Wulf and Hysing gathered the small council. With their father dead a new Prince Mayor needed to be elected. The precedent was set with the death of Haraldr the Wise held that when a Prince Mayor dies on crusade, the Littlething should hold a special election to prevent the entire crusading party from having to travel back to Husavik. The Littlething, along with the commanders, sea captains, Grandmaster of the Templars and Captains of the Scottish Band met to make a decision.

The meeting of the Littlething opened with a prayer from Father Eskild, whose tome “The Icelandic Saga of the Second Crusade for Jerusalem” is the only primary source account of the meeting. Steward Gandalfr Haraldrsons stood as Lawspeaker and called for candidates to wear the crown of Iceland. Baron Oysteinn stood and called for the men to rally around Wulf Haraldrson. Chancellor Ivar suggested Hysing Haraldrson as a reasonable alternative. Hysing was the warrior, and the crusade needed someone with a warrior’s spirit to lead the Latins to victory like Bjorn the Cleansing Flame. The captains of the Scottish band suggested Dag Onnonkid. Dag had more experience than the two younger men. Onnokid had tested his metal on the battlefield many times, acted as a war-adviser and confidant to Haraldr II, and trained most of the fighting men of Husavik through his service as Marshal, including the other candidates.

The crowd descended into arguments and fights. The chaos abruptly stopped when Wulf’s uncle Kormac arrived calling for order, banging together his shield and axe. Lawspeaker Gandalfr attempted to regain control of the meeting, but was interrupted by Dag who argued Kormac was holding the meeting hostage by bringing weapons. The reckless berserker and the cool calculator seldom agreed. The two men exchanged in a battle of words (not their first nor their last). Kormac endorsed his nephew Wulf. He pointed out that Dag led from the rear while Wulf had fought alongside his men from the highlands of Scotland to the mountains of Anatolia. The crusade needed to stay under the unified leadership of the Haraldrsons. The divine mandate of the Haraldrsons allowed Bjorn to liberate Rome from the pagans, and would now aid Wulf to conquer Jerusalem.

Kormac’s endorsement was enough. The Littlething erupted with chanting. Voices echoed through the campsite with calls for “Wulf” and “Deus Vult!” Wulf stood before the crowd and accepted the position of Prince Mayor. Despite his severe stutter, years of leadership and command allowed him to force out a short speech where he committed to the religious cause of the crusade Theology would be his primary focus until Christ reigned in the Holy City.

As Wulf gave his speech Dag slipped away from the meeting and rallied his retinue. The Patrician withdrew his soldiers from the crusade and sailed them home to Husavik. He left behind one of his nephews who reported that Dag sailed home to tend to his duties as Marshal, training more troops to join the crusade. Wulf was surprised by the outburst. Dag was never a man to flip the board or scatter the pieces because he was losing a game. Though he suspected some foul play Wulf had to focus on winning the war at hand.

Wulf first designated his younger brother Hysing as his preferred successor. Hysing was a capable general and warrior with a zealotry seldom seen among the Commonwealth merchant-class.

With the matter of succession settled the Icelanders were able to focus their attention back to the crusade. Though they had won the battle at Majdal Yaba they had still not captured he city. Haraldr II had planned to march immediately on Jerusalem, but Wulf felt it best to take the city, rendezvous with the Welsh crusaders, and gather their strength first. The land between the cities was largely scorched and wells were poisoned. The Commonwealth had joined the crusade very late, and the battles between Welsh and Gafurid forces had devastated the region.

While a small party was left to maintain the siege Wulf sent Hysing, Oysteinn, and Kormac on an expidition south to collect supplies and food. As the crusaders raided small farms surrounding the city of Gezer they were ambushed by the remainder of the Gafurid host.

The tide of the crusade had clearly been turned at the battle of Majdal Yaba. The Muslim forces were considerably weaker than the crusaders. The poorly equipped, lightly armored center of the Gafurid line quickly retreated after Icelandic archers rained arrows upon them. The Gafurids were easily routed allowing the crusaders to collect supplies and return to the army besieging army at Majdal Yaba.

Majdal Yaba surrendered to the resupplied crusaders on December 23, 1031. The crusaders sacked the city, looting the small mosque at the city center and mounting a cross atop its dome, claiming it as a church. On Christmas eve 1031 Bishop Eskild claimed he was visited by an angel in his dreams who told him of a treasure hidden in the small church in the village. The next day King Arthfael II of Wales and what remained of his crusading army arrived in Majdal Yaba. When they arrived Wulf and his generals had upturned the floor of the temple digging under the alter. The Welsh Papal Legate Ralph of Cornwall later recalled the chaos of the scene:

“When asked about the place he [Eskild] pointed behind the alter, true to his story, and advised them to dig; and that his words might have weight, he composed his expression. They dug, but without avail; the upturned earth could not return what had not been committed to it, and what had not been received. However the man had secreted about him an Arabic spearpoint, from the chance finding of which had contrived material for his deception… he pulled forth from the dug up ground the spear which had been fraudulently dropped by him… he filled excited ears with these words “Lo, behold! Heaven promised what the earth preserved; the apostles revealed what the prayers of the people obtained!” … This Kormac and those who supported Wulf had fittingly arranged, but those of other parties, especially the Irish in their rude simplicity, paid devotion to it with gifts. … Arthfael immediately detected a trick.” -Ralph of Cornwall on Divisions Among the Crusaders from The Deeds of King Artfael II written 1042

After half a day of digging and excavation Bishop Eskild himself jumped into the upturned earth and began frantically digging with the soldiers, soon producing a lance tip which he claimed was the Holy Lance that had pierced Jesus. The bishop claimed it was a sign that victory was close at hand. The Welsh immediately suspected trickery. King Arthfael was the first major lord to lend support to the crusade. He and his force of over 5,000 men left Wales in 1024, but after six years of fighting that force was reduced to just over 1000 fighting men. Arthfael felt the entire scene was contrived to ensure that now that victory was close at hand, it would be a Icelandic victory and not a Welsh one. The Irish and Anglish counts were swept up in the moment of religious fervor surrounding the spear-tip, claiming Wulf was ordained by God to liberate Jerusalem. It was a sign that they needed to march on the Holy City.

Haraldr II’s body was entombed in the floor of the church where the lance was found. After a small ceremony honoring the former Prince Mayor a small garrison of 88 men were left assembled to prevent the city from falling to the Muslims. Arthfael ensured both Welsh and Norsemen were left to keep the city from later being used as leverage. The crusading army was on the march towards Jerusalem.

Tensions only grew as the crusading coalition arrived at the walls of Jerusalem. Though King Artfael was aligned with Wulf through marriage (Haraldr II had arranged a marriage between Artfael and Wulf’s sister Sigrid when both men were very young) the perceived distrust over the Holy Lance and anticipation of a Norse power led to considerable unrest within the Britannic army. The Welsh and Norse alliance was designed by Haraldr II to check the power of Scotland and Angland in the British Isles, but that did not mean that there were no issues between the people of both realms. The Welsh still largely saw the Norsemen as barbarian invaders who forced trade agreements on small Welsh and Irish villages. Fights between the two groups were frequent and much of Wulf and Arthfael’s time during the march was consumed resolving honor disputes between men of both sides.

The crusading army was divided to ease tensions. Victory would never come to Christendom if its defenders rotted from within. Arthfael took his 1000 men, along with the minor Irish lords and their retainers to the Jaffa Gate on the West side of the city, while Wulf took the larger Icelandic force north to block the Damascus Gate and the Gate of Flowers.

In April of 1032 Wulf led a small raiding party further north. His plan was to raid the small farms surrounding the city of Nablus as they had with Gezer. Wulf found he rather enjoyed fighting in the rough terrain of the Levant. He had experience fighting in the highlands of Scotland during his father’s rule, and used that knowledge to lure the Gafurid armies into various traps around the city.

After nearly half a year of starving the city, Wulf and Arthfael agreed it was time to attack. The doors to the Jaffa gate and the Damascus gate were smashed and the crusaders flooded into the city. They were met with little resistance from the weakened and diseased defenders of the city. The crusaders slaughtered indiscriminately, burning property and seizing treasure. After two days of chaos and fighting the inner fortress fell and victory was declared.

Wulf quickly made the walled inner fortress his base of operations, while Arthfael and the Welsh operated out of the church of the Holy Sepulcher. Both men met at the church several days later to pray, fulfilling their crusader vows.

Several days later King Arthfael rode west to take the port city of Jaffa and the surrounding towns. Wulf stayed in Jerusalem to cement his power in the city. Victory was close at hand and holding Jerusalem would ensure the spoils were divided in Iceland’s favor.

Wulf summoned his small council to discuss their plan for the end of the crusade. Since Dag returned to Iceland, Kormac was promoted to the title of Marshal, providing a loyal seat in the Littlething. He requested the small council grant him the power to designate titles without the need for council approval. A liberated Kingdom of Jerusalem would have many titles that needed to be managed, and if the council had to debate each candidate the process would take too long.

With Kormac’s added support in the small council, the law passed and the Prince Mayor was granted full privileges to award titles at his own discresion.

The crusaders held the city of Jerusalem for over a year, fighting minor skirmishes with the Gafurids, until Caliph Ashraf Gafurid officially surrendered the territory on September 14th, 1034. The crusade was a success! Word spread quickly throughout the Christian world and Pope Sergius “the Holy” declared a state of joyous celebration to be observed until All Saints Day.

Most of the Irish and Anglish minor lords promptly returned to their lands, leaving the Norsemen and Welsh as the primary contenders to govern of the Holy City. Papal emissaries offered the crown of Jerusalem to Wulf, since he had the larger army and controlled the actual city itself. Wulf turned down the offer of the crown saying “I am no king,” arguing that even if he was, no king should sit the throne where Christ reigns. The emissaries next offered the throne to Arthfael, but the Welsh King was forced to withdraw his candidacy as he did not want to seem impious in light of Wulf’s statement. Instead Wulf declared he would serve as Lord Protector of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Knight Defender of the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher.

The government of the Kingdom of Jerusalem would be based on the Althing, with the Grand Marshals of the Knights Templar and Hospitaller, the Bishop of Jerusalem, and governors of the various provinces of the Levant electing a Lord Protector who would defend the realm. It was an excellent power play, especially since the Templars were sure to vote for Wulf after having fought in his service the past three years. King Arthfael was invited to the first election and raised serious concerns over Wulf’s candidacy, arguing that the Prince Mayor was seizing the crown he had just denied. The other electors dismissed Arthfael’s doubts as those spoken out of jealousy and voted Wulf as the first Lord Protector of the City of Jerusalem. The new Lord Protector stood before the crowd and gave a small speech where he distributed some titles around the newly established Kingdom.

To distance himself from any perceived wrongdoing, and to maintain the already strained alliance with Wales, Wulf immediately called for his younger brother Haraldr be promoted to the exalted position. Haraldr had taken the crusading pilgrimage, but largely stayed away from the battlefield. He was not a skilled commander, but was a content and charitable man who was removed from the political machinations between Wulf and Arthfael.

Even Arthfael could not deny Haraldr the throne and power was transferred to Haraldr I, Lord Protector of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Knight Defender of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Wulf gave Haraldr full autonomy and announced he would be embarking on another pilgrimage to present the Pope the Lance of Majdal Yaba.

The end of the Second Crusade also marked the start of the decline of the Gafurid Sultanate. They were never again able to raise armies the size of those seen before the battle of Koralla.

Caliph Ashraf moved his court to Anatolia and distributed land there to his children and brothers. To avoid betrayals like those from Koralla from happening again, the Gafurids ruled more inclusively. Ashraf’s brothers and children were told to embrace the local traditions of the people and adapt Shia Islam to better fit local customs. While this helped the Gafurids to convert many parts of Anatolia and avoid rebellions, ultimately within a few generations the close-knit Gafurid family was too divided to effectively rule the Caliphate as a unified whole.

Wulf and the Icelandic armies landed in southern Italy and made their way north along the western coast of the peninsula towards Rome. As they passed through Byzantine lands they were stopped by a small group of Greek pirates who demanded tribute to pass. Wulf answered them with steel. The Prince Mayor and his retinue eliminated the pirate band, liberating a nearby town from the bandits’ control in the process. The pilgrimage party stayed the night in the village, feast and merry-making before continuing north the next afternoon.

As the crusaders passed through each of the small villages along the Italian coast they were welcomed as heroes. The smallfolk prayed before the Holy Lance, and held feasts and festivities for the visitors. Along the way Wulf offered donations of the crusader spoils to those destitute, or suffering. He claimed their victories should be felt throughout the Christian world.

Wulf, Hysing, and Kormac received a hero’s welcome in Rome. Bards sang of their bravery as they marched through the city gates, flowers were thrown on them as they marched along the Tiber, and at St. Peter’s Basilica Pope Sergius IV personally welcomed them to the city. Wulf presented the Pope with the Lance of Majdal Yaba. Sergius presented the weapon to the crowd and declared Wulf “the Great,” a true defender of Christendom as his uncle Bjorn the Cleansing Flame had been before him.

The crusaders stayed for a week in the Holy See, but Sergius was fighting the King of Bavaria, who contested his reign as Pope, so Wulf decided not to overstay their welcome. While in Rome a Dutch emissary reached the Icelanders requesting aid. Frisia was deep in a vicious civil war. The kingdom’s dukes were attempting to install one of the King’s young nephews to the throne to act as a malleable puppet. Wulf and his commanders agreed and in mid November of 1034 the crusaders set sail for the low country.

Wulf and his fleet arrived in early April of 1035. Their army of battle hardened crusaders landed along the northern coast of the Rhine and marched inland to meet the rebel forces.

As the Commonwealth armies set up for a siege in Sticht, Wulf began to feel not himself. The Prince Mayor returned to his tent to rest. When Hysing and Kormac arrived to check in with the Prince Mayor for further orders they were unable to wake the crusader. The Prince Mayor passed on April 20, 1035.

Hysing and Kormac knew an Althing would need to be arranged. They paid the King of Frisia a small reparation for leaving the war and immediately set sail with their armies back towards Iceland. As the fleet approached Husavik, Hysing was filled with a terrible sense of dread. Onnokid banners hung from the city walls, blue flags with the three white hearts flew atop the guard towers alongside the white and blue stripes of Iceland.

Something was wrong.

NOTES:

I drew a lot of inspiration for this installment for the realities of the first crusade, especially the story of the Holy Lance. The quote from “Ralph of Cornwall” is actually from Ralph of Caen’s “Deeds of Tancred.” The actual crusades were incredibly interesting to me because people who never would have interacted normally were forced into the same place. While there was no realm concept of a national identity, the accounts left behind do show a kind of “proto-nationalism.” Medieval peoples tended to think of themselves as parts of larger national families, all with some link back to the heroes of ancient Greece or to Charlemagne and his descendants, but the writings from the crusades show some hints of Europe’s evolution from a continent of kingdoms to one of nations.

Thank you all again for reading! More to come soon!