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| (Kings Sigurd I and Baldwin I join forces) |
Sigurd I, King of Norway for 27 years in the early 12th century, took the throne 16 years before the Knights Templar was even formed. According to Wikipedia, Norway’s “golden age” was partially fostered by Sigurd I’s leadership. However, Sigurd often seemed way more intent upon killing Muslims than upon helping Norwegians.
What came to be known as the Norwegian Crusade lasted for three bloodthirsty years – from 1107 to 1110 CE. It was then that Sigurd the King morphed into Sigurd the Crusader. In the autumn of 1107, he set sail from Norway with about 5,000 men and 60 ships. They soon arrived in England, and remained there for that winter. In the spring, they continued on to Galicia, Spain. Once there, they repaid the kindness of their host by attacking and looting his castle.
Having snuffed out their welcome, they then moved on to Sintra, Al-Andalus (now Sintra, Portugal). Once there, they picked right up where they left off in Galicia. Not only did they once again attack and loot a castle, but this time they also killed all those who refused to be christened. They then proceeded to kill the
“heathen” Muslims of Lisbon, as well as those of Alkasse (most likely Al Qasr).
It was then time to wreak similar havoc in the Muslim Balearics. After that, Sigurd and his men found a home away from home in Sicily. By 1110 they finally arrived in Palestine, and then joined forces with the crusading ruler King Baldwin I in Jersualem. After that, they all laid siege to the “heathen” city of Sidon, Syria. Sigurd couldn’t have been more pleased about how things were going. After all (as he told King Baldwin), “they had come for the purpose of devoting themselves to the service of Christ.”
Although Christ, no doubt, was far from impressed – all of this anti-Muslim sentiment eventually found a home in the ravings of Anders Breivik. Like Sigurd before him, Breivik seems insanely focused upon the “removal” of all Muslims from Europe.
Tragically, such “chivalry” is still not dead (although its victims are). History has proven yet again that there’s no such thing as a holy war.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Crusade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigurd_I_of_Norway
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/28/manifesto-evokes-blurry-line-between-myth-and-reality-of-knights-templar/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_I_of_Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sidon_(1110)
Copyright July 30, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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