All Topics  
Olof (I) of Sweden

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Olof (I) of Sweden
 
 
  Topics Olof (I) of Sweden Topic Home

Olof was king in Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
 when Ansgar
Ansgar

Saint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar, was an Archbishopric of Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a "Mission to bring Christianity to the Northern Europe", and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North"....
 made his second voyage to Birka
Birka

During the Viking Age, Birka , on the island of Bj?rk? in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central Europe and Eastern Europe and the Orient....
 in the year 854
854

Events...
.

Rimbert
Rimbert

Saint Rimbert or Rembert was archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg from 865 until his death.A monk in Turholt , he shared a missionary trip to Scandinavia with his friend Ansgar, whom he later succeeded as archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen in 865....
 relates that the Curonians in Latvia
Latvia

Latvia The Latvians are a Baltic peoples culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian language, but not with the Estonian language....
 had rebelled against the Swedes and refused to pay them tribute
Tribute

A tribute is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance....
. When the Danes heard of this, they saw the opportunity to take over the Swedish dominions in Courland
Courland

Courland is one of the cultural and historical regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland....
. They marshalled a great fleet and sailed to Courland in order to take over their goods and to make the Curonians
Curonians

The Curonians were a people living on the Eastern shores of the Baltic who were eventually absorbed by the expansion of the Latvians and Lithuanians nations....
 pay tribute to the Danes
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
 instead.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Olof (I) of Sweden'
Start a new discussion about 'Olof (I) of Sweden'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Olof was king in Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
 when Ansgar
Ansgar

Saint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar, was an Archbishopric of Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a "Mission to bring Christianity to the Northern Europe", and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North"....
 made his second voyage to Birka
Birka

During the Viking Age, Birka , on the island of Bj?rk? in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central Europe and Eastern Europe and the Orient....
 in the year 854
854

Events...
.

Rimbert
Rimbert

Saint Rimbert or Rembert was archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg from 865 until his death.A monk in Turholt , he shared a missionary trip to Scandinavia with his friend Ansgar, whom he later succeeded as archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen in 865....
 relates that the Curonians in Latvia
Latvia

Latvia The Latvians are a Baltic peoples culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian language, but not with the Estonian language....
 had rebelled against the Swedes and refused to pay them tribute
Tribute

A tribute is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance....
. When the Danes heard of this, they saw the opportunity to take over the Swedish dominions in Courland
Courland

Courland is one of the cultural and historical regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland....
. They marshalled a great fleet and sailed to Courland in order to take over their goods and to make the Curonians
Curonians

The Curonians were a people living on the Eastern shores of the Baltic who were eventually absorbed by the expansion of the Latvians and Lithuanians nations....
 pay tribute to the Danes
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
 instead. The Curonians gathered forces from all five of their towns and butchered half the Danish army, after which they plundered the Danish ships, gaining a great deal of gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
, silver
Silver

Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal....
, and other valuables.

When the Swedes and King Olof heard of the Danish failure, they decided to win the reputation that the Swedes could do what the Danes could not and to make the Curonians pay tribute again. Consequently, the Swedes gathered an enormous army and attacked Curland. The first town they attacked was called Seeburg. It had 7,000 armed men, but the town was pillaged, ravaged, and burnt by the Swedes. The Swedes sent back their ships and started out on a five-day expedition into the hinterland. They reached the town of Apulia (modern Apuole, where arrows and other traces of this battle were discovered by Birger Nerman
Birger Nerman

Birger Nerman was a Sweden archaeologist and writer. Born in Norrk?ping, he was the younger brother of the Swedish Communist leader Ture Nerman, and the twin brother of the artist Einar Nerman....
) which had as many as 15,000 armed men.

The Swedes stormed the town but it was ferociously defended, and after eight days of battle many men had fallen without result. By the ninth day, the Swedes were weary of the battle and discussed whether to pursue it. They decided to cast lots, but without results. Rimbert
Rimbert

Saint Rimbert or Rembert was archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg from 865 until his death.A monk in Turholt , he shared a missionary trip to Scandinavia with his friend Ansgar, whom he later succeeded as archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen in 865....
 then relates that some of the Swedes had heard of the Christian
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 faith and they decided to cast lots asking the Christian god about how to proceed. They interpreted the results as full support from the Christian god and decided to attack the town once again.

When the Curonians saw that the Swedes were about to resume their attack, they gave up and offered to the Swedes all the gold, silver, and weapons that they had taken from the Danes the previous year. They also offered to pay half a pound of silver for every man in the town and to resume paying tribute to the Swedes and to give hostages as a warrant for paying. They declared that they wished to be the subjects of the Swedish kings as in former times.

King Olof granted their request and the Swedes returned home with treasures beyond count and thirty hostage
Hostage

A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war....
s as a security for the Curonians' future loyalty.

See also

  • Early Swedish History
    Early Swedish history

    The Swedish pre-history ended around 800 CE, when the Viking Age began. The Viking Age lasted to the mid-11th century, when the Christianization broke through....


Literature