The degree to which the disease is contagious is another critical issue in this novel. Modern medical research suggests that although during an epidemic as much as 30 per cent of a population can catch the disease, once leprosy has become endemic to a population (as it was in the Levant in the twelfth century), only about five percent of the population has a genetic proclivity to the disease and hence a high risk of contagion if exposed to the disease. Furthermore, if a person is susceptible to leprosy, he or she is most likely to develop it between the ages of ten and twenty—exactly the age at which Baldwin IV became ill. The adults in attendance upon him, however, such as the Archdeacon of Tyre and, in the novel, Balian, had less than a 5 per cent chance of becoming ill.
Just as important as an accurate depiction of the course of decay caused by leprosy, however, is a depiction of medieval beliefs about leprosy. We know today that less than 5 per cent of the population is likely to contact the disease if exposed, but medieval man believed the chances of contagion to be much, much higher. Medieval medicine suggested, at one extreme, that just breathing the same air as lepers could result in infection. Yet, because the disease was widespread, medieval man also knew that many men and women washed, cared for, and even kissed lepers without themselves suffering from the disease. I have chosen, therefore, to have my characters subscribe to a non-scientific but plausible “enlightened” view of leprosy’s contagiousness that is consistent with the fact that Baldwin IV was never completely isolated from society. Those closest to him evidently thought that by taking certain precautions they could remain healthy, while the majority avoided intimacy and maintained some distance without avoiding Baldwin altogether.
Medieval attitudes were not governed by the state of medical knowledge alone. Religion played a critical role. Leprosy was not seen as a sign of sin, but rather as a sign of grace—particularly in Byzantium. Indeed, the Byzantines came to call leprosy “the Holy Disease,” and there are a number of Greek Orthodox legends in which Christ appears as a leper. Miller and Nesbitt note that the harshest views on leprosy came from pre-Christian Germanic tribes and the Jews. Crusader Jerusalem, however, was far more heavily influenced by Byzantium than by the Germanic tribes or Judaism. This fact is underlined by the creation of the Knights of St. Lazarus in Jerusalem, probably in the second decade of the twelfth century, as an outgrowth from an earlier Byzantine or Armenian leper hospital.
In short, while the progression of the disease depicted in this novel is based on modern medical knowledge of leprosy, the attitudes and treatment provided Baldwin in the book are based on what we know of medieval remedies and attitudes toward leprosy during the twelfth century.
Glossary
Abaya: a black garment, worn by Islamic women, that completely covers the head and body in a single, flowing, unfitted fashion so that no contours or limbs can be seen. It leaves only the face, but not the neck, visible and is often supplemented with a mask or “veil” that covers the lower half of the face, leaving only a slit for the eyes between the top of the abaya (which covers the forehead) and the mask or veil across the lower half of the face.
Aketon: a padded and quilted garment, usually of linen, worn under or instead of chain mail.
Aventail: a flap of chain mail, attached to the coif, that could be secured by a leather thong to the brow band to cover the lower part of the face.
Battlement: a low wall built on the roof of a tower or other building in a castle, fortified manor, or church, with alternating higher segments for sheltering behind and lower segments for shooting from.
Buss: a large combination oared-and-sailed vessel that derived from Viking cargo (not raiding) vessels. They has substantial cargo capacity but were also swift and maneurverable.
Cantle: the raised part of a saddle behind the seat; in this period it was high and strong, made of wood, to help keep a knight in the saddle even after taking a blow from a lance.
Cervelliere: an open-faced helmet that covered the skull like a closefitting, brimless cap; usually worn over a chain-mail coif.
Chain mail (mail): flexible armor composed of interlinking riveted rings of metal. Each link passes through four others.
Chausses: mail leggings to protect a knight’s legs in combat.
Coif: a chain-mail hood, either separate from or attached to the hauberk.
Conroi: a medieval cavalry formation in which the riders rode stirrup to stirrup in rows that enabled a maximum number of lances to come to bear, but also massed the power of the charge.
Crenel: the indentations or loopholes in the top of a battlement or wall.
Crenelate: the act of adding defensive battlements to a building.
Fief: land held on a hereditary basis from a lord in return for military service.
Fetlock: the lowest joint in a horse’s leg.
Frank: the contemporary term used to describe Latin Christians (crusaders, pilgrims, and their descendants) in the Middle East, regardless of their country of origin. The Arab term “Franj” derived from this.
Destrier: a horse specially bred and trained for mounted combat; a charger or warhorse.
Garderobe: a toilet, usually built on the exterior wall of a residence or fortification, that emptied into the surrounding ditch/moat.
Hajj: the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five duties of a good Muslim.
Hauberk: a chain-mail shirt, either long- or short-sleeved, that in this period reached to just above the knee.
Jihad: Muslim holy war, usually interpreted as a war against nonbelievers to spread the faith of Islam.
Kettle helm: an open-faced helmet with a broad rim, common among infantry.
Lance: a cavalry weapon approximately fourteen feet long, made of wood and tipped with a steel head.
Melee: a form of tournament in which two teams of knights face off across a large natural landscape and fight in conditions very similar to real combat, across ditches, hedges, swamps, streams, and so on. These were very popular in the late twelfth century—and very dangerous, often resulting in injuries and even deaths to both men and horses. The modern meaning of any confused, hand-to-hand fight among a large number of people derives from the medieval meaning.
Merlon: the solid part of a battlement or parapet between two openings or “crenels.”
Outremer: A French term meaning “overseas,” used to describe the crusader kingdoms (Kingdom of Jerusalem, County of Tripoli, County of Edessa, and Principality of Antioch) established after the First Crusade in the Holy Land.
Pommel: 1) the raised portion in front of the seat of a saddle; 2) the round portion of a shield above the hand grip.
Palfrey: a riding horse.
Parapet: A wall with crenelation built on a rampart or outer defensive work.
Quintain: a pivoted gibbet-like structure with a shield suspended from one arm and a bag of sand from the other, used to train for mounted combat.
Rampart: an earthen embankment surmounted by a parapet, encircling a castle or city as a defense against attack.
Scabbard (also sheath): the protective outer case of an edged weapon, particularly a sword or dagger.
Surcoat: the loose, flowing cloth garment worn over armor; in this period it was slit up the front and back for riding and hung to mid-calf. It could be sleeveless or have short, wide, elbow-length sleeves. It could be of cotton, linen, or silk and was often brightly dyed, woven, or embroidered with the wearer’s coat of arms.
Tenant-in-chief: an individual holding land directly from the crown.
Turcopoles: troops drawn from the Orthodox Christian population of the crusader states. These were not, as was often claimed, Muslim converts, nor were they the children of mixed marriages.
Vassal: an individual holding a fief (land) in exchange for military service.
Additional Reading
FOR MORE READING ON THE HISTORICAL Balian d’Ibelin, the crusader states, and the crusades, I recommend the following sources:
Barber, Malcolm, The Crusader States, Y
ale University Press, 2012.
Barber, Malcolm, The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple, Cambridge University Press, 1194.
Barber, Richard, The Knight and Chivalry, Boydell Press, 1970.
Bartlett, W. B., Downfall of the Crusader Kingdom, The History Press Ltd, 2010.
Brand, Charles M., Byzantium Confronts the West, ACLS Humanities E-Book, 2012.
Boas, Adrian J., Crusader Archaeology: The Material Culture of the Latin East, Routledge, London, 1999.
Conder, Claude Reignier, The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099 to 1291 AD, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1897.
Edbury, Peter W., John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, The Boydell Press, 1997.
Edbury, Peter W., The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: Sources in Translation, Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998.
Edbury, Peter W., The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades, 1191–1374, Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Edbury, Peter W., and John Gordon Rowe, William of Tyre: Historian of the Latin East, Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Edge, David, and John Miles Paddock, Arms & Armor of the Medieval Knight, Saturn Books, 1996.
Ehrenkreutz, Andrew S., Saladin, State University of New York Press, 1972.
Folda, Jaroslav, Crusader Art: The Art of the Crusaders in the Holy Land, 1099-1291, Ashgate Publishing, 2008.
Gabrieli, Francesco, Arab Historians of the Crusades, University of California Press, 1969.
Hamilton, Bernard, The Leper King and His Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Hamilton, Bernard, “Women in the Crusader States: The Queens of Jerusalem 1100–90,” in Medieval Women, David Baker (ed.), Basil Blackwell, 1978.
Hopkins, Andrea, Knights: The Complete Story of the Age of Chivalry, from Historical Fact to Tales of Romance and Poetry, Collins and Brown Ltd, 1990.
Jotischky, Andrew, Crusading and the Crusader States, Pearson Longman, 2004.
Maalouf, Amin, The Crusades through Arab Eyes, Schocken Books, 1984.
Miller, David, Richard the Lionheart: The Mighty Crusader, Phoenix, 2013.
Miller, Timothy S., and John W. Nesbitt, Walking Corpses: Leprosy in Byzantium and the Medieval West, Cornell University Press, 2014.
Morgan, Margaret Ruth, The Chronicle of Ernoul and the Continuations of William of Tyre, Oxford Historical Monographs, Oxford University Press, 1973.
Nicolle, David, Hattin 1187: Saladin’s Greatest Victory, Osprey Military Campaign Series, 1993.
Pringle, Denys, Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological Gazetteer, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Robinson, John J., Dungeon, Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades, Michael O’Mara Books, 1991.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ed., The Atlas of the Crusades, Facts on File, 1991.
Runciman, Sir Steven, The Families of Outremer: The Feudal Nobility of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099-1291, Athlone Press, 1960.
Stark, Rodney, God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades, HarperCollins, 2010.
I also recommend the following websites/blogs:
http://DefenderofJerusalem.com
http://defendingcrusaderkingdoms.blogspot.com
http://Tales-of-Chivalry.com
http://helenapschrader.com
http://schradershistoricalfiction.blogspot.com
http://crusadesandcrusaders.com
http://realcrusadeshistory.com
Also by Helena P. Schrader
A landless knight,
A leper king,
And the struggle for Jerusalem.
A Biographical Novel of Balian d’Ibelin, Book I
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A crusader in search of faith, a lame lady in search of revenge, and a king who would be saint. “St. Louis’ Knight” takes you to the Holy Land in the 13th century, a world of crusaders, holy men and assassins.
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Defender of Jerusalem Page 69