When did Olof Skötkonung die?
Olof Skötkonung died in the winter of 1021 or 1022. He stands at the threshold of recorded history as the first Swedish ruler about whom there is substantial knowledge.
Olof Skötkonung died in the winter of 1021 or 1022. He stands at the threshold of recorded history as the first Swedish ruler about whom there is substantial knowledge.
Olof Skötkonung was baptized in Husaby in Västergötland by the missionary Sigfrid. A document from 1008 says a bishop dispatched by Archbishop Bruno of Querfurt visited the Suigi tribe.
In 999 or 1000 Olof Skötkonung joined forces with Sweyn Forkbeard against the Norwegian King Olaf Tryggvason. The allied fleets attacked Olaf Tryggvason in the Battle of Svolder where the location remains uncertain.
A large part of the Swedes remained pagan so they made an agreement with him that he must exercise royal authority in a province of his choice if he wished to be a Christian. He installed a bishopric in the province of Västergötland closer to Denmark and Norway.
Olof Skötkonung sent a Swedish force led by his son Anund and grand-nephew Ingvar the Far-Travelled. They subdued recalcitrant chieftains through persuasion and warfare.