2018-08-24 Fri

On 1st April 1930, Norwegian Post issued stamps honoring the great king Olaf II of Haraldsson on the occasion of the 900th Anniversary of the Death of King Olav Haraldsson.

King Olav reigned from 1015 to 1028. The period of his reign has historically been accredited as being the beginning of the introduction of Christianity into Norway. He was overthrown in 1028 by King Cnut the Great of Denmark), and he fled into exile in the Kievan Rus. In 1030, King Olav II attempted to win back his former kingdom, but he was killed in the Battle of Stiklestad.

The ten ore and twenty ore stamp features king Olav in the battlefield holding a shield in one hand and the cross in the other hand. The 30 ore stamp features a painting portraying the death of Olav. The stamp depicts the king falling on the battlefield in the centre flanked by the inscriptions “Hellig Olavs Fall” on the left and “Stiklestad 29-7-1930” on the right.

His remains were later buried in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. He is considered a saint by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, and he is also the Patron Saint of Norway.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com