Medieval History
Reaching into its medieval past, Norway has revived an old pilgrim path as a challenging long-distance walking trail with possible spiritual vibes.
Called St. Olav?s Way after the country?s patron saint, it follows the footsteps of pilgrims to Trondheim, called Nidaros in the Middle Ages, and the earthly remains of St. Olav buried under its great cathedral.
In life, the saint was King Olav Haraldsson, credited with sealing Norway?s conversion to Christianity with a martyr?s death in battle in 1030. He was rushed into sainthood a year later. His spreading fame made Nidaros a major destination for European pilgrams, along with Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Pilgrims trod St. Olav?s Way until Lutheranism reached Norway in 1537, shutting down saint worship.
Retraced and signposted in the 1990s, it is a Nordic entry in the pilgrim tourism field dominated by Spain?s Santiago way, made famous by many books and a recent movie with Martin Sheen. Norway?s trail is Santiago without the crowds, and with natural beauty replacing the historic villages and churches of Spain.
Click here to read this article from the Montreal Gazette
- Medieval Walk Organisers Hope To Rival Spanish Pilgrimage Tradition
A medieval pilgrimage route to major historic religious site is to be resurrected ? and organisers hope it will grow to rival a similar event in Spain. The Way of St Andrews will allow travellers to a route taken by 11th and 12th century Christian devotees...
- Codex Calixtinus Stolen From Santiago De Compostela
In what is being called the ?robbery of the century?, a priceless 12th-century manuscript has been stolen from the Santiago de Compostela. The Codex Calixtinus, which contains a kind of travel guide to the famous pilgrimage way of Santiago de Compostela...
- 12th Century Manuscript Goes Missing From Spanish Cathedral
A hugely valuable illuminated manuscript has disappeared from the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, say police. The Codex Calixtinus dates from the 12th Century and was compiled as a guidebook for medieval pilgrims following the Way...
- Research Uncovers Connections Between Charcoal And The Church In Medieval Norway
Norway?s more than 1,000 year-old-city and historical capital, Trondheim, was a beehive of activity in medieval times. Recent archeological research in the city?s popular public forest, ?Bymarka?, has uncovered more than 500 charcoal pits, tell-tale signs...
- Pilgrimage: A Cultural And Spiritual Journey
A recent book by St Andrews University academic Rev Dr Ian Bradley, which offers a history of the pilgrimage over the past two millennia, is to be translated into Arabic. Pilgrimage: A Cultural and Spiritual Journey, which came out last year, sets out...
Medieval History
Norway's pilgrim trail
Called St. Olav?s Way after the country?s patron saint, it follows the footsteps of pilgrims to Trondheim, called Nidaros in the Middle Ages, and the earthly remains of St. Olav buried under its great cathedral.
In life, the saint was King Olav Haraldsson, credited with sealing Norway?s conversion to Christianity with a martyr?s death in battle in 1030. He was rushed into sainthood a year later. His spreading fame made Nidaros a major destination for European pilgrams, along with Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Pilgrims trod St. Olav?s Way until Lutheranism reached Norway in 1537, shutting down saint worship.
Retraced and signposted in the 1990s, it is a Nordic entry in the pilgrim tourism field dominated by Spain?s Santiago way, made famous by many books and a recent movie with Martin Sheen. Norway?s trail is Santiago without the crowds, and with natural beauty replacing the historic villages and churches of Spain.
Click here to read this article from the Montreal Gazette
- Medieval Walk Organisers Hope To Rival Spanish Pilgrimage Tradition
A medieval pilgrimage route to major historic religious site is to be resurrected ? and organisers hope it will grow to rival a similar event in Spain. The Way of St Andrews will allow travellers to a route taken by 11th and 12th century Christian devotees...
- Codex Calixtinus Stolen From Santiago De Compostela
In what is being called the ?robbery of the century?, a priceless 12th-century manuscript has been stolen from the Santiago de Compostela. The Codex Calixtinus, which contains a kind of travel guide to the famous pilgrimage way of Santiago de Compostela...
- 12th Century Manuscript Goes Missing From Spanish Cathedral
A hugely valuable illuminated manuscript has disappeared from the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, say police. The Codex Calixtinus dates from the 12th Century and was compiled as a guidebook for medieval pilgrims following the Way...
- Research Uncovers Connections Between Charcoal And The Church In Medieval Norway
Norway?s more than 1,000 year-old-city and historical capital, Trondheim, was a beehive of activity in medieval times. Recent archeological research in the city?s popular public forest, ?Bymarka?, has uncovered more than 500 charcoal pits, tell-tale signs...
- Pilgrimage: A Cultural And Spiritual Journey
A recent book by St Andrews University academic Rev Dr Ian Bradley, which offers a history of the pilgrimage over the past two millennia, is to be translated into Arabic. Pilgrimage: A Cultural and Spiritual Journey, which came out last year, sets out...