Battle of Svolder The Battle of Svolder ( Svold , Swold ) was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies . The backdrop of the battle was the unification of Norway into a single state , long - standing Danish efforts to gain control of the country , and the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia . King Olaf was sailing home after an expedition to Wendland ( Pomerania ) , when he was ambushed by an alliance of Svein Forkbeard , King of Denmark , Olof Skötkonung ( also known as Olaf Eiríksson ) , King of Sweden , and Eirik Hákonarson , Jarl of Lade . Olaf had only 11 warships in the battle against a fleet of at least 70 . His ships were captured one by one , last of all the " Ormen Lange " , which Jarl Eirik captured as Olaf threw himself into the sea . After the battle , Norway was ruled by the Jarls of Lade as a fief of Denmark and Sweden . The most detailed sources on the battle , the kings ' sagas , were written approximately two centuries after it took place . Historically unreliable , they offer an extended literary account describing the battle and the events leading up to it in vivid detail . The sagas ascribe the causes of the battle to Olaf Tryggvason ' s ill - fated marriage proposal to Sigrid the Haughty and his problematic marriage to Thyri , sister of Svein Forkbeard . As the battle starts Olaf is shown dismissing the Danish and Swedish fleets with ethnic insults and bravado while admitting that Eirik Hákonarson and his men are dangerous because " they are Norwegians like us " . The best known episode in the battle is the breaking of Einarr Þambarskelfir ' s bow , which heralds Olaf ' s defeat . In later centuries , the saga descriptions of the battle , especially that in Snorri Sturluson ' s " Heimskringla " , have inspired a number of ballads and other works of literature . Context . In earliest recorded history , Norway was divided into a number of small and sometimes warring petty kingdom s with weak central authority . In traditional historiography the rise of Harald Fairhair in the 9th century started the process of unification of the country and the consolidation of royal power . Harald ' s descendants , and other claimants to the throne , had to contend with strong regional leaders such as the Jarls of Lade in the north and the rulers of Vingulmark in the east , while the kings of Denmark claimed regions in the south and were eager to acquire Norwegian vassals to increase their influence . The spread of Christianity also became an increasingly important political issue in the late 10th century . In the 970s , Haakon Sigurdsson , Jarl of Lade , became the most powerful man in Norway , at first supported by Harald Bluetooth of Denmark and paying tribute to him — though the two later fell out over religious matters . Harald had converted to Christianity and was eager to Christianise Norway , while Haakon remained a staunch pagan . In 995 Haakon was deposed and the young Christian leader Olaf Tryggvason came to the throne . While rejecting Danish authority , Olaf made it his mission to convert Norway and the Norse colonies in the west as quickly and as completely as possible . Proceeding with threats , torture and executions , Olaf broke down pagan resistance and within a few years Norway was , at least nominally , a Christian country . But King Olaf had acquired several enemies during his meteoric rise to power . The most prominent were Eirik Jarl , son of Haakon Jarl , and Svein Forkbeard , king of Denmark , both of whom felt that Olaf had deprived them of their share of Norway . The same interests which clashed in the Battle of Svolder were to divide Norway for decades to come , leading to further major engagements , including the Battle of Nesjar and the Battle of Stiklestad . The resolution came in 1035 with the accession of the Norwegian Magnus the Good to the throne of an independent and Christian Norway . Sources . The Battle of Svolder is mentioned in a number of historical sources . The earliest written work is by Adam of Bremen ( ca . 1080 ) , who wrote from a Danish point of view as his source was King Svein II of Denmark . The later Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus made use of and expanded Adam of Bremen ' s account in his " Gesta Danorum " ( ca . 1200 ) . In Norway the three " synoptic histories " , " Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium " , " Historia Norwegie " and " Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum " ( ca . 1190 ) , all give a short account of the battle . The Icelandic kings ' sagas offer a much more extensive treatment , starting with Oddr Snorrason ' s " Saga of Olaf Tryggvason " ( ca . 1190 ) . Working from skaldic poetry , oral history , learned European examples and an uninhibited imagination , Oddr constructed an elaborate account of the battle . This was taken up by the later Icelandic sagas , " Fagrskinna " and " Heimskringla " ( ca . 1220 ) , both of which add quotations of skaldic verse . Three Icelandic poems from around 1200 also have some historical interest : " Nóregs konungatal " , " Rekstefja " and " Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar " . The immense " Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta " ( ca . 1300 ) combines several of the above sources to form the last , longest and least reliable saga account . Contemporary skaldic poetry which refers to the battle includes a work by Hallfreðr the Troublesome Poet , who was in Olaf Tryggvason ' s service . Hallfreðr was not present at the battle but gathered information about it afterwards for a eulogy on Olaf . On Jarl Eirik ' s side , a number of stanzas are preserved by Halldórr the Unchristian , who speaks of the battle as happening " last year " and dwells on the scene of Eirik capturing the " Long Serpent " . Some verses on the battle are also preserved in Þórðr Kolbeinsson ' s elegy on Eirik , probably composed around 1015 . Finally , Skúli Þórsteinsson fought with Eirik in the battle and spoke of it in verse in his old age . While historians value contemporary skaldic poetry highly as the most accurate source available , it must be remembered that the poems are not preserved independently but as quotations in the kings ' sagas . After two centuries of oral preservation , there is often doubt that a verse was accurately remembered and correctly attributed . Furthermore , skaldic poetry did not primarily aim at giving information but at artistically rendering facts already known to the hearers . Historians frequently fall back on the less reliable but more detailed accounts of the sagas . Events leading up to the battle . Nothing can be gleaned from the contemporary skaldic poems on the causes of the battle . Adam of Bremen states that Olaf Tryggvason ' s Danish wife , Thyri , egged him on to make war against Denmark . When Olaf heard that Svein Forkbeard and Olaf the Swede had formed an alliance , he was angered and decided the time had come for an attack . " Ágrip " and " Historia Norwegie " have a similar account . Thyri was the sister of Svein Forkbeard , and when Olaf Tryggvason married her , Svein refused to pay her promised dowry . Angered , Olaf launched an expedition to attack Denmark , but he was too impatient to wait for a fleet to assemble from all of Norway , and he set sail for the south with only 11 ships , expecting the rest to follow . When that hope was not realized , he set out for Wendland ( Pomerania ) to seek allies and on the way was ambushed by Svein and his allies . These accounts are contradicted by a contemporary verse of Halldórr the Unchristian which states that Olaf Tryggvason was travelling " from the south " when he came to the battle . Oddr Snorrason has an elaborate account of the problems arising from Thyri ' s marriages . He tells us that she was betrothed and married to the Wendish king Burislav , who received a large dowry for her ; but she did not want to be his wife and starved herself after their wedding , so Burislav sent her back to Denmark . She then arranged to have herself married to Olaf Tryggvason , to the displeasure of her brother Svein . Svein ' s queen , Sigrid the Haughty , a staunch opponent of Olaf , egged Svein to make war on him . Svein then conspired with Jarl Sigvaldi and King Olaf of Sweden to lure Olaf Tryggvason into a trap . Olaf Tryggvason travelled to Wendland to collect Thyri ' s dowry from King Burislav and while there heard rumours of a planned ambush ; but Sigvaldi arrived to tell him these rumours were false . Believing Sigvaldi , Olaf sent most of his fleet home , as his men were impatient . He therefore had only a small fleet left when he was ambushed near Svolder . " Fagrskinna " and " Heimskringla " largely follow Oddr ' s account but simplify it and diverge from it in some respects . According to " Heimskringla " , Sigvaldi sailed from Wendland with Olaf and a fleet of Wendish ships and led him into the ambush . Whether the above details are accurate or not , it is clear that Svein , Olaf the Swede and Eirik had ample reason to oppose Olaf Tryggvason . Olaf had taken control of Viken in south Norway , an area long under Danish overlordship . Olaf and Svein had been in England together , but Olaf had made peace while Svein kept campaigning . Svein was on friendly terms with Olaf the Swede and connected to him by marriage , so the two were natural allies . Finally , Jarl Eirik had been driven from his patrimony by Olaf Tryggvason , as arguably had his father , Jarl Hakon , whom he may have wished to avenge . From the conflicting accounts of the sources , historians have tried to reconstruct the most likely sequence of events leading up to the battle . It is probable that Olaf Tryggvason was indeed sailing from Wendland to Norway when he was ambushed , though the kings ' sagas probably play up the importance of Thyri and her marriages . While it is possible that Olaf was collecting dowry , it seems more probable that he was expecting war and seeking allies in Wendland , but met with little success . The character of Sigvaldi remains enigmatic , though there is evidence from skaldic poetry that he did indeed betray Olaf . Time and location . All sources which date the battle agree that it took place in 1000 . The oldest source to date it is the meticulous " Íslendingabók " , written around 1128 , which specifies that it took place in the summer . Oddr Snorrason says further that the battle is " memorialized for the fallen men on the Third or Fourth Ides of September " , ( 10 or 11 September ) . " Mesta " states that the battle occurred on 9 September , and other sources agree with either date . Since some medieval writers reckoned the end of the year in September , it is possible that the year referred to is in fact the one we know as 999 . The location of the battle cannot be identified with any certainty . According to Adam of Bremen , it took place in Oresund . " Ágrip " and " Historia Norwegie " also place it off Zealand . Theodoricus says it took place " beside the island which is called Svöldr ; and it lies near Slavia " . " Fagrskinna " speaks of " an island off the coast of Vinðland . . . [ t ] his island is called Svölðr . " Oddr Snorrason and " Heimskringla " agree on the island ' s name but do not specify its location . A stanza by Skúli Þórsteinsson speaks of " the mouth of Svolder " , suggesting that " Svolder " was originally the name of a river which Norse unfamiliarity with Wendish geography turned into an island . The Danish " Annales Ryenses " are unique in placing the battle in the Schlei . Modern historians are divided , some locating the confrontation near the German island of Rügen while others prefer Oresund . Composition of the fleets . The Norse sources agree that Olaf Tryggvason fought against overwhelming odds in the battle . " Fagrskinna " , for example , says that he had " only a small force " , and that the sea around him was " carpeted with warships " The sources which specify the number of warships all agree that Olaf Tryggvason had 11 vessels but they give various numbers for the allied fleets . Though the sagas agree that Olaf Tryggvason had only 11 ships in the battle , some of them quote a verse by Halldórr the Unchristian saying that Olaf had 71 ships when he sailed from the south . The sagas explain the discrepancy by saying that some of the 71 ships belonged to Jarl Sigvaldi , who deserted Olaf , and that others sailed past the trap at Svolder before it was sprung . The sagas describe three of the ships in Olaf Tryggvason ' s fleet . According to " Heimskringla " , the " Crane " was a large swift - sailing warship with thirty rowers ' benches , high in stem and stern . It was commissioned by King Olaf and used as his flagship for some time . Olaf confiscated the second of his great ships from a pagan he had tortured to death for refusing to convert to Christianity . King Olaf " steered it himself , because it was a much larger and finer ship than the " Crane " . Its stem had a dragon ' s head on it , and on its stern , a crook shaped like a tail ; and both sides of the neck and all the stern were gilded . That ship the king called the " Serpent " , because when the sail was hoisted it was to look like the wing of a dragon . That was the finest ship in all Norway . " Olaf ' s third flagship , the " Long Serpent " , was a legendary vessel mentioned in several anecdotes in the sagas . The only allied ship described is Jarl Eirik ' s " Iron Ram " . According to " Fagrskinna " it was " the biggest of all ships " . " Heimskringla " gives more detail : The leaders assess their opponents . It is unlikely that the saga writers had accurate information on details of the battle beyond the sparse accounts in the surviving poems . Nevertheless , starting with Oddr Snorrason , they present an elaborate literary account , depicting the main participants through their words and deeds . Olaf Tryggvason ' s ships pass the anchorage of his allied enemies in a long column without order , as no attack is expected . Conveniently placed to observe the fleet , Jarl Eirik and the two kings remark upon the passing vessels . Svein and Olaf are eager to join battle , but Eirik is portrayed as more cautious and familiar with the Norwegian forces . As progressively larger vessels appear , the Danes and Swedes think each one is the " Long Serpent " and want to attack straight away , but Eirik holds them off with informed comments : As Eirik finally consents to attack , King Svein boasts that he will command the " Long Serpent " " before the sun sets " . Eirik makes a remark " so that few men heard him " saying that " with only the Danish army at his disposal , King Sveinn would never command this ship " . As the allies set out to attack Olaf Tryggvason , the point of view shifts to the Norwegian fleet . After spotting the enemy , Olaf might have used sail and oar to outrun the ambush and escape , but he refuses to flee and turns to give battle with the eleven ships immediately about him . Seeing the Danish fleet arrayed against him , he comments : " The forest goats will not overcome us , for the Danes have the courage of goats . We will not fear that force because the Danes have never carried off the victory if they fought on ships . " Similarly , Olaf writes off the Swedes with a reference to their pagan customs : It is only when Olaf Tryggvason sights Eirik Hákonarson ' s contingent that he realises he is in for a hard battle , because " they are Norwegians like us " . The sagas ' emphasis of Eirik ' s contribution stands in marked contrast to the Danish accounts of Adam of Bremen and Saxo Grammaticus , who portray the battle as a Danish victory over Norwegians , with no mention of Jarl Eirik or his men . The battle is joined . The disposition adopted in the battle was one which recurs in many sea - fights of the Middle Ages where a fleet had to fight on the defensive . Olaf lashed his ships side to side , with his own , the " Long Serpent " , in the middle of the line , where her bows projected beyond the others . The advantages of this arrangement were that it left all hands free to fight , that a barrier could be formed with the oars and yards , and that it limited the enemy ' s ability to make its superior numbers count . The " Long Serpent " was the longest ship and so also the tallest — another advantage to the defenders , who could rain down arrows , javelins and other missiles while the enemy would have to shoot upwards . Olaf , in effect , turned his eleven ships into a floating fort . The sagas give all the credit to the Norwegians , praising Eirik Hákonarson for any intelligence and for most of the valour shown by Olaf Tryggvason ' s opponents . The Danes and Swedes rush at the front of Olaf ' s line and are repulsed , suffering heavy casualties and loss of ships . Jarl Eirik attacks the flank and forces his vessel , the " Iron Ram " , up against the last ship of Olaf ' s line , which he clears with a fierce attack and then proceeds onto the next ship . In this way , Olaf ' s ships were cleared one by one , till the " Long Serpent " alone was left . Einarr Þambarskelfir . One of the best known episodes from the battle involves Einarr Þambarskelfir , an archer in King Olaf ' s fleet who later became a cunning politician . Heimskringla describes his attempt at killing Jarl Eirik and saving the day for Olaf : The same story is found in " Gesta Danorum " , though there Einarr is aiming at Svein , rather than Eirik . King Olaf ' s death . At last , the " Long Serpent " is overpowered and Olaf Tryggvason defeated . The Danish sources report that when all was lost he committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea , " the end befitting his life " , according to Adam of Bremen . Saxo Grammaticus says that Olaf preferred suicide to death at the hands of the enemy and jumped overboard in full armour rather than see his foes victorious . The Norwegian and Icelandic accounts are more complex and more favourable to Olaf . Hallfreðr ' s memorial poem for his lord had already alluded to rumours that Olaf escaped death at Svolder . The sagas offer a variety of possibilities . " Ágrip " reports : Other sagas suggest that one way or another Olaf made his way to the shore ; perhaps by swimming , perhaps with the help of angels , most likely rescued by one of the Wendish ships present . After his escape , Olaf supposedly sought salvation for his soul abroad , perhaps joining a monastery . " Mesta " describes a series of " sightings " of him in the Holy Land , the last in the 1040s . King Olaf , like Charlemagne , Frederick Barbarossa and Sebastian of Portugal , is one of those legendary heroic figures whose return was looked for by the people , their deaths never completely accepted . ( See King in the mountain . ) Aftermath . After the Battle of Svolder , the victorious leaders split Norway into areas of control . " Heimskringla " gives the most detailed account of the division , describing it as threefold . Olaf the Swede received four districts in Trondheim as well as Møre , Romsdal and Ranrike . He gave these to Jarl Svein Hákonarson , his son in law , to hold as a vassal . Svein Forkbeard gained possession of the Viken district , where Danish influence had long been strong . The rest of Norway was ruled by Eirik Hákonarson as Svein ' s vassal . " Fagrskinna " , in contrast , says that the Swedish part consisted of Oppland and a part of Trondheim . Other sources are less specific . The Jarls Eirik and Svein proved strong , competent rulers , and their reign was prosperous . Most sources say that they adopted Christianity but allowed the people religious freedom , leading to a backlash against Christianity which undid much of Olaf Tryggvason ' s missionary work . 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 : 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 Edvard 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 :