Montgisard Suite

<p><strong>This is the story of Baldwin IV, the leprous king of Jerusalem during the Crusades in the 12th century. Born in 1161, he became King at the age of 13 and died in 1185 ,aged 24. In that time there was no cure for leprosy. The album&#39;s highlight is his great victory at the battle of Montgisard (Tel al-Safija) in The Holy Land (1177). With a small army of 500 Crusader Knights against an enemy(Saladin) with an army 50 times greater in numbers. </strong></p><p><strong>The Knights Templar were the elite fighting force of their day. However, not all of them were warriors. The mission of most of the members was one of support -- to acquire resources which could be used to fund and equip the small percentage of members who were fighting on the front lines. Because of this infrastructure, the warriors were well-trained and very well-armed. Even their horses were trained to fight in combat, kicking or biting the enemies. One of the key battles in which this was demonstrated was in 1177, at the Battle of Montgisard. The famous Muslim military leader Saladin was attempting to push toward Jerusalem from the south, with a force of 26,000 soldiers. He had pinned the forces of Jerusalem&#39;s King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, about 500 knights and their supporters, near the coast, at Ascalon. Eighty Templar knights and their own entourage attempted to reinforce. They met Saladin&#39;s troops at Gaza, but were considered too small a force to be worth fighting, so Saladin turned his back on them and headed with his army towards Jerusalem. Once Saladin and his army had moved on, the Templars were able to join King Baldwin&#39;s forces, and together they proceeded north along the coast. Saladin had made a key mistake at that point -- instead of keeping his forces together, he permitted his army to temporarily spread out and pillage various villages on their way to Jerusalem. The Templars took advantage of this low state of readiness to launch a surprise ambush directly against Saladin and his bodyguard, at Montgisard near Ramla. Saladin&#39;s army was spread too thin to adequately defend themselves, and he and his forces were forced to fight a losing battle as they retreated back to the south, ending up with only a tenth of their original number. The battle was not the final one with Saladin, but it bought a year of peace for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the victory became a heroic legend.</strong></p><p><strong>Credits:&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong>The song Montgisard was composed, arranged and played entirely by Jack Langevelt, with the exception of the guitar parts.They were played by David Dexter. </strong></p><p><strong>KEYBOARDS: Hammond XB2, Roland JV 1010, Roland U 110, Korg iX 300, Korg X5DR, Yamaha DX 11, Yamaha SR 15, Emu Proteus </strong></p><p><strong>BASS and DRUMS: Roland and Korg bass&amp;drums </strong></p><p><strong>Jack Langevelt</strong> </p>