Tryggvi Olafsson was a
grandson of the first King of all Norway, Harald Finehair (ruled approximately
860-940). Tryggvi’s cousins, the sons of Eirik Bloodaxe (r. 940-945), conquered
Norway around 961, after they dealt a mortal wound to King Hákon the Good (r.
946-961). Yet, even though the sons of Eirik were proven warriors and had royal
blood in their veins, Tryggvi and other nobles worked together to resist the
brothers. Jarl Hákon Sigurdsson of the Trondheim region led an open rebellion
against the sons of Eirik after his father was assassinated in 963 and Tryggvi
was one of the Norwegian chieftains that lent the rebels his support.
Unfortunately, supporting Jarl Hákon put a target on Tryggvi’s back and he was
ultimately assassinated by the sons of Eirik around 968. According to
tradition, Tryggvi’s wife, Astrid, was pregnant at the time of her husband’s
death. When the grim news arrived, she immediately fled from Norway. Her son,
Olaf Tryggvason, was reportedly born while she was on the run.
As told in the sagas, Astrid
and her newborn child escaped to Sweden, where they stayed until young Olaf was
three years old. Yet, when agents of the sons of Eirik came looking for them,
Astrid decided to relocate to Novgorod or Kiev, where Vladimir the Great
(prince of Novgorod r. 970-972 and Grand Prince of Kiev 980-1015) was ascending
to power. With this in mind, Astrid and her young son boarded a merchant ship
and set sail for the lands of the Kievan Rus. Nevertheless, according to
legend, the merchant ship never reached its destination.
Astrid and Olaf were
reportedly thrown into chaos even before they reached mainland Europe. As the
story goes, Vikings or raiders attacked the merchant ship somewhere in the
Baltic Sea. The traders were overpowered and the assailants boarded the ship,
seizing the cargo and passengers, alike. According to the sagas, Olaf
Tryggvason and his mother were captured and separated. Astrid was hauled away to
some unknown grisly fate, while young Olaf was shipped over to Estonia, where
he was sold into slavery. The pirates apparently bartered him in exchange for a
goat and then he was supposedly traded once more for a good cloak. According to
the tale, Olaf Tryggvason remained a slave in Estonia for about six years,
mainly working as an enslaved farmhand. Thankfully, Olaf was apparently
discovered and freed by his uncle, Sigurd Eiriksson, who fulfilled Astrid’s
wishes by bringing Olaf to the domain of Vladimir the Great.
Whether or not this is truly
how Olaf Tryggvason spent his childhood, the real historical figure certainly
lived his early years in exile from Norway and eventually became quite the adventurer.
Anglo-Saxon accounts of Olaf’s Viking raids in Britain are some of the first
definitive accounts of his burgeoning military career. He somehow became a
companion of King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark and accompanied the Danish king on
great Viking expeditions against England in 991 and 994. Finally, in 995, Olaf
Tryggvason returned to Norway and usurped power from Jarl Hákon Sigurdsson (who
had by then defeated the sons of Eirik with the help of the Danes). King Olaf Tryggvason ruled Norway from 995
until his death in 1000.
Written by C. Keith Hansley.
Picture Attribution: (A
depiction of a scene from the saga of Olaf, by Halfdan Egedius (1877–1899),
[Public Domain] via Creative Commons).
Sources:
- Heimskringla, by Snorri Sturluson and translated by Lee Hollander. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1964, 2018.
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle translated by Benjamin Thorpe in 1861 and republished by Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olaf-Tryggvason
- http://avaldsnes.info/en/informasjon/olav-tryggvason/
- http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/maldon/olaftryggvason.html
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-II-Eiriksson
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-I-king-of-Norway
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Haakon-I-Adalsteinsfostre
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Haakon-Sigurdsson
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-I
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