Norway’s First Coin

Currency has been around for quite some time, but in the cold northern European countries it took some time to arrive. In truth, everything from the south took long enough to reach the north and vice versa.

In the year of 995, of the Common Era, when Olav Tryggvason became King of Norway (some call him Viking King but that isn't the correct title), silver coins changed their appearance and the king's own name started to be carved in coins. "Onlaf Rex Nor", meaning "Olav, King of the Norwegians", this started to be printed in coins. Of course coins were not something invented by Tryggvason, particular these coins with religious (christian) motifs.

During Tryggvason's time, Ethelred II was the king of England. Viking raids were still common, but things were changing, and not only landlords and nobles were going "viking", but also kings. Raiding became a great source of income to the northern peoples of Europe, which arose their economy imensily. Raiding was also to show one's power and right to rule, so above everything else, raiding was the legitimate claim to govern. So king Ethelred II had to face both the armies of King Olav Tryggvason and King Svend Tveskæg of Denmark. Suffice to say that the king of Englad had to pay a large amount of money to sue for peace. In the spring of the year of 995, Olav Tryggvason returned home with a great amount of Anglo-Saxon Crux coins in his luggage; a lot of coins already with the christian motifs well printed, marking the faith of those people.

Olaf/Olav Tryggvason was King of Norway from 995 to 1000 A.D.. Olav was the major "character" in the conversion of the Norse to the new faith (Christianity). He is known for this and somehow exalted by historians for being the key to the converstion of the northern pagans into christianity. However, such conversion was brutal, horrible even, with many gruesome accounts of torture and the most abominable, enduring and painful ways to kill in the name of religion and forceble convertion. Nonetheless, he was the reason for the first christian coins in Norway, and probably the introduction of hard currency, because before that cattle was the measurament of wealth.

Viking children and the art of war

We know from historical records, the norse sagas and archaeological evidence, that children (especially boys) were often trained, almost since birth, to wield a sword, axe, strengthen their muscles to lift a shield and start to practice the bow and arrow at a very early age to widen their shoulds and backs during the process of growth to be able to push the bow-string as further back as they could. It was completly understandable that these people were so violent in nature because the world of violence was upon them as soon as they were able to speak the first words. 

Women also knew how to fight. It isn't strange to us to hear that from viking women; it's perfectly normal to accept warrior-women in viking society during the medieval ages, and strange when we hear of other warrior-women from other societies of the time. They would accompany men in their raids, but before that, womem were left behind to take care of their properties and to take care of the children. They had an important role in continue to educate the children in the art of war because someone had to protect their properties when mom and dad were away.

It was instilled in the mind of boys that they would only become real men through warfare. Blood and honor, bravery and strength, that would get you in Valhalla among the best of the best, the bravest warriors. There are historical reports and even archaeological evidences of this - children killing children - sometimes a youngling no more than twelve winters of age capable of killing a fifteen-year-old. According to the Eddic poem for instance, children learned a variety of combat skills and techniques, including fighting with your bare hands.

Even three year-old boys played the war game with wooden swords and throwing spears covered by a piece of leather so that they should not hurt themselves or others. As children grew older, they could be lucky and get real weapons of iron, forged in a child’s size. Archaeologists have found several such weapons, including a small sword and an ax in a child’s grave. Besides playing with weapons, wrestling was one of the most popular games and something boys were doing throughout the year. It was a type of martial arts of the viking society. Through wrestling matches, they practiced speed and agility, and the training was a good preparation for future close combat situations.

Through this fighting technique children also learned game rules and discipline. The Children had to promise that they would not hurt each other intentionally during play, and their word meant more than a thousand contracts, it was their honor that was at stake and honor meant everything in the eyes of men and gods. These rules were taken very seriously and strictly enforced. Those who broke the rules, committed “níð” and were often called “níðingr” – one of the worst epithets in the Viking Age. being a “níð” implied the loss of honour and it was the status of a villain. It meant a person had no honor, was a coward, was nothing at all in the sight of every living thing. Much like a "Vargr" which was the term given to an outlaw, a criminal, but in that case that person would become a "wolf" and lived in the wilderness, unable to return to society or else could be killed on sight by anyone since he was a threat - a wolf. While a “níð” could still live amongst men but would forever be stigmatized and people would always treat that person with indiference.

But not everything during children's training was violent and terrible. When it was snowing, children built ramparts and fortresses that they used as battle arenas. Snowball fighting was not only entertaining but also effective training in siege techniques and different throwing skills.

Most important of all this was that the young ones learned about the warrior society’s code of honor. The Norsemen were convinced that a number of Norns (goddesses of fate) spun the threads of life, and that every human life was predestined. No man could change his destiny and only the brave warrior would come to Valhalla. A Viking warrior therefore had to fight like a man and die like a man if the gods had decided it. Even if some did not believe that their fate was sealed, there was always Valhalla, the great hall of the slain where only the most honorable and bravest warriors would go after death to be with the All-father Odin. That was their ultimate goal, and to achieve that one had to die with sword in hand so to speak.

It was easy for a warrior soeciety to understand the implications of battle. Either one will fall, or survives,  therefore the only thing to do was facing every trial with bravery because everything is predetermined by the Norns and nothing could change that. Nothing could kill them if their time had not yet come, and no one can save the one who is destined to die. Dying in battle was the most honorable thing a Viking could achieve, and also the ability to plunder was highly respected. Ordinary thefts were considered cowardly actions, but plunder took skill and bravery; taking riches highly defended by other skillful warriors was indeed something to praise.

Viking boys had to prove that they had the courage and skills before they were considered as grownups. If they belonged to a powerful family, they could prove themselves worthy by participating in a battle or go on Viking. The sagas mention that Olaf Tryggvason (963 to 1000 BCE) killed his first man when he was nine years old. Olaf Haraldsson (995 to 29 July of 1030 BCE), (who later became Olaf the Holy), went on Viking when he was twelve years old.

Conversion of Scandinavia and Olaf Tryggvason

Charlemagne was the king who helped christianity spread more quickly through Europe, by force, by his armys and slaughtering many who wanted to keep their old faith and the beliefs of their ancestors. After his death, the empire that Charlemagne created, started to fragment, and so for a time people stood still and there was a considerable peace, the Frisians had been converted to christianity and the Franks had their own empire by the cost of many inocent lifes. There was peace now in the countries of scandinavia.


Along the ninth century, churchmen were afraid from the people of the north that still remained faithful to the old gods, and so they prayed to be relieved and be guarded from the fury of the vikings, that to these churchmen,  the peoples of the north were even more terrifying because they weren't christians, they were heathens, and for the church, these pagan people worshiped the devil and themselves were demons.


As the north countries and its people began to settling instead of raiding and pillaging, the church saw this as a good opportunity to bring the new faith into their northen neighbors, and many norse princes that were in refuge from the wars with the south and with the christians, saw this as a good  opportunity as well, because they realized that conversion to the religion of the kings with whom they had taken refuge, could win them suppot and alliance.


Denmark was the first country to fall under the new faith, king Harald Bluetooth took christianity and imposed it to his people, those that did not want to embrace this new faith and refused the orders of Harald, were forced to do so.


In Norway, at this time, an other king called Harald Hairfair, remained heathen to his death, however, he had many sons who fought over the kingship and sometimes they found in the christian alliances a very useful tool to ascend the throne.
The oldest of his sons, Eric bloodaxe was baptized with his wife, during their exile in the viking lands of England. Harald's youngest son, called Hakon, was fostered by King Aethelstan of England, who raised him as a christian. Harald's great-grandson, Olaf Tryggvason, was introduced to christianity, when he was still a very young man, when he took refuge in Russia. After taking power in Norway, all these kings tried to impose the new religion to their countrymen.


Hakon was the only one of these kings, to be tolerant, and the only one to be called "the good". Hakon was called to the throne by the heathen jarl, when his older brother, Eric, proved to be a tyrant, so king Hakon was indeed a good king, he respected the rights of his own people. When he told his people that they should be converted to chirstianity, they responded that they thought he was bringing them freedom, but now he wanted to take them prisoners into a new and strange religion, and made them forget the beliefs of their ancestors. The people had so far tolerated their king's strange ways in a strange new religion, but wanted him to join them in the autumn feasts, and so he did, a christian amoung pagans, being friends and sharing the heathen drinks to Odin. So Hakon kept the loyalty of his people. He was such a great and good king, that after his death in the last battle, the skald Eyvind sang in the old faith about Hakon and his deeds in the poem called "Hakonarmál".


Olaf Tryggvason came to power, throughout these years, any men had allowed themselves to be baptized, in order to trade with the Christian Europe, or agreed to do so when they were forced by a christian overlord. Many chieftains welcomed christian missionaries and built churches to encounrage christian merchants to come and trade with them, but even baptized, the norsemen still returned to their old ways. King Olaf resolved to put an end to that, the people should be entirely christians, or no christians at all, the old gods and old faith, should be forgotten. Those that weren't persuaded by threats or promises, he slew them, some he maimed, and some he drove  away from the land. Olaf Tryggvason pillage the heathen temples and destroyed the images of the gods, those people who were considered to do magic, he drowned, or killed them by setting a bowl full of hot coals on their belly, for exemple, there was a chieftain who was killed by being forced to swallow a poisonous snake.


In the years that followed, the new religion was very much implemented on the land. Churches had been built on the old sacred places and above the mounds of the dead, on the sites of demolished pagan temples, and bishops became powers in the land. The holy feasts became saints' days.

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