To: Pelayo
Don't see any evidence that Baldwin IV (aka Baldwin the Leper), Latin King of Jerusalem, was anything other than an ordinary ruler of the time, perhaps a bit unlucky in his health and his relatives.
Apparently he was lucky enough that Saladin was distracted distracted, and unlucky that his idiot brother Raynald started raiding caravans from Krak de Chevaliers (one of the greatest castles ever built!).
Do you have something specific that I should be looking at?
70 posted on
01/20/2004 6:18:27 AM PST by
Little Ray
(Why settle for a Lesser Evil? Cthuhlu for President!)
To: Little Ray
Don't see any evidence that Baldwin IV (aka Baldwin the Leper), Latin King of Jerusalem, was anything other than an ordinary ruler of the time, perhaps a bit unlucky in his health and his relatives.Apparently he was lucky enough that Saladin was distracted distracted, and unlucky that his idiot brother Raynald started raiding caravans from Krak de Chevaliers (one of the greatest castles ever built!). Raynald the knight of Châtillon-sur-Loing was not the "brother" of Baldwin! And his castle was not Krak-de-Chevaliers it was the Krak of Moab in Oultrejordan. And thirdly Saladin was not "distracted" during Baldwin's reign so much as he was forced into a cease fire treaty by Baldwin's superior soldiery (at the battle of Montgisard 500 knights under the Leper King defeated the entire Kurdish and Egyptian army of Saladin, who was supposed to be this great Muslim general.)
Do you have something specific that I should be looking at?
I don't need to point out anything specific, I only mentioned the Leper King to contest your claim that "it would be hard to put a good light on any buddy during the crusades." Baldwin IV was at the time not only a courageous and brilliant soldier, he was also universally respected for his piety and fairness by both Arabs and Christians. That he didn't come out of the whole thing smelling like roses was only because he dies of leprosy.
73 posted on
01/20/2004 8:48:09 AM PST by
Pelayo
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