BALDWIN I, King of Jerusalem. — Brother of Godfrey of Bouillon. Destined for an ecclesiastical state, he was, in his youth, suitably instructed in literary disciplines. In 1096, probably following the appeal of Pope Urban II to the Flemings, B. took the cross together with two of his brothers.
In the army of his brother Godfrey, composed of Walloons, Flemings, and Germans, he reached Asia Minor after a long and perilous journey, where he fought victoriously in various battles against the Turks and local lords. In 1098 he was recognized as Prince of Edessa. After learning of the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders (15 July 1099), he went to visit the holy places and arrived in Jerusalem toward the end of the year 1099. Godfrey of Bouillon (q.v.), who died on 18 July 1100, had designated his brother B. to succeed him as Prince of the Franks and guardian of the Holy Sepulchre. Returning to Jerusalem in 1100, he accepted the title: “Baldwin, by the grace of God, first Latin King of Jerusalem,” and was crowned by Patriarch Daimbert in the church of Bethlehem on 25 December 1100. B. was a man of courage, perseverance, and prudence, and during his reign (1100–18) he succeeded in expanding externally and consolidating internally the Latin state in Palestine. With the aid of new forces from the West, especially the fleets of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, he gradually conquered the maritime cities belonging to Palestine. In 1101 Arsuf and Caesarea, in 1104 the important fortress of Acre or Ptolemais, in 1109 Tripoli, in 1110 Beirut and Sidon. In the interior of the country castles and towers were built to secure the roads. Finally, the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Jerusalem over the other principalities of the Westerners in the Near East was recognized.
In an expedition against Egypt in 1118, B. contracted a mortal illness and on his return died at al-Arish on 2 April 1118. Since he had no heirs, he recommended as his most capable successors his brother Eustace and Count Baldwin of Edessa. The nobles chose the latter, as he was already in the East and at that moment in Jerusalem.