A new historical novel about the unusual life of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, the leper crusader king who - despite ascending to the throne at only 13, his early death at 24 and his debilitating disease - performed great and heroic deeds in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Teenagers and avid readers of all ages will be amazed at this story and be inspired by a faith that accomplished the impossible!
The amazing life of Richard I, King of England, known to history as 'Richard the Lionheart', after his reputation for bravery exhibited fighting the 'Saracens' whilst crusading in the Holy Land.
This is the ultimate collection of short stories of historical drama and intrigue, set in the era of the Crusader Kings II computer game by Paradox Development Studio. Bestselling author Steven Savile is joined by eleven other writers, each telling a tale of battles, banquets, betrayals and bedchambers. From crusaders to Cathars, from nobles to Norsemen - it's all here. Five of these stories are the winning entries in the Crusader Kings II Short Story Contest 2014. Authors: Lee Battersby, Luke Bean, Jordan Ellinger, James Erwin, Axel Kylander, Cory Lachance, James Mackie, M Harold Page, Aaron Rosenberg, Steven Savile, Anderson Scott, Joseph Sharp.
The reign of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1174-85) has traditionally been seen as a period of decline when, because of the king's illness, power came to be held by unsuitable men who made the wrong policy decisions. Notably, they ignored the advice of Raymond of Tripoli and attacked Saladin, who was prepared to keep peace with the Franks while uniting the Islamic near east under his rule. This book challenges that view, arguing that peace with Saladin was not a viable option for the Franks; that the young king, despite suffering from lepromatous leprosy (the most deadly form of the disease) was an excellent battle leader who strove with some success to frustrate Saladin's imperial ambitions; that Baldwin had to remain king in order to hold factions in check; but that the society over which he presided was, contrary to what is often said, vigorous and self-confident.
The Leper King is a story of authentic history and imaginative fantasy interwoven with faith and love, war and magic set amidst the turbulent times of the Crusades. Upon the premature death of his father, BALDWIN IV, stricken with leprosy from a young age, ascends to the throne of Jherusalem at the age of thirteen. Immediately, enemies threaten his reign as war looms with the great leader of Islam, SALEHDIN. Guided by his trusted friend and Chancellor, Archbishop WILLIAM of Tyre, the young leper sets out to prove himself worthy of the crown, despite the political intrigues of his own High Court. Among those at Court with whom he must contend are his recently returned mother, AGNES de Courtenay, a grasping woman of immoral character, and his sister, SIBYLLA, who comes to Court after spending most of her life shut away from the world in a convent to marry a Western lord against her will. Being a minor, Baldwin must submit to the Regency of his much older cousin, RAYMOND III of Tripoli; but the young king chaffs beneath the Regents authority, longing to put it behind him so he can pursue his own course of action against the enemy. While Raymond continually argues for peace with the Muslims, Baldwin and the new lord of Kerak, REYNALD de Chtillon, hope to bring the Sarrazins to war before the sultans power grows too strong to push back. Unbeknownst to the king and the lords of Outremer, an old and secret cabal of heretic conspirators known only as the Order of Sion led by one, AMALRIC de Lusignan, that seeks to gain control of the kingdom. Their purpose is to proclaim a new form of Christianity with Jherusalem as its ecclesiastical seat of power in opposition to Rome and to crown a sacred king of their own making. That sacred king is none other than Amalrics brother, GUION de Lusignan, whom they claim is a blood descendant of Jhsu Christ. In this conspiracy, two influential men of the kingdom aid them: HERACLIUS, Archbishop of Caesarea and OTHON de Saint-Amant, Master of the famed warrior-monks, the Knights Templar. Saint-Amant, however, is a deeply conflicted man who begins to question how Sion, and the secretive master he reluctantly follows, is manipulating him and his Order. With Agnes diseased son crowned king, it isnt long before Lusignan draws her into the intrigues of the conspiracy as well with the belief she can protect her son. Seeking divine guidance in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the aftermath of battle, Baldwin meets, by chance, an elderly woman who thanks him for a simple act of his kindness. He is astonished, though, when she casts aside her cloak and disguise, revealing to him that she is MARY MAGDALEN, a beautiful and immortal woman of Faerie who vows to guide and befriend him. Only later does she tell him that his leprosy is not the result of disease, but of a magic spell cast by an unseen enemy; a spell that not only devours the kings life, but also becomes the enemys own undoing. So begins a tale of history and fantasy, in which a young king must determine whether his faith or fate will guide him in the defense of his fragile kingdom. Visit the Authors Website at www.scottrezer.com to learn more about the novel and to read the prologue.
Richard I's reign is both controversial and seemingly contradictory. One of England's most famous medieval monarchs and a potent symbol of national identity, he barely spent six months on English soil during a ten-year reign and spoke French as his first language. Contemporaries dubbed him the 'Lionheart', reflecting a carefully cultivated reputation for bravery, prowess and knightly virtue, but this supposed paragon of chivalry butchered close to 3,000 prisoners in cold blood on a single day. And, though revered as Christian Europe's greatest crusader, his grand campaign to the Holy Land failed to recover the city of Jerusalem from Islam. Seeking to reconcile this conflicting evidence, Thomas Asbridge's incisive reappraisal of Richard I's career questions whether the Lionheart really did neglect his kingdom, considers why he devoted himself to the cause of holy war and asks how the memory of his life came to be interwoven with myth. Richard emerges as a formidable warrior-king, possessed of martial genius and a cultured intellect, yet burdened by the legacy of his dysfunctional dynasty and obsessed with the pursuit of honour and renown.
This is an English-language edition of Jean Richard's acclaimed study of Saint Louis (1214-70), firmly established as the classic modern life of one of the greatest figures in medieval history. It is, however, more than simply a biography. Saint Louis consists essentially of a skillful interweaving of personal details, French history, Capetian dynastic history, international relations within the West, and relations between the West and the Near East (with Louis' crusades as focal points). Jean Richard's canvas is thus a broad one, as it has to be if the impact and role of Saint Louis are to be appreciated, precisely because the range and scope of his actions were themselves so braod. Saint Louis is also a splendid evocation of the way in which contemporary politics were perceived and conducted, its analysis carefully rooted in the material substance and ideological persuasions which underlay them. Jean Richard offers a sustained exploration of many of the crucial components of the thirteenth-century world, with much to say about the emergence of the territorial unity of the French state under authority of the Capetian dynasty, the extension of that dynasty's influence into the Mediterranean, the history of the Latin East and the crusade--the preparations for, and experience of which, conditioned so much of Louis' thought and practical actions. Indeed the crusade is inseparable from his royal persona, just as the history of the crusading movements in the thirteenth century is inseparable from him. This English-language edition has been translated by Jean Birrell, and adapted for anglophone readers by Simon Lloyd, who has also provided a supplementary bibliography of English-language works. Saint Louis is a figure of perennial interest, and the appearance of this acclaimed study in this accessible format will enable large numbers of both specialist and non-specialist readers to engage at first hand with one of the great lives of medieval history.
