth round of Ragnarok against the Nordic God of Justice, Týr. Despite it seeming like things were swaying in the direction of the humans gaining a victory, Týr was able to overpower Baldwin and kill him, taking a victory for the gods.

## Sources

* Baldwin IV of Jerusalem on Wikipedia
* Baldwin IV of Jerusalem vs Týr/Tatsobatso