The

second
crusaDe
SCOPE AND CONSEQUENCES

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ED IT E D BY

JONATHAN PHILLIPS
& MARTIN HOCH

Denmark and the Second Grusade:
the formation of a crusader state?1
Kurt Villads lensen
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 develop-
ment 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 car-
dinal. According to chronicles, the king abdicated and entered the
Benedictine monastery in Odense. Here, 'having put on the ecclesi-
astical 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
Formation of a crusader state?
competing kings or princes. It is much more probable that Eric"s suc-
cessor, 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.
The 'crusader saint'6
Duke Canute had been killed by his cousln Magnus fifteen years ear-
lier, 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 compensa-
tion 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+
Eric the Lam b Sven Grathe Valdemar l Canute V
1137-46 1147-57 1157(1154)-1182
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
wrotethatMagnus'hadusedreligion asa pretextfor hisungodlyact'
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
[166]
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
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 com-
peting 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 cen-
tury. 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
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
[167]
 The Second Grusade
inta an eleven-year civil war with shifting alliances between Sven,
Canute V, and soon also Valdemar. This did not mean, however, that
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 war-
rior 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
of Rugen. In military terms, the expedition was only a limited suc-
cess. 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 crusad-
ing 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
Eric had been praised by Icelandic skalds (poets trained in the tradi-
tional lyrics of the North) for his military attempts to force the Wends
[168]
Formation of a crusader state?
into Chrisdanity. 2*'Prior to 1108, a clericofthe archbishop ofMagde-
burg 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
7
commissioned to missionize. 28 For the first time the Wends there had
been baptized, but the Danish king could not maintain polidcal con-
trol 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
the crusade; according to Saxo by means of annual summer expedi-
tions. 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 can-
onizing 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
[169]
 The Second Grusade

the years immediately following, a number of papal bulls were

issuedthat commissionedthe Danisharchbishopto launchmissions '^°"T^\ ^S-^ . (fu;j-
further eastwards in the Baltic as far as Finland. Indulgences were '<é";^''. ^ . '.<-t\
i-?l'!! vy. -"' ^.. ',t<:!?"':
granted to those fighting to protect the newly converted areas." .

.
'";.'@it=Lt'-~' K-äi-
'^''. Df!
Also, Cistercianmonasterieswere establishedin the newlands, and
these were clearly connected to Danish crusading under Duke
Canute. " The Cisterdan monastery of Dargun - South of Rostock
and Greifswald - wasfounded in 1172, on 25June, the Feast Day of
SaintCanute.Theconquestof Riigendevelopedinto a Balticenter-
prise 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 §
fully develop the idea of Denmark as a crusader state. He had a new ä
c
type ofcoin struck (seeFig. 3) whichon the front showeda kingwith s.
a branch - perhaps the palm leaf of the Jerusalem pilgrim - and on
the reverse the ducal banner of Canute emblazoned with a ctoss. -Q
"s
King Valdemar also invited the Order of St John to Denmark, Q
r^<{-fÄ:u:-'l-al i--
where its presence was first attested in 1169. The Order was allot- "®i*QS^fu8 J=
ted a tax of one penny from each househotd in Denmark in support s
ofthe Holy Land. 3'The Order's mark may have been the inspiration 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- rsl
ately by the Feast Day of Saint Canute. It has been suggested that 00

KingValdemarhadprobably put Denmarkunder the protection of

the OrderofStJohn.37Thisisimpossibleto prove,butthe closecon-
É^SII
zsS^;'bi'
nection between the king and the Order is evident. '^ l >
^'. CD -;^ a-'tt
U-t

When King Valdemar died, in 1182, a leaden funeral plaque was -;~ ~~^ ^
I?--l LU U. I ^
x ^
^
placedin histomb next to his headwhichspecifiedwhathe wanted :><, ^^lé 2 s
to be remembered for (see Fig. 4). The first achievement mentioned 1^^'^
l^'n;w ^
herc was the king's conquest of Rugen. He was said to have Chris-
tianized the Rugians and to have done so as the son of Saint Duke ,<
f^^'G u

Canute. " Thus, a long seriesofpolitical events, whichstarted in 1146 sy^. é!s
l y;\'-_° °^ -Z;;-^
3
CT"
rt
&
's^s!w
Å U-1
°S^ s
Or "> il G
l-1 /. / .. ']l £
?^§^s
:s^ä5:;fc s
ao
Figure 3 Crusader coin from the time of King Valdemar. fc

[170] [171]
 The Second Grusade
with the proclamation of the Second Grusade and the elevation of
Duke Canute by the young Prince Valdemar, had led to the establish-
ment 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 cru-
saders' 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 confraterni-
ties 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 prop-
erty and if they have been taken captive by heathens.41 It is well
attested that from the middle of the thirteenth century theseconfra-
ternities 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 confra-
ternity that manned ships to fight against pirates, which in this
context means against pagans (see the Appendix). If they needed to
[172]
Formation of a crusader state?
do so, members of this confraternity would confiscate ships from cit-
izens in Roskilde in return for promising them one-elghth of the
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 contradic-
tion 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 liber-
ate 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 con-
tinue 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 con-
fraternities 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 appro-
bationto 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 andwar-
riors. There is nothing in this pnvilege that specifically limited it to
trading. The privilege ofValdemar was clearly an attempt to central-
ize and reorganizean existing confraternity structure, and since he
himselfjoined thegroupit isobviousthatitmusthavehadanimpor-
tam 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
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
members to kill him. As is the case with the statutes of the confra-
ternities of Samt Canute, the lex curie did not specify any purpose
for members. It isargued here that such a lawwasnecessary because
[174]
Formation of a crusader state?
the king had conquered many nations, with different rltes and cus-
töms. 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 pre-
clse 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 cen-
tury 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 cre-
ation 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
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.
[175]
 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.Itsorga-
nizarion andfunctions werethefollowing: the members wereempow-
ered 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 morepros-
perous end if prior to battle, they had pleased God according to the
rites. Wjthonlya fewprovisions theywouldavoidburdensandimped-
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
unforeseen should happen. They would seekthc islands to whichthey
were brought by the wind and wouid send out scouts to survey the
places protected from storms because foreign fleets used to take advan-
tage of sheltered harbours. Battlc with the enemy came frequcntly to
them, but everywhere they met with easyvictory and suffered almost
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]
Notes
l Thanks to Janus Möller Jensen, Copenhagen University, for suggestions
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 Seegrun, Das Papsttum, p. 144.
5 'Rex autem Hericus ... regnum resignavit, monasterium adiit et habim reli-
gionis 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.
6 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.
7 Foimding charter: DD 1:2, 65; vita: Vitae sanctorum danorum, ed. M. Cl.
Gcrtz (Copenhagen, 1908-12) (VSD), pp. 234^(1.
S VSD, pp. 202, 216-l7.
9 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, lit-
eranim ignarus, fecit scribi libros ecclesiis necessarios et altra humanum
moduin eruditos sermones sanctorum per suos clericos, sibi thesauros celi-
cos 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 StigHolsring, 'Sankt Knud Lavards ikonografi' Catholica 2-3 (1970). 40 E. g. statutes of the guild in Schleswig of Saint Canute, c. 1200, in Danmarks
17 Colin Morris, The Papal Monarchy. The Western Church from 1050 to Gilde-ogLavsskraaerfraMiddelalderen,ed. C. Nyrop (Copenhagen, 1899-
1250 (Oxford, 1989), pp. 226-36. 1900), vol. l, nos 17-19, pp. 6-17.
18 Phillips, Defeiiders, pp. 191-2. 41 An earlier example inightbe the mentioning in the Chronicle of Zealandof
19 See Chapter l byjonathan Phillips in this volume. a confraternity in the city of Schleswig in 1134, but it may well be a thir-
20 Saxo, Gesta Danorum, [ib, 14. teenth-cencury interpoladon; ef. Hans Torben Gilkser, 'In honore sancti
21
Knytliny Saga, ch^ 108, in Jomsvikmga Saga og Knytlinga tilligemed Kanud', p. 146, and Niels Skyum-Nielsen,Kvinde og Slave, p. 69.
SilgabrudstykkeTogToitKllmgervedkommende Danmark,ca. ået^onsd^ 42 Niels Lund, Lith, ledingog landevxrn (Roskilde, 1996), p. 226.
NordiskeOUskrift-Selskab,tr. C. C. Rafn(Copcnhagen,1829),p. 312. 43 James F. Powers, A Society Organized for War. The Ibenan Mumcipal
22 '[H]li enim domi pugnaces, forisimbelles sunt', Hclmold ofBosau, Chron- Mllitias in the Central Middk Åses, 1000-1284 (Berkeley, CA, 1988),
ica Slavorum, p. 122. pp. 162-87.
23 Ibut.. 44 Saxo, Ges?a Danorum, lib. 14. 6,2 (in the Appendix).
24
E.g. DDl;2, 103ofll51 fromKingSvento theGerman KingConrad;DD 45 Saxo, Gesta Daiiorum, lib. 14. 23; lib. 14. 30.
1:2, 104 of 1151 from King Canute to the same; ef. a]so DÖ1:2. 110 of 46 Powers, A Society Organized for Wär, pp. 13-67.
1152. ~ "" ^" ---- --. 47 Curt Wallin, 'De medeltida Knutsgillena" Catholica 2-3 (1970), p. 174.
25 Knytliny Saga, Ch. 81. 48 DD 1:3, 63.
26 DD 1:2, 39. 49 'Igitur, sive mercimoniarum negoriis laborandbus, sive agriculturis desu-
27 Knytlinge Saga, Ch. 101. dantibusvel mititiae dngulo fulgenribus, aequalance iiiris omnibuspaterno
28 DDl:2, 50, beforell27. tenemur affectu. Proinde est, quod vestrae fraternitatis noviter inchoatae
29 Curt Weibutl, 'Saxos berättelser om de danska vendcrtågen 1158-1 185', participes esse volumus et in omnibus, in quibus vestra consenserit licita
Historisk tidsskrift 83 (1983), pp. 35-70. institudo, nostrae authoritatis consensu participabimur' (DD 1:3, 63).
30 SeeDD 1:2, 158. 50 SvenAggesen, Lexcastrensis sive curie, in SMD, vol. I, pp. 64-93.
31 Ibid. 1:2, 189. 51 'Cum itaque tam dissonosritus gentium uni coadunassetfamilie, opus erat,
32 Ibid. 1:2, 190; ef. Thomas Riis, Les institutions politique& centrales du ut tanti regis cxercitus, utpote ex variis adunatus nationibus, universis
Danemark 1100-1332 (Odense, 1977), pp. 185-6, videlicet regnis iurisdictioni sue subiugads, quorum ritus dissona tamen
33 E.g. DDl:3, 27. varierate discrepabant, omni contrarietatis sopita controver. sia, prout con-
34 Stella Maria Szacherska, The Political Role of the Danish Monasteries in tectales decet honestos, communi domino, adinvicem non altercantes, pari
Tomenima 1171-1113', Mediaeval Scsildinavia 10 (1977), pp. 122-155; voto famularentur, nulla discidii livorisque vet invidie macula distmheiite,
see also Brian Patrick McGuire, The Cistercians in Denmark. Their verum potius tanquam unius capitis membra regis obtemperare mandatls
Ättituäes,Roles, and Funaions in Medieval Soczety (Kalamazoo, 1982). voluntatis unione parati, prout tideles sodales nil adverse suspitionis de se
pp. 79-84 and passim. presumentes' (SMD, vol. I, pp. 68-70).
35 In general, see Thomas Riis, Les institutions. 52 Steffen Heiberg, Enhjorningen Corfttz USfeldt (Copenhagen, 1993), pp. 77-8.
36 DD 1. 7, 156 of 13 December 1244, whcre King Erik confirms the dccision 53 1'hillips, Defenders, p. 192.
ofhisgrandfathcrValdemarto granttothehouscofrheOrderofStJohn
in Alltvorskov 'de qualibet familiadenariumunum, qui vocatur huspen-
ning. ... precipimus ... antedictum censum ad usus terre sancte deputatum
separatim ab aliis elemosinis regni nostri sine diminucione persolvi'.
37 Thomas Riis, Les institutions, p. 186.
38 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 thealmostcon-
temporary chronicle of Sven Aggesen (see SMD vol. I, pp. 138-9).
39
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.

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