Battle of Stiklestad - Evaluation

Evaluation

While Snorri's description of the battles in the Heimskringla makes for epic reading, a lot of its grandeur most likely must be put down to the writer's taste for the grand.

In Gardarike, Olaf was only surrounded by his most loyal followers. Neither can one expect that recruitment was especially ample in Sweden or through the sparsely populated valleys through which Olaf travelled. Thus, Olaf's army probably was of a rather rag-tag character, an impression accentuated by tales of how local robber groups would join it as Olaf made his way down Verdal. The recruitment of robber gangs and other scofflaws was likely no surprise to the polytheistic heathens that opposed Olaf's attempts to forcibly convert them by murdering and torturing regional Jarls and Kings to terrorize them into accepting Christianity.

In fact, why Olaf chose to travel through the politically hostile Trøndelag, rather than to try to rally his relatives and political allies of Eastern Norway, is to this day an unsolved mystery. Perhaps he was making a last-ditch attempt for Nidaros, hoping to win acceptance for his claim to the throne amongst the peasants of Trøndelag.

On the other hand, the opposition, basically lower nobles and grand farmers under the influence of King Cnut, could not have had much time to assemble a large force. When alerted to Olaf's presence, they must have responded swiftly, considering that they met Olaf relatively far up in the valley. Therefore, their action points more towards a small, hastily arranged rally of men rather than the elaborate logistics that would have been needed to assemble a 10,000 man strong army.

Those who could have mobilized a large scale army, the local nobles of Trøndelag (of which Einar Thambarskelfir was a prime example) were notable largely by their absence on either side. Also, a battlefield of a raging battle between nearly 20,000 men should have produced rich archeological findings to that effect; at Stiklestad, however, these are sparse. This however, is common in Norway - the rocky soil is not as well suited to battlefield archaeology like continental and English soil, it makes georadar readings all but unusable and the location of the battle site highly uncertain. On Stiklestad, however, the soil is deep soil with some clay, and georadar has been used in 2008, showing traces of large buildings, but not much to indicate a battlefield. As is the case with most battles mentioned in the sagas, the sizes of the battling armies are probably impossible to determine.

Olaf's role in Norwegian history had only just begun at his death. While nobles and rich farmers had expected their position to improve with the removal of the aggressive Olaf, the opposite happened. The rule of Cnut's mistress and their infant son Svein was exceedingly harsh on the people. Especially the church, a traditional ally of Olaf, came under the squeeze.

Thus, it accentuated the late king's martyr status, as it joined and egged on common folk in revolting against the hardships enforced by the succeeding Danish rule. Propaganda proclaiming how heroic Olaf's last stand had been made for great nation-building material in the immature Norwegian state where the warrior ethic of the Vikings and their Gods and Goddesses were still highly revered. According to Snorri, even nature lent a hand, as the day of the battle coincided with a nearly full solar eclipse, as reflected in the description of an ill-fated 'blooded red sun', which was interpreted as a certain omen of bad things to come. However, the solar eclipse took place at about 2:00 p.m. on August 31 that year contrary to the traditional date of the battle on July 29.

Olaf, a rather stubborn and rash ruler, prone to torturing and murdering those who refused to submit to Christianity, ironically became Norway's patron saint. His canonization was performed only a year after his death by the bishop of Nidaros. The cult of Olaf not only unified the country, it also fulfilled the conversion of the nation, something for which the king had fought so hard.

While divisive in life, in death Olaf — rex perpetuus Norvegiae, the eternal king of Norway — wielded a unifying power no foreign monarch could hope to undo. Cnut, most distracted by the task of administering England, managed to rule Norway for five years after the battle through his viceroy son Svein. However, when Olaf's illegitimate son Magnus (dubbed 'the Good') laid claim to the Norwegian throne, Cnut had to yield. Thus, a century of prosperity and expansion followed, lasting until the kingdom again descended into a civil war over succession.