A closer look
It turns out having chunks of your flesh actively rotting off makes you an incredibly intimidating opponent on the battlefield. During the Crusades, contracting leprosy was usually a one-way ticket to complete social exile. However, the Order of Saint Lazarus took these sick knights, slapped armor on them, and sent them to the front lines. Led at times by leper kings like Baldwin IV, these troops fought with absolute reckless abandon. They had already lost their titles, families, and health, making them terrifying shock troops who literally had nothing left to lose.
