Pål Christian Eggen som konge i spelet 2014

''Saint Olav Drama'' ( no, Spelet om Heilag Olav) is an outdoor theatre performance played every end of July in

Stiklestad Stiklestad is a village and parish in the municipality of Verdal in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located east of the town of Verdalsøra and about southeast of the village of Forbregd/Lein. The village is mainly known as the site of the ...

Verdal Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Some villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklest ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The play commemorates the

Battle of Stiklestad The Battle of Stiklestad ( no, Slaget på Stiklestad, non, Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, ...

that took place in the year 1030, and which resulted in death of King

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

. In the aftermath of his death, King Olaf would later be canonized as

Saint Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

(''Heilag Olav''),

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Norway. The play explores the transition process between traditional

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

customs and the introduction of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

into

. The play draws on historic events mentioned in ''

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...

'' written by

Snorri Sturlson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

. The play features other historical Norwegian figures, including

Rögnvald Brusason Rognvald Brusason (died 1046), son of Brusi Sigurdsson, was Earl of Orkney jointly with Thorfinn Sigurdsson from about 1037 onwards. His life is recorded in the ''Orkneyinga Saga''. History Rognvald was taken by his father to Norway, to the cour ...

and

Thorir Hund Modern and imaginary presentation of Tore Hund Thorir Hund (Old Norse: Þórir hundr, Modern Norwegian: ''Tore Hund'', literally "''Thorir the Hound''") (born ca. 990) was one of the greatest chiefs in Hålogaland. Tore Hund was one of the lead ...

. ''Saint Olav Drama'' was written by

Olav Gullvåg Olav Gullvåg (31 December 1885 – 25 September 1961) was a Norwegian playwright, novelist, poet, and editor. He was born in Trondheim. He worked as editor-in-chief of ''Søndmøre Folkeblad'' from 1911 to 1912, ''Norig'' from 1912 to 1921, and '' ...

, with music composed by Paul Okkenhaug (1908-1975). It has been staged every year since 1954. Among featured directors have been Norwegian stage producer

Stein Winge Stein Winge (born 10 November 1940) is a Norwegian stage producer, theatre director and International Emmy Nominated actor. He has produced numerous plays and operas, and was theatre director at the National Theatre from 1990 to 1992. He was decor ...

.''Stiklestad blir kristnet igjen'' (aftenposten)
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References

Other sources

*Berezin, Henrik ''Adventure Guide Scandinavia'' (Hunter Publishing, 2012) *March, Linda ''Norway - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture'' ( Kuperard. 2006) *Myklebus, Morten. ''Olaf Viking & Saint'' (Norwegian Council for Cultural Affairs, 1997) *O'Leary, Margaret Hayford ''Culture and Customs of Norway'' (Greenwood. 2010) In Norwegian *Andersen, Per Sveaa ''Samlingen av Norge og kristningen av landet : 800–1130'' (Universitetsforlaget; 1977) *Ekrem, Inger; Lars Boje Mortensen; Karen Skovgaard-Petersen ''Olavslegenden og den Latinske Historieskrivning i 1100-tallets Norge'' (Tusculanum Press; 2000) * Hoftun, Oddgeir ''Kristningsprosessens og herskermaktens ikonografi i nordisk middelalder'' (Borgen forlag. Oslo; 2008) *Hoftun, Oddgeir ''Stavkirkene – og det norske middelaldersamfunnet'' (Borgen forlag. København; 2002)

External links

NRK Trøndelag

Jubel på StiklestadStiklestadSpelet om Heilag OlavSaint Olav FestivalSpelet om Heilag Olav 2015
Culture in Trøndelag Stiklestad 1954 plays Norwegian plays Plays set in Norway Plays set in the 11th century {{norway-stub

See also

References

Other sources

External links