Olof Skötkonung (; – 1022), sometimes stylized as Olaf the Swede, was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in c. 995. He is the first Swedish ruler about whom there is substantial knowledge. He is regarded as the first king known to have ruled both the Swedes and the Geats, and the first king in Sweden to have minted coins. In Sweden, the reign of Olof Skötkonung is considered to mark the transition from the Viking Age to the Middle Ages. He was the first Christian king in central Sweden. Norse beliefs persisted in parts of Sweden until the 12–13th century, with some keeping the tradition into modern times.
Olof and the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard formed an alliance and defeated the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason in the Battle of Svolder in 999 or 1000. After the battle, the victorious leaders split Norway into areas of control. Heimskringla gives a detailed account of the division. Olof received four districts in Trondheim as well as Møre, Romsdal and Rånrike.
Etymology One of many explanations for the name Skötkonung is that it is derived from the Swedish word "skatt", which can mean either "taxes" or "treasure". The historians Niels Lund and Peter Sawyer state that Skötkonung means "tributary king", implying that Olof acknowledged his step-father, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark, as his overlord; but in the view of Sverre Bagge the relationship between Olof and Swein is not known. Another possible explanation of the name refers to the fact that he was the first Swedish king to mint coins.Myntkabinettet: Olof Skötkonung An ancient land ownership ceremony which placed a parcel of earth in someone's lap (Swedish: sköte) was called scotting and may have been involved in this epithet.Lagerqvist & Åberg in Öknamn och tillnamn på nordiska stormän och kungligheter p. 23
The Old Norse "Óláfr sœnski" means "Olaf the Swedish", an epithet used to distinguish him from the Norwegian kings Olaf Tryggvasson and Olaf Haraldsson.
Life General knowledge of Olof's life is mostly based on Snorri Sturluson's and Adam of Bremen's accounts, which have been subject to criticism from some scholars. The eldest account by the German ecclesiastic chronicler Adam of Bremen (c. 1075), relates that Sweyn Forkbeard was expelled from his Danish realm by the Swedish King Eric the Victorious in the late 10th century. When Eric died (c. 995), Sweyn returned and regained his kingdom, marrying Eric's widow. Meanwhile, however, Olof had succeeded his father Eric, gathered an army, and launched a surprise attack against Sweyn. The Danish king was once again expelled while Olof occupied his lands. After this, however, the conflict was resolved. Since Sweyn had married Olof's mother, he was reinstated on the Danish throne and the two kings were thereafter allies.Adam av Bremen, Historien om Hamburgerstiftet och dess biskopar. Stockholm: Proprius, 1984, p. 91 (Book II, Chapter 39). Snorri Sturluson (c. 1230) and the other Icelandic saga writers likewise say that Sweyn married Olof's mother after the death of Eric the Victorious, but without mentioning any conflict. Also, Snorri describes Sweyn and Olof as equal allies when they defeated the Norwegian king Olav Tryggvason in the battle of Svolder in 1000, and thereafter divided Norway between themselves (see below).Snorre Sturluson, Nordiska kungasagor. Vol. I. Stockholm: Fabel, 1991, pp.. 180, 283, 289. It is commonly believed that Adam's account about Sweyn's defeats at the hands of Eric and Olof is partial and might have been misinterpreted; the marriage to Olof's mother may in fact have sealed Sweyn's senior position.Maja Hagerman, Spåren av kungens män. Stockholm: Rabén Prisma, 1996.
Viking expedition to Wendland According to Snorri, Olof Skötkonung led a Viking expedition to Wendland early in his reign. He captured Edla, the daughter of a Wendish chieftain, and kept her as mistress. She gave him the son Emund (who was to become king of Sweden), and the daughters Astrid (later wife of Olaf II of Norway) and Holmfrid (married to Sven Jarl of Norway).Snorre Sturluson, Nordiska kungasagor. Vol. II. Stockholm: Fabel, 1992, p. 107 (Olav den heliges saga, Chapter 88). He later married Estrid of the Obotrites, and they had a son, Anund Jacob, and a daughter, Ingegerd Olofsdotter.Adam av Bremen, Historien om Hamburgerstiftet och dess biskopar. Stockholm: Proprius, 1984, p. 91 (Book II, Chapter 39).
Alliance with Sweyn Forkbeard While Adam of Bremen praises Olof as a good Christian, Icelandic authors paint an unfavourable picture of the king as haughty and prickly. Olof is said to have preferred royal sports to war, which may explain the ease with which Sweyn Forkbeard retook the Danish lands Olof's father Eric had conquered.Adam av Bremen, Historien om Hamburgerstiftet och dess biskopar. Stockholm: Proprius, 1984, p. 86 (Book II, Chapter 30). Olof may also have lost the right to tribute which his predecessors had preserved in what is now Estonia and Latvia.
In 1000, he joined forces with Sweyn Forkbeard and with the Norwegian Jarls Eric and Sven, against the Norwegian King Olaf Tryggvason. The circumstances have been much debated in modern historical research, but a contemporary poem confirms that Eric Jarl gathered auxiliaries in Sweden: "The belligerent jarl / gathered much manpower / in Svithiod, the chief went / southward to the battle."Snorre Sturluson, Nordiska kungasagor. Vol. I. Stockholm: Fabel, 1991, p. 289. Olaf Tryggvason was attacked by the allied fleets in the Battle of Svolder, the location of which is uncertain. It may have been either in Øresund or Pomerania. Olaf Tryggvason disappeared during the battle and Norway was appropriated by the allied lords. The bulk of the conquests went to Sweyn Forkbeard while Olof gained a part of Trøndelag as well as modern Bohuslän. These lands were placed under Sven Jarl, son-in-law of the king.Snorre Sturluson, Nordiska kungasagor. Vol. I. Stockholm: Fabel, 1991, p. 289 (Olav Tryggvasons saga, chapter 113).
Norwegian-Swedish War When the Norwegian kingdom was reestablished by Olaf II of Norway (Olaf the Saint) in 1015, a new war erupted between Norway and Sweden. There is a circumstantial account of this in Snorri Sturluson's work. As he writes, many men in both Sweden and Norway tried to reconcile the kings. In 1018, Olof's cousin, the earl of Västergötland, Ragnvald Ulfsson and the Norwegian king's emissaries Björn Stallare and Hjalti Skeggiason had arrived at the thing of Uppsala in an attempt to sway the Swedish king to accept peace and as a warrant marry his daughter Ingegerd Olofsdotter to the king of Norway. The Swedish king was greatly angered and threatened to banish Ragnvald from his kingdom, but Ragnvald was supported by his foster-father Thorgny the Lawspeaker.
Thorgny delivered a powerful speech in which he reminded the king of the great Viking expeditions in the East that predecessors such as Erik Anundsson and Björn had undertaken, without having the hubris not to listen to their men's advice. Thorgny himself had taken part in many successful pillaging expeditions with Olof's father Eric the Victorious and even Eric had listened to his men. The present king wanted nothing but Norway, which no Swedish king before him had desired. This displeased the Swedish people, who were eager to follow the king on new ventures in the East to win back the kingdoms that paid tribute to his ancestors, but it was the wish of the people that the king make peace with the king of Norway and give him his daughter Ingegerd as queen.
Thorgny finished his speech by saying: "if you do not desire to do so, we shall assault you and kill you and not brook any more of your warmongering and obstinacy. Our ancestors have done so, who at Mula thing threw five kings in a well, kings who were too arrogant as you are against us."Snorre Sturluson, Nordiska kungasagor. Vol. II. Stockholm: Fabel, 1992, pp. 89–95 (Olav den heliges saga, Chapters 72–80). Upon hearing this, King Olof complied with the demands of the peasantry for the time being.
However, far from keeping his promise Olof married his daughter Ingegerd to Yaroslav I the Wise instead. When Olaf of Norway heard about the arrangement he was furious and intent on attacking Olof Skötkonung. However, the Geatish jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson, colluding with Olaf II's skald Sigvat Thordarson, managed to avert the impending war. Olof's other daughter Astrid stayed with Ragnvald at the time, and it was agreed that she would take Ingegerd's place. Unbeknownst to Olof, she traveled to Norway and married Olaf II. That happened c. 1019.Thunberg, Carl L., Att tolka Svitjod [To interpret Svitjod]. Göteborgs universitet, 2012, pp. 35-36. Olof Skötkonung was highly upset, but soon ran into trouble at home. Both the Swedes and Geats were displeased with the self-willed rule of the king. The lawspeaker of Västergötland, Emund, traveled to Gamla Uppsala and spoke to Olof's councilors, and a settlement was made. Olof agreed to share his power with his son Anund Jacob who was 10 or 12 years at the time. Olof was also forced to accept a settlement with Olaf II of Norway at Kungahälla.Snorre Sturluson, Nordiska kungasagor. Vol. II. Stockholm: Fabel, 1992, pp. 108–228 (Olav den heliges saga, Chapters 88–94). The veracity of Snorri Sturluson's account of Olof Skötkonung, written more than two centuries later, is difficult to assess; however, he quotes several probably genuine scaldic verses which allude to some of the related events.
One result of the hostilities between Olof Skötkonung and Olaf of Norway was, according to Snorri Sturluson, that the people of Jämtland and Hälsingland came under the Swedish rather than Norwegian king. Previously the Jämtlanders and part of the Hälsinglanders had adhered to Norway since the days of Hakon the Good.Snorre Sturluson, Nordiska kungasagor. Vol. II. Stockholm: Fabel, 1992, p. 204 (Olav den heliges saga, Chapter 137). The veracity of this is not known, but the medieval provincial laws of Jämtland show Swedish influences, and there are indications that Christianity arrived from Central Sweden in the 11th century.Erik Gunnes (1976), Norges historie. Bind 2. Oslo: Cappelen, p. 340. Jämtland reverted to the Norwegian king in 1111, while Hälsingland was henceforth under Sweden.P.A. Munch, Det norske Folks historie. Anden Deel. Christiania: Tonsbergs, 1855, p. 596–7.
Diplomacy Olof's ally Sweyn Forkbeard occupied England in 1013, but died shortly afterwards, and the Anglo-Saxon ruler Æthelred the Unready was able to return. According to Adam of Bremen, "the son of the king, Cnut, returned home with the army and prepared a new war against the English. Olav [II], whom the Norwegians had chosen as their commander, now separated from the Danish kingdom. Cnut, who felt threatened from two directions, then entered an alliance with his brother Olof Eriksson who ruled in Sweden, and planned to take power in England, and then in Norway, with his assistance. Equipped with a thousand large ships, Cnut thus traversed the British Sea".Adam av Bremen, Historien om Hamburgerstiftet och dess biskopar. Stockholm: Proprius, 1984, p. 99 (Book II, Chapter 52). From Swedish rune stones it also appears that many people joined the Danish Viking expeditions of the early 11th century. After Cnut the Great became King of England in 1016, he sent the two sons of the deceased King Edmund Ironside to Olof (who was either Canute's half-brother or stepbrother), supposedly with instructions to have the children murdered. Instead of having them killed, the two boys were secretly sent either to Kiev,Anderson and Onslow both say Hungary where Olof's daughter Ingigerd was the Queen, or to Poland, where Canute's uncle Bolesław I Chrobry was duke. MichaelAnne Guido and John P. Ravilious, "From Theophanu to St. Margaret of Scotland: A study of Agatha's ancestry", Foundations, vol. 4, 2012, pp. 81–121.