Olaf I of Norway - Birth and Early Life

Birth and Early Life

There is uncertainty about both the date and the place of Olaf's birth. The earliest Norwegian written source, Historia Norwegiæ (late 12th century), states that Olaf was born in Orkney after his mother fled there to escape the killers of Olaf's father - another late 12th century source, Ágrip, says Olaf's mother fled to Orkney with Olaf when he is three years old, for the same reason. All the sagas agree that Olaf eventually ended up in Russia, at the court of King Valdemar.

The version in Heimskringla is the most elaborate, but also the youngest, and introduces elements to the story that are not found in earlier sources. It states that Olaf was born shortly after the murder of his stated father in 963, while other sources suggest a date between 964 and 969. The later dates cast doubt over Olaf's claim to be of Harald Fairhair's kin, and the legitimacy of his claim to the throne. Snorri Sturluson claims in Olaf Tryggvson's saga that Olaf was born on an islet in Fjærlandsvatnet, where his mother Astrid daughter of Eirik Bjodaskalle, was hiding from her husband's killers, led by Harald Greyhide, the son of Eirik Bloodaxe. Greyhide and his brothers had seized the throne from Haakon the Good. Astrid fled to her father Eirik Biodaskalde's home in Oppland, then went on to Sweden where she thought she and Olaf would be safe. Harald sent emissaries to the king of Sweden, and asked for permission to take the boy back to Norway, where he would be raised by Greyhide's mother Gunhild. The Swedish king gave them men to help them claim the young boy, but to no avail. After a short scuffle Astrid (with her son) fled again. This time their destination was Gardarike (Kiev), where Astrid's brother Sigurd was in the service of King Valdemar (Vladimir I). Olaf was three years old when they set sail on a merchant ship for Novgorod. The journey was not successful—in the Baltic Sea they were captured by Estonian vikings, and the people aboard were either killed or taken as slaves. Olaf became the possession of a man named Klerkon, together with his foster father Thorolf and his son Thorgils. Klerkon considered Thorolf too old to be useful as a slave and killed him, and then sold the two boys to a man named Klerk for a ram. Olaf was then sold to a man called Reas for a fine cloak. Six years later when Sigurd Eirikson traveled to Estonia to collect taxes on behalf of Vladimir, he spotted a boy, who did not appear to be a native. He asked the boy about his family, and the boy told him he was Olaf, son of Tryggve Olafson and Astrid Eiriksdattir. Sigurd then went to Reas and bought Olaf and Thorgils out from slavery, and took the boys with him to Novgorod to live under the protection of Vladimir.

Still according to Heimskringla, one day in the Novgorod marketplace Olaf encountered Klerkon, his enslaver and the murderer of his foster father. Olaf killed Klerkon with an axe blow to the head. A mob followed the young boy as he fled to his protector Queen Allogia, with the intent of killing him for his misdeed. Only after Allogia had paid blood money for Olaf did the mob calm down. As Olaf grew older, Vladimir made him chief over his men-at-arms, but after a couple years the king became wary of Olaf and his popularity with his soldiers. Fearing he might be a threat to the safety of his reign, Vladimir stopped treating Olaf as a friend. Olaf decided that it was better for him to seek his fortune elsewhere, and set out for the Baltic.