ABC Wednesday, V for Viking Law

This last summer I was again in beautiful Norway. I read several books about the Vikings, because they were the guys who sailed all over the northern hemisphere and invaded our countries. There were at the time no human rights treaties and the actions of the Vikings were quite understandable if you read their laws, especially their first law: Be Brave and Aggressive!

I sincerely believe that they were law-abiding people! They were obedient to these rules! I, personally like the fourth law!

 They left their traces  like the jurisdiction in the UK! They also had a judge and jury in court like in Britain and the USA.

Their alphabet however is very complicated. See for your self and try to write a comment with  these letters.

 We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members,  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words    beginning with V. 

ABC Wednesday, O for Olav

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This viking is one of the guys responsible for the fact that Norway became a christian nation.

Olaf Tryggvason, (960s – September 9? 1000), was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggve Olafsson, king of Viken, (Vingulmark and Ranrike), and the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway.

Olaf played an important part in the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity. He is said to have built the first church in Norway (in 995) and to have founded the city of Trondheim (in 997).Read more about him Here

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This viking was even more important for Trondheim.

Olav Haraldsson 1015-1030
Olav Haraldsson, Norway’s canonised king, remained a potent influence for several centuries after his death. Saint Olav, as he is frequently called, took part in Viking forays for several years. In 1009 he was in England with a Viking force under Danish leadership. Later, he changed sides and worked for King Ethelred II, defending England against the Danes.
In about 1013 he was baptised in Rouen in France. Olav returned to Norway in 1015 and was received as king in the Uplands region.

Olav Haraldsson played an important part in christianising Norway, bringing about the adoption of Christianity as the country’s only lawful religion with the king as the supreme leader of the church. Olav Haraldsson’s advocacy of the Christian faith was, however, destined to create serious political difficulties for him.

In the mid-1020s, Knut the Great presented claims on Norway. Olav, by this time, had lost much of his support and was forced to flee to Russia when Knut arrived in Norway in 1028. Olav returned through Sweden in 1030, recruiting soldiers on his way. With his army of Swedes, Jemtlanders, Icelanders and Norwegians, he came up against a peasant army at Stiklestad, north of Trondheim. Olav fell in the battle at Stiklestad on July the 29th.

Shortly after his death, Olav was canonised by the church. His body was disinterred and placed in a reliquary on the high altar in the Church of St. Clement in Nidaros, Trondheim.


Rune told in his comment:
St Olav is said to be responsible for the fall of London Bridge in the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is falling down."
One theory of origin is that the rhyme relates to supposed destruction of London Bridge by Olaf II of Norway in 1014 (or 1009). The nineteenth century translation of the Norse saga the Heimskringla, published by Samuel Laing in 1844, included a verse by Óttarr svarti, that looks very similar to the nursery rhyme:

London Bridge is broken down. —
Gold is won, and bright renown.


Shields resounding,

War-horns sounding,

Hild is shouting in the din!


Arrows singing,

Mail-coats ringing —

Odin makes our Olaf win!


ABC is created by Denise Nesbitt.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with "O".