Battle of Svolder - Legacy

Legacy

Several factors combined to make the Battle of Svolder one of the most famous battles of the Viking Age. In Norwegian-Icelandic historiography, King Olaf Tryggvason was held in high regard as the man who brought Christianity to the North. His colourful end in a battle against overwhelming odds therefore makes a fitting narrative. Jarl Eirik’s court poets also ensured their lord a fair share of the glory. Mesta says:

The battle is acknowledged to have been for many reasons the most famous that was ever fought in Northern lands. For, first there was the noble defence made by King Olaf and his men on board the Long Serpent. No instance is known where men have defended themselves so long and so valiantly against such overwhelming numbers of foes as they had to encounter. Then there was the fierce attack made by Earl Eric and his men, which has been held in wide renown. ... The battle was very famous too, on account of the great slaughter, and the Earl's success in clearing a ship that up to that time was the largest built and the fairest in Norway; of which shipmen said that it would never, while floating on the sea, be won with arms in the face of such heroes as manned it.

In Iceland, where the kings' sagas continued to be copied and studied, the battle exercised the imagination of several poets. A 15th century rímur cycle, Svöldrar rímur, chronicles the battle in verse, largely following the account of Oddr Snorrason. Two more rímur cycles on the same topic were composed in the 18th century, one of which is preserved. In the 19th century, the popular poet Sigurður Breiðfjörð composed yet another rímur cycle on the battle, based on the account in Mesta.

With the 19th century rise of nationalism and romanticism and the growing number of translations of the sagas, interest in the battle of Svolder increased outside of Iceland. Around 1830, the Faroese poet Jens Christian Djurhuus composed a ballad on the battle titled Ormurin langi, following Snorri's account. The ballad was well received and remains among the most popular and well-known Faroese ballads. In 2002, a heavy metal version by the band Týr gained some following abroad.

In Norway, Johan Nordahl Brun's rousing patriotic play Einar Tambarskjelve, written in 1772, is considered a milestone in Norwegian literature. Later Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson wrote a well-known short poem, Olav Trygvason, on the fall of the king. Bjørnson also collaborated with Edward Grieg on an opera about Olaf Tryggvason, but the two fell out before the work was finished. Ragnar Søderlind has now completed the opera, which premiered in September 2000, 1000 years after the Battle of Svolder. Søderlind introduced fate motifs from Wagner, Beethoven and Liszt in the battle scene.

The battle has also inspired art outside of Scandinavia, including a manga volume by the Japanese artist Ryō Azumi. The best known English-language work is probably Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's cycle "The Saga of King Olaf" (from his 1863 collection of poems Tales of a Wayside Inn), much of which is dedicated to the Battle of Svolder, and which includes the verse:

Louder the war-horns growl and snarl,

Sharper the dragons bite and sting!

Eric the son of Hakon Jarl

A death-drink salt as the sea

Pledges to thee,

Olaf the King!