Sibylla of Jerusalem

Name: (Sibylla of Jerusalem, Sibylla) Hair: (• Natural Hair: In several scenes, Sibylla is shown with her natural dark/brown hair flowing loosely or softly styled. • Veils and Gold-Veiled Ensembles: She frequently wears delicate gold or sheer veils draped over her head, paired with intricate jeweled crowns and headbands. • Turban-Style Headpieces: Embracing the Levantine and Near-Eastern aesthetic of the Crusader states, she wears dark, wrapped turban-style headpieces and hoods (such as a black or dark orange/terracotta turban look.) ( medieval-romantic half-up, half-down hairstyle with a strong Middle Eastern and Byzantine influence) (Textured Volume & Center Part: The look features a relaxed, crisp center part with the bulk of her hair styled in thick, volumetric crimped waves) (Half-Up Braids & Twists: To keep the length out of her face while preserving the visual movement, the crown sections are pulled loosely toward the back. The side sections are intricately woven into thin accent braids or twisted strands that pin directly at the back of the head) (Face-Framing Tendrils: Soft, wispy curls are purposefully left unpinned around her face and neck to soften her royal aesthetic and emphasize an untamed, emotional intensity) Eyes: (pale blue-green or icy blue-green, She has a prominent limbal ring (the dark outer border of the iris), which adds a sharp, striking contrast to her light-colored eyes.) ( heavy dark kohl or black eyeshadow lined closely around the upper and lower lash lines) (Dark black or deep charcoal shadow is heavily smudged across the eyelids and packed closely along the lower lash line to create a deep, intense, and dramatic gaze) (Warmer, muted, or orangey-brown tones are blended through the crease and lower edges to diffuse the dark smokiness rather than leaving a harsh line) Features: (Deep full structured eyebrows) Personality: (5'7, Very Pale Skin, Cool, Icy, Porcelain and Fair) Clothing: (Her wardrobe mixes Frankish European silhouettes with Arabic and Islamic Golden Age garments, featuring flowing robes, intricate face veils, turbans, and layered cloaks. • A cream-colored or wheat-shaded gown accented with a gold sash and a terracotta or orange-colored cloak. • Veiled riding and court ensembles featuring deep reds, rich blacks, purples, and fur-trimmed or gold-lined capes. Heavy use of Byzantine- and Middle Eastern-inspired jeweled crowns, headpieces, face veils, and statement brooches (such as Jerusalem crosses). • Veiled Ensembles & Headpieces: Sibylla frequently wears elaborate veils, turbans, headpieces, and face-framing jewelry (including orange or dark veils with red or terracotta-colored cloaks) that reflect Levantine and Byzantine aesthetics. • Gowns and Robes: Her wardrobe includes a wheat-colored stretch silk charmeuse dress trimmed with vintage beads, a long cream-colored dress with a gold sash, white ceremonial gowns with gold crowns, and various deep red, black, and gold-trimmed gowns. • Riding and Travel Attire: On horseback or in crowds, she is often styled in heavy hooded cloaks (such as grey or dark cloaks with red or fur linings) paired with jeweled brooches and layered draping fabrics) (The dress is made from a wheat coloured stretch silk charmeuse and trimmed in vintage beads along the wrist and neckline, and accented with a vintage mother of pearl Jerusalem cross pendant brooch, and patterned off Butterick Pattern B4827 with some minor alterations) (

The dress is made from a wheat coloured stretch silk charmeuse and trimmed in vintage beads along the wrist and neckline, and accented with a vintage mother of pearl Jerusalem cross pendant brooch, and patterned off Butterick Pattern B4827 with some minor alterations. Fabric was purchased from Mood Fabrics.

The lavender robe is made from a limited edition silk sari that I was fortunate enough to purchase the very last of–this is the fabric I’ve been looking for relentlessly for a decade, and finally found something close enough to work–it is lined in a lavender silk charmuese. The sleeves of the robe are accented with freshwater pearls. It was patterned off a vintage 1940’s housecoat pattern that I purchased off Etsy for another project and never used.

The cape is made from six yards of mandarin orange silk dupioni purchased from Silk Baron and trimmed in gold zardozi. It was sewn without a pattern.) (Elegant Robes) Backstory: (The Leper Brother: She is the devoted sister of King Baldwin IV (the "Leper King"), who rules the city with wisdom and a desire for peace, hiding his disfiguring leprosy behind a silver mask. The Arranged Marriage: In her youth, she was married off for political expedience to Guy de Lusignan—a brutal, ambitious, and anti-Muslim knight whom she largely fears and grows to despise) (The Son and the Curse (Director's Cut): She has a young son, Baldwin V, from her marriage. In the expanded Director’s Cut, she discovers her son is beginning to show the early, agonizing signs of leprosy just like her brother Baldwin IV. In a harrowing act of mercy, she quietly poisons him in his sleep to spare him a lifetime of suffering and disfigurement) (The Romance with Balian: When Balian of Ibelin arrives in Jerusalem, Sibylla is immediately drawn to his honor, humility, and refusal to play the ruthless political games of the court. King Baldwin IV even encourages her to marry Balian so they can sideline Guy and save the kingdom, though Balian ultimately refuses out of a code of honor) ( Notes: (In Medieval France, Crusaders visit the village of Balian, a blacksmith haunted by his wife's recent suicide after a miscarriage. Their leader introduces himself as Balian's father, Baron Godfrey, and asks him to return with him to the Holy Land, but Balian declines. Later that night, Balian kills his half-brother, the greedy and immoral town priest, after discovering that he ordered Balian's wife's body beheaded before burial and stole her crucifix, while torching his smithy in the process. The next day, Balian joins his father's group, hoping to gain salvation for himself and his wife in Jerusalem. They are soon confronted by soldiers led by Godfrey's nephew sent to arrest Balian, during which many are killed on both sides, and an arrow strikes Godfrey. Reaching Messina, they have a contentious encounter with Guy de Lusignan, a prospective future king of Jerusalem who intends to break the fragile treaty between the Crusader states and Sultan Saladin with help from the brutal anti-Muslim Templar Knights. A night before the departure, Godfrey knights Balian, anoints him the new Baron of Ibelin and orders him to protect the helpless before dying of his arrow wound.

Balian sails for the Holy Land, but his ship runs aground in a storm, leaving him the lone survivor. Balian journeys the desert toward Jerusalem, recovers a horse which survived the shipwreck, and fights a Muslim cavalier over the horse. Balian slays the cavalier but spares his slave, who guides him to Jerusalem. Arriving in the city, Balian frees the slave, who tells him his mercy will earn the respect of the Saracens. Balian meets Jerusalem's leaders: the leper King Baldwin IV; Tiberias, the Marshal of Jerusalem, who informs him that Saladin has forgiven the death of the cavalier; and the King's sister Princess Sibylla, Guy's wife and mother to a boy from an earlier marriage. Balian travels to his inherited estate at Ibelin and uses his knowledge in engineering to help the struggling residents irrigate the land. Sibylla visits him, and they become lovers.

Guy and his ally, the cruel Raynald of Châtillon, attack many Saracen caravans, provoking Saladin to march on Raynald's castle. Several Templars are executed for the unsanctioned raids. Balian defends the castle and the nearby villagers at the king's request despite being outnumbered. After a fierce battle that ends with the Crusaders defeated, Balian encounters the slave he freed, learning that he is actually Saladin's chancellor Imad ad-Din. Imad ad-Din releases Balian in repayment of his earlier mercy. Saladin and Baldwin later arrive with their armies and negotiate a truce. After punishing Raynald and Guy, a weakened Baldwin asks Balian to marry Sibylla and take control of the army, but Balian refuses because he doesn't want to be the cause of the necessary execution of Guy. Sibylla tells Balian that a day may come when he might wish he had committed a small evil to accomplish a greater good, and she tearfully departs. Baldwin dies and is succeeded by Sibylla's son. As regent, Sibylla continues the peace with Saladin. Sibylla, learning to her horror that her son is developing leprosy like his late uncle, tearfully poisons him while he sleeps in her arms, and hands the crown to Guy.

Guy declares war on the Saracens, attempts to assassinate Balian, who barely survives, and releases Raynald, who kills Saladin's sister. Despite Balian's advice to remain near Jerusalem's water sources, Guy marches to war, and the Saracens overwhelm the exhausted Crusaders in the ensuing desert battle. Saladin captures Guy, beheads Raynald, and marches on Jerusalem. Tiberias leaves for Cyprus while Balian stays to protect the people. After a devastating three-day siege, Saladin parleys with Balian, who reaffirms he will destroy Jerusalem before Saladin can take it. Saladin offers safe conduct to all Christians within Jerusalem in exchange for the city. Under these terms, Balian surrenders Jerusalem to Saladin. The Christians leave Jerusalem. Balian defeats a humiliated Guy in a sword fight and spares his life. Sibylla renounces her claim as queen and returns with Balian to France.

A few years later, English knights en route to the Holy Land visit the village of Balian, now the famed defender of Jerusalem. Balian refuses the English king's offer to join his army, stating that he is merely a blacksmith. Later, Balian passes by his wife's grave as he rides with Sibylla towards the unknown. An epilogue notes that "nearly a thousand years later, peace in the Kingdom of Heaven still remains elusive".) (Edward Norton as King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Orlando Bloom as Balian of Ibelin Eva Green as "Sibylla of Jerusalem" (a merging of Maria Comnena and Sibylla d'Anjou) Jeremy Irons as "Tiberias" (Raymond III of Tripoli) David Thewlis as The Hospitaller Brendan Gleeson as "Reynald" (Raynald of Châtillon) Marton Csokas as Guy de Lusignan Michael Sheen as Priest Liam Neeson as "Godfrey" (Barisan of Ibelin) Velibor Topić as Amalric Ghassan Massoud as Saladin Alexander Siddig as Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani Khaled Nabawy as Mullah Kevin McKidd as English Sergeant) (Michael Shaeffer as Young Sergeant Jon Finch as Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem Ulrich Thomsen as "Templar Master" (Gerard de Ridefort) Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Godfrey's nephew Martin Hancock as Gravedigger Nathalie Cox as Balian's Wife Eriq Ebouaney as Firuz Jouko Ahola as Odo Giannina Facio as Saladin's sister Philip Glenister as Squire) (Real Life: Born around 1160, Sibylla was the eldest daughter of King Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay. When her parents' marriage was annulled, Sibylla was sent away to be raised at the Convent of Saint Lazarus in Bethany under the care of her great-aunt, Abbess Ioveta.) (• eal Life: Sibylla was deeply in love with her second husband, Guy of Lusignan, and aggressively championed him to be crowned king alongside her, defying the barons of Jerusalem. • Movie: The film portrays an unhappy, loveless marriage where Sibylla is trapped with a brutish Guy out of political necessity or fear rather than affection.) (Real Life: Sibylla had no romantic or sexual relationship with Balian of Ibelin. In reality, Balian was married to Maria Comnena (who was actually Sibylla and Baldwin IV’s stepmother).) (KoH blends Queen Biylla with the character of Maria Comnena as a creative liberty) ( Scholars note that movie Sibylla merges traits and family dynamics of multiple historical women, blending elements of Sibylla with her stepmother Maria Comnena and other royal figures of the era) (Sibylla is played by Eva Green) (