Denmark and the Second Crusade: the formation of a crusader state?

The second crusaDe SCOPE AND CONSEQUENCES r ^ga^g^~, -^~»n»^^U^j-|^-y-T-~. ED IT E D JONATHAN & -^---^-»--nT-. »-, BY PHILLIPS MARTIN HOCH Formation of a crusader state? Denmark and the Second Grusade: the formation of a crusader state?1 Kurt Villads lensen competing kings or princes. It is much more probable that Eric"s successor, King Sven Grathe, used the preachlng of the Second Grusade as an occasion to get rid of a rival. Sven may have claimed that the command of a crusader army requlred political and military skills that he alone possessed - in stark contrast to Eric the Lamb, who was probably also ill at that time. Such an argument is conjectural, but ks likelihood is confirmed by a second event that took place in 1146. The new king Sven and the 15-year-old Prince Valdemar, on their own initlative, transferred the bones of Duke Canute to the high altar in the Benedictine abbey of Ringsted. In this manner Sven and Valdemar associated themselves with crusading in the Wendish areas of the Baltic Sea. In 1146, a church meering was convoked and took place in the city of Odense in Denmark. Among the witnesses was 'the cardinal Hubaldus, who was sent to Denmark by the pope to invite King Eric to join the enterprise of the holy war which Bernard of Clairvaux had preached to the princes in Germany'. 2 There is no reason to doubt the reliability of this source, 3 which must be understood as an indication of a direct papal initiative to involve Denmark - and probably also other areas of Scandinavia - in the Second Grusade. The extent to which such an initiative was actually a success is imposslble to ascertain directly because of the lamentable paucity of medieval sources from Scandinavia to have survived. We will never know how many individuats were inspired by the preaching and Joined the crusade. But it is the aim of this chapter to argue that the appeal to crusade had a recognizable and profound effect internally in Denmark, because it was used to strengthen one of the competing lines of the royal dynasty, the Valdemarians, who gained royal power by building up what could be called a crusading state. This development took place över a long period, and so it will be necessary to broaden the chronological frame of this discussion by looking at events över much of the twelfth century. The attempts of Cardinal Hubaldus to persuade King Eric the Lamb to participate in the Second Grusade took place in early 1146.4 The response of King Eric must have come as a surprise to the cardinal. According to chronicles, the king abdicated and entered the Benedictine monastery in Odense. Here, 'having put on the ecclesiastical garb [he] happily både the miseries of this world farewell', and died on 27 August. 5 It would be a unique event for a Danish king in the High Middle Ages to resign voluntarily - most were killed by The 'crusader saint'6 Duke Canute had been killed by his cousln Magnus fifteen years earlier, in 1131. He was the father of the young Valdemar and the brother of King Sven's father (see Figure 2), who had sought to promote a cult for Canute by founding a large monastery at his burial church and by commissionlng the writing of a first account of the saint's life before 1137. 7 In the surviving fragments of this vita, Canute is presented as a missionary and crusading sarnt. The first elevation of Duke Canute, which took place in 1146 when King Sven had persuaded Eric the Lamb to resign the throne, is thus best understood as an attempt by Sven to strengthen his own position and to present himself as a sincere crusader. The archbishop of Lund, Eskil, protested against the elevation because it was done without papal approval/ but this did not prevent the cult of Duke Canute from growing during the following years. Canute was well qualified to be a crusader saint. His father, King Eric the Good, had died on Cyprus on crusade in 1103. On account of a well-founded fear of his uncle, King Niels, Canute spent his mlnority at the court of Count Lothar of Supplinburg, who låter became Holy Roman Emperor. Around 1120, a compromise was reached between Canute and Klng Niels whlch meant that Canute received the duchy of Schleswig in southern Jutland as compensation for the kingdom of Denmark. He thus became a vassal of the Danish king. Canute used this position to expand eastwards, and in the late 1120s he was installed by Lothar as ruter över the Abodrites and other peoples in Northalbingen (the area north of the River [165] Sven Estridsen 1047-74 Eric the Good Niets 1095-1103 1104-34 Ragnhild Eric Emu ne Duke Canute Lavard Magnus married to Haakon 1134-37 1131+ 1134+ the mark of the holy cross when he met Magnus. 14It was now Canute who was presented as on his way to crusade. This change in the literary representation of Canute is also reflected in the iconography. His saintly attributes were normally the sword or the ducal banner, sometimes both, as depicted on the seal of the Guild of Saint Canute in the town of Schleswig from the early thirteenth century. 15But from the late twelfth century, it had become increasingly common for depictions of Canute on wall paintingy in churches to show the ducal banner with a cross on it. "' The evidence indicates that a cult of veneration exlsted around Eric the Lam b Sven Grathe 1137-46 1147-57 Valdemar l 1157(1154)-1182 Canute V 1147-57 Figure2 SomelinesoftheroyalDanishfamilyinthetwelfthcentury Elbe). The wars he fought here were clearly seen as campaigns of conversion by Helmold of Bosau and, låter in his vita.' A fewyearsafter Canute'smurderin 1131,hisfirstvita descnbed him as a just ruter who hung thieves, even those who were of his own kin, andalsoasa stalwartindefendingChristiansagainstpagansand as concerned to provide his churches with necessary liturgical and theological books, in spite of the fäet that he himself was illiterate. Hewasthus, it wasclaimed,no lessa canonthanhewasa knight. 10 The missionary dimension of Canute's life was greatly elaborated in the liturgy used (or his canonizationwhichfinally took place in 1170. He is describedthere ashavinggiven peaceto the Danesand the pagans, whom he hadforced to tum away from their empty and profane rites. He provided salvation to his people and was a soldier of Christ. " In the förty years after his death Duke Canute became increasingly looked upon as a crusader. This development parallels the change in the description of bis death. The earlysourcesclaimedthatMagnushadpretended to have taken the cross and hadasked Canute to protect hiswife and children while hewasaway. He hadaccordingly deceived Canute into meeting him alone in order to kill him. " This version was repeated låter in the canonization liturgy and also by the historian Saxo (c. 1200), who Duke Canute from the 1130s. Already, at this time, he was to some extent connected to mission and crusading. Because of the Second Grusade, and because of the broadenmg of the concept of crusading to include recognized campaigns against pagans in the north, Duke Canute was promoted as a crusader saint by one of the many competing lines of the Danlsh royal house. As a result, bis son Valdemar succeeded in becommg sole ruler, thus further strengthening the cult of Saint Canute. This development in tum committed Valdemar to the continuadon of a crusadlng policy that had proven so successful to him, personally and dynastically. The close connection between a royal line and a royal saint was a common phenomenon in western Europé during the twelfth century. 17 Some of the newly canonized saints of that time were clearly preferred because of the support they could lend to the crusading movement. In some respects, the career of Duke Canute recalls that of Charlemagne, who in the early twelfth century was depicted as the ideal crusader. During the Second Grusade, King Louis VII of France chose Charlemagne as an example to be Imitated. In 1165 Charlemagne was canonized at the instigation of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. 18 Also, Canute seems to have had much the same func- tion as Emperor Henry II, who was canonized in l 147 in connection with the Second Grusade. 11' Crusading under the protection of Saint Duke Canute by taking the cross. " The historian Sven Aggesen, however, who was close to royal cirdes and wrote c. 1185, simply twisted the story aroundandclaimedthatCanute,asanathletaChristi,wassignedwith After the resignation of Eric the Lamb and the translation of the bones of Duke Canute, the thlrd key event that took place in 1146 was the election of a second king besides Sven. The Jutlanders on the main peninsula of Denmark decided in favour of Canute V son of the Magnuswho had killed Duke Canute. This double election developed [166] [167] wrotethatMagnus'hadusedreligion asa pretextfor hisungodlyact' The Second Grusade Formation of a crusader state? inta an eleven-year civil war with shifting alliances between Sven, Canute V, and soon also Valdemar. This did not mean, however, that into Chrisdanity. 2*'Prior to 1108, a clericofthe archbishop ofMagdeburg claimed in a letter to the count of Flanders that King Niels of Denmark had promised a mlghty army to assist in a fight agamst Slavic tribes. 26 In 1134 or 1136, King Eric Emune had conquered the Island of Rugen2 which the Danish archblshop had been papally the idea of crusading was abandoned. In 1147,ArchbishopEskil persuadedSven and CanuteV to join forces - after having exchanged hostages - in a common crusade. '" According to the Knytlinge Saga, a thirteenth-century Icelandic nar- rative source which has substantial sections based on otherwise löst twelfth-century material, this expedition came as a response to a direct papal appeal to the two kings. The Knytlinga Sagaalso relates that King Sven and King Canute V joined the crusade because of the papal promise of a plenary indulgence granted immediately upon beingsignedwith the cross. The promise wasalso made that if a warrior died during battle 'his soul should be in heaven before his blood turned cold on earth'.2' Thiscrusadein 1147waslaunchedagainstthe WendsofDobin, a town north of the Elbe, near the Baltic Sea. The Danish navy was supported by Saxans who attacked from land, while the Wends in Dobinreceivedassistancefrom the inhabitantsof the nearbyisland 7 commissioned to missionize. 28 For the first time the Wends there had been baptized, but the Danish king could not maintain polidcal control över the area and they soon turned away from their new faith. In spite of this development the claim that the Wends had actually been converted was still extremely important because it placed them in a new category. After 1136 they were. no longer pagans who could be Invited to accept Christianity. They were apostates or herefcics, and thus belonged to the ranks of those who, since the time of Saint Augustine, could be compelled to return to Christianity. Rugen had provided support for the Wends of Dobin and therefore Its men were among those who encountered the Second Grusade in 1147. After the Danish civil war ended, in 1157, Valdemar condnued Eric had been praised by Icelandic skalds (poets trained in the traditional lyrics of the North) for his military attempts to force the Wends the crusade; according to Saxo by means of annual summer expeditions. 2" Most of these were directed towards Rligen, often in close co-operation or competition with the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion. ioA dedsive step was taken in 1168 when Valdemar conquered the strong fortress of Arkona on the north coast of Riigen. He thus gained political control över the whole Island and was able to convert its inhabltants to Chrlsdanity. The conquest was followed by the bullding of twelve new churches and the establishment of a monastery in the city of Bergen, supported by lavish donations from the Danish king. The news of the conquest was brought to Rome and formally recognized by Pope Alexander III on 4 November 1169. Rugen was placed under the authority of the cathedral church of Roskilde on the Danish mainland. 3' Only four days låter the pope issued a bull canonizing Duke Canute. It decreed that his feast day should be 25 June, the day after the Feast of StJohnthe Baptist, and not 7 January,when Canute had been martyred. This specific feast day had probably been demanded by King Valdemar himself. " There is obviously a close connection between these two papal bulls and by issuing them together Pope Alexander acknowledged the decisive role that Duke Canute had played in the Christianization of the Wends. One consequence of the conquest and the canonization was an intensificarion of mlssionary and crusading efforts in the Baltic. In [168] [169] of Rugen. In military terms, the expedition was only a limited success. According to the north-German chronicler Helmold o( Bosau, writing c. 1167-68, 'The Danes are mighty fighters at home, but they are useless in real battles'. " The Danish historian Saxa ascribed the lackof successto internal rivalry andmutual suspicionbetween King Sven and King Canute V The Wends were converted, but returned to their old paganismas soon as the army had left. They also released Christian slaves but included only the old and infirm who could not work any more. Saxo's explanation has been given mast credit by Danish histori- ans, and it has led to the assumption that Danish crusadingin the Balticcame to a halt duringthe civil war. This is probably not true. A careful reading of Saxo and the few surviving documents shows that King Sven often led expeditions against the Wends in the years following 1147. Both he and King Canute V maintained diplomatic relations with German princes and kings, relations in which crusading against Wends played an important role. 24 In opposition to Saxo, other sourcessuggesta continuous holy war, or an uninterrupted Danish war of conversion against the Wends, throughout thewhole ofthe twelfth century. As earlyasc. 1100,King The Second Grusade the years immediately following, a number of papal bulls were issuedthat commissionedthe Danisharchbishopto launchmissions further eastwards in the Baltic as far as Finland. Indulgences were '^°"T^\ ^S-^ . (fu;j- '<é";^''. ^ . '.<-t\ i-?l'!! vy. -"' ^.. ',t<:!?"': '";.'@it=Lt'-~' K-äi- granted to those fighting to protect the newly converted areas." . Also, Cistercianmonasterieswere establishedin the newlands, and these were clearly connected to Danish crusading under Duke . '^''. Df! Canute. " The Cisterdan monastery of Dargun - South of Rostock and Greifswald - wasfounded in 1172, on 25June, the Feast Day of SaintCanute.Theconquestof Riigendevelopedinto a Balticenterprise which, from a papal perspective, meant that the two sons and successors of King Valdemar came to play a prominent role in the northern crusades that followed. 35 XI Internally,theconquestofArkonameantthatKingValdemarcould § ä fully develop the idea of Denmark as a crusader state. He had a new c type ofcoin struck (seeFig. 3) whichon the front showeda kingwith a branch - perhaps the palm leaf of the Jerusalem pilgrim - and on s. the reverse the ducal banner of Canute emblazoned with a ctoss. King Valdemar also invited the Order of St John to Denmark, where its presence was first attested in 1169. The Order was allot- ted a tax of one penny from each househotd in Denmark in support ofthe Holy Land. 3'The Order's mark may have been the inspiration -Q "s r^<{-fÄ:u:-'l-al i-- "®i*QS^fu8 É^SII zsS^;'bi' nection between the king and the Order is evident. '^ l > -;~ ~~^ ^ U-t x ^ ^ I?--l LU U. I ^ :><, ^^lé 2 1^^'^ l^'n;w to be remembered for (see Fig. 4). The first achievement mentioned herc was the king's conquest of Rugen. He was said to have Chris- ,< s ^ f^^'G sy^. é!s l y;\'-_° °^ -Z;;-^ u 3 CT" rt 's^s!w & Å U-1 °S^ s Or "> il G £ l-1 /. / .. ']l ?^§^s [170] 00 ^'. CD -;^ a-'tt When King Valdemar died, in 1182, a leaden funeral plaque was placedin histomb next to his headwhichspecifiedwhathe wanted Figure 3 Crusader coin from the time of King Valdemar. s + rsl ately by the Feast Day of Saint Canute. It has been suggested that KingValdemarhadprobably put Denmarkunder the protection of the OrderofStJohn.37Thisisimpossibleto prove,butthe closecon- Canute. " Thus, a long seriesofpolitical events, whichstarted in 1146 J= o for the Danish national flag: a white cross on red; and their most solemn feast day, that of St John the Baptist, was followed immedi- tianized the Rugians and to have done so as the son of Saint Duke Q :s^ä5:;fc s ao fc [171] The Second Grusade Formation of a crusader state? with the proclamation of the Second Grusade and the elevation of do so, members of this confraternity would confiscate ships from citizens in Roskilde in return for promising them one-elghth of the Duke Canute by the young Prince Valdemar, had led to the establishment ofValdemar as a crusader king and the sole ruler of Denmark. Crusading institutions Grusades were spiritual wars, and Saint Duke Canute must have given his support to such wars by being the object of prayers and devotion. He, or his symbols, may have been present on the crusaders' banner. But Saint Canute also became important for crusad- ing in a more practical way: as patron of an institution, the Guilds of Saint Canute, which are probably best understood as confraternities specifically organized for crusading. A great number of confraternities of Saint Canute are known from the thirteenth century and låter, located in most ofthe major harbour cities of Denmark and Sweden. They have been understood as exclu- sively merchant guilds, formed to protect those tradingin the Baltic." The statutes of these confraternities, however, consisted mainly of rules regulating their interna! life and for segregating members from non-members. One principal aim ofthese statutes wasto secure quiet and peaceful meetings in the guild houses by regularing the conduct of members. Many rules specify fines for different offences beFween members andbetween members and non-members. Apart from these matters, rules pertaining to the world outside the confraternity are normally limited to three clauseswhich specify that members must help other members in caseof shipwreck, if they have lösttheir property and if they have been taken captive by heathens.41 It is well attested that from the middle of the thirteenth century theseconfraternities were also trading organizations, but this activity can hardly be discerned from these statutes, where the mention of trade is negligible. The phrasing is so general that the statues could be used by any confraternity independently of its particular purpose. It has been claimed that guilds were old institutions, perhaps a Vikingform of organization,but it is not easyto substantiatesuch a claim.Thefirst descriptionofa confraternityin Denmarkisactually found in Saxo, who dates it to the period immcdiately after the Second Grusade. 41 In 1151-52, Saxa wrote, a wealthy layman in the cathedral city of Roskilde, near Ringsted, formed a confraternity that manned ships to fight against pirates, which in this context means against pagans (see the Appendix). If they needed to [172] booty. The interest in booty hasled Danishhistorians to assume that this confraternity merely continued Viking-type raids and could have had nothing to do with crusading. 42 But there is no contradiction between crusading and the Eaking of booty. This activity was simply a means of paying and providlng for the army, as well as an important economic incentive in the establishment of urban centres in the twelfth century. 43 Saxo's description continues with the information that before the members of the confraternity went oo an expedition they would confess their sins and receive the sacrament. They also travelled as lightly as possible, which precludes trading as their main purpose. All pardcipants received an equal share of the booty, and whenever they found Christian prisoners on an enemy ship they would liberate them, provide them with food and clothes, and transport them home. 44 The founder of this confraternity, a certain Vetheman, appears låter in Saxo's narrative where he features as a commander prominent in Kmg Valdemar^ attack on Riigen; subsequendy he was given control över one of the conquered Wendish clties. He was, in short, an important and active crusader. Saxo adds that the idea of forming such confraternities became Immensely populär and soon spread över the whole island of Zealand, attracting support from many levels of society, induding the peasantry. The confraternity of Vetheman and those inspired by him must have had the same funcrion as did the town militias in frontier societies in the Iberian peninsula. Here, the obligation of the cirizens was not only to defend their own town, but to continue the expansion of Christianity, either by participaring in the king's wars or by their own raids, sometimes deep into the territory of the infidels. Some confraternities and låter religlous orders had as their specific purpose the llberation of Christian prisoners from the Muslims.4' The confraternity of Vetheman had the primary military function of fighting infidels and liberating Christian prisoners. Saxo did not connect this confraternity with Canute, but it was founded in the same years for which we have the earliest, if shadowy, evidence for the combinarion of a guild-organization and a force protectlng the duke. 47 The fäet that the confraternities of Canute soon became the object of royal Interest also shows their military importance. [173] The Second Grusade Sometime after the canonization of Duke Canute, in 1170, King Valdemar issued a privilege to the newly founded confraternity of Saint Canute on the island of Gotland. 4" The confraternities here were described aswell-developed institutions that in several localities had existed for same rime. Valdemar decreed that each of these confraternities must pay an annual fee, which should be sent to Saint Canute in Ringsted. He then informed the confraternity on Gotland that hehaddecided tojointhebrotherhood andto giveroyal approbationto everythingthatthe confraternity lawfullyagreed.Accord- ingto the document, he did so because he was 'by paternal affection closely tied to all, both those ttading, those tilling the fields in the sweat of their brows, and those splendidly outstanding in the belt of warriors'4" This phrase seems to indicate that the confraternity Valdemaraddressed wascomposed of merchants, farmers andwarriors. There is nothing in this pnvilege that specifically limited it to trading. The privilege ofValdemar was clearly an attempt to centralize and reorganizean existing confraternity structure, and since he himselfjoined thegroupit isobviousthatitmusthavehadanimportam military funcrion. The reverse is tiue, therefore, and military forces used against pagans could be organized into confraternities. The latter phenomenon is attested by the existence of a law, or a set of rules, for the hird, the royal elite guard, written down in the 1180s. s°SvenAggesen, the compiler ofthese rules, dated them to the early eleventh century, when the Danish king had expanded his dommionto stretchfrom thebörderoftheByzantineempiretothe mostdistantpoint, Thule. ThereisnoreasontotrustSven'sdating; the law contains rules that are best understood in a late Fwelfth-ceii- tury context. The lawis called a lex castrensis or lexcurie. The mem- bers of this Curia, including the king, were united by a common oath: they had internal jurisdiction and could, in principle, also judge the king. All members were equal, and the statutes are meant to regulate their daily common life. Some rules in this lex curie are similar to those known from the confraternities ofSaint Canute. Should one member kill another, for Formation of a crusader state? the king had conquered many nations, with different rltes and custöms. These nations would send young men to serve the king's hird, where they would gather under a single ruler and would learn to obey royal commands without quarrelling about who held the most prominent position. Sven Aggesen claims that this development was in existence during the early eleventh century, but the passage is actually a preclse description of what happened in Denmark in the latter half of the twelfth century as a result ofthe Second Grusade: one king had gained royal power and had united different areas of Denmark under his rule. In consequence, regional magnates would send their young sons to serve him, and therefore young nobles from different backgrounds would begin to attend the court of their new king. In conclusion, the confraternities in Denmark in the twelfth century can be understood as prlmarily military organizations whose purpose was to conduct nåväl raids against pagans in the Baltic region. Such an organization first came into existence around 1150 as a dlrect result of the preachlng of the Second Grusade and of the different Danish kings7 involvement in the campaign. Över the next twenty years thls organization became intimately associated with the patronage of Saint Canute, and the formation of such a group was parallelled - or copied - by the royal hird. Because of the bonds personal and political - between Saint Canute and King Valdemar, a direct royal interest in control över the confraternities soon became manifest. The Second Grusade thus provided an impetus for the creation of a new royal saint, as well as of a new military organization through which the saint could work. The popularity of Saint Canute grew throughout the Middle Ages. After the Lutheran Reformation in 1536 his skull was displayed in the secularized monastery at Ringsted as a souvenir from the popish age. In 1647, the Danish ambassadör to France, Corfitz Ulfeldt, brought Canute's skull to Paris and presented it to the French king. It came to rest In the Church of Saint Denis. 52 We do not know the members to kill him. As is the case with the statutes of the confra- exact location, but it may have been placed under the window depi cting Charlemagne as a crusading king. Thls was the window King Louis VII had donated to the church when he had decided to go on crusade and which was probably installed in the church in 1146," the same year that Canute was first translated. [174] [175] example, bothsetsofrules prescribe that the other members leadthe killer to the sea or to the forest, provide him with a boat or a horse and let him flee If he returned it would be the duty of the other ternities of Samt Canute, the lex curie did not specify any purpose for members. It isargued here that such a lawwasnecessary because Appendix: Saxo's description of the confraternity of Vetheman in Roskilde (Gesta Danorum, lib. 14. 6, 2). Because of the continuous invasions inflicted by sca robbers, a nåväl gtoup Ipimtica [aterm used by Saxo in a neutral scnse andnot only for piracy])wasformcdinRoskildeattheinitiativeofVetheman.Itsorganizarion andfunctions werethefollowing: the members wereempowered to take the ships that they found most suitable for their purpose withoiit the permission of their owner in return for giving them an eighth-part ofwhat they acquired as compensation. When they were to beginan expedition theywould confessthe sinsof their past life to thepriestsand,havingbeenpunishedbythcreligiouschastisementsof these men immediately before leaving they would receive the holy sacramcntfromthealtarbelievingthatallwouldcometo a moreprosperous end if prior to battle, they had pleased God according to the rites. Wjthonlya fewprovisions theywouldavoidburdensandimped- Notes l and discussions of the topic of this article. 2 Diplomatanum Danicum, (DD), 1:2, 85: 'Aderant praesentes: Hubaldus cardinalis, missus in Daniam a pontifice maximo, ut Ericum regem ad belli sacri commercium (quod divus Bernhardus Clarevallensis per Gennaniam principibus persuaserat) invitaret .., . 3 The document is known only from a recorcl by the historian C. Hamsfort (1546-1627), who is probably responyible for menrioning Saint Bernard. The editors of this document in DD argued in 1963 that it should be dated no låter than 1145 becauseHubaldushad not left Rome afterthat year. For disagreement, see Wolfram Seegriin, Das Papsttum und Skandinavien bis zur Vollendung der nordischen Kirchenorganisatlon {] 164) (Neumunster, 1967), pp. 143-5. 4 5 iments, be content with weapons andsimple food and bring with them nothing that could delay the expedition. Great was their caution and theirfrugality.Theywouldsnatchsomesleepleantagainstthehandles ° !:. oar!i' whcnever the sailing brought them close to a shore, they would first let it be investigated by scouts so that nothing unknown or 6 places protected from storms because foreign fleets used to take advan- 7 them, but everywhere they met with easyvictory and suffered almost S 9 unforeseen should happen. They would seekthc islands to whichthey were brought by the wind and wouid send out scouts to survey the tage of sheltered harbours. Battlc with the enemy came frequcntly to nobloodshed. Thcysharedthebooty equally sothattheportion ofthe steersman was no larger than that of the volunteering oarsman. When they found caprive Christians amongst a defeated fleet they would clothe them and takc them back to their own area; such was their humanity towards their compatriots (conterraneos). They captured 82 ships here and there, and they nevcr had a fleet of more tlian 22 ships themselves. Werethey lacking the neccssary means, they would collect the money from the citizens [of Roskilde] who, in return, would reccivchalfof the booty. This nåvälorganizationbegan,asI said, in Roskilde, and from the centre of the city it extended out to the rural areas andit borrowedsubsidiesfrom almostallpartsofSealand.Truly, from beingrestricted andweakin thebeginningtheconfraternity soon ;rew substantially and it did not relax in any way until the land was at peace. [176] Thanks to Janus Möller Jensen, Copenhagen University, for suggestions Seegrun, Das Papsttum, p. 144. 'Rex autem Hericus ... regnum resignavit, monasterium adiit et habim religionis receptö mundi miseriis feliciter valefecit' (Chronicon Roskildense, in Scriptores minores historiae damcae medii aevi, (SAID), ed. M. Cl. Gertz, 2 vols (Copenhagen, 1917-22) vol. I, p. 32; ef. Annales Daniel medii aeui, ed. Ellen jergensen (Copenhagen, 1920), p. 79; ef. Necrologium Lundense, Lunds domkyrkas nekrologium, ed. Lauritz Weibull (Lund, 1923), p. 89. Stnctly speaking, no such thing as a 'crusader saint' existed in the Midclle Ages: it was not an accepted or used term. It is used here simply to iudicate a saint who became closely connected to the crusading movement. Foimding charter: DD 1:2, 65; vita: Vitae sanctorum danorum, ed. M. Cl. Gcrtz (Copenhagen, 1908-12) (VSD), pp. 234^(1. VSD, pp. 202, 216-l7. Niels Skyum-Nielsen, Kvinde og Slave (Copenhagen, 1971), pp. 68-70; Helmold of Bosau, Chromca Slavomm, ed. Bernhard Schmeidler (Hanover, 1937), pp. 96-7. 10 'Strenuissime defendit Chrisrianos contra paganos'; 'Sanctus Kanutus, literanim ignarus, fecit scribi libros ecclesiis necessarios et altra humanum moduin eruditos sermones sanctorum per suos clericos, sibi thesauros celicos reservantes; non minus se canonicum quam militcm exhibebat.' VSD, pp. 236-7. 11 'Pacem Danis et paganis fidem sanctus contulit, / Quos a vants er prophanis/ Ritibus recedere/ Et in Christum credere/ Compulit sub pacis federe' (V5D, p. 223). 12 'Magnus simulat se lerosolymam iturum, et uxorem ac prolem commendat Duci' (from the first vita bcforc 1137;VSD,p. 237). 13 Saxo, Gesta Danorum, lib. 13. This version gained wide circulation in the låter Middle Ages because it was included in the abbreviated Saxo - the Compendium Saxoms, in SM.D, vol. I, pp. 216-439 (pp. 397-8). 14 'Cui [se. Magno] intrepidus Christi athleta .,, ocurrere non detrectavit; sed sancte crucis vexillo insignkus, non clypeo protectus aut galea ... ' (Svenonis Aggonis Filii, Brevis historiae regum Dacie, m SMD, vol. I, pp, 132-133). 15 In Niels Skyum-Nielsen,Kvinde og Slave, p. 117. [177] The Second Grusade Formation of a crusader state? 16 17 StigHolsring, 'Sankt Knud Lavards ikonografi' Catholica 2-3 (1970). Colin Morris, The Papal Monarchy. The Western Church from 1050 to 18 Phillips, Defeiiders, pp. 191-2. 40 E. g. statutes of the guild in Schleswig of Saint Canute, c. 1200, in Danmarks Gilde-ogLavsskraaerfraMiddelalderen,ed. C. Nyrop (Copenhagen, 18991900), vol. l, nos 17-19, pp. 6-17. 41 An earlier example inightbe the mentioning in the Chronicle of Zealandof Saxo, Gesta Danorum, [ib, 14. a confraternity in the city of Schleswig in 1134, but it may well be a thirteenth-cencury interpoladon; ef. Hans Torben Gilkser, 'In honore sancti 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1250 (Oxford, 1989), pp. 226-36. See Chapter l byjonathan Phillips in this volume. Knytliny Saga, ch^ 108, in Jomsvikmga Saga og Knytlinga tilligemed SilgabrudstykkeTogToitKllmgervedkommende Danmark,ca. ået^onsd^ NordiskeOUskrift-Selskab,tr. C. C. Rafn(Copcnhagen,1829),p. 312. '[H]li enim domi pugnaces, forisimbelles sunt', Hclmold ofBosau, Chron- ica Slavorum, p. 122. Ibut.. E.g. DDl;2, 103ofll51 fromKingSvento theGerman KingConrad;DD 1:2, 104 of 1151 from King Canute to the same; ef. a]so DÖ1:2. 110 of 1152. ~ "" ^" ---- --. Knytliny Saga, Ch. 81. DD 1:2, 39. 30 31 32 33 34 DDl:2, 50, beforell27. Curt Weibutl, 'Saxos berättelser om de danska vendcrtågen 1158-1 185', Historisk tidsskrift 83 (1983), pp. 35-70. SeeDD 1:2, 158. Ibid. 1:2, 189. Ibid. 1:2, 190; ef. Thomas Riis, Les institutions politique& centrales du Danemark 1100-1332 (Odense, 1977), pp. 185-6, E.g. DDl:3, 27. Stella Maria Szacherska, The Political Role of the Danish Monasteries in Tomenima 1171-1113', Mediaeval Scsildinavia 10 (1977), pp. 122-155; see also Brian Patrick McGuire, The Cistercians in Denmark. Their Ättituäes,Roles, and Funaions in Medieval Soczety (Kalamazoo, 1982). 35 36 pp. 79-84 and passim. In general, see Thomas Riis, Les institutions. DD 1. 7, 156 of 13 December 1244, whcre King Erik confirms the dccision ofhisgrandfathcrValdemarto granttothehouscofrheOrderofStJohn in Alltvorskov 'de qualibet familiadenariumunum, qui vocatur huspen- 37 38 45 46 Saxo, Gesta Daiiorum, lib. 14. 23; lib. 14. 30. Powers, A Society Organized for Wär, pp. 13-67. 48 DD 1:3, 63. 47 Curt Wallin, 'De medeltida Knutsgillena" Catholica 2-3 (1970), p. 174. 49 'Igitur, sive mercimoniarum negoriis laborandbus, sive agriculturis desudantibusvel mititiae dngulo fulgenribus, aequalance iiiris omnibuspaterno 27 Knytlinge Saga, Ch. 101. 28 29 Kanud', p. 146, and Niels Skyum-Nielsen,Kvinde og Slave, p. 69. 42 Niels Lund, Lith, ledingog landevxrn (Roskilde, 1996), p. 226. 43 James F. Powers, A Society Organized for War. The Ibenan Mumcipal Mllitias in the Central Middk Åses, 1000-1284 (Berkeley, CA, 1988), pp. 162-87. 44 Saxo, Ges?a Danorum, lib. 14. 6,2 (in the Appendix). tenemur affectu. Proinde est, quod vestrae fraternitatis noviter inchoatae participes esse volumus et in omnibus, in quibus vestra consenserit licita institudo, nostrae authoritatis consensu participabimur' (DD 1:3, 63). 50 SvenAggesen, Lexcastrensis sive curie, in SMD, vol. I, pp. 64-93. 51 'Cum itaque tam dissonosritus gentium uni coadunassetfamilie, opus erat, ut tanti regis cxercitus, utpote ex variis adunatus nationibus, universis videlicet regnis iurisdictioni sue subiugads, quorum ritus dissona tamen varierate discrepabant, omni contrarietatis sopita controver. sia, prout con- tectales decet honestos, communi domino, adinvicem non altercantes, pari voto famularentur, nulla discidii livorisque vet invidie macula distmheiite, verum potius tanquam unius capitis membra regis obtemperare mandatls voluntatis unione parati, prout tideles sodales nil adverse suspitionis de se presumentes' (SMD, vol. I, pp. 68-70). 52 Steffen Heiberg, Enhjorningen Corfttz USfeldt (Copenhagen, 1993), pp. 77-8. 53 1'hillips, Defenders, p. 192. ning. ... precipimus ... antedictum censum ad usus terre sancte deputatum separatim ab aliis elemosinis regni nostri sine diminucione persolvi'. Thomas Riis, Les institutions, p. 186. Hic iacct danhorum rex Waldemarus, primus sclavorum cxpugnator, et dominator, patrie liberator, pacis conservaror, qui fiiius sancti Kanuri ruglanos expugnavit. et ad fidem Christi primus converrit. obiit ... '. On thc revcrse of the funeral plaque is a slightly longer inscription which also com- memorates two important fortifications erected by Valdemar. Thc content ofthc plaque gainedwidercirculation bybeingincludedin thealmostcon39 temporary chronicle of Sven Aggesen (see SMD vol. I, pp. 138-9). In general sce Hans Torben Gilkair, 'In honorc sancti Kanuti martyris. KongeogKnudsgilderi det 12.ärhundrede",Scandia.Tidskrift förhistorisk forskning'1, 6 (1980), pp. 121-61. [178] [179]