PROVING THE SAGAS RIGHT

The lost shrine that transformed a Norwegian king into a saint

The Old Norse sagas have plenty of value as literature, but their use as primary sources is always subject to doubt. According to 14th century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson, the Christian king of Norway, Olaf II, fell in battle to the pagan king of Denmark, Cnut the Great, at Stiklestad in 1030. This paved the way for a Norse empire stretching across Scandinavia and Northern Britain. The king’s body was secretly taken from the battlefield and buried in the sandy banks of the Nidelva River, where stories began to attribute miracles to the site. He was later declared a saint by a local bishop, and Olaf II was reinterred at St Clements Church in Trondheim, Norway. A century later St Olaf was moved again, this time to Nidaros Cathedral in…

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History Of Royals (Digital) - 1 Issue, No. 10

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