See Also: Olaf I Tryggvason(encyclopedia)
Olaf V(encyclopedia)
Olaf (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
Olaf II Haraldsson(encyclopedia)

Olaf I Tryggvason (sh)




born งใ 964
died งใ 1000

Viking king of Norway (995-งใ 1000).

The son of a Norwegian chieftain, he joined Viking attacks on England in 991 and 994. He returned to Norway and was accepted as king on the death of Haakon the Great in 995. Olaf imposed Christianity on the Norwegian coast but had little influence in the interior. His missionaries introduced Christianity to the Shetland, Faroe, and Orkney islands and to Iceland and Greenland. He was killed in the Battle of Svolder, which is celebrated in medieval Scandinavian poetry.