The prototype of the old Nidaros pilgrim is not a historical one, but a literary one - Kristin Lavransdatter. In her, the Nobel Prize winning author Sigrid Undset has captured the Middle Ages` religious search in such a way that we recognise the "pilgrim" in ourself even today. Kristin Lavransdatters first meeting with the Cathedral at Nidaros is related thus:

"The bell tolled for vespers in the churches and cloisters as Kristin stepped into Christ`s churchyard. Only for an instant did she dare glance up above the Church`s West gable - then turned her dazzled eyes downwards.
Not by their own force alone had people produced this master work - God`s spirit had worked in the holy Øiestein and the men after him who had built this edifice. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven - now she understood these words. Another look at God`s Kingdom here witnessed by the stone, showed that His will encompassed all which was beautiful. Kristin trembled. Yes, God must have turned away with sorrow from everything which was ugly - from sin and shame and uncleanliness.
In the galleries of the heavenly fortress stood holy men and women who were so beautiful that she did not dare look upon them. Eternity`s unfading tendrils entwined themselves silently and elegantly upwards - broke into leaf from spires and towers and flowered into stone monstrances. Over the centre door hung Christ on the cross, Mary and John the Evangelist stood at his side, and they were white as if etched from snow, and gold glistened on the white.
Three times she went about the church praying. The mighty mass of walls with the bewildering richness of pillars and arches and windows, vaguely visible under the ceiling`s mighty sloping surface, the tower, the golden spire high up in heavenly space - Kristin sank under her sins.
She trembled as she kissed the hewn stone portal. In a flash she saw in her mind`s eye the dark wooden carving around the church door at home - which she had kissed with her child`s lips, after her father and mother".

Nidaros Cathedral and St Olav

Nidaros Cathedral has been called Norway`s "Crown, flower and ornament". It has been the heart and symbol of our Christian heritage, and bears witness to the best in our Christian faith and tradition. From this "heart" flows lifegiving "blood" and strength to the whole country and its people. According to legend, St Olav was always associated with the red colour of blood. He, and that which he represented was full of vitality. He is portrayed in ecclesiastic art with red hair and beard, and it is proclaimed that his shield and clothes were red.
Round his grave rose a Cathedral. "The Cathedral`s history has a close connection with Olav - Norway`s eternal King". Unless, of course, it is quite the opposite: that Olav`s grave and importance for the Norwegian people - can only be comprehended in the light of the reality which Nidaros Cathedral represents! The Viking and man of violence came with God`s protective hand. He came with Christianity!
The casket of Olav was borne into The Holy of Holies in the Cathedral - because Olav`s life and death were seen as a reflection of the life and death of Christ. The legendary figure of Olav is possibly truer and more important than the historical and psychological one. A royal seed was planted in the soil. A seed f wheat, which sprouted forth into a mighty edifice of living stone. The Nidaros Cathedral became the uniting, significant focal point in our people`s spiritual life throughout the centuries. The Middle Agess` humanism was personified throgh the figure on the crucifix!

The Legacy of Olav - an inspiration for the future?

Those who wish to understand the legacy bequeathed by Olav must approach through the world of art. The Middle Ages was the era of pictures and symbols. A symbol can be understood in many ways and on several levels and is itself a part of the reality it reflects. The events recounted in the story of Olav often indicate significant experiences in his inner life and show the way to the new faith which became a part of a whole nation.
The picture, symbol, legend - all these things are the means of illustrating something which cannot be expressed in another way. If everything concerning the legacy of Olav could be shown in another way today, then it would be unnecessary to refre to "the world of pictures". But we do not think it is possible. Is is exactly through this prolific richness of pictures that the traditional figure of Olav is best illustrated and reveals the underlying meaning and interpretation of the events with which it is concerned. Here we find the deepest rooots in our history.
The ability to enter into a third and deeper dimension can be difficult for those of us todaywho have learnt to view life in two parts - the spiritual and the earthly/material. But with the pilgrims` will to break away we will find the courage to venture forth!
Immediately we meet our inner self by an "Olav picture" which is affected by 400-500 years of ecclesiastical reluctance towards speaking about the saints, and by 2000-300 years of historical writing, the source of which is open to question, and which represents us with a picture of Olav, almost compltely olerlooking the Middle Ages` ecclesiastic understanding of him.
The real Olav is not easy to find. He is hidden behind the interwoven facts and fiction in the legends and the sagas. In all the written sources about him, each interpretation is different. No one gives an impartial picture of Norway`s most famous king.
He must have been a complex person. Already while he lived, he was judged differently. He was described by some as ruthless and defiant. Those who considered they knew him better said he was mild and humble, upright and good-natured. From these different references no historian can say who he really was.
There is nevertheless an historical connection between the Viking King Olav and Olav the Saint. He was given the role of the formative figure in our history, for our people. The sudden change in opinion him after his death, is one of the greatest mysteries in our history. Today we believe that because of his complex personality and through his personal struggles within himself, the great change which would ultimately affect a whole nation, is reflected through him.
When describing people today we are mainly concerned with individual characteristics and qualities, but tye people of the Middle Ages considered a person was great when he succeded in measuring up to the average and in this way personified examples already set. Olav is described more as a person who equalled the best examples which had been set for King, martyr and saint rather than being described in a way which could be questioned by our critical view of history. In this way he could reveal the potential greatness in everyone. The starting point for such an understanding is the history of God in the world. The history of the individual was only of interest when it could be placed within this context.
St Olav was renowned beyond the boundaries of this country. This is illustrated by the many churches which are dedicated to him in a number of other countries. Of all the saintly people who the church has commemorated, he is remembered as one of the greatest "Images of Christ" known in Christianity.

Some "pictures" of St Olav

In the following section some sides of Olav will be highlighted in the way tradition has recalled him. This is done to show what some of the pilgrims of the Middle Ages met at Nidaros, and to point out some of the aspects of the tradition which Olav inspired and which today`s pilgrims are atracted to.

"Olav - The Imitator of Christ"

Due to the fear of reintroducing the cultivation of worshipping saints by even just talking about Olav, we have lost many important, dynamic and diversifying facets of Christianity which existed at its inception in this country.
The duty of a saint, as previously mentioned, is to show the way to Christ And the essential point to be considered in understanding the readition which St Olav bequeathed to us is that he, the King, thew away his sword at Stiklestad. This incident is interpreted as being decisive in pointing the way to a completely new way of life - that by losing, one can win. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (S. John, 12:24).
What happened to Olav at Stiklestad shows the way to Christ, and this is also illustrated by the fact that the man who killed him, Tore Hund, immediately set forth on a pilgrimage.
As the Three Wise Men who, after they paid homage to the King of Kings, "took another way" away from King Herod (S. Matthew 2:12), so also does Norway`s first pilgrim "choose another way", after the battle at Stiklestad, away from his "Herod" -his "peasant army". Tore Hund will no longer go the way of lovelessness, the blind way of power - but in the way of truth, justice, the restorative way of coexistence which Olav had begun to follow. In this manner Tore Hund shows the way for all later pilgrims.

The universal Olav

Another incident which is important in understanding the essence of the heritage of Olav, is Olav`s state of mind before he reaxhes Stiklestad.

The saga says:

When King Olav departed east from beyond the mountains in the west, where one sees the land sink westwards, he looked out over the land. Much of the army went before the King and much after him. Where he rode, there was much space around him. He was silent and talked to no one. He rode thus a long while in the day and seldom looked about him. The bishop rode up to him and asked him what he was thinking, as he was so quiet, for normally the King was lighthearted and talkative with his men and delighted all those in his company. The King answered, in deep thought. "I had a strange vision a while ago, I looked out over Norway, and looked westward from the mountains and I remembered that I had spent many happy days in this land: then I had a vision: I saw over the whole of Trondheim and the over the whole of Norway. And as long as the vision remained before my eyes, I looked further, until I looked upon the whole world, both land and sea. I saw clearly places where I had been and seen before, and I saw just as clearly places I had not seen before: some I had heard of, but there were places which I had never heard speak of before, both town and country, over the vastness of the world".

The way in which tradition has interpreted thus incident is by seeing that there are several levels of meaning-content in it. We see this also in Snorres account of the Battle of Stiklestad, which took place just afterwards. According to him this seemed to be a battle which will continue for ever.
First the peasant army is described. They stood there with many commanders. Those from Trøndelag had their commanders, those from the West and the North, theirs. Against the peasant army stood the comparatively small army of Olav Haraldsson. These men were all of one accord: to follow the King - to be victorious or fall by his side! The King dies but is victorious nevertheless. One year and five days after his death 3 August 1030, he is proclaimed a saint. It is as if Snorre wishes to say that at Stiklestad the importance of personal interests was lost for all time. Olav`s gift of money to church Masses for those in the peasant army who would fall in battle is an expression of this.It seems that Olav came to Stiklestad with the infinite belief of Christianity within him. His "vision" and the battle are linked to each other - the world is one, all life created by God is interrelated and everyone has the right to life. The King of Kings has shown this. Only this attitude will be victorious in the long run.
When seen in this way the battle of Stiklestad is a lasting battle. As individuals, nations and humanity, faced with today`s ecological challenges, we find ourselves in the midst of a battle between what can build a society for everyone, and what can destroy it. The battle of Stiklestad showed the way towards today`s universality.
This is one of the most important legacies left by Olav which has long been overlooked and forgotten. Pehaps this is something today`s pilgrims are searching for?

Olav and Christendom

Archbishop Eystein (1161-1188) has been the one most responsible for the thinking behind, and passing on the message bequeathed to us, through the life of OLav. He put Nidaros on the map of Christianity. In the book "Passio Olavi", which most researches accredit to him, he addresses the whole of Christendom telling that great, creative deeds of God are taking place in the far North. "But the great and mighty Lord, who builds his city in the desolate north stilled the hard northern storm with mild winds from the south, and gradually humoured these self-righteous people and their hard, wild ways with warm faith".
In "Passio Olavi" all the mystical things which occur are recounted - God`s creative work in one of the furthermost corners of the world. "Passio Olavi" seems like a piece of propaganda used to entice pilgrims to Nidaros - but behind it lies the deep Christian thinking that now at last Christianity has become world wide. Seen this context, it is right, in my opinion, to talk of Nidaros as a significant destination for pilgrims.

Olav - "Norway`s Everlasting King"

St Olav has been called "Rex perpetuus Norvegiae". If Harald the Red has been given the honour of uniting Norway as a nation, Olav Haraldsson united Norway spiritually. He gave Norway the foundation on which a nation must build, no matter who reigns. The events following his death were responsible for giving the country an inner, unshakable structure which powerful foreign policies in later times have been unable to penetrate. For our country was now manifested in the law of life. From a time when struggles for power reigned, came a chance for the development of the universal - for interrelated endeavours carried out in fellowship.
As King, Olav was also the law maker. Much of the legislation from the early Christian period is attributed to him, and bore his name, "The Law of St Olav", up to the 14th century. Christian law protected the individual, regardless of rank or occupation, man or woman, child or adult. Not only did he judge others, but also himself. An example is when he was doing some carpentry on a Sunday and his servant said "It is Monday tomorrow, My Lord King!". Olav then took the pieces of wood he had been working on and burnt them in the palm of his hand.

Olav and nature

Whereever Olav travelled, springs welled up, both in reality and hypothetically. The fact that many natural phenomena and springs are linked to the name of Olav, shows that his presence was considered synonymous with the revitalising processes in nature. The many springs of Olav were considered to be rejuvenating; and where he had walked and left a memento of some kind of another, people commemorate him to this day.
In the Middle Ages Olav was considered to be the patron saint of agriculture and fishing. The affinity to Olav with nature and the lifegiving process, tells of the new faith`s regard for the sanctity of life and nature. Man is not the master, but the servant of every living thing. Just as things changed in the period after Olav died, they will change after today`s pilgrims, and the face of the earth will become more holistic. Is it this which today`s pilgrims so earnestly desire?

"Olav The Healer"

The Pilgrim`s destination was the Church of Christ at Nidaros which in its midst nurtured the shrine of the saintly King. Stories abound about how people were helped in different ways by God after intervention by prayers by St Olav.

They came crawling
the flock of cripples
to the place where the holy lord rests
The blind in their multitudes
and those who were mute
they came here in search
and departed whole.

In "Passio Olavi" it is related that people from all levels of socity came from Northern Europe. "Passio Olavi" can be read as a tale of how, in spite of adversity it is possible to heal life`s ill. At the same time we must be aware that people of the Middle Ages had another view of life than we have. Suffering and pain were part of the holistic attitude to life. Life`s many contrasts could more easily exist side by side. With all its stone and glass the Nidaros Cathedral reflects this.
The word "heal" is similar to the the word "whole". To be healed also implies to be given help to gain a new understanding of the whole situation of life, even if one does not become well. Herein lies challenges for our own time. "We live in a culture which fears suffering, which evades pain and hides death; which experiences all suffering as if it were evil, and has a pill for almost every ailment. This is a poor attitude to suffering. For suffering is part of our existence, something we grow on. A degenerate ideal of happiness has developed in our society - and we are suffering from it" ~Kjetil Bang-Hansen.

The first healing which is connected with the Saintly King occurred already at Stiklestad when an old, bling man came in contact with the blood of the dead king. There is a double meaning in this incident: Not only does the old man ergain his sight but a whole nation does! The tradition of Olav - with the Cathedral at Nidaros as focal point - speaks of the source of life which springs from the petrified and paralysed. Olav Stokland has depicted this in the following poetical way:

"At the grave of the holy king deep, sonorous tones began to resound in souls where silence once had brooded, and lights were lit where before there had been darknes. What does someone experience when halted in his carefree, undiscerning actions by something which is larger than himself? He sees clearly. What happens to him when he meets something which is capable of dispersing the strangulation of his breast? He regains his voice. And what does he say when the creative force of the soul, after a long period of agonising restriction, again begins to flow? This is the lifegiving source in the wilderness. This is how Norwegians experience Olav the Saint.
From the underworld of the sagas the cripples came hobbling. We have not heard of them before; who were they? They were people who had not been able to rise above their troubles enough to allow the sagas to be natural for them, and who therefore fled or were forced into spasms and lameness. The fear of death as a conditon of war, pain over the fate of dear ones, the threat of dreadful punishment for those who could not forget the gods, had brought an inner frost which clutched relentlessly at the organism and became a sickness, yes, became blindness and muteness. In the waves of the tones from the Cathedral, in its soft relinquished forms, in its sea of light and warmth, Spring came to the soul. In the wake of this they were at last able to relax their cramped, defensive attitude, the blood began to flow freely in their veins and once again they attained the desire to live. There is scarcely any building in the North where organic life is so marked as in the Cathedral at Nidaros, therefore it has also seemed so refreshing to the mind. The whole church has been a single sculpture. Already the golden-green and velvet-blue stone from which it is built, leads ones thoughts to something vegetative, it is so fresh in colour and so soft in form. The marble pillars glow like torches, and from cornices, walls and arches a wealth of natural forms spring forth; everywhere the stone breaks into movement as with a hidden force. Here the Norwegian world of rocks is freed. The mountain has become a Cathedral."