Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
King Håkon the Good, who had been baptised a Christian during his English upbring-
ing, brought the new faith (as well as missionaries and a bishop) with him upon his return
to Norway. Despite some early success, most Vikings remained loyal to Thor, Odin and
Freyr. Although the missionaries were eventually able to replace the names of the gods
with those 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 dis-
appeared.
Christianity in Norway was revived during the reign of King Olav Tryggvason (Olav I).
Like any good Viking, Olav decided that only force would work to convert his countrymen
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,
Svein Forkbeard of Denmark. Together they orchestrated Olav's death in a great Baltic
sea-battle, then took Norway as their own.
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-
stands, and in 1024 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 Trondheim stands as a memorial to St Olav and, until the Protestant
Reformation, the cathedral served as a destination for pilgrims from all over Europe. His
most lasting legacy, however, was having forged an enduring identity for Norway as an in-
dependent kingdom.
Of the kings who followed, none distinguished themselves quite as infamously as
Harald 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.
