ABSTRACT
There are numerous problems involved in writing about crusades in the countries in the geographic periphery of Europe. Their sources preserved only a fraction of what has been handed down from England, France, Germany and the Spanish kingdoms. Furthermore, the sources have an in-built lop-sidedness when it comes to crusades. The Scandinavians and the Portuguese went by ship when travelling to the Holy Land, whereas most Germans and French walked overland. The sea-travellers were only noticed when they landed in order to take in water and provisions, whereas the walkers’ journey could be noted down in each and every town and city they travelled through. For that reason alone, we should expect the peoples in the periphery to be underrepresented in the sources.1
