Balian d'Ibelin and the Third Crusade

Welcome to the Rave Reviews Book Club 2016 Book and Blog Party. From Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Helena P. Schrader is delighted to participate in this event featuring a wide-range of talented authors from all literary genres.
If you leave a comment on this blog entry, you will qualify for a free ebook copy of "Envoy of Jerusalem."

Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was "like a king."  He served a leper, but defied Richard the Lionheart.
He fought Saladin to a stand-still, yet retained his respect.. Rather than dally with a princess, he  married a dowager queen -- and founded a dynasty. He was a warrior and a diplomat both:
Balian d'Ibelin ​
Balian d'Ibelin, the hero of Ridley Scott's film "The Kingdom of Heaven" was a historical figure, whose biography was significantly different from the Hollywood character. I have written a three-part biography of Balian based on the known historical facts and extensive research about his society and contemporaries. As with all my novels, particularly my biographical novels, the focus is on the characters, and I am a firm believer that human nature has not changed fundamentally over the millennia.  I  apply my understanding of human nature gained over the decades to get inside the skin of my historical characters.

The Hollywood Balian was born a bastard, by trade a blacksmith, seducer of a princess, who returns to obscurity in France after the fall of Jerusalem. The historical Balian, in contrast, was the legitimate son of a baron of Jerusalem, born in the Holy Land, the husband of the Dowager Queen and Byzantine princess Maria Comnena, a member of the High Court, and Richard the Lionheart's ambassador to Saladin.

For readers tired of cliches, cartoons and fantasy, my three-part biography of Balian based on the above facts not only brings this important and attractive historical character back to life, it provides refreshing insights into everyday life in the late 12th century crusader states. Rich in complex characters, "Envoy of Jerusalem," provides psychologically sound explanations for the decisions and actions of the men and women who made history in this fateful place and period. It offers humans in place of villains and supermen.

"Envoy of Jerusalem" covers the critical five years between the fall of Jerusalem to the end of the Third Crusade. When the novel opens, Balian has survived the devastating defeat of the Christian army on the Horns of Hattin, and walked away a free man after the surrender of Jerusalem, but he is baron of nothing in a kingdom that no longer exists. Haunted by the tens of thousands of Christians captives now in Saracen slavery, Balian is determined to regain what has been lost. The arrival of a vast crusading army under the soon-to-be-legendary Richard the Lionheart offers hope - but also conflict as natives and crusaders clash and French and English quarrel.

This novel follows the fate not just of kings and barons, but also knights, squires, sailors and tradesmen. It particularly focuses on the horrific impact of a lost war on women - many of whom were condemned to slavery and prostitution in the wake of defeat.

"Envoy of Jerusalem" portrays the clash of cultures between the natives of the Holy Land and the crusaders. It, unlike most novels set in this period, describes the Third Crusade through the eyes of the men and women who called the Holy Land "home," rather than those that came out from the West. Likewise, Richard the Lionheart is shown as a man of many parts, rather than a brute, buffoon or paragon of virtue.

Last but not least, "Envoy of Jerusalem" explores the crisis in faith that the fall of Jerusalem produced among Christians of the period. The characters struggle with understanding the will of God and their individual role and place in the presumed divine plan. Hope I've whet your appetite! 

For more information about Balian visit his website at: http://defenderofjerusalem.com -- and be sure to check out the next stop for BOOK & BLOG BLOCK PARTY!