It is reckoned by those who have kept an exact account, that Olaf the
Saint was king of Norway for fifteen years from the time Earl Svein left
the country; but he had received the title of king from the people of
the Uplands the winter before. Sigvat the skald tells this:--
"For fifteen winters o'er the land
King Olaf held the chief command,
Before he fell up in the North:
His fall made known to us his worth.
No worthier prince before his day
In our North land e'er held the sway,
Too short he held it for our good;
All men wish now that he had stood."
Saint Olaf was thirty-five years old when he fell, according to what
Are Frode the priest says, and he had been in twenty pitched battles. So
says Sigvat the skald:--
"Some leaders trust in God--some not;
Even so their men; but well I wot
God-fearing Olaf fought and won
Twenty pitched battles, one by one,
And always placed upon his right
His Christian men in a hard fight.
May God be merciful, I pray,
To him--for he ne'er shunned his fray."
We have now related a part of King Olaf's story, namely, the events
which took place while he ruled over Norway; also his death, and how his
holiness was manifested. Now shall we not neglect to mention what it
was that most advanced his honour. This was his miracles; but these will
come to be treated of afterwards in this book.