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The Lesser-Known Viking Crusade That You Probably Never Heard Of
The first European king to set sail for the Holy land was from Norway
In the summer of 1110, the crusaders who were fighting to protect the Kingdom of Jerusalem were worn out. Since the success of the First Crusade, there were few reinforcements. In the scorching summer heat, the Christian defenders at the Acre, a city in present-day Israel, saw a dreaded sight. It was the unmistakable dragonheads of Viking longships.
Sixty Norse ships showed up on the coast of Acre. The soldiers had heard the tales of the Vikings. The infamous Viking raids terrorized the Christian and Islamic worlds during the Middle Ages. Now the Norsemen were on the shores of the Holy Land.
Thankfully for the crusaders, the Vikings were on their team.
Who comes to mind when I ask you to name a few great crusaders? You are probably thinking of Richard the Lionheart, Frederick Barbarossa, Raymond of Toulouse, and Godfrey of Bouillon.
I am sure King Sigurd I is not on the top of your list.
Sigurd was the king of Norway. He led the Norwegian Crusade, which is not as well known as the other crusades. Sigurd was the first European monarch to lead his army to the Holy Land.
Though we don’t talk much about King Sigurd today, during the 12th century he was a celebrity. His heroics galvanized Christendom. He inspired other kings to lead their own crusades. Their campaigns set up an epic clash of civilizations that shaped the world during the Middle Ages.
The journey to the Holy Land
King Sigurd was the grandson of the legendary Viking Harald Hardrada. Sigurd’s father was Magnus III, the king of Norway. After the death of Magnus, Sigurd ruled Norway with his half brothers Olaf and Øystein.
By the time Sigurd became the king, Norway had embraced Christianity for a hundred years. But that doesn’t mean that the Pope and the Vikings got along well.
