The Battle of Svolder was a large naval battle during the Viking age, fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf of Norway and an alliance of the Kings of Denmark and Sweden and Olaf's enemies in Norway. The backdrop of the battle was the unification of Norway into a single independent state after longstanding Danish efforts to control the country, combined with the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia.
The Battle of Svolder, by Otto Sinding
Hailed as king in 995, Olaf Tryggvason quickly proceeded to convert Norway to Christianity, using all means at his disposal.
While the battle is described in a number of medieval sources, the narrative in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla is the best known and the one which has most influenced modern historical and literary works.
Olaf Tryggvason proposes marriage to Sigrid the Haughty, on condition she convert to Christianity. When Sigrid rejects this, Olaf strikes her with a glove. She warns him that might lead to his death.
Olaf Tryggvason was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken, and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway. He is numbered as Olaf I.
Only known type of coin of Olaf Tryggvason, in four known specimens. Imitation of the Crux-type coin of Æthelred the Unready.
Statue of Olaf in the city plaza of Trondheim. Between the king's legs lies the head of the slave Tormod Kark, Haakon Jarl's murderer.
