The Norwegian Crusade, led by

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

King Sigurd I, was a crusade or a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

(sources differ) that lasted from 1107 to 1111, in the aftermath of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

. The Norwegian Crusade marks the first time a European king personally went to the Holy Land.

The journey to Jerusalem

From Norway to England (1107–08)

Sigurd and his men sailed from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

in the autumn of 1107 with sixty ships and perhaps around 5,000 men. In the autumn he arrived in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

was king. Sigurd and his men stayed there the entire winter, until the spring of 1108, when they set sail southwards.

In mainland Iberia (1108–09)

After several months they came to the town of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

(''Jakobsland'')Gary B. Doxey (1996)
"Norwegian Crusaders and the Balearic Islands"
''Scandinavian Studies'', 10–1. Archived fro
the original
in 2016. in Galicia (''Galizuland'') where they were allowed by a local lord to stay for the winter. However, when the winter came there was a shortage of food, which caused the lord to refuse to sell food and goods to the Norwegians. Sigurd gathered his army, attacked the lord's castle and

looted Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

what they could there. The identity of the local lord or count is uncertain.. In the spring they continued along the coast of Portugal, capturing eight Saracen galleys on their way, and conquered a castle at

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populat ...

(probably referring to Colares, which is closer to the sea), after which they continued to Lisbon, a "half Christian and half heathen" city, said to be on the dividing line between Christian and

Muslim Iberia Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...

, where they won another battle. On their continued journey they sacked the town of ''Alkasse'' (probably

Alcácer do Sal Alcácer do Sal () is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. The population in 2011 was 13,046, in an area of 1499.87 km2. History Earliest settlement There has been human settlement in the area for more than 40,000 ye ...

), and on their way into the Mediterranean, near the Strait of Gibraltar (''Norfasund''), met and defeated a Muslim squadron.

In the Balearics (1109)

After entering the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

(''Griklands haf'') they sailed along the coast of the land of the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s (''Serkland'') to the Balearic Islands. The Balearics were at the time perceived by Christians to be nothing more than a pirate haven and slaving centre. The Norwegian raids are also the first recorded Christian attacks on the Islamic Balearic Islands (though smaller attacks certainly had occurred). The first place they arrived at was Formentera, where they encountered a great number of ''blámenn'' (blue men) and ''Serkir'' (

s) who had taken up their dwelling in a cave. The course of the fight is the most detailed of the entire crusade through written sources. After this battle, the Norwegians supposedly acquired the greatest treasures they had ever acquired. They then went on to successfully attack Ibiza and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

. The Norwegians seem to have avoided attacking the largest of the Balearic Islands, Majorca, most likely because it was at the time the most prosperous and well-fortified centre of an independent taifa kingdom. Tales of their success may have inspired the Catalan–Pisan conquest of the Balearics in 1113–1115.

In Sicily (1109–10)

In the Spring of 1109, they arrived at

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

(''Sikiley''), where they were welcomed by the ruling Count Roger II, who was 12–13 years old at the time.

Kingdom of Jerusalem (1110)

In the summer of 1110, they arrived at the port of Acre (''Akrsborg'') (or perhaps in Jaffa), and went to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(''Jórsalir''), where they met the ruling crusader king Baldwin I. They were warmly welcomed, and Baldwin rode together with Sigurd to the river

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, and back again to Jerusalem. The Norwegians were given many treasures and

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

, including a splinter off the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

had allegedly been crucified on. This was given on the condition that they would continue to promote

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and bring the relic to the burial site of St Olaf.

Siege of Sidon (1110)

Later, Sigurd returned to his ships at Acre, and when Baldwin was going to the Muslim town of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

(''Sætt'') in Syria (''Sýrland''), Sigurd and his men accompanied him in the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

. The siege resulted in Sidon being taken and the subsequent creation of the

Lordship of Sidon The Lordship of Sidon (french: Saete/Sagette), (Later County of Sidon) was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears ...

The journey back to Norway

After this, Sigurd and his men sailed to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

( non, Miklagarðr), where Sigurd left all of his ships and valuable figureheads, and many of his men, and then made his way back to Norway by land, arriving there in 1111.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Bergan, Halvor (2005) ''Kong Sigurds Jorsalferd. Den unge kongen som ble Norges helt'' (Norgesforlaget) *Morten, Øystein (2014) ''Jakten på Sigurd Jorsalfare'' (Spartacus) * * Riant, Paul (1865–1869).
Expéditions et pèlerinages des Scandinaves en Terre sainte au temps des croisades
'' 2 volumes (1865–1869). Chapter IV: Croisade de Sigurd I, pp. 173–215.
Sigurd Magnússon
In ''Independent Crusaders Project'', Fordham University (2021).

External links

*{{cite web, url=http://mcllibrary.org/Heimskringla/crusaders.html, title=Heimskringla or The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway - Saga of Sigurd the Crusader and His Brothers Eystein and Olaf, work=Medieval and Classical Literature Library Release Wars involving Norway 1100s conflicts Conflicts in 1110 Military history of Ibiza History of Menorca Formentera Wars involving the Fatimid Caliphate Wars involving the Republic of Venice Alcácer do Sal 1110s in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1110 in Asia