Neat stuff from @MedievalScholar on Twitter:
Note that unfortunately, despite looking very very cool. No, Baldwin IV did not wear a silver mask as depicted in the movie “Kingdom of Heaven.”
There are no contemporary sources that support the idea of Baldwin wearing a facial covering, especially one depicted in the movie.
Baldwin IV was born in Jerusalem in 1161 to King Amalric I and Queen Agnes.
Baldwin would be diagnosed with the devastating disease leprosy at the age of nine. A disease that would ravage his body, but not his spirit.
At a young age, Baldwin would be educated and tutored by William of Tyre. He would note that the young Baldwin displayed insensitivity to pain when his arm was pinched or even bitten. As a result, leprosy was suspected.
Baldwin would become King of Jerusalem on July 11th, 1174 after the sudden death of his father Amalric I due to dysentery. He would be crowned in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Under normal circumstances, the coronations of Medieval rulers would take place on Sundays.
However Baldwin would be coronated on July 15th, 1174 as it was the 75th anniversary of the seizure of Jerusalem in the First Crusade.
At the age of 13, Baldwin was too young to rule on his own, so