Vikings / Famous Vikings / Sigurd the Crusader
Sigurd the Crusader
King of Norway; crusader
- In Old Norse
- Sigurðr Jórsalafari
- Lived
- 1089 – 1130
- Role
- King of Norway; crusader
Sigurd I, son of Magnus Barefoot, ruled Norway jointly with his brothers from 1103. From 1107 to 1111 he led the Norwegian Crusade, the first by a European king: about sixty ships sailed by way of England, Galicia, Lisbon and the Balearics to Sicily and the Holy Land, where he helped Baldwin I capture Sidon in 1110. He returned overland from Constantinople, leaving his ships and many men with the emperor. His death in 1130 opened a century of civil wars.
Known for
- Norwegian Crusade, 1107–1111
- Helped capture Sidon, 1110
- First European king to go on crusade in person
In the story
On the timeline
Events that name Sigurd the Crusader
5 events. Each opens in the timeline.
- 1098 Magnus Barefoot Seizes Orkney and the Hebrides King Magnus III of Norway, grandson of Harald Hardrada, sails west with a large fleet. In Orkney he deposes the earls Paul and…
- 24 August 1103 Death of Magnus Barefoot in Ulster On a second western expedition Magnus Barefoot allies with the Irish high king Muirchertach Ua Briain, whose daughter marries his…
- 1107 Sigurd the Crusader Sails East King Sigurd I of Norway leaves with a fleet that the sagas put at about sixty ships. He winters in England and Galicia, fights… Date or details approximate
- 19 October 1110 Siege of Sidon King Baldwin I of Jerusalem besieges the coastal city of Sidon with the help of Sigurd of Norway's fleet and a Venetian squadron…
- 1124 First Bishop of Greenland The Norse Greenlanders, led by Sokki Thorisson, send his son Einar to Norway to ask King Sigurd for a bishop of their own; a… Date or details approximate
Sources
Wikipedia — Sigurd the Crusader Wikipedia — Norwegian Crusade Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Sigurd I MagnussonPicture: Sigurd the Crusader, Unknown author (19th-century illustration) · CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.