Showing posts with label Kingdom of Heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom of Heaven. Show all posts

Thursday 23 December 2021

The Leper







Alas for Tiny Tim, he bore a little crutch, and had his limbs supported by an iron frame!

“And how did little Tim behave?” 
asked Mrs. Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity, 
and Bob had hugged His Daughter to his heart’s content.

“As Good as Gold,” said Bob, “and better
Somehow he gets Thoughtful
sitting by himself so much
and Thinks the Strangest Things 
you ever heard. 

He told me, coming home, 
that he hoped The People saw him in The Church, because he was A Cripple, 
and it might be pleasant to them 
to remember upon Christmas Day, 
who made lame beggars walk
and blind men see.”



Kingdom of Heaven - King Baldwin IV

The King :
Come forward.
I am glad to meet 
Godfrey's Son.




He was one of 
My Greatest Teachers.

He was there when, 
playing with the other boys, 
my arm was cut.

And it was he
not My Father's Physicians,
who noticed that I felt no pain.

He wept when he gave 
My Father the news...
  
That I am 
A Leper.

The Saracens say 
that This Disease
is God's Vengeance against
The Vanity of 
Our Kingdom.

As wretched as I am... 
these Arabs believe that 
the chastisement that 
awaits me in Hell...
is far more Severe 
and Lasting.
  
If that's True
I call it Unfair.

  
(He brings him over to his Chess Board)

The King :
Come. Sit.
Do you play? 

Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
No.

  The King :
The Whole World is in Chess.
Any move can be 
The Death of You.

Do anything except 
remain where you started,
and You can't be sure 
of Your End.

Were you sure of 
Your End, once?

Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
I was

The King :
What was it?

Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
To be buried a hundred yards 
from where I was born.
  
The King :
And now?

Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
Now I sit in Jerusalem 
and look upon A King.

  The King :
When I was 16 
I won A Great Victory.

I felt, in that moment,
I would live to be 100.
Now, I know I shall not see 30.

None of us know 
our end, really...
or what hand will 
guide us there.

A King may move A Man.
A Father may claim A Son.
That Man can also move himself.

And only then 
Does That Man Truly 
Begin His Own Game.

Remember, howsoever 
You are Played
or By Whom
Your Soul is in 
Your Keeping alone,
even though those who presume to play you 
be Kings or Men of Power.

When You Stand Before God, 
You Cannot Say,
"But I was told by Others 
to do thus", 
or that Virtue was
not convenient at the time.”

  
This will not suffice.
Remember That.

Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
I will.

The King :
You know what this is?

Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
A Fortification. 

The King :
What do you think of it?

Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
…..

The King :
You disapprove.
Well, how would 
you improve it?

  Sir Balian, 
Baron of Ibelin :
A Cross. Or better
A Star, like this : —

That way no part of The Fortress may be approached, 
without being exposed to fire from another part.

  The King :
Yes, I like this : Your Walls are more
difficult to address — Very Good.

You will go to 
Your Father's House at Ibelin, 
Your House, now —

And then from there 
You Will Protect 
The Pilgrim Road.

Safeguard in particular
the Jews and the Muslims.

All are welcome in Jerusalem.

Not only because it's expedient,
but because it is right.

Protect The Helpless.

And then maybe one day,
when I am helpless,
You Will Come and 
Protect Me.

Baldwin IV (1161 – 16 March 1185), called the Leper, or The Leper King, reigned as King of Jerusalem from 1174 until his death. Baldwin IV was the sixth King of Jerusalem, and he came to power in a critical point in the history of the crusader states. 
He was intelligent and a magnificent military estretega. Strong, brave and indomitable spirit. In his nine years he contracted leprosy. He was crowned king when he was only thirteen. And at sixteen defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. After years of illness, died at his twenty-four years.

This scene was cut from the theatrical release of Kingdom of Heaven, 
but restored for the director's cut. 
Baldwin IV speaks with Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem.