King olaf vikings real
Olaf of Norway
The holy, glorious, right-victorious martyr and right-believing King Olaf II of Norway (sometimes spelled Olav) is also known as Olaf Haraldson and was a son of Earl Harald Grenske of Norway. During his lifetime he was also called Olaf the Fat. He was born in A.D., and ruled Norway from to , when he was exiled.
Biography of king olaf of norway 1 In Normandy , Saint Olaf represents an important figure and was chosen unofficially as the patron saint of the Normans , this term mainly designating the inhabitants of continental Normandy and of the Channel Islands , but also on a larger scale the inhabitants of the former Viking territories, namely the Scandinavian countries and, even more so, Norway. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Names Olaf "Leif" Haraldsson. As a teenager Olaf went to the Baltic , then to Denmark and later to England.He died two years later on the field of battle at Stiklestad, killed for his support of the Christian faith and his attempt to unite Norway into one nation. His feast day is July
He should not be confused with his predecessor Olaf Tryggvason (King Olaf I of Norway).
Life
According to Snorri Sturluson (a 12th and 13th century Icelandic historian), he was baptized in in Norway, but more probably about in Rouen, France, by Archbishop Robert.
In his early youth he went as a viking to England, where he took part in many battles and became earnestly interested in Christianity. After many difficulties he was elected King of Norway, and made it his object to extirpate heathenism and make the Christian religion the basis of his kingdom.
He is the great Norwegian legislator for the Church, and like his predecessor Olaf Tryggvason, made frequent severe attacks on the old faith and customs, demolishing the temples and building Christian churches in their place.
He brought many bishops and priests from England, as King Canute IV later did to Denmark. Some few are known by name (Grimkel, Sigfrid, Rudolf, Bernhard). He seems on the whole to have taken the Anglo-Saxon conditions as a model for the ecclesiastical organization of his kingdom.
But at last the exasperation against him got so strong that the mighty clans rose in rebellion against him and applied to King Canute II of Denmark and England for help.
This was willingly given, whereupon Olaf was expelled and Canute elected King of Norway. Olaf fled to Kievan Rus, and during the voyage he stayed some time in Sweden in the province of Nerike where, according to local legend, he baptized many locals.
Kings of norway In Epcot [ edit ]. Name [ edit ]. Coin of Olaf dated — The statue of Saint Olav in Trondheim, for example, is a prominent landmark and a reminder of the city's historical and religious significance.After two years' exile he returned to Norway with an army. Upon landing in Norway, he met his rebellious subjects led by the Norwegian nobles at Stiklestad, where the celebrated battle took place July 29, Neither King Canute nor the Danes took part at that battle. King Olaf fought with great courage, but was mortally wounded and fell on the battlefield, praying "God help me."
It must be remembered that the resentment against Olaf was due not alone to his Christianity, but also in a high degree to his unflinching struggle against the old constitution of shires and for the unity of Norway.
He is thus regarded by modern Norwegians as the great champion of national independence.
St. Olaf's cultus
Many miraculous occurrences are related in connection with his death and his disinterment a year later, after belief in his sanctity had spread widely. His friends, Bishop Grimkel and Earl Einar Tambeskjelver, laid the corpse in a coffin and set it on the high-altar in the church of St.
Clement in Nidaros (now Trondheim).
Olaf has since been held as a saint, not only by the people of Norway, whose patron saint he is, but also by Rome. Orthodox Christians also venerate him as one of the ancient western saints of the Church before the Great Schism.
In , his incorrupt body was enshrined in what became the cathedral of Nidaros (Trondheim), which replaced the chapel, and became a site of pilgrimage.
During the Protestant Reformation his body was removed and reburied. His cultus was aided by the unpopular rule of Swein, Canute's son; Canute's death in resulted in the flight of many Danes from Norway and the accession of Olaf's son Magnus.
Biography of king olaf of norway 1000 Only after Norway was made a metropolitan province with its own archbishop in —making the Norwegian church, on the one hand, more independent of its king, but on the other hand, more directly responsible to the Pope—did canon law gain a greater prominence in the life and jurisdiction of the Norwegian church. Views Read View source View history. In the city and the diocese of Rouen celebrated the millennium of the baptism of Saint Olav with the Norwegian representatives of the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway. The Osilians , taken by surprise, had at first agreed to Olaf's demands, but then gathered an army during the negotiations and attacked the Norwegians.Thereafter his cultus spread rapidly. Adam of Bremen (c. ) wrote that his feast was celebrated throughout Scandinavia.
His cult spread widely in the Middle Ages, not only in Norway, but also in Denmark, Sweden, and even as far as England; in London, there is on Hart Street a St. Olave's Church, long dedicated to the glorified King of Norway.
Harald v of norway: In Germany , there used to be a shrine of St. Rosamond McKitterick. Especially during the period of romantic nationalism , Olaf was a symbol of Norwegian independence and pride. It was founded in or by Heinrich Kalteisen at his retirement home, the Dominican Monastery in the Altstadt "Old City" neighborhood of Koblenz.
In a fine St. Olave's Church was erected in Christiania, the capital of Norway, where a large relic of St. Olaf (a donation from the Danish Royal Museum) is preserved and venerated. The arms of Norway are a lion with the battle-axe of St. Olaf in the forepaws.
The Norwegian order of the Knighthood of Saint Olaf was founded in by Oscar I, king of Sweden and Norway, in memory of this king.
He is called Rex Perpetuum Norvegiæ, eternal King of Norway.
An interesting and somewhat bizarre episode regarding St. Olaf's relics is recorded regarding St. Olaf's successor, Harald III Haardraade, who was King of Norway (co-ruler with St. Olaf's son, Magnus the Good, ). Thirty-five years after St. Olaf's death, Harald was planning an invasion of northern England in at the provocation of the exiled Earl Tostig (brother of King Harold II of England).
He visited the shrine of St. Olaf in Trondheim, unlocked the door, cut his hair and nails&#;which were still growing, for St. Olaf's relics were incorrupt&#;and then relocked the shrine and threw the key into the neighboring River Nid. Harald was eventually defeated and killed by the army led by King Harold II of England, who later that year was defeated by William the Bastard ("the Conqueror") at the Battle of Hastings.
Holy King Olaf is also seen as being instrumental in the Christianization of both Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Both countries, under the influence of the Danish monarchy under which the islands were heavily subject until the 20th century (Iceland now independent since and the Faroe Islands having been granted substantial autonomy), became Lutheran during the Protestant Reformation.
Biography of king olaf of norway JSTOR Olaf in the early s in England. Also, Olaf and Grimketel most likely did not introduce new ecclesiastical laws to Norway; these were ascribed to Olaf at a later date. Archived from the original on 22 JanuaryNonetheless, despite centuries of absence from either the Catholic or Orthodox fold, St. Olaf is held in high honour. His feast day of July 29th, called in Faroese Ólafsøka, or St. Olaf's Vigil, is the national holiday of the Faroe Islands.
Sources
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