Saint Olaf II
Also known as
- Heilag-Olav
- Holy Olaf
- Olaf Haraldson
- Olaf Haraldsson
- Olaf of Norway
- Olaf the Fat
- Olaf the Holy
- Olaf the Thick
- Ola
- Olao
- Olaus
- Olav
- Olave
- Olavs
- Tola
- Tooley
- Óláfr Digre
- Óláfr Haraldsson
- 29 July
- 16 October (conversion of Saint Olaf)
- 3 August (translation of relics)
Profile
Son of Harald Grenske King of Norway and Åsta Gudbrandsdatter. Viking pirate. Convert to Christianity, baptised in 1010. Helped Ethelred of England against pagan Danish invaders. King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Brought missionaries, including Blessed Theodgar of Vestervig, to Norway to evangelize his people. Olaf tried to force Christianity on them, but they revolted in 1029, and drove him first to Sweden and then to Kiev (in modern Russia). There he gathered his forces, and in 1030 tried to re-take his throne. He was killed in battle, and regarded by Norwegians as the great champion of national independence and a martyr.
Born
- killed in battle at Stiklestadt on 29 July 1030 while trying to recover his throne
- buried at the Trondheim Cathedral
- miracles reported at his tomb, and it became a noted place of pilgrimage for Scandanavians
- carvers
- difficult marriages
- kings
- Norway (proclaimed on 7 March 1941 by Pope Pius XII)
- –
- in England
- in Norway
- king, crowned and in armour with his weapons and a symbol of charity (food basket, etc.)
- the arms of Norway are a lion with the battle-axe of Saint Olaf in the forepaws
MLA Citation
- “Saint Olaf II“. CatholicSaints.Info. 28 March 2024. Web. 30 April 2024. <>