The Saga of Olaf Thin-Hair

This assignment was created by Brandon Molina for HIST 101: Western Civilization I at Northern Virginia Community College. The purpose of the assignment is to create an imaginary primary source in the use of a travel journal. For this project, the focus is on the Viking Age, specifically in Anglo-Saxon England.  The project is centered around the idea of the use of saga as Viking mainly used oral traditions to pass down stories. Vikings were not illiterate per se, they did know how to use runes. They did not write as much in a way to save the information until after the introduction to Christianity and the Roman alphabet (see Judith Jesch, Women in the Viking Age, p. 180). Olaf's story is passed down through his children and eventually written down to preserve the family story. 

      TROUBLEMAKER FROM DENMARK Olaf Fine-Hair turned out to be a very arrogant son that caused a lot of trouble in Northern Jutland. Olaf bullied the earls and killing some of those out of pure boredom. Olaf was a young Norse man in his twenties, known for his fine hair, and arrogant ways. He hails from North Jutland (modern-day Denmark). His father, Harald Slender-Legs had enough of Olaf's mischievous actions and decided to send him off to learn a thing-or-two about discipline. Harald heard of an opportunity among them, that could save his son Olaf.  It was generational for his family to settle down to the English nation to raid. Harald has done it, Harald's father has done it, and even Harald's grandfather has done it. It was only a matter of time that Olaf was to follow the family tradition of raiding.  In the morning, as soon as it was light outside, Harald, Olaf, and a few of Olaf's friends settled for the Knarr ship for a journey that at least three days ...

 THE GREAT HEATHEN ARMY  By 866, Olaf found himself encamped in the Isle of Thanet for some months now. The people who were already living in the area asked for peace in the exchange of gold, but that was useless. Of course, he took some of the gold that was offered to him but the other Vikings agreed to not follow the agreement.  The first thing Olaf did was raid a small household, taking their gold and food. He plundered everything that he could to take back to camp. He did not kill this time, he simply looted to restock his supplies and prepare for trade when needed.  He was not always in a violent situation with the Anglo-Saxons. When he decided not to loot and plunder, Olaf often took to trading with them. Exchanging Norse ornaments for gold or other necessities. They seem to like it. The Anglo-Saxons were a weird bunch, so Olaf thought. They spoke a language that sounded Norse ... but not Norse enough. He was able to communicate with them some but learned a few...

 THE FIRST  BATTLE  Traveling in the Anglo-Saxon lands has been proven to be quite easy for Olaf Fine-Hair. There is not much of a battle against the Anglo-Saxons, well that is what Olaf thought. Olaf thought of them as cowardly people, not willing to fight their battles. As he settled in Northumbria with the rest of the army, the people of Northumbria paid them in gold to go fight their battle against these people called the Mercians.  Olaf was not opposed to the idea, he got paid and he got to loot; it was a win-win situation for him. He and his fellow Viking men have been successful thus far. With the Gods, Thor and Odin on their side, there was no way they were going to lose to the Mercians.  The night before they were settled to attack, everyone including Olaf decided to do sumbel, a ritual practice done by pagan Norse. Throughout the night Olaf and his Viking men passed around a cup filled with mead as they toast the deities and their ancestors for letting...

 A NEW LIFE  After the battle with the Mercians and Wessex in 867, Olaf decided that he wanted to live in Nottingham as his new permanent home. The area was under the rule of the Danes and was a fortified settlement under the Danelaw. He was not too worried about living among the Anglo-Saxons.  In fact, he met his wife in Nottingham. Granted, he may have accidentally burned down her house during the raid, but she was fair and lovely. Her name was Mildritha and she understood some Norse as the Vikings have been settling down the area for some time. Olaf paid a price for his bride as he required a dowry to marry her. Luckily for Mildritha, being a Viking wife gave her some powers. Once she marries Olaf, she can own properly and sell her own items. She can even divorce Olaf if she wanted to. She would be working in a domestic discourse as her roles were to take care of their future family, prepare food, milk the cows, sew, and weave.  Olaf and Mildritha's father fi...

 THE END OF A LIFE  Olaf has finally reached the age of 45. His lifespan as a Viking was short because he faced poor nutrition, overworked, and diseases. Olaf died of an infection due to his poor dental health. He would be honored through a Viking burial due to his status as an important leader in the Nottingham community.   Through inhumation, Olaf was buried with the clothes he died with. He was buried with his weapons, some gaming pieces, as well as a personal comb that he can take to the afterlife. His family buried Olaf with an old ship he had since his time in the Great Heathen Army. He laid on the boat while two horses laid next to him. As his family practices Christianity, they did not think it was well worth sacrificing one of their slaves to die with Olaf.  The Funeral of a Viking (1893)   by Frank Dicksee However, he was buried with jewelry that had crossed on them, to signify his faith in Christianity. Halfdan, Olaf's oldest son, was in charge ...

 Primary Sources The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . Trans. Dorothy Whitelock, David C. Douglas, and Susie I. Tucker. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1961. The Annals of Ulster . Edited by Pádraig Bambury and Stephen Beechinor. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts. https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T100001A/index.html.  Grammaticus, Saxo. Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes . Edited by Karsten Friis-Jensen. Translated by Peter Fisher. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2015.  The War of Gaedhill with the Gaill or The Invasion of Ireland by the Danes and Other Norsemen . Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney . Secondary Sources  Ables, Richard. "English Logistics and Military Administration 871-1066: the Impact of The Viking Wars," in Military Aspects of Scandinavian Society in a European Perspective, AD 1-1300, 1997. Retrieved from https://deremilitari.org/2013/07/english-logistics-and-military-administration-871-1066-the-impact-of-the-viking-wars/.  Bidd...