Chapter 126: Solemn Oaths

### Story Date

Sunday, 15 May, AD 1043/6551 ε.Κ/2 Shawwal 434 AH/3 Pu-Yue Huangyou Era Year 1/3 Skerpla ÅrO -1

## Appearances

### Locations

Berk
Jerusalem
London
Nidaros
Vedrarfjord
Azaq
Sahara

*The destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a.k.a. the Church of the Holy Anastasis, in AD 1009 at the order of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, a.k.a. “The Mad Caliph”, was part of Al-Hakim’s larger personal campaign of persecutions against those in his Caliphate who were not Shia Islamic. This campaign included outlawing various religious ceremonies and ritual materials (especially wine) of both Christians and Jews, confiscating or destroying churches, convents, and synagogues, mandating distinctive and humiliating forms of public dress, and other ordinances designed to persecute non-Shia.*

*However, the demolition of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had longer-lasting consequences than the unfair laws and ordinances Al-Hakim had imposed on his populace, which were repealed or weakened after his death. The Church, which is built on the site of Jesus’ death and resurrection according to Christian tradition, is seen as one of the holiest sites in Christianity and had been a major pilgrimage site since its consecration in September AD 335. As a result, a sense of shock and anger rocked the Christian world at the total destruction of the holy site, which was so complete that, according to the chronicler Yahia, “only those things that were too difficult to demolish were spared.” However, with the Caliphate out of reach for most of Christian Europe to effectively retribute against, they sought a scapegoat to punish in lieu of the actual perpetrators, and found one in the form of the Jews. Some European regions merely expelled their Jewish residents, while others, such as Francia, actively persecuted their Jewish populations.*

*According to multiple Francian sources, the rumor was spread that the Jews of the city of Orléans had sent a letter to either Al-Hakim or to the Jews in residence in the Caliphates via a beggar. This letter allegedly provoked the destruction of the Church, and thus the persecutions were justified in response. The Francian king, Robert II ‘the Pious’, coordinated with his vassals to destroy all of the Jews in their lands who would not accept baptism. The Bishop of Limoges, Alduin, offered the Jews of his diocese the choice of baptism or exile in AD 1010. For a month, Christian theologians held disputations with the Jews, forcing them to defend their beliefs or be baptized or expelled. This did not have much success from the Christian perspective, as only three or four Jews accepted baptism, while others killed themselves, and the rest either fled or were exiled. There were similar persecutions and expulsions elsewhere across Francia. In Rouen, Normandy, a mob attacked the Jewish quarter with such violence that Jewish women jumped into the river to escape them, and drowned. In other cities, Jews were burned at the stake along with Christian heretics at the order of King Robert II.*

*While this period of active persecution died down after Jacob ben Jekuthiel managed to bribe the Catholic Pope with seven gold marks and two hundred pounds, to send a special envoy ordering King Robert to stop, these events laid the groundwork for the Crusades in the coming decades by sowing a deep and unsated hatred of non-Christians in general and Jews in particular into the Christian populace…*

*—A History of Old Francia, 1432, Oxford Press*

## Major Events

* Mairwen, Signy and Picknose discover a scheme hatched by Cwen and Gwen. They try to bring it to Astrid's attention but are interrupted and Cwen's and Gwen's faction implement their plan.
* Boarguts arrives in Jerusalem. He meets Michael the Red who tells him about the Church of the Anastasis.
* While Sigvatr is presiding over a welfare payment thievery case, he is forced to put it on hold until Magnus gets back when Cwen arrives to invite brothel women into the Bog Burglars and kills the brothel owner when he attacks them over it.
* Under Einar's advice, Magnus allows Polish Pagan refugees to build a settlement in Norway.
* Hakon and Gunvor have to deal with a sudden building collapse.
* Drago's loyalists inform him of the rough numbers his enemies have.
* Spitelout confronts Clodgall over him talking to Mac Bethad's spies over potential support in supplanting Hiccup as heir. Picknose tells Mairwen about the full story on that.

## Characters

### Humans

* Picknose Rolfsson
* Mairwen Roswynnsdóttir
* Signy Roswynnsdóttir
* Cwen Tyrasdóttir
* Lopsides Clodgallsdóttir
* Boarguts Sheepwitsson
* Michael the Red (first appearance)
* Sigvatr Þórðarson
* Reeve Stithulf (first appearance)
* Mildred (first appearance)
* Osgar (first appearance)
* Magnus the Good
* Einar Thambarskelfir
* Hákon Mortensson
* Barak ben Erez (first appearance; only appearance)
* Gobnait nic Caolán (first appearance)
* Drago Bludvist
* Kasim
* Gothi Hiccupsdóttir
* Ebba Bóthildrsdóttir
* Clodgall Oxwitsson
* Spitelout Clodgallsson
* Dagur mac Oswald
* Hiccup clan Haddock
* Warmaksan (first appearance)
* Fishwings clan Ingerman

### Dragons

* Unnamed Monstrous Nightmare
* Unnamed Nadder
* Unnamed Gronckle
* Fararvísur (first named appearance)
* Inkpot

## Analysis

### Epigraph Tie-In

* The epigraph talks about the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The chapter shows its rebuilding.