Word from the South: A Source for Morkinskinna?

The account of Sigurðr jórsalafari’s crusade (1107-1110), as preserved in the kings’ sagas, contains a few distinctive pieces of information on Sintra and Lisbon. While not accurate in terms of political conditions at the time of writing, in c. 1220 or later, they do give a reasonably accurate account of the state of affairs in regard to the Lisbon region in the early twelfth century, suggesting that the author (or authors) of Morkinskinna may have had access to a special source of information on Portugal. Based on an analysis of the description of the castle of Sintra, in combination with the skald Halldórr skvaldri’s account of Sigurðr’s battles, this article proposes that the information was drawn from a prosimetrum that preserved the crusader’s original perception of Sintra and Lisbon.