Battle of Svolder
The Battle of Svolder was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea. King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway was ambushed by an alliance of Svein Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Olof Skötkonung,. King of Sweden, and Eirik Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade. Olaf had only 11 warships in the battle against a fleet of at least 70.
About Battle of Svolder in brief
The Battle of Svolder was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea. The backdrop of the battle was the unification of Norway into a single state, long-standing Danish efforts to gain control of the country, and the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia. King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway was ambushed by an alliance of Svein Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Olof Skötkonung, King of Sweden, and Eirik Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade. Olaf had only 11 warships in the battle against a fleet of at least 70. His ships were captured one by one, last of all the Ormen Lange, which Olaf threw himself into the sea. After the battle, Norway was ruled as a fief of Denmark and Sweden. The exact location is disputed, and depends on which group of sources is preferred: it is only Icelandic sources that place it near a place called Svolder, while Adam of Bremen places it in Øresund. The most detailed sources on the battle were written approximately two centuries after it took place. In later centuries, the saga descriptions of theBattle have inspired a number of ballads and other works of literature. The resolution came in 1035 with the accession of Christian Magnus the Good to the throne of Norway. The Battle of Nesjar and the Battle of Stiklestad were further engagements, including the same engagements in the same year.
In three synoptic histories, Historia de Norwegium, Regum Norwiensium and Norweigium de Antiquitium, Histweoria de Antiquitate de Antiquum, and Norwigium Regum, Norweigan Historia, describe the battle in vivid detail. The earliest written work is by Adam B Remen, who wrote from a Danish point of view. The later Danish historian Saxo Gramo Saxo made use of his account in his Gesta Danorum de Antiquorum. The battle is mentioned in a number. of historical sources, such as the Gesta Gesta de Antiquitates de Antiquity, and in the Norwegenian Historian’s Gesta Norwiger. The best known episode in theBattle is the breaking of Einarr Þambarskelfir’s bow, which heralds Olaf’s defeat. The sagas ascribe the causes of the fight to Olaf’s ill-fated marriage proposal to Sigrid the Haughty and his problematic marriage to Thyri. In the 970s, Haakon Sigurdsson became the most powerful man in Norway, at first supported by Harald Bluetooth of Danish and paying tribute to him. Harald had converted to Christianity and was eager to Christianise Norway. In 995 Haak on was deposed and the young Christian leader Olaf Comeggvasons came to the Throne. In 1035, Olaf made it his mission to convert Norway and the Norse colonies in the west as quickly and as completely as possible.
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This page is based on the article Battle of Svolder published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 11, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
