and southern coast of England. In both cases, the English
king paid large amounts of silver, “Danegeld,” to buy
off the Vikings.
Just before Óláfr Tryggvason went to Norway, con-
troversy arose in Trøndelag between Earl Hákon, who
was the actual ruler of the country, and the Tronds.
According to Heimskringla, the earl constantly abused
their wives and daughters, “and the farmers began to
grumble just as the Tronds are wont to do over anything
which goes against them” (Heimskringla 1:343). One of
the rich peasants who had refused to give up his wife to
the earl gathered the farmers and set out against Hákon.
The earl fl ed and was killed by his own slave, Karkr,
while escaping. Óláfr Tryggvason, who was on his way
to Niðaróss (Trondheim), inadvertently encountered one
of the earl’s sons and killed him in battle; the two other
sons fl ed. Óláfr was chosen king by the people of Trøn-
delag at the Eyraþing. After that, he traveled throughout
the country and was made king of all Norway. In 996,
Óláfr was in Vikin (Viken), and from there he carried
out his plans to introduce Christianity in Norway and
to secure complete control over the country.
With the help of his paternal relatives, he succeeded
in making the farmers of Viken accept the new faith in
996/7. Those who refused or disagreed with him, “he
dealt with hard; some he slew, some he maimed, and
some he drove away from the land” (Heimskringla
1:362). Gradually, his actions led to a confl ict between
the king and the farmers. In the summer of 997, he
went to the southwestern part of the country, made the
Rogalenders embrace the new faith, and secured their
support by marrying his sister to one of the chieftains
there, Erlingr Skjálgsson, at Sóli (Sole). In the west, he
introduced Christianity through the support of his ma-
ternal relatives while securing control over this province.
The introduction of Christianity in these provinces, the
west, and Viken, was facilitated by long-lasting contact
with Christian western Europe, especially the British
Isles.
In the fall of 997, Óláfr Tryggvason, went to Trøn-
delag. There and in the north, paganism was stronger
than in the other provinces. Ólafr Tryggvason met with
strong opposition from the farmers and was forced to
acquiesce. He returned one year later, killed the leader of
the farmers, Járn-Skeggi, and made the Tronds embrace
the new faith. Some of the rich farmers refused to accept
the new order. They fl ed and went to Sweden, joining
Eiríkr, son of Earl Hákon. Óláfr Tryggvason tried to
secure control over Trøndelag and the good-will of the
Tronds by marrying Guðrún, Járn-Skeggi’s daughter.
He did not succeed; Guðrún attempted to murder him
on their wedding night. In 999, he made the people of
Háleygjaland (Hålogaland) accept Christianity. Thus,
he had christianized the entire coastal area of Norway.
Óláfr Haraldsson later christianized the interior.
But it was not only in Norway that Óláfr Tryggva-
son tried to spread Christianity. His pressure on the
Icelandic chieftains was undoubtedly one of the main
reasons why the Icelanders accepted the new faith at the
Alþingi in 999/1000. He also made the Greenlanders
accept Christianity.
Óláfr Tryggvason’s strengthening of the power of
the king involved not only an expansion of the king’s
territorial control over the country, but also an attempt to
develop the internal organization of the kingdom. It was
most likely Óláf Tryggvason who introduced the offi ce
of district governor, a service rendered by a chieftain
who received royal land in return. He was also the fi rst
Norwegian king to mint coins.
Óláfr Tryggvason died in the battle of Svo ̨ lðr (Svold)
in 999/1000, where he fought the Danish king Sven
Haraldsson (Forkbeard), who had been forced to give
up Viken, the Swedish king who wanted control of
Gautaland, and Eirikr, son of Earl Hákon.Further ReadingLiterature
Finnur Jónsson, ed. Heimskringla. 4 vols. Samfund til udgiv-
else af gammel nordisk litterarur, 23. Copenhagen: Møller,
1893–1901.
Koht, Halvdan. “The Scandinavian Kingdoms Until the End of
the Thirteenth Century.” In The Cambridge Medieval History
6. Ed. J. R. Turner et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1929, pp. 362–92.
Baetke, Walter. Christliches Lehngut in der Saga-religion. Das
Svolder-Problem. Zwei Beiträge zur Saga-kritikk. Berichte
über die Verhandlungen der sächsischen Akademie der Wis-
senschaften zu Leipzig. Philol.-hist. Klasse, 98.6. Berlin:
Akademie-Verlag, 1951.
Ellehøj, Svend. “The Location of the Fall of Olaf Tryggvason.”
Arbók hins íslenzka fornleifafélags, Fylgirit (1958), 63–73
Gunnes, Erik. Rikssamlingogkristning 800–1177. Norges historie,- Oslo: Cappelen, 1976.
Andersen, Per Sveaas. Samlingen av Norge og kristningen av
landet, 800–1130. Handbok i Norges historie 2. Bergen:
Universitetsforlaget, 1977.
Helle, Knut. “Norway in the High Middle Ages: Recent Views
on the Structure of Society.” Scandinavian Joumal of History
6 ( 1981 ), 161–89.
Birkeli, Fridtjov. Hva vet vi om kristningen av Norge? Oslo:
Universitetsforlaget, 1982.
Bagge, Sverre. Society and Politics in Snorri Sturluson’s Heim-
skringla. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California
Press, 1991.
Jón Viðar Sigurðsson
OLIVER OF PADERBORN (d. 1224)
Oliver of Paderborn (North Rhine-Westphalia) appears
as the scholastic at Paderborn in the waning years of the
twelfth century. His reputation was such, however, that
by 1202 he had been appointed scholastic at Cologne
Cathedral. In 1207 we fi nd him in Paris, where he actedÓLÁFR TRYGGVASON