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Battle of Svolder

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The naval Battle of Svolder or SvoldOld Norse Svöld, Svöldr, Svölð or Svölðr. took place in September of the year 1000 in the western Baltic Sea. King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway was sailing home after an expedition to Vindland. He was ambushed by an alliance of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Olof, King of Sweden, and Eiríkr Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade. Olaf had only 11 ships in the battle against a fleet of at least 60. His ships were cleared one by one, last of all Olaf's ship, the Long Serpent, which Jarl Eiríkr captured. After the battle Norway was ruled by the Earls of Lade as a fief from Denmark and Sweden.

Contents

Sources

The Battle of Svolder is mentioned in a number of historical sources. The first written work is by Adam of Bremen (ca. 1080), followed by those of Sæmundr fróði and Ari fróði (ca. 1125). Later kings' sagas which mention the event are Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Oddr Snorrason, the Norwegian synoptic histories Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium, Historia Norwegie and Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum (ca. 1190), Fagrskinna and Heimskringla (ca. 1220) as well as Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta (ca. 1300). There is also an account in the Danish Gesta Danorum (ca. 1200). Contemporary poetry which refers to the battle includes that of Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld, Skúli Þórsteinsson, Þórðr Kolbeinsson and Halldórr ókristni. Three poems from around 1200 also have some historical interest; Nóregs konungatal, Rekstefja and Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar.

Events leading up to the battle

Nothing can be gleaned from the contemporary skaldic poems on the causes of the battle. The oldest written source, the account of Adam of Bremen, states that Óláfr Tryggvason's Danish wife, Þyri, egged him on to make war on Denmark. When Óláfr heard that Sweyn Forkbeard and Olof of Sweden had formed an alliance he was greatly angered and decided that the time had come for an attack.Tschan 2002, p. 81-2. Ágrip and Historia Norwegie have a similar account. Þyri was the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard and when Olaf married her, Sweyn refused to pay the dowry promised with her. Angered by this, Olaf launched an expedition south to attack Denmark. Too impatient to wait for a fleet to assemble from all of Norway he set sail south with only 11 ships, expecting the rest to follow as summoned. When this hope was not realized, he intended to travel to Vindland to seek allies. On the way there he was ambushed by Sweyn and his allies.Driscoll 1995, p. 33; Ekrem 2003, p. 97. These accounts are contradicted by a contemporary stanza by Halldórr ókristni which states that Óláfr Tryggvason was travelling from the south when he came to the battle.Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson 1941, p. cxxvi.

Oddr Snorrason has an elaborate account on the problems arising from Þyri's marriages. First she was betrothed and married to the Wendish king Bolesław the Brave who received a large dowry for her. She did not want to be his wife and starved herself after their wedding so Bolesław sent her back to Denmark. She then arranged to have herself married to Óláfr Tryggvason and succeeded, to the displeasure of her brother Sweyn. Sweyn then conspired with Earl Sigvaldi and King Olof to lure Óláfr Tryggvason into a trap. Óláfr Tryggvason travelled to Vindland to collect Þyri's dowry from King Bolesław. While there he heard rumours of a planned ambush but Sigvaldi arrived to tell him that these rumours are false. Believing Sigvaldi, Óláfr sent most of his fleet home, as his men were impatient. When he set sail himself he only had a small fleet left and was ambushed by Svolder.Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson 1941, pp. cxxxviii-cxxix.

Fagrskinna and Heimskringla largely follow Oddr's account but simplify it somewhat and diverge from it in some respects. According to Heimskringla, Sigvaldi sailed from Vindland with Óláfr with a fleet of Wendish ships and led him into the ambush.

Whether the above details are accurate or not it is clear that Sweyn, Olof and Eiríkr had ample reason to be opposed to Óláfr Tryggvason. Óláfr had taken control of Viken in south Norway, an area long under Danish control. Óláfr and Sweyn had also been in England at the same time where Óláfr made peace while Sweyn kept campaigning. Sweyn was on friendly terms with Olof of Sweden and connected to him by marriage so he was a natural ally. Finally, Jarl Eiríkr had been driven from his patrimony by Óláfr and arguably had his father to avenge in him.

From the conflicting accounts of the sources, historians have tried to reconstruct the most likely turn of events leading up to the battle. It is probable that Óláfr was indeed sailing from Vindland to Norway when he was ambushed though the kings' sagas probably play up the importance of Þyri and her marriages. It is more probable that Óláfr was expecting war and trying to gain allies in Vindland, but met with little success. The character of Sigvaldi remains enigmatic though there is evidence from skaldic poetry that he did indeed betray Óláfr.Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson 1941, pp. cxxxiii-iv.

Time and location

All sources which date the battle agree that it took place in the year 1000. The oldest source to date it is the meticulous Íslendingabók, written around 1128, specifying 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".Oddr Snorrason p. 134. The location of the battle cannot be identified with any certainty. According to Adam of Bremen it took place in Oresund.Tschan 2002, p. 82. Ágrip and Historia Norwegie place it off ZealandDriscoll 1995, p. 33; Ekrem 2003, p. 97. Theodoricus says it took place "beside the island which is called Svöldr; and it lies near Slavia".Theodoricus monachus 1998, p. 18. Fagrskinna speaks of "an island off the coast of Vinðland ... [t]his island is called Svölðr."Finlay 2004, p. 116. Oddr Snorrason and Heimskringla agree on the island's name but do not specify its location.Oddr Snorrason p. 115; Snorri Sturluson p. 230. A stanza by Skúli Þórsteinsson speaks of "the mouth of Svolder", suggesting that Svold was originally the name of a river which Norse unfamiliarity with Wendish geography turned into an island.Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson 1941, p. cxxxv. Modern historians largely agree on placing the battle near Rügen.

Course of the battle

The Norwegian king had with him seventy-one vessels, but part of them belonged to an associate, Sigvald Jarl, a chief of the Jomsvikings, who was an agent of his enemies, and who deserted him. Olaf's own ships went past the anchorage of Eiríkr Hákonarson and his allies in a long column without order, as no attack was expected. The king was in the rear of the whole of his best vessels. The allies allowed the bulk of the Norwegian ships to pass, and then stood out to attack Olaf. He might have run past them by the use of sail and oar to escape, but he refused to flee, and turned to give battle with the eleven ships immediately about him. The disposition adopted was one which is found recurring in many sea-fights of the middle ages where a fleet had to fight on the defensive. Olaf lashed his ships side to side, his own, the Long Serpent, the finest war-vessel as yet built in the north, being in the middle of the line, where her bows projected beyond the others. The advantage of this arrangement was that it left all hands free to fight, a barrier could be formed with the oars and yards, and the enemy's chance of making use of his superior numbers to attack on both sides would be, as far as possible, limited — a great point when all fighting was with the sword, or with such feeble missile weapons as bows and javelins. The Norwegian long ships were high in the bulwark — or, as the Greeks would have said, cataphract. Olaf, in fact, turned his eleven ships into a floating fort.

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The Norse writers, who are the main authorities, gave all the credit to the Norwegians, and according to them all the intelligence of Olaf's enemies, and most of their valour, were to be found in Eiríkr Hákonarson. They say that the Danes and Swedes rushed at the front of Olaf's line without success. Eiríkr Hákonarson attacked the flank. His vessel, the Iron Ram, was "bearded", that is to say, strengthened across the bows by bands of iron, and he forced her between the last and last but one of Olaf's line. In this way the Norwegian ships were carried one by one, till the Long Serpent alone was left. At last she too was overpowered. Olaf leapt into the sea holding his shield edgeways, so that he sank at once and the weight of his hauberk dragged him down. A legend of later days has it that at the last moment a sudden blaze of light surrounded the king, and when it cleared away he had disappeared. King Olaf is one of the same company as Charlemagne, King Arthur, Frederick Barbarossa and Sebastian of Portugal — the legendary heroic figures in whose death the people would not believe, and whose return was looked for (See King in the mountain).

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