What's The 'King Baldwin IV Hand Raise' Meme? The 'Kingdom Of Heaven' Scene With The Famous Wave Explained

A scene from the movie Kingdom of Heaven has become a meme in which King Baldwin IV raises his hand seemingly waving off a person's statement.

Seen wearing all white and an engraved, metallic mask, King Baldwin, who was the real King of Jerusalem in the 12th century, is causing Literally Me Syndrome en masse, mostly surfacing on TikTok via seriously hard King Baldwin edits.

But who was King Baldwin? Why did he wear a mask and when did this 2000s movie scene become a meme? Let's explain.

Who Was King Baldwin IV?

King Baldwin IV was the King of Jerusalem in the 12th century. He was nicknamed the "leper king" because he suffered from leprosy at an early age. The disease claimed much of his face, disfiguring him and inspiring him to always wear a mask.

What's The Original Movie And 'King Baldwin Hand Raise' Scene?

The movie that the King Baldwin meme is from is Kingdom of Heaven which was released in 2005. Baldwin is played by actor Edward Norton.

In the scene, Baldwin is sitting before his army assembled in a grand hall. At one point, he raises his hand to quiet the crowd.

Why's The 'King Baldwin IV Hand Raise' A Meme?

Although edits with King Baldwin's hand raise surfaced as early as 2021, a prominent spread of memes using the scene didn't manifest until last month. TikToker @sev7enalt posted one of the earliest-known King Baldwin memes, using his hand raise to symbolize hitting a "clutch" in a video game.

Thereafter, meme creators used the slow fade-in format and TikTok duets (among other tactics) to spread awareness of the scene. It started to spread elsewhere online, such as to sites like Instagram and iFunny.

For the full history of King Baldwin IV hand raise, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.