Sign-In
Cart
The Axe and the Cross of Saint Olaf: The Life and Legacy of King Olaf Haraldsson, Norway's Holy Sovereign
Paperback
Series: A Biographical History of the Viking Age, Book 17
General Military HistoryScandinavian History
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
Publisher: Winston Maddox Publishing
Pages: 132
Weight: 0.30
Height: 0.31 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
Can a man wade through oceans of blood, burn the halls of his enemies, and still claim the kingdom of heaven?
For centuries, popular history has presented Saint Olaf as a serene, pious monarch who brought the light of Christianity to a dark, pagan Scandinavia. But beneath the gilded altars of Nidaros lies a far more brutal, complex reality. King Olaf Haraldsson was not born a saint; he was forged as a merciless Viking raider who terrorized the coasts of Europe, burned London Bridge, and cut down rival chieftains without hesitation. When he turned his sights toward the Norwegian throne, he realized that the Cross was not merely a symbol of faith-it was the ultimate political tool to break the power of traditional regional clan chiefs and centralize absolute royal authority under a single crown.
In The Axe and the Cross of Saint Olaf, historian Winston Maddox dismantles centuries of sanitized hagiography to deliver a gritty, uncompromising account of the man who forced a nation to its knees. Utilizing primary Icelandic sagas, contemporary skaldic poetry, and modern archaeological evidence, this book transports you directly onto the bloody shields of eleventh-century Scandinavia. Feel the biting cold of the fjords, smell the smoke of burning longhouses, and experience the brutal realities of shield-wall combat where iron met bone. You will trace Olaf's meteoric rise from an exiled prince raiding Baltic shores to a terrifying sovereign who used torture, execution, and forced baptism to rewrite the laws of Norway.
This is not a dry, academic summary of dates and treaties written for casual readers. It is an immersive historical reconstruction crafted specifically for the seasoned history buff who demands rigor, context, and raw detail. Discover how Olaf maneuvered against Cnut the Great's vast North Sea Empire, how he rewrote Norse legal codes at the Moster Assembly, and why the very aristocrats he sought to govern paid in English silver to see him cut down at the Battle of Stiklestad. The narrative exposes the intricate political web of the Viking Age, showing how faith, greed, and royal ambition collided to forge modern Scandinavia.
Why did a fallen warlord, killed in battle by his own rebellious subjects, become Norway's ultimate national icon? The answer lies in the incredible aftermath of Stiklestad-a masterclass in political myth-making that transformed a dead tyrant into Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, the Eternal King of Norway. Maddox tracks how his purported miracles, incorruptible corpse, and immediate canonization served the needs of both the Latin Church and successive Norwegian monarchs, creating a spiritual shield that outlasted his brief, violent reign.
Are you ready to step past the pious myths and face the real, blood-soaked sovereign who forged Norway with iron and faith?
Also from
Maddox, Winston
The First Norman: The True Story of Rollo of Normandy and the Lineage That Remade Europe
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Triumph of Heathenry: The Definitive Account of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Broken Shield: 1066 and Harald Hardrada's Last Stand at Stamford Bridge
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Reich's Last Witch Hunt: The 1941 Extermination of Seers, Anthroposophists, and Fortune Tellers
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Werewolf Doctrine: The Dark Folklore and Myth-Making That Built the Third Reich
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Forest Brigade: The True Story of the Bielski Partisans and the Belarusian Resistance
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Dragon-Ships over Norway: The Definitive Biography of Harald Fairhair, First King of Norway and Catalyst of Iceland
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Blood Feuds and Ice: The Life, Scandals, and Frozen Conquests of Viking Legend Erik the Red
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Guido von List: The Definitive Biography of Europe's Most Controversial Runemaster
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Raven Standard: The Definitive Biography of Sweyn Forkbeard, First Viking King of England
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Rune Magician: Runes, Runology, and the Secret Religion of Karl Maria Wiligut
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Spear of Longinus And The Reich: Blood, Iron, and the Relic That Governed the Fate of Empires
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Thunderbolt of the North: The Life of Harald Hardrada, Commander of the Varangian Guard and King of Norway
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Valkyrie of Vinland: The Definitive Biography of Freydís Eiríksdóttir and the Greenland Expeditions
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Nazi Looting of Champagne: The WWII Plot to Plunder France's Cellars and the Vintners Who Fought Back
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Gudrid the Far-Traveled: The Definitive History of Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the Viking World's Greatest Female Traveler
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Wolf-Poet: The Definitive Life of Egil Skallagrímsson, Sorcerer of the Fjords
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Iron Kingdom: The Definitive Biography of Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Deputy's Delusion: Rudolf Hess and the Desperate, Secret Flight to Save the Third Reich
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Forging Reykjavík: The Definitive Biography of Ingólfur Arnarson, First Nordic Ruler of Iceland
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Last Raider: A Definitive Biography of Svein Asleifsson, the Last Great Sea-King of Orkney
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Omen in the Iris: The Complete and Definitive Biography of King Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Aud the Deep-Minded and the Secret Fleet: How a 9th-Century Matriarch Built an Empire on the Ocean Waves
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
William Patrick Hitler: Defying a Dictator, Fleeing the Reich, and Fighting for the Stars and Stripes
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Bone-Breaker: The Definitive Biography of Ubba Ragnarsson, Commander of the Heathen Horde
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Mercenary Earl: The Definitive Biography of Thorkell, the Jomsvikings, and the Anglo-Scandinavian Empire
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Trauttmansdorff's Masterpiece: How Count Maximilian Von Trauttmansdorff Forged the Peace of Westphalia
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Student Revolutionaries: How Saloth Sar and Ieng Sary Conspired to Launch the Khmer Rouge
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Duch's S-21 Archives: The Executioner of Tuol Sleng and the Khmer Rouge Purges
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
How General Lon Nol Unleashed the Khmer Rouge: The Coup of 1970 and the Fall of the Cambodian Republic
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Execution at Phak Koma School: Long Boret, Sirik Matak, and the Khmer Rouge Liquidation of High Officials
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Revolution in the Jungle: Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's Early Guerilla Resistance (1960-1970)
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Prince Sihanouk's Devil's Bargain: The Royalist Leader Who Handed the United Nations to the Khmer Rouge
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Lê Trọng Tấn and the Blitz of 1978: The Vietnamese Campaign That Shattered the Khmer Rouge Army
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Hadewijch's Fortress: A History of the Beguines, Low Countries Mysticism, and the Female Enclaves of Brabant
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Iconoclast Priest: A History of the Petrobrusians, Peter of Bruys, and the Cathar Precursors of Languedoc
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Circumcellion Warclubs: The Holy War of Circumcellion Zealots Against Imperial Legions Across Roman North Africa
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Heretic Princess of Prague: Guglielma, King Ottokar I, and the Guglielmite Cult of Lombardy
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Heresy of the Divine Self: Amalric of Bène, his Amalrician Disciples, and the 1210 Inquisitorial Purge in Paris
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Blood of the Vaudois: The Waldensian Crusade, the Savoyard Massacres, and the Alpine Resistance of the Poor Men of Lyons
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Lollard Uprising: The Lollard Knights, Royal Betrayal, and the Hunt for English Heretics
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Holy Beggars, Unholy War: The Fraticelli Franciscan War in 14th-Century Avignon and Umbria
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Defiance of Henry of Lausanne: The Henrician Heresy, St. Bernard's Crusade, and the Battle for Southern France
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
The Last Stand of the XV International Brigade: Foreign Volunteers and the Betrayal of the Republic in the Spanish Civil War
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Also in
Scandinavian History
American Vikings: How the Norse Sailed Into the Lands and Imaginations of America
Whittock, Martyn
Hardcover
The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire
Skeie, Tore
Paperback
Swedish Trivia Book: Interesting and Fun Facts About Swedish Culture, History, Tourist Attractions, and Much More
Anderson, Alex
Paperback
Norse Magic & Runes: A Guide To The Magic, Rituals, Spells & Meanings of Norse Magick, Mythology & Reading The Elder Futhark Runes
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
Norse Magic & Runes: A Guide To The Magic, Rituals, Spells & Meanings of Norse Magick, Mythology & Reading The Elder Futhark Runes
Brought Alive, History
Hardcover
Norse Mythology: The Vikings and Their Lore, from Gods and Goddesses to Midgard and Valhalla
Nylund, Dagmar
Paperback
Secrets of the Viking Navigators: How the Vikings Used Their Amazing Sunstones and Other Techniques to Cross the Open Ocean
Karlsen, Leif K.
Paperback
24 Hours in the Viking World: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There
Wolf, Kirsten
Hardcover
American Vikings: How the Norse Sailed Into the Lands and Imaginations of America
Whittock, Martyn
Paperback
History of Scandinavia: A Captivating Guide to the History of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland
History, Captivating
Hardcover
Trollrún: A Discourse on Trolldom and Runes in the Northern Tradition
De Mattos Frisvold, Nicholaj
Paperback
The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow: The Forced Displacement of the Northern Sámi
Labba, Elin Anna
Hardcover
Men of Terror: A Comprehensive Analysis of Viking Combat
Óskarson, Reynir A.
Short, William R.
Hardcover
Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns
ØStergård, Else
Fransen, LILLI
Nørgård, Anna
Paperback
Norway's Knitted Heritage: The History, Surprises, and Power of Traditional Nordic Sweater Patterns
Sundbø, Annemor
Hardcover
Norse Mythology, Vikings, Magic & Runes: Stories, Legends & Timeless Tales From Norse & Viking Folklore + A Guide To The Rituals, Spells & Meanings of
Brought Alive, History
Hardcover
The Mästermyr Find: A Viking Age Tool Chest from Gotland
Arwidsson, Greta
Berg, Gosta
Brown, Henry T.
Paperback
Norse Magic: Spellcrafting with the Gods and Goddesses of the Nordic Tradition
Bruce, Marie
Hardcover
The Anatomy of Germanic Art: A Quick Guide to the Styles of Nordic Animal Ornament
Markussen, Jonas Lau
Hardcover
Danish Trivia Book: Interesting and Fun Facts About Danish Culture, History, Tourist Attractions, and Much More
Anderson, Alex
Paperback
Norse Mythology: Tales of Nordic Gods, Heroes, Yggdrasil, Norse Magic & Viking Lore
Kerr, Darby
Paperback
Finding Atlantis: A True Story of Genius, Madness, and an Extraordinary Quest for a Lost World
King, David
Paperback
A Compendium of Viking Art: A Collection of Nordic Animal Ornament Examples
Lau Markussen, Jonas
Hardcover
Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them
Brown, Nancy Marie
Paperback
Norse Mythology, Vikings, Magic & Runes: Stories, Legends & Timeless Tales From Norse & Viking Folklore + A Guide To The Rituals, Spells & Meanings of
Brought Alive, History
Hardcover
Neutrality's Empire: Swedish Colonialism in the Industrial Age
Högselius, Per
Nilsson, David
Vikström, Hanna
Hardcover
The History of Norway: Vikings, Unions, Independence (Skriuwer.com Edition)
Joseph, Jennifer
Auke de Haan
Paperback
The History of Denmark: Vikings, Absolutism, Welfare (Skriuwer.com Edition)
Joseph, Jennifer
Auke de Haan
Paperback
Sami People: Europe's Forgotten Indigenous Nation and Their Enduring Fight for Survival
Holm, Sigrid
Paperback
Lengua Vikinga 1: Manual para aprender antiguo nórdico, las runas y las sagas islandesas
Byock, Jesse
Paperback
Norse Mythology, Vikings, Magic & Runes: Stories, Legends & Timeless Tales From Norse & Viking Folklore + A Guide To The Rituals, Spells & Meanings of
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas
Barraclough, Eleanor Rosamund
Paperback
Europe's Long Century, Volume 2: Society, Politics, and Culture, 1945-Present
Di Scala, Spencer M.
Paperback
Traditional Danish Sweaters: 200 Stars and Other Classic Motifs from Historic Sweaters
Hoxbro, Vivian
Hardcover
The History of Greenland: Tracing Cultures Through Millennia (Skriuwer.com Edition)
Auke de Haan
Paperback
To My Beloved Norwegian Countrymen: The Story of Nils Trulsen Bru and the Making of Modern Norway
Brue, Nordahl
Hardcover
Vikings: History of Vikings: From the History of Rune Stones to Norse Mythology
Stewart, Michael J.
Paperback
Secrets of the Viking Navigators: How the Vikings Used Their Amazing Sunstones and Other Techniques to Cross the Open Ocean
Karlsen, Leif K.
Hardcover
Blue Sea, Black Gold, Red Banner: The South Caucasus and Scandinavia, 1880s-1920s
Trier, Tom
Hardcover
Monarchy in the Age of Liberty: Royal Power and Public Life in Eighteenth-Century Sweden
Nordin, Jonas
Hardcover
Blue Sea, Black Gold, Red Banner: The South Caucasus and Scandinavia, 1880s-1920s
Trier, Tom
Paperback
A Compendium of Germanic Art: A Collection of Nordic Animal Ornament Examples
Lau Markussen, Jonas
Hardcover
Daughters of the Trade: Atlantic Slavers and Interracial Marriage on the Gold Coast
Ipsen, Pernille
Paperback
Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV Volume 9: The Swedish Army, 1655-1690
Mugnai, Bruno
Paperback
Norse Magic: Spellcrafting with the Gods and Goddesses of the Nordic Tradition
Bruce, Marie
Hardcover
Finnish Mythology: Exploring the Gods, Goddesses, and Creatures of Ancient Tales
Books, Trident
Paperback
Mission to Oslo: Dancing with the Queen, Dealmaking with the Russians, Shaping History
Loftus, Tom
Paperback
Norse Mythology: Captivating Stories & Timeless Tales Of Norse Folklore. The Myths, Sagas & Legends of The Gods, Immortals, Magical Creatures, Vikings
Brought Alive, History
Hardcover
The Dark Folk of Iceland: Elves, Trolls, Ghosts, Outlaws, Sea Spirits, and the Hidden World of Icelandic Legend
Brennan, Tara
Paperback
Shipwrecked Lives: A novel about the Empress of Ireland disaster and the cover-up.
Kinsey, Nicholas
Paperback
Scandinavian Jewry 1911-1955: In the Footsteps of Rabbi A. I. Jacobson Through Turbulent Times
Jacobson, Seth
Hardcover
The First Norman: The True Story of Rollo of Normandy and the Lineage That Remade Europe
Maddox, Winston
Paperback
Norse Paganism: A Modern Beginner's Guide to Asatru & Heathenry, their Gods, Rituals, and Ceremonies to Understanding the Mysteries of the Northern Tr
Hellström, Hans Niklas
Paperback
Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, Books I-IX: I. English Text; II. Commentary
Davidson, Hilda R. Ellis
Paperback
Ancient Scandinavia: An Archaeological History from the First Humans to the Vikings
Price, T. Douglas
Hardcover
Uncovering Greek Mythology: A Beginner's Guide into the World of Greek Gods and Goddesses
Russo, Lucas
Paperback
The Vikings in Greenland: The History of the Norse Expeditions and Settlements across Greenland
Charles River
Paperback
Vikings in England: An Enthralling Guide to the Great Heathen Army and the Viking Raids, Wars, and Settlement in Britain
Wellman, Billy
Paperback
Norse Mythology for Beginners: The Tales of the Vikings Simplified for People Who Slept Through History Class
Clayton, Matt
Hardcover
Encrucijadas En Los Caminos de la Fe: La Fe En Un Mundo Germánico: Las Culturas Y Su Impacto En La Historia del Cristianismo
González, Justo L.
Paperback
History of Greenland: Ice, Inuit, Vikings, Empires, and the Long Struggle for Survival
Savage, Spencer
Paperback
The Swedish Theory of Love: Individualism and Social Trust in Modern Sweden
Berggren, Henrik
Trägårdh, Lars
Paperback