Queen Sybilla and her husband, Guy de Lusignan. His white robe symbolizes chastity.
In general, it's worth remembering that the movie is a fictionalized adaptation of historical events. While some of the broader context is historically accurate, most of the details are fictional, created by the writers to tell an interesting story.
Culture
- First of all, a noble appointing a bastard son as his heir basically at will, as Godfrey does to Balian at the beginning of the film, would absolutely not have been considered a valid succession in that time and place. While there are exceptions in history, being a bastard generally removed you from any possibility of being a heir in the Middle Ages; as Godfrey had no legitimate sons, ownership of his lands would have simply reverted back to the king and the latter would have granted it to another lord. The king in this case was Baldwin, a close friend to Godfrey who could have intervened to help him bequeath his lands to Balian as he wanted (if again, a bastard would be unusual), but this is never mentioned in the film, and it is instead made it to look like Godfrey's was the accustomed way to do it. Strangely, Guy does lampshade this in the actual film, pointing out that Balian wouldn't have been able to inherit back in France, but this claim, while correct, overlooks that in real life he wouldn't have been able in Jerusalem either.
- The portrayal of The Knights Templar being the most fervent and fanatical of all Crusaders to utterly suicidal levels smacks of this. In truth, after the foundation of the Crusader States, the military orders settled comfortably into expanding their wealth and power through trade, not least of all with the Islamic world, and the Templars were not the exception. While they would have certainly loved to see Islam defeated, for them to upset the tentative peace would have been very unlikely, as they obtained many economic and political benefits from it. Indeed, from contemporary Muslim sources, we know that it was the new arrivals from Europe that were more likely to cause problems, rather than the Templars and other knights who had been there for a long time and had adjusted to living and working with non-Christians; one Muslim writer even recounts an incident where he was harassed by newly arrived pilgrims, and the Templars stepped in on his behalf, apologising to him for his treatment.
- Neither Reynald de Châtillon nor Guy de Lusignan were Knights Templar in real life, and portraying Guy as one, especially while being married to Sibylla, doesn't make any kind of sense. Far from the elitist lay nobility seen in the film, Templars were literally monks: not only did they renounce all their personal titles outside the Order, but they could hold no land or possessions in their own name, being therefore removed from royal succession if they had been born into it, and also took vows to stay celibate. Furthermore, Templars in the film also sport long hair and beards and can be seen drinking wine, when in real life they were required to keep both short and to observe monastic rules. Strangely, the movie lampshades the whole concept of warrior monks when the Hospitalier is introduced, only to ignore it completely when portraying the Templars despite those being a much more notable and known example.
- At the end of the film, Balian gives a speech to the citizens of Jerusalem where he proclaims the city doesn't actually belong to Christians over Jews or Muslims, and the crowd accepts this thesis without any visible protest (except by the Patriarch, who is portrayed as an ass anyways). Needless to say, this is a monumental bout of Politically Correct History: in real life, any Christian proclaiming that Holy Land was not an unquestionable patrimony of Christendom was basically preaching heresy, and there was simply no way a mass of predominantly Christian commoners would have accepted it (especially those who were part of a Crusader state like the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and among which there were several members of religious knightly orders). The same can be said about his line that "God will understand, and if he doesn't, then he is not God and we need not worry", an absolutely blasphemous line of thinking that would have been at home in The Enlightenment, certainly not in the Middle Ages.
Military
- The Templars in the film sport the Latin Cross in their uniforms and flags, but at the time they should have still used the Cross Pattée instead.
- The three knights who ambush Balian shortly before Guy's coronation, presumed Templars, wear the black cross of the Teutonic Knights. This order was established in 1190, after the Third Crusade alluded to in the epilogue of the film.
- While Balian is in Sicily, some of the crusaders in the background are seen carrying the combined arms of Castile and Leon. However Castile and Leon were separate kingdoms in the 1180s; the combined arms were adopted after they united in 1230.
- The claim that Saladin has around 200,000 soldiers stationed solely in Damascus is an absolutely insane exaggeration (and given that it is Baldwin who gives the number, it cannot be chalked up to misinformation or hysteria). By modern estimations, Saladin's local army at the time would range between 20,000–40,000, considering this was roughly the size of the Muslim army during the Battle of Hattin. For reference as to how egregious the exaggeration is, 200,000 is a lower bound estimate for the entire population of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the time, civilians and combatants alike.
- The swordfighting style Balian is taught and subsequently uses in the film references real historical European martial arts, but the earliest sources we have for these were written centuries after the events depicted in the film. It's entirely likely an uncodified early variant would have already existed by then, but the HEMA community had quite a time nitpicking these details anyway.
Characters
- The actual Balian was not born out of wedlock nor came from France, but was a nobleman native to the Kingdom of Jerusalem who was much older at the time of the film's events. His portrayal in the film is a Composite Character with his father (named Barisan or Balian the Elder and not Godfrey), the founder of their family, who did come from Europe (traditionally thought as France, but modern historians believe he was actually Italian) and whose origins were obscure enough to have been believably a bastard. In any case, he was not a personal enemy to Guy either, but merely an adviser who sometimes disagreed with him.
- The teacher that first realized Baldwin was a leper was not Balian's father, but another historical figure, Archbishop William of Tyre.
- Baldwin IV's leprosy was even more severe than it was in the movie. In the movie, while certainly weak, he's shown being able to walk without too much issue and engage in otherwise normal conversation with Balian. In reality, by the time the film takes place, his condition had gotten so bad, he had gone blind, and lost the use of all four of his limbs. To that end, while he was present at the Siege of Kerak, he couldn't ride and had to be carried on a litter.
- The film renames a historical character, Raymond III, as "Tiberias", which in real life was the name of a city located in one of Raymond's domains. This change was officially done in order not to get the audiences confused between Raymond and Reynald.
- The whole concept of Tiberias being marshall of Jerusalem in Baldwin IV's name was invented for the movie. The real Raymond III did act as regent of Jerusalem for a time, but it was until Baldwin IV's came of age, and they didn't even remain allies afterwards. He instead left for Cyprus, even although Baldwin had tried to convince him to stay in his court, and the relationship between both quickly deteriorated as a consequence, with Baldwin later coming to believe Raymond was conspiring to seize the crown. Baldwin eventually backpedaled when he saw himself in his deathbed, realizing Raymond was still the best man to fend Guy off until Baldwin V came of age himself, and granted him a second regency, which lasted until the child died and Sybilla got Guy crowned.
- Balian's Incorruptible Pure Pureness portrayal is also lacking, as the historical Balian famously broke an oath made to Saladin that he would neither take arms against him any further nor would leave Jerusalem if his wife and children were allowed safe passage for Tripoli. That said, he later sent a message to Saladin apologizing for it, which Saladin accepted and gave Balian's family safe passage to Tripoli anyway.
- Sybilla is portrayed here as being in the moderate faction of Jerusalem, opposed to her own husband, while in real life she was a square supporter of Guy. While her marriage was arranged, Sybilla and Guy actually loved each other, and Balian was her political enemy.
- The historical Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem was actually a close ally to Balian and his family and a selfless defender of the city, not an Obstructive Bureaucrat as portrayed in the film. He even absolved him for breaking his oath to Saladin, saying the needs of the city were more important than an oath made to a Muslim, and paid a lot of the city's defenders (and later ransoms) with his own money, even stripping the gold and silver from the Holy Sepulchre to raise the money.
- Saladin was much harsher in reality towards the Christians of Jerusalem. He allowed many to leave in return for a ransom and personally freed many who could not pay, but the rest were enslaved as it was the custom (thought for the standards of the time this was still considered merciful). He also had to be talked by his advisers into leaving the Christian Church of Jerusalem intact, unlike the film where he immediately goes there to honor the place.
- In the extended cut, Sybilla is seen teaching geography to the young Baldwin V, to whom she explains that England is currently ruled by Richard I. In real life, England was still ruled by Henry II at that point, as Richard only reached the throne three years later.
Events
- While the film's portrayal of Reynald as a suicidally reckless warlord is accurate, as are the consequences of his actions, he was neither encouraged by nor acted as a crazy henchman to Guy in real life. The historical Guy was a weak, indecisive king who wanted to avoid the war but was simply unable to control Reynald and other fanatics, not the other way around (although the film does subtly imply that Reynald is in turn fueling Guy's already rotten mindset and pushing him into greater action).
- While they were united in the defense of Jerusalem, no known romantic relationship happened between Balian and Sybilla (there is folklore that she was infatuated with his older brother Baldwin, but this has been disproven), and he married her stepmother Maria Comnena instead. However, the bit about the moderate faction wishing secretly to marry Balian and Sybilla to bolster alliances is true, as it was Baldwin IV's intention to annul the marriage between Guy and Sybilla, although those happened at different points.
- The negotiation in Kerak between Baldwin IV and Saladin (as well as Reynald's jailing) never happened in real life. When Saladin saw the army of Jerusalem approaching, he simply gave up the siege and ordered his army to return to Damascus. The siege of Kerak is also conflated here with the Battle of Belvoir Castle, which happened the previous year, where Baldwin IV defeated Saladin at the cost of his health.
- The movie's plot both decompresses and alters the historical timeline of Jerusalem's throne. In the film, Guy only becomes king after the death of Baldwin IV (in the commercial cut) or the child Baldwin V (in the director's cut), and his royal policies with Reynald lead directly to the Battle of Hattin. In real life, Guy was first installed in the throne as a regent by Baldwin IV himself while the latter was still alive. It was during this regency that Reynald's actions took place, leading Baldwin to get angry and depose Guy in favor of his child nephew Baldwin V with Raymond III acting as regent. Only after both Baldwins died did Guy ascend to the throne again, a year before the Battle of Hattin.
- Baldwin V did die as a child, but there is no historical evidence that he too had leprosy, and certainly none to indicate he was euthanized by Sybilla to spare him suffering.
- Saladin's sister was never captured, much less killed, in Reynald's raid. This appears only in folklore, and much like the previous entry about Sybilla, it has been disproven. However, it is true that Saladin feared the possibility after Reynald's attack and made sure she was always well guarded.
- The Guy from the film remains remarkably stoic while watching Reynald being executed by Saladin, while in real life he basically panicked and Saladin had to clarify that he wasn't going to execute him too. Also, Reynald was fully beheaded (which does happen in the director's cut).
- In real life, Balian and Raymond III actually participated in the Battle of Hattin, barely managing to cut their way out and retreating to Jerusalem, while in the film Balian and Tiberias stay in the city and only arrive to see the battle's consequences. The Battle of Hattin, by the way, wasn't a reckless march into the desert like the one portrayed in the movie, but rather a reckless attempt at relieving a Christian fortress under siege by Saladin (the fortress of Tiberias, near the Sea of Galilee, which lends its name to its lord here).
- The real Reynald is said to have been given one last chance to survive by Saladin, on the condition that he converted to Islam, which Reynald refused. Here, he insults Saladin by knowingly taking the water he offered to Guy and is executed almost immediately. This change is probably an attempt to avoid Values Dissonance: Reynald's refusal to convert may have turned him into a Noble Demon or Even Evil Has Standards in the eyes of a Western audience, rather than the monster the film aims for. A medieval Muslim audience (or even a modern Muslim audience in some places), however, would have interpreted Saladin not giving Reynald the chance to convert as a Kick the Dog moment for him.
- While it is also true that, due to the extreme scarcity of knights in Jerusalem after the Battle of Hattin (there were only two available for the upcoming siege by Saladin's forces), Balian had to resort to some atypical mass knighting, it only concerned the sons of the nobles aged over fifteen and sixty of the most illustrious Jerusalem burgesses, never peasants.
- The real Balian didn't return to France after the fall of Jerusalem, but instead moved to Tripoli with his family, where they tried (and failed) to appoint a new king, Baldwin V's uncle Conrad of Montferrat, to try to retake the city. He also participated actively in the Third Crusade, aiding to sign a treaty between King Richard and Saladin, while in the film he refuses. For her part, the real Sybilla never abandoned her throne, instead following Guy to Tyre and later participating in the crusade too.
Geography
- When Richard I greets Balian at the end of the film, he announces himself as the king of England. A modern audience is meant to take it at face-value that Richard is the legendary foreign king just passing through France, but depending on the location of Balian's village, he was likely Balian's rightful king too. Richard wasn't just king of England, he inherited the majority of France from his father, Henry II who had consolidated both countries under the greater Angevin Empire. Had Richard wished, he could have ordered Balian to accompany him back to the holy land under threat of treason, whether he knew the blacksmith was Balian or not.
