Fragment of a shroud of Guy de Lusignan (BOSMFA 40.53)
by Thien Kim Phan/Karen Phan '25, College of the Holy Cross
A shroud is a burial garment or cloth that protects and conceals the body of the deceased. This shroud contains traditional French floral motifs (fleur-de-lis) alongside Arabic script, and it may have been used to wrap the body of one of the crusader kings of Jerusalem, Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150–1194). Guy came from a noble family in Poitou, France, and was King of Jerusalem 1186–1192 by right of marriage to Queen Sibyl of Jerusalem. During his reign, Guy led an army against Saladin (c. 1137–1193), sultan of Egypt and Syria, at the battle of Hattin in 1187. In this famous battle, Guy’s troops were defeated, and he was captured by Saladin, leading to the fall of crusader-occupied Jerusalem. These events led Richard the Lionheart and others to launch the Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem.
