OLAF II, Haraldsson, king of NORWAY, saint. – Called O. the Strong or O. the Saint, born in 995, died in 1030. Son of Harald of Norway, he spent his youth as a Viking, both in England and in Normandy: he is found at Rouen in 1013–14.
While King Canute of Denmark, around 1015, was occupied in England and had also summoned the prince of Norway, Eric, to his aid, O. took the opportunity to return to his homeland, succeeding in having himself recognized as king at Nidaros (Trondheim), which he made his capital and where he built a church. Possessed of deeply rooted Christian convictions, he devoted himself to the eradication of paganism, particularly through laws against superstition, calling many priests and bishops from England; under his impetus, these also passed into Sweden and Gostia, acknowledging the metropolitan supremacy of Bremen.
For ten years of peace he governed and wisely reorganized the Kingdom; but his zeal, perhaps excessive, in eradicating paganism and the absolutism of his government alienated many of his subjects, including powerful chiefs such as Thor and Herek. Canute, who claimed sovereignty in Norway, took advantage of this and repeatedly attempted to recover II. In the battle of Helge, however (1026), he failed to prevail; he tried again in 1028 and succeeded in seizing Nidaros, while O. fled to Sweden, returning almost immediately, in 1030, to attempt the reconquest of the kingdom. But in the battle at Stiklestad on 29 July 1030 he met his death.
He was celebrated as the hero of national independence and venerated as a martyr, having fallen out of zeal for the propagation of the faith.
His cult, which began immediately after his death and was officially recognized by Bishop Grunskel as early as 1031, spread very widely throughout the Nordic regions, and his name is included in the Martyrology.