Olaf the Glorious: A Story of the Viking Age

by Robert Leighton

  CHAPTER XVI: THE CHRISTENING OF NORWAY.

  King Olaf's first thought on ascending the throne of Norway was that hewould make it his mission to convert the country to Christianity. Thishad been once before attempted by his own uncle, King Hakon the Good,the foster son of Athelstane of England; but Hakon the Good was a weakman, who, instead of winning his people to the true faith, had allowedhimself to drift back into paganism. Olaf was by nature better fittedfor the task, being zealous in the faith and strong in the convictionof the sanctity of his cause. He resolved to stand firm against allopposition, and if gentle persuasion should not avail he would have noscruple in employing physical force. To abolish the custom of bloodsacrifice, to destroy all heathen temples, and to supplant the worshipof the pagan gods by preaching the gospel of Christ--this was to be hislife work.

  He was, however, wise enough to recognize that in order to succeed inhis mission it was necessary for him first to make his own position asmonarch perfectly secure and unassailable. So rapidly did he establishhimself in the hearts of the people that even at the end of the firstsummer he found that he might with safety begin his task. His onepossible rival and natural enemy, Earl Erik Hakonson, with some fewothers of the kin of the late earl, had fled in fear from the land,leaving him in absolute possession; and the lords of Viken and otherdistricts of the south, who had hitherto held their lands of the Kingof Denmark, now became King Olaf's men, and paid him homage and tribute.

  At this time Olaf could only depend upon his priest Thangbrand forpractical help. Thangbrand was a Saxon who had formerly been attachedto the see of Canterbury. He was a man of very violent temper, and hisreadiness to enter a quarrel and to draw his sword must have made him avery singular exponent of the gospel of peace. Olaf saw very soon thathe would require further help than this pugnacious priest could give;so he sent Thangbrand over to England, bidding him fare to Canterburyand bring back with him as many holy men as might be willing to servehim as missionaries.

  Meanwhile King Olaf, with some of his chosen companions, journeyedsouth into Viken, where his mother lived with her husband Lodin--thesame who had bought her out of her bondage. There he abode throughoutthe winter among his own kindred as well as many who had been greatfriends with his father. They welcomed him with very great love.

  And now, while the king was living with his friends in quiet comfortand homeliness, he laid his plans most earnestly before them, cravingthat they should help him with all their might. He said that heintended to have the Christian faith set forth throughout all hisrealm, and that he would bring about the christening of Norway or elsedie in the endeavour. Accordingly he began by going about in Viken,bidding the peasants take baptism, so it came to pass that the districtwhich his father, Triggvi, had formerly ruled over was the first partof Norway to receive the true faith.

  He was still in Viken when at the end of the winter Thangbrand returnedfrom England with a company of priests. Among them was a certain BishopSigurd, a man of grave and gentle spirit, most learned and eloquent,who stood at Olaf's right hand during the whole five years of his reign.

  Now Bishop Sine, of Canterbury, had presented Thangbrand with a verycostly and curiously wrought shield. It was made of burnished bronze,inlaid with gold and precious stones, and it bore the image of thecrucified Christ. Olaf admired this shield and desired to buy it.Thangbrand loved money more than ornament, and he sold the shield tothe king for a very large sum. Finding himself suddenly rich, thepriest went off to enjoy himself. He fell into a drunken brawl with acertain viking, who challenged him to fight. A desperate duel wasfought and the viking was killed. Great ill feeling was aroused againstThangbrand by this unpriestly incident, and he went back full ofpenitence to King Olaf.

  Olaf foresaw that he would have trouble with this man, and he would nolonger bear to have him about his house; so, to get rid of him, he senthim on a mission to Iceland, to convert the heathen there. Thangbrandwas absent in Iceland for three winters, and although he had greatsuccess and brought the country to the true faith, yet he was not wellliked, and the people vexed him by making songs about him. Here, as inNorway, he was boisterous and boastful and over fond of the drinkinghorn. It is told that in a quarrel with the islanders he slew threemen. Howbeit, he was obliged to return to Norway with his mission onlyhalf fulfilled.

  King Olaf met with no opposition in his endeavour to convert the peopleof Viken and Agder. In the district of Ringarike he christened acertain little boy, the son of Harald Groenske, who was of the race ofHarald Fairhair. The king named the boy Olaf, and in giving him hisblessing said that he would one day be a very great man. This same OlafHaraldson afterwards became the King of Norway and a very greatevangelist. He is known in history by the title of Olaf the Saint, andhe is to this day regarded as the patron saint of Norway. He foughtmany battles in England, and, for this reason perhaps, he is oftenwrongly confused with his godfather, Olaf Triggvison.

  To tell of all the good and ill happenings that King Olaf met with inhis progress through the land would make a long story. In manydistricts he had but to announce his mission, and the people at onceyielded. In other places the people were very slow to understand thatthere could be any advantage in changing their religion; but Olaf neverleft them before every man and woman had been christened. Often,however, he was met by bands of armed men who declared that they wouldsooner die than consent to give up their old faith in Odin and Thor,and then the king enforced his doctrines at the point of the sword, oreven by torture. When moved to anger he was guilty of committingcruelties which in his calmer moments he sorely regretted, but it is tobe supposed that he never took to violent measures unless when veryseverely provoked. For the most part he generally found that wise wordswere a better argument than either the sword or fire.

  Always when he came to a place where the people were still pagan it washis custom to summon a great meeting, and then he would tell of how thefolk of another district had accepted Christianity and torn down theirsacrificing houses, and now believed in the true God, who shaped heavenand earth and knew all things. Then perhaps he would fall into argumentwith one of the leading men of the place and show how the God ofchristened men was almighty, and how Thor and Odin must therefore berejected.

  On one such occasion a chief named Gudbrand answered him thus:

  "We do not know about whom you are talking, O king. Do you call him Godwhom neither you nor any other man can see? We have a god whom we maysee every day, but he is not out today because the weather is so wet.He will look terrible and great to you, and fear will creep into yourbreast if he comes to the gathering of our people."

  The king then asked how their god was made, and Gudbrand answered thathe was made in the image of Thor, that he had a hammer in his hand, wasof large size and hollow inside, and that there was a platform madeunder him on which he stood when outside the temple.

  Olaf said, "I would very much like to see that god. But for my own partI have made up my mind never to believe in logs and stones, though theybe in the shape of fiend or man, whose power I do not understand; andalthough I have been told that they have great power, yet it seems tome very unlikely, for I find that those images which are called godsare in every way uglier and less powerful than myself. How much lesspowerful are they therefore than the great God who rules over the wholeuniverse, who makes the rain to fall and the sun shine!"

  "If, as you say, your God is so powerful, then let him send sunshinetomorrow and not rain as we have today," said Gudbrand.

  On the next day, as it chanced, there was no rain, and when the peoplewere all gathered together in the early dawn Bishop Sigurd rose in hisgown, with a mitre on his head and a crozier in his hand, and preachedto the peasants and told them many tokens which God had shown. Andpresently King Olaf saw a crowd of men approaching, carrying a largeimage, ornamented all over with gold and silver. The people all stoodup and bowed to the monster, which was placed in the middle of themeeting place.

  "Where is your God now, O king?" cried Gudbrand, ris
ing and addressingOlaf. "It seems to me that your boasting, and that of the horned man,whom you call your bishop, is far less than yesterday. It is becauseour god, who rules all, has come, and looks on you with keen eyes. AndI see that you are full of terror at sight of him! Now throw off thisnew superstition of yours--this belief in a God who cannot be seen--andacknowledge the greatness of Thor!"

  King Olaf whispered to Kolbiorn, who was at his side: "If during myspeech it happens that the people look away from this idol of theirs,"said he, "then go you forward and strike the thing a lusty blow withyour club."

  And aloud he said: "The god with whom you have threatened us is blindand deaf and can help neither himself nor others; nor can he moveanywhere from his place unless he be carried. Of what use is such agod? Now look into the east!" he added, pointing to the rising sun."Behold! There comes the messenger of our God, bringing light andwarmth into the world!"

  The people all turned with their faces to the sun. At the same momentKolbiorn raised his club and struck their god so that the image fell topieces; and it is said that vipers and rats and mice ran out of it andthat the peasants were afraid.

  "You see what has become of your god!" cried King Olaf. "What folly itis to believe in such things! One blow has shattered your Thor intofragments. Now I demand that you shall never again make images of woodor stone, nor worship any but the one true God. And I offer you twochoices. Either you accept Christianity here on this spot, or you fighta battle with me today."

  So the people, unwilling to take to arms and seeing that the king had agreat host of warriors at his back, agreed to listen to the teachingsof the bishop, and finally to have themselves baptized. Olaf left apriest among them to keep them steadfast in the faith, and to keep themfrom lapsing into paganism.

  King Olaf stood north along the land, christening all folk wheresoeverhe came. But in the wintertime he went back into Trondelag. He built atown on the bank of the river Nid, and a great hall for himself upabove Ship Creek. He called the town Nidaros, and it is to this day thecapital of Norway, although its name has been changed to Trondhjem, orDrontheim.

  Now on a certain winter's night the king had been feasting in his hall.His guests had been drinking deeply, and the gray haired scalds hadbeen singing and reciting until a late hour. But at last Olaf was leftalone beside the fire, with the doors locked. He sat in his oaken chairgazing into the glowing wood upon the hearth. Suddenly the door swungwide open, and a blast of cold night air came in. He looked round andsaw upon the threshold a very old man whose cloak was sprinkled withsnow. Olaf saw that the stranger had but one eye.

  "Oh, pale and shivering graybeard!" cried the king. "Come, warm yourvitals with this cup of spiced ale. Be not afraid. Sit here at my sidein the light of the flames."

  The aged guest obeyed, quaffed the foaming draught, and then stretchedout his withered hands before the fire. Then he began to speak to theking and to tell him of things that had happened many hundreds of yearsbefore and of many lands whose very names were strange to the king. Andit seemed that he would never bring his tale to an end.

  At last Bishop Sigurd entered and reminded Olaf that the night was farspent and that it was time for him to go to sleep. But still the guestspoke on, and the king listened enthralled until sleep came over himand his head fell back. Yet even in his sleep he fancied that he stillheard the old graybeard's voice telling him of the gods of Asgard andthe glories of Valhalla.

  When King Olaf awoke he was alone before the black hearth, and it wasfull morning. He asked after the guest and bade his men call him; butnowhere could the guest be found, nor had any man seen him. They foundthe doors securely locked, the watchdog was asleep in the yard, and thesnow bore no trace of footprints. All declared that no such strangerhad ever entered the hall, and that the king had but been dreaming.

  Then Olaf called the bishop to his side and, crossing himself, said:

  "It is no dream that I have had. I know that my guest will neverreturn, and yet I know that he was here. The triumph of our faith issure. Odin the Great is dead, for the one eyed stranger was his ghost!"

  So certain was King Olaf that the power of Odin was broken that afterthis time he was less eager to follow up his mission, for he believedthat he had already established the Christian faith. He said to hisbishop that all the old gods were no more and that Christ alone wassupreme.

  "Not yet is it so," answered the bishop, "for Thor still reigns amongthe sea rovers of the far north. I have heard that there lives a greatviking in Salten fiord who is skilled in sorcery. A wizard he is, forhe has power over the wind and the sea, and he and his great horde ofheathens still worship Odin and Thor and offer them blood sacrifice.Rand is his name, and he is chief over all the Godoe Isles."

  Roused from his apathy, Olaf declared that he would conquer this boldviking and bring him to christening or himself be conquered. So he gottogether his ships and sailed into the north.

  At the mouth of Salten fiord he encountered foul weather, and wasforced to lie there storm stayed for many days. So long did the stormcontinue that at length he questioned the bishop, asking if he knew anyremedy.

  Bishop Sigurd answered that it was surely Rand the Wizard who, by hissorcery, had caused the winds to blow, and he ascended to the ship'sforecastle and raised a large crucifix, lighting tapers around it andsprinkling holy water about the decks. It is told that the storm abatednear to the ships while it still roared wildly some distance away fromthem. The lashed waves stood like a wall on either side, leaving atrack of calm water, through which the vessels sailed.

  When at last King Olaf came abreast of Rand's stronghold he saw theviking's dragonship lying at anchor in the bay. It was the largest andmost splendid ship that he had ever seen. The king landed with hispriests and fighting men, and went straightway up to the wizard'shomestead and broke open the door. Rand was taken prisoner and boundhand and foot, as were also a great many of his men.

  King Olaf had the viking brought before him, and bade him takechristening.

  "I will not take your possessions and your riches from you," said theking, "but will be your friend if you will be worthy thereof, andaccept the true faith."

  But Rand cried out at him, saying that nothing would induce him tobelieve in Christ. He blasphemed so much that Olaf became wrothful andsaid that Rand should die the worst of deaths. This threat had noeffect upon the blasphemer. So, according to the legend, he was takenand tied to a tree. A gag was set between his teeth to open his mouth,and a live adder was forced down his throat. The adder cut its waythrough his side, killing him with its poison.

  This cruel act has always been regarded as a blot upon the fame of OlafTriggvison, but Olaf's fanaticism led him to believe that praise ratherthan blame was due to him for thus punishing the enemies of God.Moreover, this man Rand had been the terror of all peaceful men. He hadlaid waste many villages, and made human sacrifices to the pagan gods.In bringing him to his death Olaf was, in his own way, but giving justpunishment to a criminal.

  King Olaf took very great wealth from Rand's stronghold, and all themen who had been in the viking's service were allowed to go free oncondition that they would first be christened. The dragonship whichRand had commanded now became King Olaf's property, for it was the mostbeautiful vessel in all Norway, and very much larger than the Crane,which Olaf had had built for himself. Forward at the prow there was avery tall dragon's head, overlaid with thick gold, and at the stern wasa long dragon's tail, also of gold. When the sails were aloft they tookthe form of dragon's wings. The king named the ship the Serpent.

  While Olaf was in Halogaland he deemed it well to sail yet farthernorth; so he fared out to the Lafoden Isles, and thence along thecoasts of Finmark as far even as the North Cape. He baptized all thoseregions and destroyed many heathen temples and established Christianityfar and wide.

  In that same summer King Olaf was back again in the Thrandheim country,and had his fleet anchored off Nidaros. Now it was in this part ofNorway that Earl Hakon's power had always been
greatest, and so zealoushad Hakon been in the keeping up of pagan customs that many of thechief men of those parts withstood all King Olaf's efforts to win themover to Christianity, and during his absence in Halogaland these mendid all they could to undo the good work that he had done in theearliest days of his reign.

  Not many days had Olaf been back in Nidaros when he heard that theThranders had re-established their temples, restored their idols, andoffered blood sacrifice to their gods. The young king was so disturbedin mind over this that he resolved to put a speedy stop to it. Hetherefore sent his messengers through all the lands bordering onThrandheim fiord summoning a great meeting of the bonders at a placenamed Frosta.

  Now the bonders quickly guessed the meaning of this summons. They knewthat the king would have them abandon their old customs and accept thenew faith. But they considered that he had no right to dictate to them;so they turned this summons into one of war, and drew together, boththane and thrall, from all parts of Thrandheim.

  When King Olaf came to the meeting, thither also had come the hosts ofthe bonders, all fully armed, ready to confront him.

  When the Thing was established the king rose and spoke before hislieges, first concerning matters of peace and law, and finally he badethem take christening again.

  There was one among the bonders named Skeggi Ironbeard, a very richfarmer who cared little for king or earls, but loved only the freedomof his farm, his ale at night, and the warmth of his fireside. He was ahuge and cumbersome man with an iron gray beard, and as he stood by theside of his horse his feet were seen to be covered with the mud of hisploughed fields. Near him there was a beautiful girl with very blackhair and dark brown eyes. She was his daughter Gudrun.

  Well, when King Olaf began to rebuke the people for having gone backfrom Christian worship, many men looked round at Ironbeard with wiseglances.

  "Now hold your peace, O king!" cried he, addressing Olaf. "Say notanother word of this Christian faith of yours, or, by the hammer ofThor and by the ravens of Odin, we will fall upon you and drive youaway out of the land. Thus did we with King Hakon the Good, nor do weaccount you of a whit more worth than him."

  So when King Olaf saw with what fierce minds the bonders confrontedhim, and how great a force of armed men there were, he felt that he wasnot prepared to withstand them, and he so turned his speech that itappeared he was at one accord with them.

  "It is my wish," said he, "that we make peace and good fellowshiptogether, even as we have hitherto done. I am willing, therefore, to bepresent at your worship at any time, and to witness your greatestceremony of blood offering. We may then take counsel together andconsider which form of worship shall prevail."

  Then the bonders thought that the king might easily be persuaded toadopt their old time customs, and their indignation against him wasappeased. Thereafter all the talk went peacefully, and at the last itwas determined that a great midsummer feast of offering should be heldat Mere, and thither should come all the lords of the land and chiefsof the bonders. King Olaf promised also to be present.

  When it wore towards the time appointed for the sacrifice, Olaf gave agreat feast at Lade, to which were invited all the chieftains and mostpowerful land owners of the country side. The guests were royallyentertained, and when the feast was over the king ordered his prieststo celebrate the mass. A crowd of armed men from Olaf's ships attendedthe service. The guests saw that they were powerless to resist, so theyjoined in the worship and awaited the course of events.

  When the service was at an end the king rose and addressed his guests.He said:

  "When we held Thing the last time, at Frosta, you will remember that Idemanded of the peasants that they should accept baptism; and they, onthe other hand, demanded that I should join them in sacrifice and makeblood offering, even as my kinsman King Hakon the Good had done. I madeno objection to this, but promised to be present at the sacrificialfeast at Mere. Now I wish to tell you that if I am to make humansacrifice, then I will make the greatest offering of blood that hasever been made in Norway. I will offer human sacrifice to Odin and Freyfor good crops and fine weather. But, mind you, it will not be thrallsand evildoers that I shall offer to your gods. I will sacrifice themost high born men among you." He then pointed to several of hisguests in turn, saying, "You, Ligra of Middlehouse, shall be offered asa sacrifice; and you, Kar of Griting; and you, Haldor of Skerding."

  Eight other of the nobles he named, and bade them prepare themselvesfor death. They all stood back aghast. King Olaf laughed at theircraven fears.

  "Plainly do I see that you do not relish this proposal," he said. "Butif I am to be king in this land I will be obeyed. I have commanded thatNorway shall be a Christian land, and I shall have it so, even if Ilose my own life in bringing it about. Here is my bishop, ready tobaptize you. Take christening, therefore, and you shall still live.Refuse, and you shall surely be sacrificed in the manner I have said."

  Not long did they meditate before choosing the easier alternative. Theyagreed to be christened there and then, and Bishop Sigurd at oncebaptized them, and all the bonders who were present. Before they wereallowed to depart King Olaf demanded that they should give him theirsons or brothers as hostages. Thus by a peaceful stratagem he gainedhis ends.

  Now, when the time arrived for the midsummer sacrifice at Mere, Olafwent thither with a great host of followers. But such of the peasantsand land owners who had still resisted Christianity, gathered oncemore, armed to the teeth and defiant as ever. Skeggi Ironbeard was theringleader of the pagans, and he was everywhere active in the forefrontof the opposition.

  The king attempted to speak, but the tumult was so great that no onecould hear him. At last, when he got a hearing, he repeated hiscommands that all present should accept baptism and believe in Christthe White.

  Ironbeard stepped forward, sword in hand, and, confronting the king,said:

  "Now, as before, O king, we protest against your interference with ourliberty, and we are here to prevent your breaking our laws and ancientcustoms. It is held as a sacred custom among us that we shall makesacrifices to our gods, and we now hold that, although you are ourking, you have no power to decide which gods we are to believe in, orin what manner we shall worship. It is our intention, therefore, thatyou shall make blood offering here as other kings have done before you."

  King Olaf listened patiently to this speech and declared himself readyto keep his promise. So, accompanied by many of his men, he entered thetemple.

  It was a very large and splendid building. The door was of beautifullycarved oak, and the handle was in the form of a large gold ring whichEarl Hakon had had put there. In the inside there were two great rooms,the first or outer one being the chamber in which feasts of sacrificewere held; the inner one was the more sacred, for here the images ofthe heathen gods stood on their various altars. The walls were hungwith tapestries and adorned with costly metals and precious stones.Even the roof was covered with gold plates.

  All who entered were unarmed, for no one was allowed to go through thedoor bearing a sword or other weapon. But the king carried a stoutstick with a heavy gold head. He watched the bonders preparing the pyrefor the sacrifice, but before it was lighted he went into the innerchamber and inspected the images of the gods. There sat the figure ofThor, chief among all, with his hammer in his hand and gold and silverrings about him. He was in a chariot of gold, into which were harnesseda pair of goats made of wood and silver.

  "What god is this one?" asked Olaf of the bonders who stood near him.

  "It is our god Thor," answered one of the chieftains. "He is the mostcelebrated of all gods, saving only Odin. His eyes flash in thelightning, the wheels of his carriage rumble in the thunder, and theblows of his hammer ring loud in the earthquake. The most powerful ofall gods is he."

  "And yet," said Olaf; "it seems to me that he is made of nothing morestrong than wood. You call him powerful; but I think even I am morepowerful than he."

  As he spoke these words he hove up his gold headed stick, a
nd while allwere looking, he smote Thor a great blow, so that he fell down from hisseat and tumbled to fragments upon the stone floor. At the same instantOlaf's men struck down the other idols, while at the temple doorIronbeard was assailed and slain.

  Olaf took possession of many of the treasures of the temple, and thenrazed the building to the ground. And none of the bonders dared tooppose him. After the death of Ironbeard they had no leader bold enoughto encounter the king and his men. So the end of it was that they allforsook their heathenish customs and yielded to the king's demands thatthey should take christening.

  After this time King Olaf had no more trouble in Thrandheim, and in thewhole of Norway no man dared to speak a word against the faith ofChrist. In all places where the temples had been destroyed, the kinghad Christian churches built. He instituted monasteries throughout theland, governed by bishops and abbots brought over from Rome andCanterbury. From these monasteries many missionaries were sent out intothe remoter parts of the country to preach the gospel and to hold thepeople firmly to the faith. Never again, so long as King Olaf lived,did the Norwegians attempt to return to paganism, and after his deathhis good work was taken up by his godson and namesake, Olaf the Saint.