![]() ![]() ![]() Would that he was better known.Ĭrusader King by Susan Peek caught my eye the first time I saw its cover. I want to learn more about this Crusader. If even half of what Peek tells about Baldwin in Crusader King is true, he was a living saint. Peek tells us what it was really like to live and die the horrifically slow torture of being consumed alive by leprosy, including losing sight, hearing and finally the ability to speak or eat. In the movie, Kingdom of Heaven, the leprous Baldwin is covered with a mask, gloves and long-sleeved clothing. Although his sister’s husband and his minor nephew were to follow him in succession, theirs were weak, brief and ineffective periods of rule. In Susan Peek’s book King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem was the last hereditary and crusading monarch of that city to actually reign over it before it was reclaimed by Saladin. Very different perspective from the distorted history usually portrayed about the Crusades and specifically by the movie, Kingdom of Heaven. Found this book as I was combing my shelves one night. ![]()
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