Olaf II



Olaf II Haraldsson (c. 995 – 29 July 1030), later known as St. Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae (English: Eternal/Perpetual King of Norway) and canonised at Nidaros (Trondheim) by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. His remains were enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral, built over his burial site. His sainthood encouraged the widespread adoption of Christianity by Scandinavia's Vikings/Norsemen. He is the St Olave of the church in Lower Bridge Street.

Life
During his life he was known as "Olaf the Fat" (Ólafr digri). His history according to the Norwegian and Icelandic legends goes as follows:


 * About 1008, Olaf landed on the Estonian island of Saaremaa and demanded money with menaces. The locals refused to pay, so Olaf attacked them;


 * In his later teens he went to the Baltic, to Denmark and to England, where in 1014 he pulled down London Bridge and helped restore the English throne to Æthelred the Unready (for a brief time) by removing Cnut;


 * On the way home to Norway, he wintered with Duke Richard II of Normandy, an ardent Christian. Before leaving, Olaf was baptised in Rouen;


 * Olaf returned to Norway in 1015 and declared himself king, obtaining the support of five petty kings. In 1016 at the Battle of Nesjar he defeated Earl Sweyn, the only real rival;


 * In 1025/6 he lost the naval Battle of the Helgeå against Canute, and in 1029 the discontented Norwegian nobles, supported an invasion by Canute. Olaf was driven into exile. He travelled southwards to Novgorod (Holmgard), where Olaf sought assistance from Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Yaroslav, however, did not want to become directly involved in the Scandinavian power-struggles, and declined to help;


 * In 1029, Canute's Norwegian regent, Håkon Eiriksson (who was also Earl of Worcester), was lost when he was shipwrecked on the Pentland Firth. Olaf seized the opportunity to win back the kingdom, but he fell in 1030 at the Battle of Stiklestad. According to Snorri Sturluson, Olaf received three severe wounds: in the knee, in the neck, and leaning against a large stone the final mortal spear thrust up under his mail shirt and into "his belly";


 * Canute, though distracted and over-stretched by the task of governing England, managed to rule Norway for five years after Stiklestad, with his son Svein and Svein's mother Ælfgifu as regents. However, the regency (due to severe rule and heavy taxation) was unpopular, and when Olaf's illegitimate son Magnus (dubbed 'the Good') laid claim to the Norwegian throne, Svein and Ælfgifu were forced (1035) to flee to England.

Related Pages

 * St Olave: the church in Lower Bridge Street;

Links

 * Olaf II: on Wikipedia;
 * Olaf II: om Military Wiki;