Arn Magnusson - the imaginary Swedish Knight Templar

Arn Magnusson is the main character in the Crusades trilogy written in Swedish by author and journalist Jan Guillou. This fictional Swedish character from the Middle Ages is forced to become a Knight Templar. The series is an account of the life of Arn Magnusson, who becomes a witness as well as a catalyst to many important historical events, both in his homeland of Sweden and in the crusades against the Middle East. How much fact is there in the fiction?

The trilogy, dubbed the Crusades trilogy, consists of the following books: 1)The Road to Jerusalem, originally Vägen till Jerusalem (1998); 2) The Knight Templar, originally Tempelriddaren (1999); 3)Birth of the Kngdom, originally Riket vid vägens slut (2000) 

Guillou also wrote a follow-up novel about Birger Jarl, founder of Stockholm, entitled The Heritage of Arn (in Swedish Arven efter Arn) published in 2001. The books were reworked to a film released in December 2007: Arn – The Knight Templar (In Swedish: Arn - Tempelriddaren, and its sequel Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End (in Swedish: Arn – Riket vid vägens slut), released August 22, 2008. There is also a decent mini film series based on these books.

Based on the detailed stories by Guillou, the question may be put forward: how is the historical accuracy of the stories?

In the first place, the idea of a Swedish nobleman becoming a Templar knight is improbable. Sweden at the time (12th century) was still a fragmented society and not a highly developed feudal system and chivalric culture similar to France or England. It was still transitioning from a loosely organized society into a medieval kingdom. Furthermore, there was little direct involvement of the knightly tradition in the Crusades. While Scandinavian crusaders did participate in expeditions to the Baltic region (Northern Crusades), there is no historical evidence of Swedish knights being directly integrated into the Templars.

Some personal aspects of Arn seem improbable too. He is depicted as an almost invincible warrior trained by the finest masters. While some knights did receive extensive training, his near-superhuman abilities and advanced swordsmanship are more in line with modern adventure fiction than historical reality. The novel portrays Arn’s love affair with Cecilia as central to his exile. However, medieval Scandinavian society did not function in a way where a nobleman would be punished with monastic exile for premarital relations. The Church was gaining influence, but such severe consequences would have been unusual.

In summary, while the Crusader trilogy is entertaining and well-researched in some areas, it ultimately prioritizes storytelling over strict historical accuracy. Many elements are shaped by modern sensibilities, romanticized heroism, and creative liberties rather than medieval realities.

Further reading on the above issues can be found in First Swedish Crusade, Wikipedia; The three 'Swedish Crusades', all-things-nordic.com (consulted February 5, 2025); Medieval Geopolitics: What were the Northern Crusades?, medievalists.net (consulted February 5, 2025). The illustration shows a publicity still from the 2007 film ARN: THE KNIGHT TEMPLAR,, source

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