The Nordic Spirit of St. Olaf

The life of St. Olaf of Norway is one of the greatest expressions of the Nordic spirit. St. Olaf had the ideal death that every Norseman longed for. St. Olaf died on the battlefield and through this, he gained the crown of martyrdom by fighting in the name of God. In the Middle Ages, St. Olaf had many of the same attributes as Thor. St. Olaf and Thor were both seen as slayers of Giants. St. Olaf also was depicted as having similar features to Thor such as a Red Beard. Certainly, St. Olaf would be part of the Fifth Spear of Heaven called Mars in Dante's Paradiso, which is reserved for heroic warriors of the Faith. Mars in the Classical world was associated with the Roman god of war. We could call this the Christian Valhalla which would be fitting since this post is about the Saintly King who through his martyrdom started the conversion process of the Scandinavian countries.