Baldwin I of Jerusalem: Defender of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem

The reign of King Baldwin I (1100-1118) has thus far received little noteworthy attention by historians as the important pivotal period following the First Crusade conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. The two decades of his rule marked the extension of Latin conquests in the east, most notably by the conquest of the important coastal cities of Arsulf, Acre, Caesarea, Beirut and Sidon. These vital ports for the early Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem provided outlets to the sea for commerce, as well as safe harbors for incoming assistance from the west. Further, Baldwin led in the establishment of strong secular control over ecclesiastical authorities, and provided a model of administration for subsequent monarchs to follow until the loss of the kingdom in 1187. Baldwin's contributions to these developments are presented here in a bibliographical framework to illustrate both his important place in crusader historiography, as well as to gauge the significance of his memory in contemporary literature as a second Joshua archetype. The conquest of Jerusalem and the decades that followed were extraordinarily perilous for the western “colonial ” transplants, and thus