While Snorri's description of the battles in the makes for epic reading, its grandeur most likely must be put down to the writer's taste for the grand. In
Gardarike, Olaf was only surrounded by his most loyal followers. Neither can one expect that recruitment was especially ample in Sweden or through the sparsely populated valleys through which Olaf travelled. Thus, Olaf's army was probably of a rather rag-tag character, an impression accentuated by tales of how local robber groups would join it as Olaf made his way down the
Verdalen valley. The recruitment of robber gangs and other scofflaws was likely no surprise to the polytheistic heathens that opposed Olaf's attempts to forcibly convert them by murdering and torturing regional Jarls and Kings to terrorize them into accepting Christianity. reports that Anund Jacob could not raise support of an invasion of Norway among the Swedes and could only provide Olaf with a smaller force made out of his personal soldiers. In fact, why Olaf chose to travel through the politically hostile
Trøndelag, rather than to try to rally his relatives and political allies of
Eastern Norway, is to this day an unsolved mystery. Perhaps he was making a last-ditch attempt for
Nidaros, hoping to win acceptance for his claim to the throne amongst the farmers of Trøndelag. On the other hand, the oppositionbasically lower nobles and grand farmers under the influence of King
Cnutcould not have had much time to assemble a large force. When alerted to Olaf's presence, they must have responded swiftly, considering that they met Olaf relatively far up the valley. Therefore, their action points more toward a small, hastily arranged rally of men rather than the elaborate logistics that would have been needed to assemble a 10,000-man-strong army. Those who could have mobilized a large-scale army, the local nobles of Trøndelag (of which
Einar Thambarskelfir was a prime example) were notable largely by their absence on either side. Also, the battlefield of a hotly contested battle between nearly 20,000 men should have produced rich archeological findings to that effect; at Stiklestad however, these are sparse, though this is common in Norway. The rocky soil is not as well-suited to battlefield archaeology as continental or English soil. It makes
georadar readings all but unusable, and the location of the battle site highly uncertain. On Stiklestad, the soil is deep soil with some clay, and georadar was used in 2008, showing traces of large buildings, but not much to indicate a battlefield. As is the case with most battles mentioned in the sagas, the sizes of the battling armies are probably impossible to determine. Olaf's role in Norwegian history had only just begun at his death. While nobles and rich farmers had expected their position to improve with the removal of the aggressive Olaf, the opposite happened. The rule of Cnut's wife
Ælfgifu of Northampton and their son
Svein was exceedingly harsh on the people. The church especiallya traditional ally of Olafcame under greater pressure. Thus, the late King's martyr status was accentuated, helping to incite common folk into revolting against the hardships enforced by the succeeding Danish rule. Propaganda proclaiming the heroic nature of Olaf's last stand made for great nation-building material in the immature Norwegian state, where the warrior ethic of the Vikings and their gods and goddesses were still highly revered. According to Snorri, even nature lent a hand, as the day of the battle coincided with a nearly-full
solar eclipse, as reflected in the description of an ill-fated 'blooded red sun', which was interpreted as a certain omen of bad things to come. However, the solar eclipse took place at about 2:00 p.m. on August 31 that year contrary to the traditional date of the battle on July 29. Olaf was a rather stubborn and rash ruler. Modern historians generally agree that Olaf was inclined to violence and brutality. Ironically, he became Norway's patron saint. His canonization was performed only a year after his death by the bishop of Nidaros. The cult of Olaf not only unified the country, it also fulfilled the conversion of the nation, something for which the king had fought so hard. While divisive in life, in death Olaf becamethe eternal king of Norway, wielded a unifying power no foreign monarch could hope to undo. Cnut, most distracted by the task of administering England, managed to rule Norway for five years after the battle through his viceroy son
Svein. However, when Olaf's illegitimate son
Magnus (dubbed 'the Good') laid claim to the Norwegian throne, Cnut had to yield. Thus, a century of prosperity and expansion followed, lasting until the kingdom again descended into the
Civil war era in Norway over the issue of succession.' ==Legacy==