A lepra e a representação do Rei Balduíno IV na crônica de Guilherme de Tiro (SÉCULO XII)

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the representation of leprosy based on of the reports about the leper king, Baldwin IV (1161-1185), present in the chronicle History rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum (History of deeds in the overseas). This work was written by Guilherme de Tiro (1130-1186) between 1170- 1184 and the focus of the narrative is the description of the kingdom of Jerusalem in 1096 to 1184. And amidst the reports, he presents the biography of King Baldwin IV and the leprosy disease. In this way, the scope and temporal space of the research is the kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century, as it encompasses the period of life, that is, the performance of the monarch and the composition of the work under study. In this way, we have The main objective is to analyze the representation of King Baldwin IV who suffered of a disease that was considered during the Middle Ages as a form of divine punishment against those who sinned against God's laws. To study the research object, we propose the analysis of the concepts of representation, memory, chronicle and biography. Thus, the main source is a chronicle in which the author Guilherme de Tiro, in the midst of reports about the Kingdom of Jerusalem describes Baldwin IV who as monarch was considered the image of God on earth and who at the same time suffered from an illness related to sin: leprosy. In this sense, we carry out an analysis comparative about leprosy in the chronicle discourse with the symptoms, causes and preventive measures presented in medical discourse based on the study of works by three physicists from the 13th and 14th centuries: Treasury of the Poor composed of Pedro Hispano; Summa da Medicina by Arnaldo de Vilanova; Lilio da Medicina by Bernardo de Gordonio.