On this day, November 25, in the year 1177 AD, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (only about 16 years old and afflicted with leprosy) led a surprisingly small Crusader force to an impossible victory over the Muslim general Saladin’s vastly larger army. It was an unmistakable David vs. Goliath victory, worthy of its own movie, and centuries after the famous triumph of God's people over the Philistines through another young boy king the world had overlooked.
Here is one account, according to Battle Archives: https://youtu.be/2MDqilApJbY?si=nlXhJwjM8b-pkupG
The battle took place near Montgisard, possibly close to modern Gezer, between Ramla and Yibna. The victory was so significant for the Crusaders that Baldwin IV later built a monastery on the battlefield, dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria (her feast day was November 25). Despite being vastly outnumbered, Baldwin’s Crusader force triumphed over Saladin's massive army, an outcome so unlikely and fantastic that it defies natural logic and forces one to consider miraculous Divine intervention. After the victory, they gave glory not to themselves, but to God alone.
Ultimately, the hard-fought Holy Land would become safely accessible again to Christians seeking pilgrimage to where The Lord Himself had walked. Centuries later, following the nightmarish holocaust, international sympathy would pave the way for the statehood of Israel for the Jewish people, in unmistakable fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. One does not have to wonder who holds history in His hands.
In honor of the courage, sacrifice, heroism, unlikely victory, and Divine providence on bold display and through the most unlikely vessel of a young Boy King plagued with leprosy, I recommend that we remember what transpired on this day, November 25, 1177. It is worthy of the ethos, recognition, remembrance, sanctity, gratitude, honor, gravitas, bravery, heroic inspiration, and immortality of its own holiday. Virtus Dei vincit. God's courage triumphs.
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(*Other sources: Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, and more).
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