After the Battle of Manzikert (1071), in which the Seljuks defeated the Byzantine troops and even captured the basileus Roman IV Diogenes , the Turks began the invasion of the Anatolian peninsula. In just a few years the Byzantines were to lose their main breadbasket and the recruiting ground for their army. The once powerful Byzantine Empire had to go on the defensive against the push of the Seljuks. Feeling incapable, not only of recovering the lost territory, but of defending its borders, the Byzantine emperor Alejo I Komnenos sent an embassy to Pope Urban II requesting his help. The Pope, who saw the opportunity to unite all of Christendom (Catholic and Orthodox) under the same banner, would not only lend aid to the emperor, but once he had recovered the territory lost by the Byzantines, he would direct - or rather, order to direct - his armies to the Holy Land to recapture Jerusalem. So, at the Council of Clermont (1095), Urban II called on all of Christendom to fight against the infidels under the banner of the cross (crusade) to the cry of…
God wants it.
And the Pope knew what to do to make the call successful:he granted plenary indulgence to all those who fought against the infidels and the promise of salvation to those who died in battle. Raimundo IV de Tolosa , Godfrey of Bouillon , Hugo de Vermandois and Bohemond of Taranto led the main armies that marched on Constantinople in mid-1096. Starting from different places and following different routes, the four Crusader armies met at the gates of Constantinople in April 1097. Between the different groups and nationalities that took part in the First Crusade was a contingent of about 1,500 Danes commanded by Sweyn the Crusader , illegitimate son of the King of Denmark Sweyn II Estridsson . Although "illegitimate or natural" could be anecdotal, for the King of Denmark it was normal:of the 20 children he had - or that are known - only one was born in wedlock, and he also died very young. The rest were sons of the different concubines he had and some of them became kings of Denmark. Alongside Sweyn, at the forefront of the group of Danes, was his young wife Florine , daughter of the Duke of Burgundy Oto I .
Florine of Burgundy
The first clashes between the Crusaders and the Seljuks would take place in the territories of the Anatolian peninsula. As the group of Danes crossed the plains of Cappadocia they were ambushed by the Turks. That large group that was advancing compactly, was a very easy target for the rain of arrows with which they were surprised from static and high positions. Barely recovered from the first attack, they were greeted by a second of horse archers closing in on the group, shooting and quickly fleeing… the number of casualties and wounded heralded a tragic end for the Norsemen. The third attack, carried out by the light cavalry of the Turks, much more maneuverable and faster than that of the Crusaders, would be devastating. Despite the difficulties, the Danes put up a fight throughout the day… with Sweyn and Florine to the head. Surrounded by hundreds of fallen bodies, with only a few dozen soldiers standing, just enough strength to hold the sword, and with Florine wounded by an arrow, the couple headed their horses towards the mountains. But that was not an escape, that elevated position would give them a certain advantage to continue fighting... although insufficient due to the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Turks. They both died there... Florine when she was just 14 years old.
Irish writer William Bernard McCabe immortalized the legend of this girl in his historical novel Florine, princess of Burgundy (1855).
