I am fascinated by my Swedish ancestors, such as today's saint, King Olaf Scotkonung, my 32nd great grandfather and the first Swedish ruler known to have ruled both the Swedes and the Geats (a northern Germanic tribe that are progenitors of the Swedes.)
King Olaf stands at the point in history where the Viking Age gives way to the Middle Ages, as the first Christian king of the Swedes. His line is where I get my 4% Swedish DNA, and, as one of the smaller percentages in my DNA profile, I know proportionately less about this ancestral line and culture than the others that are mostly based in the U.K.
Researching today's Saint of the day gives me an opportunity to learn a bit about this grandfather and his cultural milieu. Many Americans, if they are able to trace their ancestry professionally, may find that they are also descended from this great king.
Sweyn Forkbeard, my 5th cousin, 32 times removed, was his step father. His biological father was King Eric the Victorious and his mother was said to be Sigrid the Haughty, though there is some dispute about that. Encyclopedia Britannica claims that his mother was a sister of Boleslaw, the Christian king of Poland (also a sort of shirt tail relation to me.)
A fair amount is known about Saint Olaf, which can't be said about previous kings, so we are lucky in that regard. I can't do his memory justice in my little online diary blog, and I recommend researching him online, if he interests you. (When researching, it is important to keep in mind that there ARE some sources online that have compounded THIS Olaf with another who ruled Norway, so care should be taken. There are also warring factions among the scholars, so it may take some unraveling. For our purposes, I am mostly interested in his religious life and how he became a saint.)
When Saint Olaf converted to Christianity, he was the last Scandinavian king to do so, though the old Norse beliefs persisted well until the 12th Century in some areas, and his people resisted any effort to force Christianity on them. The coin that was minted when he ascended to the throne seems to indicate that he was already a baptized Christian when he became King, but it should be noted that there are some conflicting stories about the circumstances and timing of his baptism.
Olaf did try to have the pagan Uppsala Temple torn down, but there were so many citizens still very much practitioners of the old ways that he was not successful in doing so.
"Catholic Online" website claims that King Olaf was "martyred at Stockholm by rebels because he refused to sacrifice to pagan idols," but this tale is specifically refuted in a Wikipedia page that claims the story is spurious. Certainly Saint Olaf did what he could to try to convert his country after becoming king.
Because I come from a very small family that was anti-religious, and I am therefore a convert to Catholicism, I am keenly interested in my ancestors in Heaven. It is my understanding that we can just as easily ask our ancestors in Heaven to pray for us as we can our friends and loved ones here on Earth because people don't actually die. Our bodies disintegrate and return to the earth, and our spirits live on. It makes me tremendously happy to think that I can pray to my ancestors in Heaven so that they will intercede for me at the foot of the throne of God.
The story of my grandfather Olaf reminds me again of the topic of DESTINY also. Are you born into a family of kings and queens, your destiny laid out before you? At the very least, the opportunities and resources are present for someone like Olaf. He was born to be king.
Sometimes I wonder what I was born to do, but none of us need to consider it, really. Each person is born with tendencies and talents, and it is from these, combined with our resources and opportunities, that we determine our earthly fate - but it does not determine our FAITH. Once again, it is the inner life where we have perfect freedom. We may be shackled by circumstances, as far as what we will DO with our lives, but our FAITH is a free choice, thanks be to God.
Silver Rose
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