Features and strategies of the creation of image of St. Olaf in the Scandinavian written sources of the 11th–13th centuries

A.D. Mokropolova  

Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia 

E-mail: anastasia.mokropolova@yandex.ru 

Received March 19, 2019 

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DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2019.2-3.73-83

For citation: Mokropolova A.D. Features and strategies of the creation of image of St. Olaf in the Scandinavian written sources of the 11th–13th centuries. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2019, vol. 161, no. 2–3, pp. 73–83. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2019.2-3.73-83. (In Russian)

Abstract 

The image of St. Olaf II Haraldsson, the King of Norway who was canonized in the 11th century, was studied. The reign of Olaf II Haraldsson (1015–1028) was marked by the integration of the Norwegian lands and the Christianization of the Norwegians. These processes caused were not welcomed by the Norwegian aristocracy. The result of the confrontation was the Battle of Stiklestad (1030), in which Olaf II Haraldsson died. His local canonization took place in 1031. The cult of St. Olaf was a striking example of the Nordic model of royal sanctity in Scandinavia. During the 11th–13th centuries, numerous skaldic poems, sagas, historical and hagiographic texts appeared in Norway. They presented several versions of Olaf II Haraldsson's image. The detailed analysis of these works enables to verify that the characteristics attributed to Olaf II Haraldsson depended on certain historical conditions inherent in the periods when these texts were created. In the skaldic poetry of the 11th century, he was a typical north king and Viking. In the 12th century, when the hagiographic works about Olaf were written, he was perceived as a saint. The sagas of the 13th century present a syncretic version of the image of Olaf II Haraldsson, in which the two earlier versions merge. 

Keywords: hagiography, sanctity, saint kings, scalds, canonization, Christianization, St. Olaf, Olaf II Haraldsson 

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