Dear Friends,

Early mediaeval links with Norway are beginning to re-emerge from the
shadows.

It seems that after his baptism with Ethelred the Unready as his godfather,
Olaf I Tryggvesson went back to Norway in 994/5, defeated Jarl Haakon (a
pagan) at Nidaros near Trondheim and began claiming Norway for the Christian
faith. (Olaf is better known to us from the A-S Chronicle as King Anlaf who
defeated the Men of  Essex at the Battle of Maldon after the idiot Bryhtnoth
let the vikings ashore so that they could fight fair !!!! (But one may see
the hand of God in this in as much as if Olaf / Anlaf had been defeated, who
would have evangelised the Norwegians ???)

Olaf took monks and a bishop with him from England. Shortly after his
arrival, news of supernatural happenings were brought to him at Trondheim
focuused on an island called SELJA just off the coast, abouth half way
between T. and Bergan. Olaf and his prelate investigated the island and
found in a cave the remains of Saint Sunniva. According to the legend, she
was an Irish princess (although her name seems to be Anglo-Saxon) who to
escape an unwelcome marriage (what else ?) had put out to sea in a boat with
her companions "The men of Selja", cast the sails and oars overboard and
prayed ... They ended up on Selja and established a community there. The
island was uninhabited but used for summer grazing by the farmers on the
shore. A reduction in the size of the flocks caused the farmers to complain
to Jarl Haakon who came with a war-band to sort the strangers out. Sunniva
and her followers hid in the cave and prayed to be spared the wrath of the
vikings. Obligingly, the cave roof crashed in on them, killing them all and
the vikings found no-one. It was also claimed that Saint Alban was Sunniva's
brother. Sunniva is one of the three national saints of Norway, the other
two being Saint Olaf II Haroldsson, the "eternal king" of Norway and Saint
Hallvard.

By 996 a Benedictine monastery, dedicated to St Alban had been established
on Selja and a chapel dedicated to St Michael was built to house the relics
of St Sunniva and her companions just in front of the cave. In art St
Sunniva is depicted as a crowned woman holding a heavy rock. This monastery
survived until the Reformation and has recently been properly excavated and
recorded. The relics of St Sunniva were moved to Bergan in 1170 and
disappeared at the Reformation.

I learned all about this when two Norwegians came here to St Albans last
autumn on a private pilgrimage. Now I am trying to organise a return trip in
September 2001 on behalf of the Fraternity of the Friends of St Albans
Abbey. We suspect that the monks whom Olaf I took back with him in 996 must
have come from our abbey, otherwise why the dedication ? If so, this is our
oldest (known) and long-lost daughter-house.

I also suspect - and this is so far my private theory - that there was
already a link between Norway and St Albans before the conversion of Olaf I.
The footnote to the legend of St Sunniva that Saint Alban (martyred 207) was
Sunniva's brother is on the surface impossible but what if Sunniva were a
"sister of St Alban ?" ie a nun from the monastery of St Albans and the
original "men of Selja" were a mixed band of monks and nuns that she was
leading. It is now believed that since King Offa's re-establishment of the
cult at St Albans under the Benedictine Rule in 796 until the coming of the
Normans, there was a double monastery here. Sunniva's conduct is fully in
line with Celtic monastics seeking the "White Martyrdom" (Have I got the
term right ?)

What is known is that in 1248 Matthew Paris was sent to Norway from St
Albans to sort out the Benedictine Abbey at Nidaros (Nr Trondheim) whose
abbot had embezzled the funds and scarpered only to die a penitent's death
*at Selja.*  It is also believed that Matthew Paris helped with the design
of the west front of Trondheim cathedral.

I suspect that there was a far greater rapport between the Norwegian and
English churches (especially pre-1066) than has hitherto been appreciated.
Those of us hoping to go to Selja next year hope to find out more both of
the legend and the history.

I printed a long account and an invitation to join the pilgrimage in the
Spring 2000 issue of "The Alban Link" which I edit. Anyone wanting to know
more about this story of Sunniva & Selja is invited to send GBP 3.00 -
cheque made payable to the Fraternity of the Friends of St Albans Abbey. (If
I am not supposed to advertise on this newsgroup, I apologise. But I think
this is the only account in English available outside Norway. I could say
more, esp. about Pope Adrian IV but this post is already overlong....)

Ms B.M. Cook,
Editor: Alban Link,
c/o St Albans Abbey,
Sumpter Yard,
St Albans,
Herts. AL1 1BY
UK







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