Mori: Yeah, western European royalty + Crusades = guaranteed weird Islamophobia/white supremacy/evangelical zeal shit. But Baldwin IV kinda breaks that narrative, since... well, people with Hansen's disease STILL face a lot of religious stigma even today, 850 years later, and even though he pulled off a couple impressive feats in battle, he himself was often not able-bodied. His real skill seems to have been in personnel management, not fighting.
That's why he's interesting to me! The image of the romanticized Crusader is of a noble virtuous warrior dedicated to Christ, while Baldwin IV had a religiously reviled disease and often couldn't fight. (And he doesn't seem to have been hugely religious either, by the standards of the time; he was not a big spender on the church while he reigned, and like I mentioned, the pope did not like him one bit.) Yet he ALSO makes for bad inspiration porn, because dude was STILL a freakin' Crusader and a king. Dude absolutely murdered people, and he was set on protecting "the holy land" from "the heathen." Plus there's his whole feud with his brother-in-law, Guy of Lusignan, which is hilarious but also petty.
He doesn't fall into easy cliches now, and he didn't in the 1100s either. I couldn't work it into my CliffNotes, but apparently the stereotype of people with Hansen's disease back then was that they were lechers. Part of why Baldwin IV's people seemed to like him was that everyone agreed he was properly chaste, which was considered admirable in nobility. Yes, his people were PROUD to have a king who never kissed a girl. And seeing how everybody would've been expecting him to be a lech, he REALLY must not have been to get the reputation he did, I figure.
And now I am discovering that there is a small but devoted contingent of people who think Baldwin IV is awesome. I found what I'm pretty sure is someone's self-insert fanfic of romancing the guy, which... not my thing, but rock on with your bad self, lady.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 10:07 pm (UTC)That's why he's interesting to me! The image of the romanticized Crusader is of a noble virtuous warrior dedicated to Christ, while Baldwin IV had a religiously reviled disease and often couldn't fight. (And he doesn't seem to have been hugely religious either, by the standards of the time; he was not a big spender on the church while he reigned, and like I mentioned, the pope did not like him one bit.) Yet he ALSO makes for bad inspiration porn, because dude was STILL a freakin' Crusader and a king. Dude absolutely murdered people, and he was set on protecting "the holy land" from "the heathen." Plus there's his whole feud with his brother-in-law, Guy of Lusignan, which is hilarious but also petty.
He doesn't fall into easy cliches now, and he didn't in the 1100s either. I couldn't work it into my CliffNotes, but apparently the stereotype of people with Hansen's disease back then was that they were lechers. Part of why Baldwin IV's people seemed to like him was that everyone agreed he was properly chaste, which was considered admirable in nobility. Yes, his people were PROUD to have a king who never kissed a girl. And seeing how everybody would've been expecting him to be a lech, he REALLY must not have been to get the reputation he did, I figure.
And now I am discovering that there is a small but devoted contingent of people who think Baldwin IV is awesome. I found what I'm pretty sure is someone's self-insert fanfic of romancing the guy, which... not my thing, but rock on with your bad self, lady.