St. Olav is credited with bringing Christianity to Norway in 1030 AD. There is more to that story. The Vikings were in close relationship with the Celtic Church on the British Isles. Olav was baptized in Normandy at the monastery in Rouen. That particular monastery was founded by Clothilde and Clothar who were Cathars, a small group of wise Christians who lived in Southern France. These two foundation stones of Olav’s faith were not Catholic. The form of Christianity that entered the west coast of Norway was Celtic in nature, and in opposition to the Catholic bishops who came up from Germany to Hamar north of Oslo. The battle for people’s souls between these two religious orientations happened in Norway. Let’s investigate these rarely mentioned historical facts further.
Join NAGC’s Wencke Braathen for this webinar exploring the Christianization of Norway.
Please call us at 608-255-2224 or email genealogy@nagcnl.org if you have any questions.