Olaf

For the eponymous episode, see The Buddha.

	Warriors don't show their heart until the axe reveals it.
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“	Come and see! Come and see the death of humanity, upon a shore of corpses, broken heads, spilled guts, scorched flesh! Come and see the young tearing each other's throats out! Rivers of poison will flow through the halls! Oathbreakers, philanderers, murderers will wade through those rivers! Come and see! Come and see!	”
–Olaf during the Siege of Kattegat, Ragnarok

Olaf Haraldsson, also known as Olaf the Stout (Old Norse: Ólafr digri), is one of the petty kings of Norway. He rules the Kingdom of Ringerike.

Biography[]

Season 5[]

Ivar receives an emissary from King Olaf about the possibility of forging an alliance to invade England. Ivar sends Hvitserk away from Kattegat to ensure that he doesn't conspire against him from within by sending him to Ringerike to meet with King Olaf.

Hvitserk arrives in Ringerike and meets with Olaf. Olaf inquires what sort of monarch Ivar is, and Hvitserk denounces his brother as a tyrant. Hvitserk requests Olaf's assistance in his plan to attack Kattegat and overthrow Ivar. Amused, Olaf has Hvitserk imprisoned and tortured by his steward Canute. When Hvitserk refuses to maintain loyalty to his brother in the face of death, an impressed Olaf decides to help Hvitserk overthrow him.

Olaf and Hvitserk are on their way to Kattegat with a large army. Olaf expresses his concern that their journey is a deliberate march to their own deaths, but Hvitserk dismisses this concern and states that Ivar's great renown is nothing but false rumors birthed by fame.

Olaf is one of the commanders of the attacking side at the Siege of Kattegat. At first he is reluctant to fight Ivar, instead suggesting to sue for peace. However, Bjorn convinces him otherwise. During the heat of the first assault, he delivers a charismatic speech to the attackers. After Ivar's defeat and escape, he declares Bjorn king of Kattegat.

Season 6[]

After Ingrid is raped by King Harald, she comes across Olaf at the docks. He sees the blood on her face and realizes what has happened. She begins crying and he comforts her. He tells her to "weep for all of us."

After the Rus Invasion of Scandinavia, Olaf and King Harald are captured. Olaf is sentenced to death by Prince Oleg. Before he dies, while chained to his post to be burned alive, he claims to feel an invisible someone beside him, someone whose words sound eerily familiar to the gathered Christian Rus. He states the invisible presence next to him "has resurrection and life and he will be beside them always." Oleg forces Igor to be the one to kill Olaf. Olaf can tell that Igor does not want to be the one to kill him. He tells the boy it is okay and to light the oil at his feet. As he is burnt to death, he puts both hands together in a prayerful pose, and does not make a sound as he dies. This leaves the Rus feeling rather disconcerted.

Personality[]

Olaf is a sly, old trickster of a king. He repeatedly backstabs his allies. For example, as soon as Harald is too weak to fight him off, he takes his kingdom in Season 6, despite having just fought alongside him not too long ago. As the oldest of the Norse kings, Olaf has been able to keep his kingdom much better and much longer than any of the others, or at least he kept himself alive long enough to reach the top while others fell.

In History[]

Olaf the Stout was a descendant of Harald Fairhair and a member of the Fairhair Dynasty (Hårfagreætta). As a petty king, he converted to Christianity and played a leading role in the Christianization and unification of Norway. He would rule as King Olaf II of Norway. He is a universally recognized saint of the Roman Catholic Church, canonized saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church, a commemorated historical figure in the Lutheran and Anglican churches, and a celebrated figure in Norwegian culture. He is remembered in Norway as "Olav den hellige" (Olaf the Holy).

Olaf was born in the year 995 in Ringerike, Norway to King Harald Grenske and Queen Åsta Gudbrandsdatter, and was killed on July 29, 1030 at the Battle of Stiklestad by the pagan rebel Thorir the Hound. In 1164 he was declared a saint by Pope Alexander III. He was the half-brother of another famous Norwegian king, Harald Hardrada.

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

Season five appearances
The Departed Part 1	The Departed Part 2	Homeland	The Plan	The Prisoner
The Message	Full Moon	The Joke	A Simple Story	Moments of Vision
The Revelation	Murder Most Foul	A New God	The Lost Moment	Hell
The Buddha	The Most Terrible Thing	Baldur	What Happens in the Cave	Ragnarok

Season six appearances
New Beginnings	The Prophet	Ghosts, Gods, and Running Dogs	All The Prisoners	The Key
Death and the Serpent	The Ice Maiden	Valhalla Can Wait	Resurrection	The Best Laid Plans
King of Kings	All Change	The Signal	Lost Souls	All At Sea
The Final Straw	The Raft of the Medusa	It's Only Magic	The Lord Giveth	The Last Act