Ah, so Greve is a German title equivalent to a Count or Earl. When I just put in greve I got nothing. Hertug is duke? Huskarl and thegn are indeed more bodyguard, although at least in England and Scotland thegn it also came to refer to an actual class of nobles. Not so sure about Scandinavia, although I will give a hint as to my current thoughts in that Alva's sister, Margaret, is currently married to King David I of Scotland's eldest son. David utilized Thane as a type of noble. Although I am also imagining them more as professionals than inherited nobility. Still got a bit rattling around in my head.The Danish noble titles are largely derived from German titles, with the clear exception of Jarl. Jarl was used as a general title for just about any major leader. It would be the import of Greve, Baron and Hertug which really filled out the ranks. Huskarl and Thane (though the later is more Anglo oriented to my knowledge) both refer to parts of a retinue rather than an actual noble rank. They are professions rather than ranks. Hope it helps. This is really interesting and I look forward to seeing what happens next. What effect has the lack of Wendish Crusades had on Germany?
The eastern expansion of Germany really kick-started in the second half of the 12th century, so not as much clear issues quite yet. However Albert the Bear's lands received a greater concentration of the early settlers, meaning OTL Margrave of Brandenburg is far more developed here. That's partly what allowed Albert to push into what OTL is southern Mecklenburg, and Wolgast is experiencing strong growth as a German port on the Baltic (not sure whether it will eventually be renamed ITTL). While a bigger butterfly will occur in the future, it also has several other causes than just the Danish preemption of the Wendish Crusade.
Otherwise an area I didn't really expand on in the chapter that probably is important is Henry the Lion and Adolf II's attack on Denmark in 1147 for the Duchy of Holstein. This really was an invasion. While Albert was persuaded not to help Bjorn and King Conrad officially didn't support Henry's act, many Germans did. Bjorn's successful defense was arguably the highlight of his military career, and he even occupied Holstein to enforce his de facto control of it. Bjorn however never invaded Saxony as he didn't desire to produce a threat that might give Henry more German support, and so Conrad made a peace. If Bjorn had lost, there's a good chance Denmark would have lost the Duchy of Holstein with Wagria with it. Bjorn already had a pretty good military history. The only pitched battle he ever lost was outside Roskilde while he was a teenager, and he never failed in a larger campaign. Its just that as he engaged in the typical style of war of the period where the focus was on taking of forts, his campaigns aren't exactly something I can talk about without going into great detail. Already Bjorn will be remembered as something of more successful military leader of all the Kings of Denmark ITTL, and if he was instead a military commander to a more ambitious king he very likely would have been a famous military commander throughout Europe.