Sigurd the Crusader Sigurd I Magnusson ( c . 1090 – 26 March 1130 ) , also known as Sigurd the Crusader ( Old Norse : " Sigurðr Jórsalafari " , Norwegian : " Sigurd Jorsalfar " ) , was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130 . His rule , together with his brother Eystein I of Norway ( until Eystein died in 1123 ) , has been regarded by historians as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway . He is otherwise famous for leading the Norwegian Crusade ( 1107 – 1110 ) , earning the eponym " the Crusader " . Biography . He was one of the three sons to King Magnus III , the other two being Øystein and Olaf ; they all had different mothers and were all illegitimate sons of the king . Despite being illegitimate , all the sons of the king had an equal right to the throne , and to avoid feuds or war the three brothers co - ruled the kingdom from 1103 . He initially shared the throne with his brothers Øystein and Olav , but would rule alone from 1123 , when Øystein died . Before being proclaimed King of Norway , he was also styled as King of Mann and the Isles and Earl of Orkney , although he would pass the Earl of Orkney title on to Haakon Paulsson , a son of Paul Thorfinnsson , who came all the way to Norway from Orkney . Many historians have viewed Sigurd and Øystein ' s rule as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway . The country was able to flourish both in wealth and expansion , as well as gaining international recognition and prestige due to Sigurd ' s participation in the crusades . Expedition with Magnus III . In 1098 , Sigurd accompanied his father , King Magnus III , on his expedition to the Orkney Islands , Hebrides and the Irish Sea . He was made Earl of Orkney the same year , following the swift removal of the incumbent Earls of Orkney , Paul and Erlend Thorfinnsson . He was also , apparently , made King of Mann and the Isles in that same year , following the overthrow of their king there by his father , Magnus . Although Magnus was not directly responsible for the death of the previous king of Mann and the Isles , he was the next ruler of the kingdom , most likely due to his conquest of the islands . This was the first time the kingdom had been under direct control by a Norwegian king . It is not certain whether Sigurd returned home with his father to Norway after the 1098 expedition ; however , it is known that he was in Orkney when Magnus returned west in 1102 for his next expedition . While there , a marriage alliance was negotiated between Magnus and Muircheartach Ua Briain , who was High King of Ireland , one of the most powerful rulers in Ireland , as well as the ruler of Dublin . Sigurd was to marry Muirchertach ' s daughter Blathmin O ' Brien , a young Irish princess and for a short period , Queen consort . However , when Magnus was ambushed and killed in Ulaid by an Irish army in 1103 , the 14 - year - old Sigurd returned to Norway along with the rest of the Norwegian army , leaving his child - bride behind , and became king together with his brothers Øystein and Olav . Upon arriving home back in Norway , he and his two brothers were proclaimed kings of Norway and would co - rule the kingdom together for some time . The expeditions conducted by Magnus were somewhat profitable to the Kingdom of Norway , as the many islands now under Norway would provide wealth , defenses and manpower . However the Hebrides and Mann quickly re - asserted their independence after Magnus ' death . Norwegian Crusade . In 1107 , Sigurd was to lead a Norwegian crusade in support to the newly established crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem , which had been founded after the First Crusade . At first it was disputed among the two kings , Øystein and Sigurd , about who should lead the contingent and who should remain home , to rule the kingdom . Sigurd was eventually chosen , possible because he was a more adequate and experienced traveler . By going on the crusade , he was the first European king to do so , and his crusader feats earned him the nickname " Jorsalafari " . He experienced action in Lisbon , various Mediterranean islands and Palestine . He would often fight the enemies himself , amongst his loyal soldiers and kinsmen ; their battles were all victorious and with vast success , gaining large treasures and booty . On his way to Jerusalem ( " Jorsalaland " ) he visited King Roger II of Sicily in his castle at Palermo . Upon arriving in the Holy Land he was greeted by Baldwin I , King of Jerusalem . He received a warm welcome , and spent much time with the king there ; the two kings even rode to the river Jordan , where Sigurd might even have been baptized . After their journey to the river , King Baldwin asked for Sigurd ' s help to conquer the coastal city of Sidon , to which he replied " that they had come for the purpose of devoting themselves to the service of Christ " , and accompanied him to take the city of Sidon , which had been re - fortified by the Fatimids in 1098 . The siege was a great success for the crusader forces , and the city was taken from the Fatimids on 5 December 1110 . By order of Baldwin and the Patriarch of Jerusalem , Ghibbelin of Arles , a splinter was taken off the holy cross and given to Sigurd after the siege , as a token of friendship and as a relic for his heroic participation in the crusades . Thereafter , King Sigurd returned to his ships and made them ready to leave the Holy Land . They sailed north to the island Cyprus ; and King Sigurd would stay there for a little while . Sigurd sailed into Constantinople ( " Miklagard " ) , and would enter the city through the gate called the Gold Tower , riding in front of his men . He and his men would stay here for a while , and he would meet and spend a lot of time there with the Emperor . Return to Norway . Before leaving Constantinople , Sigurd gave all of his ships and many treasures away to the Byzantine Emperor . In return the emperor gave him many strong horses , for him and his fellow kinsmen . Sigurd planned to return to Norway over land , but there were few of his men who planned to return with him , many were to stay behind in the great city , to take up service for the emperor . The trip would take many years , and he would visit many countries on the road . Sigurd travelled , in a trip that supposedly would take around three years , from Bulgaria ( " Bolgaraland " ) and through Hungary ( " Ungararíki " ) , Pannonia , Schwabia ( " Sváva " ) , and Bavaria ( " Beiaraland " ) where he met with the Emperor Lothar of the Holy Roman Empire ( " Rómaborg " ) . He later arrived in Denmark where he was greeted by King Niels of Denmark who eventually gave him a ship so that he could sail all the way to Norway . After returning to Norway in 1111 , Sigurd came back to a flourishing and prosperous kingdom . King Øystein had used all his energy and willpower to create a strong and stable country , and the church , especially , had gained on this . Sigurd made his capital in Konghelle ( Kungälv in present - day Sweden ) and built a strong castle there to live in , and he also kept the relic given to him by King Baldwin , a splinter reputed to be from the True Cross . In 1123 , Sigurd once again set out to fight in the name of the church , this time to Småland in Sweden , where the inhabitants had renounced their Christian faith and were again worshipping their former gods . During Sigurd ' s reign , the tithe ( a 10 % tax to benefit the church ) was introduced in Norway , which greatly strengthened the church in the country . Sigurd also founded the diocese of Stavanger because he was denied divorce by the bishop in Bergen , so he simply installed another bishop further south and had him perform the divorce instead . Death . Sigurd died in 1130 and was buried in Hallvard ' s church ( " Hallvardskirken " ) in Oslo . Sigurd and his Queen Malmfred ( a daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and granddaughter of King Inge I of Sweden ) had a daughter , Kristin Sigurddatter , but no legitimate sons . This led to a power struggle following Sigurd ' s death between various illegitimate sons and other royal pretenders , which escalated into a lengthy and devastating civil war . Civil war . During this civil war era in Norway , which lasted from 1130 until 1240 , there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity . The background for these conflicts were the unclear Norwegian succession laws , social conditions and struggles between various groups of noblemen fighting for power . There were two main parties , the " Bagler " and " Birkebeiner " . The rallying point regularly was a royal son , or a person claimed by his followers to be a royal son , who was set up as the head figure of the party in question , to oppose the rule of a king from the contesting party . In the traditions of succession of the day , there was little or no difference between a legitimate and an illegitimate son of a king ; the competence and popularity of the potential heir was supposed to be the deciding factor . This laid the ground - work for long feuds over who should rule the Kingdom of Norway in the 12th century and early 13th century . References . Primary sources . Most of the information gathered about the saga of Sigurd and his brothers is taken from the Heimskringla , written by Snorri Sturluson around 1225 . The accuracy of this work is still debated by scholars . In the 19th century , Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson wrote an historical drama based on the life of the king , with incidental music composed by Edvard Grieg . Sigurd is also mentioned in various European sources .