OLAF
330
OLD
Olaf Trygoveson, king of Norway from 995 to 1000, noted as one of the most devoted of the earh' Norwegian rulers to the Christian faith, was the great-grandson of Harahl Fairfax, and the son of Tryggve, wlio was a sub- king ill the south-eastern part of Norway. The latter liad been murdered by Gudrod, son of Erik Blood-axe. The widow of Tryggve and her infant son Olaf were eagerly pursued, and tied through Sweden into Russia. Here the boy was brought up, and hence he was fre- quently called the Russian. i\lany wonderful tales are told of his youthful exploits, but a large number of them are, of course, nothing but Romish legends, which have been invented to embellish the life of this royal apos- tle. It is, however, a fact that Olaf, while yet a young man, had become famous for being one of the most war- like chiefs of his time, and for possessing extraordinary strength and agility. Olaf went on viking expeditions in the Baltic and in the British waters. In England he became converted to Christianity, and married a power- ful English or Irish woman, by name Gyda. In the year 995 he returned to Norway, where he arrived at the most opportune time, for Hakon Jarl, who was so much hated for his vices, had just been put to flight by the peasantry, and was killed by his thrall Karker. Olaf found no difficulty in securing the rulership of Norway. He devoted all the energy of his five years' reign to tlie introduction of Christianity among his sub- jects. He made a journey along the whole coast of Norway, destroying the idols and baptizing the most distinguished men. The means whereby he sought to establish the Christian religion were the same as those he had previously practiced as a viking. His reign is stained with murder and bloodshed, and he practiced both cunning and deceit for the good of the cause. He founded Nidaros (the present Trondhjem), where he maintained a splendid court, and thereby he not only made the people acquainted with Christian ceremonies and ways of living, but also gave Norway a governmental centre. Upon the whole, the introduc- tion of religious ideas served to strengthen and increase the power of the king, and to put down the anarchical spirit which had characterized the reign of the previous kings. Olaf also worked successfully for the introduc- tion of Christianity into the Orkneys, Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. I'inally he made an expedition to Pomerania, for the purpose of getting certain posses- sions that belonged to his queen Thyra, the sister of Svend F'orkbeard of Denmark. But at the same time a conspiracy was formed against him by Svend, king of Denmark, Olof, king of Sweden, and the Norse jarl Erik. By these Olaf was attacked at the island Svol- der (near Greifswalde) on Sept, 9, 1000, where he fell after a most desperate struggle, being then only thirty- six years old. See N'ordisk Conversationslexikon, s. v. ; Munch, T)et norske Folks I/istorie, ii, 20-635; Keyser, Norr/es I/istorie, i, 294-329; Carlyle, Earfy Kimjs of Norway (see Index); Neander, Ch. /list, iii, 297-99; 302 sq. ; Jlunter, Kirchengesch. v. Ddnemark ii. Noi-- we(;cn, pt, i (Leips. 1823), 322 sq.; Maclear, Hist, of Christian Afissio?is in the M. A . (see Index) ; Maiirer, Bekehrumj dts Norweg. Stammes (Munich, 1855-56, 2 vols. 8vo) ; Keyser, Ben norske Kirkes Uistorie under Katholirismeii. (see Index). (R. B. A.)
Olahus, Nicholas, a learned Hungarian prelate of "Wallachian origin, was born Jan, 9, 1493, at Hcrman- stadt. He passed his youth in the court of king Ladis- las, and liccame (1524) secretary of king Louis, whose widow, :Maria, brought him in 1530 to the Netherlands, which she had just been called to govern. In 1543 he was appointed bishop of Agram and chancellor of the kingdom. In 1517 he accompanied to the war of Snialcald king Ferdinand, whose confidence he ]k>s- sessed. Later he became archbishop of (Jran and [iri- mate of Hungary, and exercised the most happy inHu- ence over the establishment of discipline andtlie amel- ioration of ecclesiastical studies. Having become satis- fied that the only way to stay the decline of Romanism
in Hungary was to preserve it among the common people, who had not at that time become altogether alienated, Olahus raised up a new class of teachers to propagate Roman Catholic sentiments, and in 1561, therefore, founded a college of Jesuits in Tyrnau, which he supported largely by his own revenues, until the emperor came to his relief. Thus the Jesuits were af- forded their principal hold in Hungary. Of course they did not long retain it; the Reformation made its way, notwithstanding their efforts to sto]) its progress, and the archbishop was defeated in his purpose. Yet it must be confessed that Olahus was a liberal prelate, and did much to elevate the priests who were in his diocese. He died Jan. 14, 1568. We have of his works, CatholicxB ac Chiistiunce religionis prcfcipua capita (Vienna, 1560, 4to), and in vol. ii of the Concilia of Peterfy; one of the best resumes of the Catholic doc- trine : — Ilungaria, seu de originibus gentis, regionis situ, divisione, hahitu ei opportunitatibus, in the Adparatiisot' M. Bel: — Compendiarium sucb cetatis chronicon, in the same collection : — Ephemerides astronomicce ab anno 1552-1559, in vol. i ot /Scripto7-es mhwres of Kovachich : — Attila, sive de rebus, bello paceque ab eo gestis, in the series of several editions of Bonfinius: — Processus nni- i^ersalis, an alchemical treatise published under the pseudonym of Nicolaus Melchior, in the Museum her- meticuni, printed at Frankfort, 1525. See Horanyi, Memoria Ilungarorum, torn, ii; Bel, Ilungarin nova Cisdanubiana, torn, i ; Lehrmann, Hist, diplom. de statu Ret. Evang. in Hung, p, 710 sq. ; Ranke, Hist. Papacy, i, 396 sq. ; Alzog [ R. C], Kirchengesch. ii, 336. (J. H. ^V.) Ol'amus {'ilXapoc), a corrupt Grajcized form (1 Esdr. ix, 30) for Meshuli.aji (q. v.) of the Heb. text (Ezra X, 29).