The Rule of the ‘Leper King’ Baldwin IV (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes

The Rule of the 'Leper King' Baldwin IV

Context: Amalric I's death and factional divisions

When King Amalric I died on 11 July 1174, the kingdom of Jerusalem faced serious internal divisions. The government was split by factionalism – bitter rivalry between competing groups of nobles. This division stemmed directly from Amalric's two marriages, with each wife's supporters forming separate political factions that competed for power and influence.

The two competing factions

Baldwin IV's government was divided between two main factions, each built around one of his father's marriages.

Baldwin's paternal faction

This faction gathered around Amalric's second wife, Maria Comnena, and included nobles who had been popular with Amalric in his later years. Key members included:

• Count Raymond III of Tripoli – Baldwin's cousin and the most powerful figure in this faction
• Prince Bohemond III of Antioch – Baldwin's cousin
• Balian of Ibelin – influential noble from the important Ibelin family (other Ibelin family members also supported this faction)
• Isabel – daughter of Maria Comnena and Amalric's second wife
• Humphrey of Toron – married to Isabel, also stepson to Reynald of Châtillon

This faction generally represented established nobles who favoured traditional power structures and were wary of newcomers.

Baldwin's maternal faction

This faction formed around Amalric's first wife, Agnes of Courtenay, and her children. Important members included:

• Agnes of Courtenay – Baldwin IV's mother, who played an active role as queen mother
• Sibyl – Baldwin's sister and daughter of Agnes of Courtenay
• Guy of Lusignan – Sibyl's second husband (married 1180)
• Baldwin V – Sibyl's son by her first husband, William Longsword
• Count Joscelin III of Courtenay – Sibyl's uncle
• Patriarch Heraclius – head of the Catholic Church in Outremer
• Gerard of Ridefort – Master of the Templars

This faction was more open to new arrivals from Europe and focused heavily on ensuring the succession through Sibyl's line.

Baldwin IV's accession and early regency

Baldwin IV was only thirteen years old when he took the crown on 15 July 1174. Because he was too young to govern effectively, Miles of Plancy (one of Amalric's most trusted advisors) was appointed as regent to rule on his behalf. However, Miles was murdered towards the end of 1174, creating a power vacuum.

The impact of Baldwin's leprosy

Baldwin IV suffered from leprosy, a disease that:

• Affected the skin, nervous system, nose, throat and eyes
• Caused his hands and feet to become disfigured
• Led to loss of sensation in his extremities
• Eventually caused blindness
• Made him unable to walk or ride, requiring servants to carry him

However, the most politically significant consequence of Baldwin's leprosy was his inability to have children. This had two major effects on his reign:

Baldwin's illness also meant frequent bouts of severe sickness that left him incapable of ruling, creating opportunities for the factions to fight for control during periods of regency.

Factions in action, 1174–85

Sibyl's first marriage and succession planning

Before Raymond III's regency ended in 1176, an important development occurred for the succession. Sibyl was married to William Longsword of Montferrat in 1176, and they had a son called Baldwin (later Baldwin V). Tragically, William died before his son was born, creating fresh succession complications.

When Baldwin IV assumed direct control of government in 1776, his first priority was finding a new husband for Sibyl. This was crucial because Baldwin knew his leprosy would kill him at a young age – he needed to find a capable man who could:

• Rule as king alongside Sibyl
• Act as regent for young Baldwin V until he came of age
• Provide strong leadership for the kingdom

Raymond III's attempted power grab (1180)

Raymond III feared that Sibyl's new husband would reduce his power and influence further. When he learned that Baldwin IV's chosen candidate was Duke Hugh III of Burgundy, Raymond decided to act before Hugh could reach Jerusalem.

Guy of Lusignan's marriage to Sibyl

To prevent Raymond's scheme, Baldwin IV acted quickly on his mother Agnes's advice. He encouraged Sibyl to marry Guy of Lusignan in 1180.

Guy was the son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan, making him part of a noble French family. His brothers Geoffrey and Amalric had called him to Outremer and suggested him as a potential husband for Sibyl. Despite the political nature of the marriage, Sibyl appears to have genuinely liked Guy – they had four children together and she consistently refused later attempts to make her divorce him.

The disastrous campaign of 1183

The balance of power shifted again dramatically in August 1183. When Baldwin IV gathered his troops in Galilee to repel a major invasion by Saladin, disaster struck:

1. Baldwin IV caught a fever before battle began and was unable to fight
2. Guy was appointed regent to command the army in his place
3. Guy failed to get the lords to obey his orders – a humiliating demonstration of weak leadership
4. The army took no action against Saladin, allowing him to freely plunder Galilee
5. Although the army's presence prevented territory being captured, Guy's incompetence was obvious

After this failure, Baldwin IV completely lost faith in Guy's abilities and took back direct control of the kingdom. This marked the beginning of a bitter personal breach between the king and his brother-in-law.

How factionalism weakened the government

The constant power struggles, led primarily by Raymond III against Agnes's faction, seriously weakened Jerusalem's ability to respond to external threats. Key moments when Saladin benefited from Baldwin's ineffective government include:

This pattern shows how internal divisions prevented coordinated, effective military action against the kingdom's greatest external threat.

Growing divisions: the succession crisis of 1185

By 1183, animosity between the two factions had reached dangerous levels. Both sides had tasted power, and both had experienced having it taken away. The rivalry was becoming increasingly bitter and personal.

Baldwin V's coronation and co-rulership

In November 1183, Baldwin IV took a fateful step that would trigger a major succession crisis. His illness had become more frequent and crippling, and he knew death was approaching. He had his infant heir, Baldwin V (Sibyl's son), crowned as co-ruler alongside him.

Baldwin IV hoped to spend his final years in Tyre and planned to exchange territories with Guy to make this possible. However, this plan collapsed because of the intense hostility between Baldwin and Guy following the 1183 campaign disaster.

The breach between Baldwin IV and Guy

Guy was furious about two things:

1. The coronation of Baldwin V as co-ruler, which diminished his own status
2. Baldwin's reaction to his poor performance in the 1183 campaign

This situation benefited Raymond III, whose faction became popular with the king again. When Baldwin IV began to fade at the start of 1185, Raymond III was appointed regent once more. He continued as regent after Baldwin IV died in March 1185, now governing on behalf of the child-king Baldwin V.

Unfortunately for Raymond, Baldwin V's reign was tragically short. The boy king died in August 1186, triggering one final round of the succession dispute.

Raymond's fall from power

After Baldwin V's death, Joscelin III of Courtenay somehow convinced Raymond III to retreat to his lordship territory of Tiberias, removing him from the centre of power in Jerusalem. The two factions then gathered – one around Isabel, the other around Sibyl – to decide the kingdom's future.

Three possible outcomes

There were three potential solutions to the succession crisis:

1. Henry II of England could become regent until the succession issue was resolved. Baldwin IV had sent an embassy to Henry in 1184 with exactly this proposal in mind.

2. Raymond III's faction could maintain power through the coronation of Isabel and Humphrey as king and queen.

3. Sibyl and Guy could be crowned as rulers of Jerusalem, representing victory for Agnes's faction (although Agnes herself had died in 1185 and would not witness this outcome).

Sibyl's clever deception

Sibyl's faction moved first and acted decisively. The barons of Jerusalem agreed to make Sibyl queen, but only on condition that she divorce Guy. The barons wanted Sibyl as queen but saw Guy as unsuitable to be king.

Significance for the kingdom

Baldwin IV's reign demonstrates how internal political divisions can fatally weaken a state facing external threats. The constant factional warfare:

• Prevented coordinated military responses to Saladin
• Allowed Saladin to consolidate power in Syria
• Created periods when the kingdom took no decisive action
• Exhausted resources in internal conflicts rather than external defence
• Left the kingdom vulnerable at a critical moment in its history