STIKLESTAD

Stiklestad is a name which means nothing to the majority of visitors to Norway but it is known and revered by Norwegians. The ancient battlefield is a milestone of Norwegian history and a church marks the spot where King Olav Haraldson died. For Stiklestad, north of Trondheim, saw the foundation of Norwegian national unity and the adoption of the Christian faith.

In the 11th century Norway was country constantly disrupted by disputes between rival chieftains, and Olav's ambition was to unite Norway. He also aimed to create a Christian country with Christian laws and churches and clergy.

He was not the first to attempt this, in the previous century Olav Tryggvason (a descendant of Harald Hårfagre) had been converted to Christianity in England and confirmed by the Bishop of Winchester. He returned to his native land in 995 with the express purpose of crushing the chieftains and imposing his new found faith. But Olav Tryggvason's conversion had not swept away all his Viking instincts and in his religious zeal he used great cruelty to convert the populace. As a result, he fell in the Battle of Svolder in the year 1000, due to the defection of some disenchanted Norwegian chieftains.

Olav Haraldson was also a descendant of Harald Hårfagre and he ascended the throne in 1015. But like his predecessor, Olav foolishly made too great a use of the sword to establish Christianity The result was the same: with his eye on the Norwegian throne, King Canute of Denmark and England gave support to discontented factions within the country and in 1028 invaded Norway, forcing King Olav to flee to Russia.

Undaunted, King Olav returned with a few followers but whatever loyalty he had once inspired had been lost through his ruthless methods. He died on 29 July 1030 at the Battle of Stiklestad. Olav's corpse was taken to the then capital, Nidaros, and buried on the banks of the river Nidelva. When the body was disinterred a year later, it showed no signs of corruption: his face was unchanged and his nails and hair had grown, at that time taken as a sign of sanctity.

Following this revelation, Olav was proclaimed a saint and his body placed in a silver shrine in Nidaros Cathedral. Faith in the holiness of King Olave - or St. Olav as he now was - spread and, until the Reformation, his shrine became a goal of Christian pilgrims.

Canute's triumph at the Battle of Stiklestad was but brief. He ceded the reins of power to his son Svejn but, as the rumors of Olav's sanctity grew, popular support for Canute evaporated rapidly and Svejn was exiled to Denmark in 1035. All the while, St. Olav's son, Magnus, had also been in exile in Russia, but Norway now invited him to return and accept the crown.

From that time, Stiklestad has been a place of steady pilgrimage. They still come at the end of July to commemorate the battle. Stiklestad now also has a beautiful open-air theater, and on the anniversary of the battle, a cast of over 300 - actors, choristers, dancers and musicians - reenact the events of July 1030.

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