Norwegian Crusade

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Norwegian Crusade
Part of the Crusades (aftermath of First Crusade) and the Reconquista
The route taken by Sigurd I to Jerusalem and Constantinople (red line) and back to Norway (green line) according to Heimskringla. (Legend in Old Norse.)
Date 1107–1110 Location Iberia, Balearic Islands, Palestine Result Crusader victory Territorial changes Lordship of Sidon created
Belligerents
Kingdom of Jerusalem Norwegian Realm Siege of Sidon: Republic of Venice	Fatimid Caliphate Almoravid Empire Taifa of Badajoz Taifa of Majorca Barbary pirates of Majorca
Commanders and leaders
Baldwin I of Jerusalem Sigurd I of Norway Ordelafo Faliero	Governor of Sidon[a]
Strength
Norwegians 5,000 men 60 galleys[1] Franks Many crusaders and siege weapons Venetians A fleet of ships, strength unknown	Fatimids Probably only the city's garrison

The Norwegian Crusade, led by Norwegian King Sigurd I,^[2] was a crusade or a pilgrimage (sources differ)^[3] that lasted from 1107 to 1111, in the aftermath of the First Crusade. The Norwegian Crusade marks the first time a European king personally went to the Holy Land.^[4]

Commanding sixty boats and between 4,000 and 6,000 men, Sigurd's voyage crossed England, Iberian Peninsula (at the time largely Muslim territory, where the Norwegians won several battles), Balearic Islands, Sicily and, finally, Palestine. Once Sigurd had visited several holy sites of Christianity, he collaborated with King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in the siege of Sidon of 1110, which culminated in a success after about two months of attacks. Thereafter, he left the Holy Land for Constantinople. Sigurd stayed there for months and then he ceded possession of his ships to Alexius I Comnenus, who recruited most of the survivors into the Varangian Guards. The Norwegian king, accompanied on his journey home by a hundred men, made his way back overland through various locations, being greeted as a hero when he arrived home. Not a battle had been lost by the Scandinavians during this expedition.

Many of the events related to the voyage are recounted by Norwegian and Icelandic sources, particularly some Saga cycles. Plus, some foreign works talk about the expedition, although mostly about what Norwegians did in Holy Land. The crusade had a great impact on the reputation of Norway, which became associated with the Christian world. Sigurd's adventures stimulated other Scandinavian fighters to start again the same travel. Medieval authors were pretty enthusiastic about the expedition, such as the majority of the historiography of the modern age who acritically analysed this historical event. Recently, however, historiography has adopted a more conscious and credible method of study, shedding light on the many aspects still unresolved.

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