During the Battle of Montgisard King Baldwin IV ordered the relic of the True Cross to be raised in front of his troops.
The King, whose body was already ravaged by aggressive leprosy, was helped from his horse and dropped to his knees before the cross. ⚔️🧵...
He prayed to God for victory and rose to his feet to cheers from his men, who were moved by what they had just witnessed.
He was only 16 Years old.
The Jerusalem army attacked the hurriedly arranged Muslims, inflicting heavy casualties. The King, fighting with bandaged hands to cover his sores, was in the thick of the fighting.
Baldwin pursued Saladin until nightfall, and then retired to Ascalon.
Only a remnant of Saladins army made it back to Egypt with him
With only 3,000-4,500 men, he had secured a major victory against an army of 21,000-26,000
Baldwin memorialized his victory by erecting a Benedictine monastery on the battlefield dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. However, it was a difficult victory; Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, reported that 1,100 men had been killed and 750 returned home wounded.
"It is not fitting that a hand so weak as mine should hold power when fear of Arab aggression daily presses upon the Holy City and when my sickness increases the enemy’s daring…"
-Baldwin the Leper to King Louis VII of France
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