Introduction
Imagine yourself observing a brutal battle between medieval European forces and their Muslim foes under the fierce desert sun. As the skirmish rages, your eye is drawn to a young looking mounted knight. As you watch, he is run through by a Saracen blade, and topples from his mount. As he lies in the swirling dust, his blood soaking into the soil of a foreign land, questions come to your mind. Who is this young individual, to be drawn far from his home to fight an unknown enemy? As he slowly perishes from the wound and the unrelenting sun, you wonder what is running through his mind. Fervent thoughts, knowing that his sins have been erased due to his service, or desperate ones, as all hope of glory and plunder slip away? The film “Kingdom of Heaven” by director Ridley Scott is a brief snapshot of a tumultuous time period known as the Crusades. The purpose of this paper is to explore the historical accuracy of “Kingdom of Heaven,” and to explore modern thinking’s influence on the film’s integrity. “Kingdom of Heaven” is an ambitious foray into a riotous time period, but one that takes considerable liberties regarding representation of characters, depicting medieval combat, interpreting religious views, and also allows modern thinking to taint historical realities.
Feel free to explore the entirety of this website to find out about what makes "Kingdom of Heaven" such a compelling watch, and where and how it deviates from history.
Feel free to explore the entirety of this website to find out about what makes "Kingdom of Heaven" such a compelling watch, and where and how it deviates from history.