Olaf Haraldsson, also known as Saint Olaf, was a former Viking and mercenary who returned home to seize the throne of Norway around 1015. Successful in his campaign, he became King Olaf II of Norway by 1016 and asserted the kingdom’s independence against Danish and Swedish influence. Olaf zealously, if not heavy-handedly, championed the imposition of Christianity over Norse worship in Norway, sparking a great wave of unrest that was subsequently exploited by King Canute of Denmark and England (r. 1016-1035). Norwegian dissidents, with Danish support, ousted the saint-king around 1028, but Olaf returned with an army in 1030 to challenge the usurpers. Saint Olaf was nevertheless slain at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, and his lands remained under Danish influence. Yet, the battle turned Olaf into a symbol of Norwegian independence, and it also cemented him as a martyr for Christianity. In regard to Olaf’s religious legacy, Bishop Grimkell of Nidaros/Trondheim was instrumental in collecting and spreading legends about Olaf that would lead to his quick recognition of sainthood in 1031. A church was built at Olaf’s gravesite and numerous miracles were reported in connection to the king’s remains. Bishop Gremkell and other followers of the slain king asserted that King Olaf’s body was incorruptible, meaning they believed the king showed little-to-no signs of decomposition after his death. Additionally, miraculous healings were associated with Olaf’s body and grave site. Curiously, the king’s hair was a focal point of several miracle stories.
As the story goes, Bishop Grimkell discovered Saint Olaf’s incorruptible state while the body was being moved for enshrinement a year after the king’s death. The discovery caused the bishop and other followers to carry out some experiments and investigations on the body, searching for further signs of holiness. One such experiment reportedly involved taking clippings of Olaf’s hair to see how it would react when exposed to flame. Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), an Icelandic scholar, historian, poet, and saga-writer, described the scene: “Thereupon the bishop had fire put into a censer, blessed it, and put incense on it. Then he laid King Olaf’s hair into the fire, and when all the incense was burned, the bishop took the hair out of the fire, and it was not burned” (Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, Saint Olaf’s Saga, chapter 244). Further clippings of hair, beard, and fingernails were taken and honored as relics. The hair, in particular, was lauded and gained an association with healing miracles. Sigvat the Skald (c. 995-1045) mentioned Olaf’s hair in the same breath as telling of a man named Valdamar who was healed of blindness. Sigvat, as recorded by Snorri Sturluson, wrote:
“Olaf’s hair grew.
Lasted long the locks of him who
light gave to the eyes of
Valdamar who, view-less
vision gained in Garthar”
(Sigvat the Skald, cited in Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla, Saint Olaf’s Saga, chapter 245).
Snorri Sturluson also cited a similar account from the poet, Thórarin Loftunga (c. 11th-century), who told of “Halt and blind” people being made miraculously “hale and hearty” by a visit to Saint Olaf’s tomb (Heimskringla, Saint Olaf’s Saga, chapter 245). It was tales such as these that convinced the Christian world to recognize Olaf as a saint. In 1031, Olaf was declared a saint by church leaders in the Nordic lands and areas settled by Vikings. Acceptance of Olaf’s sainthood quickly spread in the Western and Eastern Church communities, with the Orthodox Church recognizing the 1031 date for the canonization or glorification of Saint Olaf. After the schism between the Eastern and Western churches, the Roman church further recognized Olaf’s canonization in 1164.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Picture Attribution: (The Winding Of St. Olaf’s Body, by Olaf Isaachsen (c. 1835 – 1893), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and the National Museum of Norway).
Sources:
- Heimskringla, by Snorri Sturluson and translated by Lee Hollander. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1964, 2018.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olaf-II-Haraldsson
