@mournfulm0th: First one of these in a while! This miniature comes from a 13th-century French translation of William of Tyre’s Historia, held by the British Library. It depicts a scene William claimed to have witnessed while serving as tutor to the young Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. While Baldwin played with other boys, William noticed that he did not react to pain in his right hand and arm. After examining him, he realized that Baldwin had lost sensation there, an early sign of the leprosy that would become increasingly apparent as he grew older. Baldwin became King of Jerusalem in 1174 at only thirteen years old and ruled until his death in 1185. Despite the progression of his illness, he remained politically and militarily active for much of his reign, most famously leading the forces of Jerusalem against Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177. As his health deteriorated, the question of succession became increasingly urgent; his young nephew Baldwin V was eventually crowned co-king. Baldwin IV died in 1185, only in his early twenties, and has since become remembered as the “Leper King” of Jerusalem. #baldwiniv #kingdomofheaven #medievalhistory #medieval #historytok

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Wednesday 02 September 2026 02:19:00 GMT