Florine of Burgundy

Florine of Burgundy (1083–1097 at Philomelium, modern-day Akşehir, Turkey) was a French crusader.

Florine was the daughter of Duke Odo I of Burgundy and Sybilla of Burgundy. Supposedly, she married Sweyn the Crusader.

Legend According to legend, Florine and her husband Sweyn led an army of 1500 Danish knights on to a crusade, as the couple had planned to get married in Jerusalem. However, they were ambushed by the Turks in Cappadocia, Anatolia, and were severely outnumbered. According to one tradition, the couple fought valiantly until Florine was pierced by either 6 or 7 arrows. Another rendition is that Florine was captured by the Turks, before getting beheaded in front of the Sultan.

Authenticity Historians are sceptical of Florine's existence, as only one chronicle mentions her name, which was written by Albert of Aix. William of Tyre, one of the chroniclers of the crusades, mentions her husband Sweyn, but not her.

Fiction Florine's life was dramatized by William Bernard McCabe in the novel Florine, Princess of Burgundy: A Tale of the First Crusaders, published in 1855.