Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of Catholic saints, the pagan practice of blood sacrifice continued unabated. When Håkon
the Good was defeated and killed in 960, Norwegian Christianity all but disappeared.
Christianity in Norway was revived during the reign of King Olav Tryggvason (Olav I).
Like anygoodViking, Olav decided that onlyforce wouldworktoconvert hiscountrymen
to the 'truth'. Unfortunately for the king, his intended wife, Queen Sigrid of Sweden, re-
fused to convert. Olav cancelled the marriage contract and Sigrid married the pagan king,
SveinForkbeardofDenmark.TogethertheyorchestratedOlav'sdeathinagreatBalticsea-
battle, then took Norway as their own.
Books about Vikings
»
A History of the Vikings,
Gwyn Jones
»
The Vikings,
Magnus Magnusson
»
The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings,
Peter Sawyer (Ed)
»
The Vikings,
Else Roesdahl
Christianity was finally cemented in Norway by King Olav Haraldsson, Olav II, who
was also converted in England. Olav II and his Viking hordes allied themselves with King
Ethelred and managed to save London from a Danish attack under King Svein Forkbeard
by destroying London Bridge (from whence we derive the song 'London Bridge Is Falling
Down'). Succeeding where his namesake had failed, Olav II spread Christianity with con-
siderablesuccess.In1023OlavbuiltastonecrossinVoss,whereitstillstands,andin1024
he founded the Church of Norway. After an invasion by King Canute (Knut) of Denmark
in 1028, Olav II died during the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. For Christians, this amounted
to martyrdom and the king was canonised as a saint; the great Nidaros Cathedral in Trond-
heim stands as a memorial to St Olav and, until the Protestant Reformation, the cathedral
served as a destination for pilgrims from all over Europe (see the boxed text,
Click here
).
Hismostlastinglegacy,however,washavingforgedanenduringidentityforNorwayasan
independent kingdom.
Ofthekingswhofollowed,nonedistinguishedthemselvesquiteasinfamouslyasHarald
III (Harald Hardråde, or Harald 'Hard-Ruler'), half-brother of St Olav. Harald III raided
throughout the Mediterranean, but it was a last hurrah for the Vikings. When he was killed
during an ill-conceived raid in England in 1066, the Viking air of invincibility was broken.
So ferocious were the Vikings that the word berserk comes from 'bare sark', which means 'bare shirt' and
refers to the way that ancient, bare-chested Norsemen used to fight.
