Eystein I of Norway place of burial Nidaros Cathedral
In 1107 or 1108, after years of preparations, Sigurd sailed with a large fleet on a crusade to the Holy Land, the first European king ever to do so. Sigurd arrived back in Norway in 1111. Eystein, on the other hand, did not engage in any warfare, and considerably less information is thus written about him than about Sigurd, although Snorri notes that he "had also effected much in the country that was useful while King Sigurd was on his journey." While Sigurd gained fame in posterity as the "warrior king", although mainly because of his one-time crusade, Eystein was portrayed by the saga writers as the "peace king" who stayed at home and improved the country. Since Sigurd remained king for nineteen years after his crusade with little controversy, historian Claus Krag has considered that the domestic peace probably could be attributed equally to Sigurd. In order to contrast Eystein with Sigurd, Snorri tells a story that Eystein instead subdued Jämtland to the Norwegian crown peacefully through the use of gifts and diplomacy. Despite Snorri's account, historical records indicate that Jämtland did not succumb to Norwegian rule until much later, during the reign of King Sverre in 1178. Eystein and Sigurd are, however, known to have claimed monopoly on the trade and taxation in Finnmarken.Fish became an increasingly important commodity during Eystein's reign, as more cod was fished in Northern Norway and the demand for stockfish soared in Europe. As the most suitable port, Bergen became the main trade hub for exporting stockfish, including trade connections with Grimsby in England, while it also served to import much needed goods such as grain and flour. To further the trade, Eystein had fishing booths and a church built in the fishing centre at Vågan in Lofoten in Northern Norway, and he sailed north to Lofoten and Trondenes himself in 1114. He also secured the route along the coast by constructing a port in Agdenes on the mouth of the Trondheimsfjord, as well as smaller beacons along the coast. Eystein's port construction in Agdenes was compared by Theodoric the Monk to that of Augustus Caesar at Brundisium, an association readily reflected by Theodoric's use of the Latinised name form "Augustinus" for Eystein. (Otherwise, Pope Callixtus II calls Eystein "Aistano" in a letter.) The existence of a now lost port in Agdenes dated to around Eystein's reign has been supported by recent archaeological surveys in the area. Snorri also says that Eystein had several large dry-docks built in Nidaros, and that he had a large ship built which "in size and shape" resembled the great ship Ormen Lange once built by King Olaf Tryggvason. Eystein also improved the shelters in the mountain passes, notably at Hjerkinn in Dovre, to more comfortable houses with permanent supervision.In Snorri's mannjevning between Eystein and Sigurd, Eystein allegedly maintains that his own building-projects in Norway were "more useful for the country," than "you [Sigurd] killing bluemen for the devil in Serkland." Eystein was particularly active in Bergen, and his role in the development of the city was probably more important than that of King Olaf Kyrre, the founder of the city according to the sagas. He moved the royal seat in the city from Alrekstad to Holmen on the eastern shore of Vågen, in the city core, thereby rationalising the bureaucracy. At Holmen, he built a Church of the Apostles (probably a stave church) and a St. Nicholas Church, as well as a royal palace which according to Snorri Sturluson was the most imposing wooden building ever raised in Norway (although Theodoric the Monk who wrote earlier already noted it was "now almost collapsed from excessive age"). He also built a St. Michael's Church and founded the Benedictine abbey Munkeliv Abbey at Nordnes, and the tithe to the church was introduced during the reign of Eystein and Sigurd.Eystein died on 29 August 1123, not long after he was "seized with an illness" during a feast at Hustad in Fræna, Møre og Romsdal. Snorri tells that his body thereafter was taken to Nidaros, and buried in the Nidaros Cathedral. According to Snorri, it was "generally said that so many mourners never stood over any man's grave in Norway as over King Eystein's," at least since the death of Magnus the Good. The reign of Eystein and Sigurd was the longest joint rule in Norwegian history. Sigurd ruled alone after Eystein's death, until Sigurd's own death in 1130.
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