The Cult of Olaf
<p>Viking King Olaf II Haraldsson was killed on 29th July, 1030, kicking off a campaign, led by an English clergyman, to declare him a Saint.</p><br><p>The cult of Olaf continues in Norway still, with festivals, pilgrimages and prayers given in his honour - even though Olaf used extreme violence and suppression to force parts of the country to convert to Christianity.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the inner-workings of the medieval church’s PR machine; explain why ‘extreme violence’ and ‘missionary work’ are ever muttered in the same breath; and consider whether ‘Saint’ Olaf would in fact be best remembered by his contemporary suffices: Olaf ‘the Fat’ or Olaf ‘the law-breaker’...&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘St. Olaf’ (V&A Museum of Childhood, 2014): <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/sanctus-ignotum/st-olaf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/sanctus-ignotum/st-olaf</a></p><p>• ‘Today is Norway's Day of St. Olaf, celebrated for over 900 years’ (Norway Today, 2021): <a href="https://norwaytoday.info/culture/today-is-norways-day-of-st-olaf-celebrated-for-over-900-years/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://norwaytoday.info/culture/today-is-norways-day-of-st-olaf-celebrated-for-over-900-years/</a></p><p>• ‘Olaf Haraldsson: King of Norway 1015-1028’ (History Time, 2018):</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XvE1EKxUHc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XvE1EKxUHc</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em>&nbsp;</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Today In History with The Retrospectors
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Show Notes
Viking King Olaf II Haraldsson was killed on 29th July, 1030, kicking off a campaign, led by an English clergyman, to declare him a Saint.
The cult of Olaf continues in Norway still, with festivals, pilgrimages and prayers given in his honour - even though Olaf used extreme violence and suppression to force parts of the country to convert to Christianity.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the inner-workings of the medieval church’s PR machine; explain why ‘extreme violence’ and ‘missionary work’ are ever muttered in the same breath; and consider whether ‘Saint’ Olaf would in fact be best remembered by his contemporary suffices: Olaf ‘the Fat’ or Olaf ‘the law-breaker’...
Further Reading:
• ‘St. Olaf’ (V&A Museum of Childhood, 2014): https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/sanctus-ignotum/st-olaf
• ‘Today is Norway's Day of St. Olaf, celebrated for over 900 years’ (Norway Today, 2021): https://norwaytoday.info/culture/today-is-norways-day-of-st-olaf-celebrated-for-over-900-years/
• ‘Olaf Haraldsson: King of Norway 1015-1028’ (History Time, 2018):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XvE1EKxUHc
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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