| Battle of Stiklestad | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Elements of the King's old hird, some locals, robbers | "The Peasant Army", nobles, grand farmers, peasants | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Olav II of Norway† Dag Ringsson |
Kalv Arneson Tore Hund Hårek fra Tjøtta |
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| Strength | |||||||
| ~3,500 | ~7,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Stiklestad (Old Norse Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. Stiklestad is a village in the municipality of Verdal, Norway. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The hird, in Norwegian history, was originally an informal Retinue of personal armed companions hirdmen or Housecarls but came to mean not only the nucleus Dag Ringsson ? - ? member of Olav Haraldsson's army at the Battle of Stiklestad. Tore Hund ( Modern Norwegian) or Þórir hundr ( Old Norse) ("Tore the Dog" (ca Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional In this battle King Olaf II of Norway (Old Norse Óláfr Haraldsson) was killed. He was later canonized. Canonization is the act by which a particular Christian church declares a deceased person to be a Saint and is included in the canon or list of recognized saints
Contents |
History
During the 8th century, Norway was controlled by several local strong kings having control over their regions. The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. At the end of the century, King Harald Fairhair (ON Haraldr Hárfagri) managed, in no little part due to the military superiority gained by his alliance with Sigurd Ladejarl of Nidaros, to subjugate these mini–kingdoms, and created the first unified Norwegian state. Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair ( Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre) (c Nidaros was the old name of Trondheim (Trond(hjem sometimes Drontheim a city of Norway, in the Middle Ages.
This alliance folded after Harald's death, together with the infant state. The jarls of Lade and various descendants of Harald Fairhair would spend the next century interlocked in feuds over power. The Jarls of Lade ( Modern Norwegian) or Hlaðir ( Old Norse) were a dynasty of Norwegian rulers influential from the 9th century to Lade ( Norse: Hlaðir) is a location in Trondheim, Norway located north-west of the city centre, north of Lademoen on a As well as power politics, religion also played a part in these conflicts, as two of the descendents of Harald Fairhair, Håkon the Good and Olav Tryggvason attempted to convert the then heathen Norwegians to Christianity. Haakon I ( Old Norse: Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri, Norwegian: Håkon Adalsteinsfostre) (c Olaf Tryggvason ( Old Norse: Óláfr Tryggvason, Norwegian: Olav Tryggvason) (960s &ndash September 9 ? 1000 was King of
In the year 1000, Svein (ON Sveinn) and Erik (ON Eiríkr) of Lade took control over Norway, being supported by the Danish king Svein. Eiríkr Hákonarson or Eric of Norway (960s &ndash 1020s was earl of Lade, ruler of Norway and earl of Northumbria. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Sweyn I Forkbeard, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in English Sven the Dane, also known as Swegen and Tuck, ( Old Norse
In the year 1015, Olav Haraldsson, representing the descendants of Harald Fairhair, returned from one of his Viking trips and was immediately elected as King of Norway. In June 1016 he won the battle at Nesjar against the Lades. The Battle of Nesjar was a sea battle off the coast of Norway in 1015 or 1016 in Oslofjord. The Jarls of Lade ( Modern Norwegian) or Hlaðir ( Old Norse) were a dynasty of Norwegian rulers influential from the 9th century to
The major reason behind Olav Haraldsson's success in becoming King of Norway was the fact that Denmark was busy trying to conquer England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In the year 1028 however, the Danish King Canute the Great made an alliance with the Lades, and Olav had to go into exile in Garðaríki (Russia). } Canute the Great, also known as Cnut in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, or Knut ( Old Norse: Knútr inn ríki, Norwegian Garðaríki (Anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or Garðaveldi is the Old Norse term used in medieval times for the states of In the year of 1029 the last Lade, Håkon Jarl, drowned, and Olav decided to return to Norway with his army to regain his throne and the Kingdom of Norway. Haakon II Sigurdsson Jarl ( Hákon Sigurðsson, Håkon Sigurdsson (died 995 was the son of Sigurd Haakonsson, Earl of Lade, and thus Trøndelag
According to saga sources, he traveled with his 3,600 man army through Sweden and crossed the mountains into the valley of Verdal (ON Veradalr), 80 km north of the city of Trondheim. Verdal is a municipality in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Olav and his men arrived at Stiklestad a farm in the lower part of the valley. This was where the Battle of Stiklestad took place, as described by Snorre (Snorri Sturluson) in his famous book Heimskringla 200 years later. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse Kings' sagas.
At Stiklestad, Olav met an army led by Hårek from Tjøtta (ON Hárekr ór Þjóttu), Tore Hund (ON Þórir Hundr) from Bjarkøy and Kalf Arnason (ON Kálfr Árnason), a man who previously served Olav. Tore Hund ( Modern Norwegian) or Þórir hundr ( Old Norse) ("Tore the Dog" (ca The peasant army consisted of more than 7,000 men according to Snorre.
The battle took place on July 29, 1030 and at the end of the day, Olav's army had lost. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat During the battle, Olav received three severe wounds and died leaning against a large stone. His body was carried away and buried in secrecy in Trondheim. (Trondhjem is a city and municipality in the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway.
The year after the battle his coffin was moved to St. Klement's Church in Trondheim. According to Snorre, his hair had grown since he was buried. Olav was sanctified and given the name Olav den Hellige (Saint Olaf). Stiklestad Church was erected on top of the stone against which he died. The stone is supposedly still inside the altar of the church.
100 years later, Nidaros Cathedral was built in Trondheim, and Olav's coffin was moved to this church. Vinterdomenjpg|thumb|right|View from the Elgeseter bridge]] Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen considered the most significant church of Norway, is located in In the 16th Century, during the Protestant Reformation period, Olav's coffin was moved and his remains were reburied somewhere in Nidaros Cathedral — exactly where is still today an unsolved mystery. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time
On July 29, 1954, the owner of a farm called Sul had a play performed on his land. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) The play was based upon both the story of the Battle of Stiklestad described by Snorre and the events that could likely have taken place at Sul Farm at the time before the battle. Snorre writes that Olav had visited this farm with his army on his way to Stiklestad. Today, 50 years later, more than 670,000 people have travelled to Stiklestad to watch The Saint Olav Drama at what is now the largest outdoor theatre in Scandinavia. The Saint Olav Drama ( Spelet om Heilag Olav) is an outdoor theatre performance played every end of July in Stiklestad in Verdal, Norway Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well
Evaluation
While Snorre's description of the battles in the Heimskringla makes for epic reading, a lot of its grandeur most likely must be put down to the writer's taste for the grand. Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse Kings' sagas.
In Gardarike, Olav was only surrounded by his most loyal followers. Garðaríki (Anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or Garðaveldi is the Old Norse term used in medieval times for the states of Neither can one expect that recruitment was especially ample in Sweden or through the sparsely populated valleys through which Olav travelled. Thus, Olav's army probably was of a rather rag-tag character, an impression accentuated by tales of how local robber groups would join it as Olav made his way down Verdal.
In fact, why Olav chose to travel through the rather barren and politically hostile Trøndelag, rather than to try to rally his relatives and political allies of Eastern Norway, is to this day an unsolved mystery. Perhaps he was making a last-ditch attempt for Nidaros, hoping to win acceptance for his claim to the throne amongst the peasants of Trøndelag. Nidaros was the old name of Trondheim (Trond(hjem sometimes Drontheim a city of Norway, in the Middle Ages.
On the other hand, the opposition, basically lower nobles and grand farmers under the influence of the Danish king Canute, could not have had much time to assemble a large force. Knut or Kanute is a Scandinavian first name of which the anglicized form is Canute. When alerted to Olav's presence, they must have responded swiftly, considering that they met Olav relatively far up in the valley. Therefore, their action points more towards a small, hastily arranged rally of men rather than the elaborate logistics that would have been needed to assemble a 10,000 man strong army.
Those who could have mobilized a large scale army, the local nobles of Trøndelag (of which Einar Tambarskjelvar was a prime example) were notable largely by their absence on either side. Einar Tambarskjelve (c 980&ndashc1050 was an influential Norwegian noble and politician during the 11th century Also, a battlefield of a raging battle between nearly 20,000 men should have produced rich archeological findings to that effect; at Stiklestad, however, these are sparse. This however, is common in Norway - the rocky soil is not as well suited to battlefield archaeology as continental and English soil, as it makes georadar readings all but unusable and the location of the battle site highly uncertain. Ground-penetrating radar ( GPR) is a geophysical method that uses Radar pulses to image the subsurface As is the case with most battles mentioned in the sagas, the sizes of the battling armies are probably impossible to determine.
Olav's role in Norwegian history had only just begun at his death. While nobles and rich farmers had expected their position to improve with the removal of the aggressive Olav, the opposite happened. The rule of Canute's mistress Alfiva and their infant son Svein was exceedingly harsh on the people. Especially the church, a traditional ally of Olav, came under the squeeze.
Thus, it accentuated the late king's martyr status, as it joined and egged on common folk in revolting against the hardships enforced by the succeeding Danish rule. Olav's heroic last stand made for great nation-building material in the immature Norwegian state. According to Snorre, even nature lent a hand, as the day of the battle coincided with a nearly full solar eclipse, as reflected in the description of an ill-fated 'blooded red sun', which was interpreted as a certain omen of bad things to come. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured However, the solar eclipse took place at about 2:00 p. m. on August 31 that year[1], contrary to the traditional date of the battle on July 29. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat
Olav, a rather stubborn and rash ruler, prone to rough treatment of his enemies, ironically became Norway's patron saint. His canonization was performed only a year after his death by the bishop of Nidaros. The cult of Olav not only unified the country, it also fulfilled the conversion of the nation, something for which the king had fought so hard.
While divisive in life, in death Olav — perpetuus rex normanni, the eternal king of Norwegians — wielded a unifying power no foreign monarch could hope to undo. Canute, most distracted by the task of administering England, managed to rule Norway for five years after the battle through his viceroy son Svein. Sveinn Alfífuson or Sveinn Knútsson óforsynjukonungr (c 1016 &ndash 1035 "a king not to be born" was the son of Canute the Great and However, when Olav's illegitimate son Magnus (dubbed 'the Good') laid claim to the Norwegian throne, Canute had to yield. Thus, a century of prosperity and expansion followed, lasting until the kingdom again descended into a civil war over succession.
Literary Legacy
In 1901 poet Per Silve wrote a poem "Tord Foleson," about King Olav's standard-bearer at the battle. Foleson was able to plant the banner before he died, and it remained standing throughout the battle, even after the king fell. It was kept erect and replaced by the local populace for centuries, and a memorial stands at the site today. The most famous line of the poem, "Merket det stend, um mannen han stupa" ('The symbol stands, even when the man falls'), is inscribed on the memorial in Stalheim, Norway, and also on the inscription wall in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp memorial site.
See also
External links
The Saint Olav Drama ( Spelet om Heilag Olav) is an outdoor theatre performance played every end of July in Stiklestad in Verdal, Norway Ólavsøka is a national holiday of the Faroe Islands, celebrated on July 29. Olsok (literally "StOlaf's Wake" is a name for July 29, traditionally the date for the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, and the death of StDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic