Editing Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (section)

==Regency==
[[File:Toulouse8 - rev 1.png|thumb|Seal of Raymond III of Tripoli]]

Until he reached the [[age of majority]], which was 15 in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Baldwin needed a regent to rule in his name.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=30}} The government was initially assumed by the [[Seneschal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem|seneschal]], [[Miles of Plancy]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=84}}{{sfn|Runciman|1952|p=404}} Shortly thereafter Count Raymond III of Tripoli arrived in Jerusalem and succeeded in claiming regency as the king's closest kinsman.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|pp=88–89}} Miles was murdered while trying to extend his hold on the government.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=90}}{{sfn|Runciman|1952|p=405}} No new seneschal was appointed for two years, and so the young and sickly king presided over burdensome High Court meetings when the regent was away on military duties or in [[County of Tripoli|Tripoli]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=95}}

Baldwin's mother, Agnes, returned to court when Raymond became regent. She is frequently accused by historians of exploiting her son's condition for self-gain, but Hamilton notes that the contemporary sources, including Baldwin's tutor, William of Tyre, are biased against her.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=95}} Hamilton believes that Baldwin had no memories of his mother because he grew up without her since the age of two, but that she became devotedly kind to him and he developed a strong attachment to her.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=96}}

During the regency it became clear that the king was indeed affected by leprosy.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=100}} It is not clear from whom he caught it; medical historian Piers Mitchell concludes that it must have been someone with whom Baldwin had spent a lot of time at a young age, such as a family member, a [[wet nurse]], or another servant, and who did not exhibit easily visible symptoms.{{sfn|Mitchell|2000|p=249}} Puberty may have accelerated the development of the [[Lepromatous leprosy|lepromatous form]] of the illness. His condition worsened rapidly. Most severely affected were his limbs and face, which made his subjects uneasy when they approached him.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=101}} Yet, contrary to the common practice,{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=29}} and to the surprise of Muslim observers, Baldwin was never segregated.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=102}} As a leper, Baldwin could not marry or expect to have children.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=109}} It thus became a priority to [[arranged marriages|arrange a marriage]] for Baldwin's sister and heir presumptive, Sibylla. Raymond's choice was [[William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon|William of Montferrat]], son of Margrave [[William V of Montferrat]] in [[Piedmont]], Italy, and cousin of both the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Frederick Barbarossa]] and King [[Louis VII of France]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=101}}