Olaf Tryggvason Research Paper

There was a boy named Olaf Tryggvason whose life was in danger when he was born. He ran away with his mother but while escaping he was kidnapped by pirates. He was sold as a slave and worked till age 9, when his uncle found him and took him in. Despite all the circumstances, he later became the King of Norway during the 10th century and spread Christianity all over England. One of the reasons why Olaf Tryggvason was a great king was because he was very generous and kind to his men. On the other hand, he was cruel to his enemies and tortured them. As a result his soldiers loved him, but his enemies were terrified of him. He went on Viking raids and was very courageous and fearless in battle. He was good at sports, exercise, and he was also a very handsome noble man. Those characteristics made him looked upon by his men and he later became the King of Norway.

After he got baptized he became a Christian and made other people convert to Christianity. Another contributing reason why he was able to convert a lot of people into Christianity was because he used his power to force people into Christianity. He spared the lives of those who converted into Christianity, even though they lost the battle against Olaf Tryggyason. It is said “The king offered them two alternatives, either that they should accept Christianity and have themselves baptized, or otherwise that they should join in battle with him”(192). Another reason was that Olaf was very good at making agreements with people. Olaf said “I want us to agree together, as we have previously settled things between us. I want to go to where you hold your greatest worship and see your practices there. Then we shall hold discussions about the practices, which ones we want to have, and then all come to an agreement about it”