Saint Olaf/Sanctus Olavus

Sanctus Olavus
by Lars Boje Mortensen (Legenda), Eyolf strem (Officium) and slaug

Ommundsen (Missa)
Sanctus Olavus, The Norwegian royal martyr saint, Olaf Haraldsson (d.
1030), became the most renowned local saint in the Nordic countries, as is
evident from the great number of church dedications, place names, pieces
of art, and texts. Little is known of his cult in the eleventh century,
but during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries his shrine in Trondheim
was turned into a major site of pilgrimage and celebration. The Nidaros
cathedral was constructed and a series of liturgical, musical and literary
monuments were composed. His status as a national saint remained
uncontested, but his cult also diffused outside of Norway and assumed
other functions.
Here the focus is on the Latin texts relating to Olaf. For recent surveys
of the historical Olaf Haraldsson, the cult, art and musical history, and
the Old Norse texts see SVAHNSTRM (ed.) 1981, KRTZL 1994, KRAG 1995,
RUMAR (ed.) 1997, LIDN 1999, EKREM, MORTENSEN & SKOVGAARD-PETERSEN (eds.)
2000, STREM 2001, MUNDAL & MORTENSEN 2003, RTHE 2004.
The first critical edition of all the versions of Olav's Latin legend was
finished (as a dissertation) by JIROUSKOVA in 2011 (see bibliography)
after the present article had been written. It therefore reflects the
status of research before her mapping and analysis of all textual
witnesses and her critical edition (about to be published).
Contents
1 Legenda
1.1 Title
1.2 Incipit/explicit
1.3 Size
1.4 Editions
1.5 Translations
1.6 Commentaries
1.7 Date and place
1.8 Summary of contents
1.9 Composition and style
1.10 Sources
1.11 Purpose and audience
1.12 Medieval reception and
transmission

2 Officium
2.1 Metre/rhythm
2.2 Size
2.3 Editions
2.4 Date and place
2.6 Literary and musical models
transmission

3 Missa
3.1 Title
3.2 Editions
3.3 Date and place

3.5 Sources
3.6 Purpose and audience
transmission

3.8 Sequentiae
3.9 A. Lux illuxit
3.9.1 Incipit/explicit
3.9.2 Size
3.9.3 Editions
3.9.4 Recordings
3.9.5 Translations
3.9.6 Date and place
3.9.7 Summary of contents
3.9.8 Composition and style
3.9.9 Sources and literary
models

3.9.10 Purpose and audience
3.9.11 Medieval reception
and transmission

3.9.12 Printed books:

3.10 B. Postquam calix Babylonis
3.10.2 Size
3.10.3 Editions
3.10.4 Translations
models

and transmission

3.11 C. Predicasti dei care
3.11.2 Size
3.11.3 Editions
3.11.4 Recordings
3.11.5 Translations
models

and transmission

3.12 D. Veneremur sanctum istum
3.12.2 Size
3.12.3 Edition(s)
3.12.4 Translations
models


4 Bibliography
Legenda
(BHL 6322-6326). For the present purpose the numerous versions of the
legend are grouped under five headings, A-E, each referring to the text of
the most important extant manuscript (see more information under editions
and medieval transmission below). These letter codes will be used here as
preliminary signposts for describing the surviving versions, not as an
attempt at an exhaustive classification (the text published by STORM 1880
as Acta Sancti Olavi is not included here, because it is a secondary
construct on the basis of a surviving vernacular version). The texts are
usually easy to divide into a passio (or uita) and a miracle part. The
differences between the versions are most conspicuous in the narrative of
the first part, the passio. A gives the fullest passio account (ca. 5
pp.), B a very short abbreviation (half a page), hence the reference in
the scholarly literature (and below) to a long and a short passio (or
vita). In reality the ?short? versions represent different extracts from
what we suppose to be an original close to A. The second part, the
miracles, is in general textually more stable between the versions, but
the selection of miracles differs widely. The miracles will be counted
according to the longest series as they appear in the major early
manuscript (version A, Oxford, Corpus Christi College 209, from Fountains
Abbey), namely 1-49. Only one miracle has been transmitted in Latin in the
High Middle Ages (A, B, C) which is not present in this manuscript, the
Miles Britannicus miracle, for practical purposes numbered here as 50. All
these 50 miracles are posthumous, except no. 1, Olaf?s vision before the
battle of Stiklestad, and no. 10, his trial for working on a Sunday. The
additional late medieval miracles, performed by Olaf while still alive,
are integrated into various late medieval versions of the Passio (D, E)
and are not counted separately.
A Fountains Abbey (late twelfth cent.): long passio, miracles 1-49.
B Anchin (late twelfth cent.): short passio, miracles 1-9, 50, 10-21.
C Sweden (around 1200) rewritten passio (fragmentary transmission).
D Kln (ca. 1460) rewritten passio with more miracles.
E Ribe (ca. 1460-65) rewritten passio with more miracles.
Title
The legend is traditionally referred to as Passio Olaui, but a more
correct form authenticated by the Fountains abbey manuscript is Passio et
miracula beati Olaui reflecting the clear division into two parts. In
later medieval manuscripts other versions are entitled Legenda sancti
Olaui, De sancto Olavo rege Norwegie and sim. or are left without a title.
Incipit/explicit
A Regnante illustrissimo rege Olauo apud Norwegiam ? libere quo uoluit
suis pedibus ambulauit. B Gloriosus rex Olauus ewangelice ueritatis
sinceritate in Anglia comperta ? Qui cum patre et spiritu sancto uiuit, et
regnat Deus per omnia secula seculorum. amen. C [mutilated at the
beginning] ... Ecclesias et loca sancta oracionis ? et regnat in secula
seculorum. amen. D Gloriosus martir Olauus norwegie rex per aliquorum
sanctorum uirorum predicationem conuersus ? multarum rerum ornata
preciositate: in qua ipse requiescit testatur ecclesia. E In Nederos
munitissimo castro tocius Norvegie regni ? cui est omnis honor et gloria
in secula seculorum.
Size
A runs to ca. 40 pp., the others from around 5 to 15 pp. The various
extracts for liturgical readings make up ca. 1 to 3 pp.
Editions
Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda aurea [+ Historie plurimorum.... CHECK],
Kln 1483, 307a-308d. [version D including miracles 2,5,4].

Breviarium Otthoniense (Odense), Lbeck 1483 & 1497 (repr. in STORM
1880, 255-64) [short passio, miracle 1].

Historie plurimorum sanctorum nouiter et laboriose ex diuersis libris
in unum collecte, Louvain 1485, 101-103v (repr. in STORM 1880,
277-82) [version D including miracles 2,5,4].

Breviarium Lincopense (Linkping), Nrnberg 1493 (repr. in STORM
1880, 247-51) [short passio, miracles 1,2,4].

Breviarium Strengnense, Stockholm 1495 (repr. in STORM 1880, 255-64)
[short passio, miracle 1].

Breviarium Upsalense (Uppsala), Stockholm 1496 (repr. in STORM 1880,
255-64) [short passio, miracle 1].

Breviarium Scarense (Skara), Nrnberg 1498, f. CCLVII verso. (repr.
in STORM 1880, 251-54) [long passio, no miracles]

Breviarium Aberdonense (Aberdeen), Edinburgh 1509/1510 (repr. in
METCALFE 1881, 117-18) [short passio, miracles 1,2,4].

Breviarium Slesvicense (Sleswig), Paris 1512 (repr. in STORM 1880,
265-66) [short passio, miracles 1,2,10,5].

Breviarium Arosiense (rhus), Basel 1513 (repr. in STORM 1880,

Breviarium Roschildense (Roskilde), Paris 1517 (repr. in STORM 1880,

Breviarium Lundense (Lund), Paris 1517 (repr. in STORM 1880, 255-64)
[short passio, miracles 1-2].

Breviarium Nidrosiense (Nidaros), Paris 1519, fols. qq II-rr IIII
(repr. in TORFUS 1711, LANGEBEK 1773 & STORM 1880, 229-45),
[extended short passio, miracles 1-3, 6-10, 19, 15, 20, 23, 4, 12,
14].

Breviarium Arhusiense, rhus 1519 (repr. in STORM 1880, 247-51)
[short passio, miracles 1,2,4].

Officia propria ss. patronorum Regni Sueci, Antwerpen 1616 (and
several reprints) [short passio, miracle 1].

TORFUS, T. 1711: Historia rerum Norvegicarum, Copenhagen, vol. 3,
211-13 [reprint of the BN text].

Acta Sanctorum, Antwerpen 1731, Julii Tomus VII, 87-120: ?De S.
Olavo, rege et martyre, Nidrosi in Norvegia Commentarius
Historicus?. [excerpts from medieval and early modern historiography
with discussions; also includes brief quotations from a lost Utrecht
manuscript. The pages 113-16 prints the text, subsequently lost, from
the late medieval legendarium, Codex Bodecensis, under the title
?Acta brevia auctore anonymo, ex passionali pergameno ms. c?nobii
Bodecensis?, which includes an A version of the passio with miracles
1,2,6,7,8,19,20,3,5. Additional material from BN is quoted via
TORFUS 1711, 117-20.]

LANGEBEK, J. 1773: SRD 2, Copenhagen, 529-52: ?Legend aliquot de
Sancto Olavo Rege Norvegi? [edition of various fragments and
transcriptions in Arne Magnusson?s collection, a reprint of the Low
German translation and the BN text]

Officia propria ss. patronorum Regni Poloni et Sueci, Mechlen 1858
(repr. in STORM 1880, 264-65) [short passio, miracle 1].

STORM, G. 1880: ?Acta sancti Olavi regis et martyris,? in MHN,
Kristiania 1880, 125-44 [an eclectic A text based mainly on BN and
Acta sanctorum, but ordered with the Old Norse homily as structural
guideline].

? METCALFE, F. 1881: Passio et Miracula Beati Olaui, edited from a
twelfth-century manuscript in the library of Corpus Christi College,
Oxford, with an introduction and notes by F. M., Oxford [first
edition of the full A version, the Fountains abbey text].

? STORM, G. 1885: Om en Olavslegende fra Ribe, (Christiania
Vidensk.-Selsk. Forhandl. 3), Kristiania. [A partial first edition of
E, the ?Ribe?-legend, ca. 1460/65].

? MALIN 1920 [first edition of the Miles Britannicus-miracle from a
thirteenth-century fragment].

? STREM 2000 [first edition of C, based on thirteenth-century
breviary fragments, Stockholm, Riksarkivet, Fr. 596 & 614 (together
also called codex 97) ? see also STREM 2001]

? STREM 2001 [appendix 2, pp. 263-280, ?Lessons from Passio Olavi?:
the long passio (A) based on Storm 1880, the short passio (B) and
miracles 1-11 based on the Anchin manuscript, all with copious
additional readings from a number of liturgical manuscript fragments.
Appendix 5, pp. 288-91 reprints the edition of the C version from
strem 2000].

Translations
For medieval translations see Medieval transmission and reception.
SKARD, E. 1930: Passio Olavi. Lidingssoga og undergjerningane t den
heilage Olaf, (Norrne bokvrk 46) Oslo (repr. 1970). [Norwegian,
nynorsk, from STORM?s edition, with additions and transpositions].

LUDWIG 1994 ##-## [English, selections from METCALFE?s edition
(version A)]

PHELPSTEAD, C. (ed.) 2001: A History of Norway and The Passion and
Miracles of the Blessed lfr, translated by D. Kunin, ed. with
introduction and notes by C. Phelpstead (Viking Society for Northern
Research Text Series, vol. 13), London [from METCALFE?s edition
(version A)].

IVERSEN, G. (transl.) in LIDN 1999, 404-10 [Swedish, from STORM 1885
(version E)].

EKREM, I. 2000, 145-46 [Norwegian, bokml, the short Passio from
version B].

STREM 2000, 192-97 [Norwegian, bokml, from his own edition ibid.
(version C)].

STREM 2001, ##-##. [English, from his own edition ibid. (version
C)].

Commentaries
METCALFE 1881 [literary and historical footnotes for the entire
text].

SKARD 1930.
KRAGGERUD 1993, 130-44.
PHELPSTEAD 2001, ##-##.
Date and place
There can be no doubt that the legend of St. Olaf went through a formative
phase shortly after the establishment of the archbishopric in Trondheim in
1153, and in particular during the period when Eystein Erlendsson was in
office (1161-1188). Our earliest extant manuscripts of both the legend and
the chants and lectiones derived from it, stem from the end of the twelfth
century, and a number of miracles date and place themselves in Trondheim
after 1153 and some even explicitly during the reign of Eystein. This date
also tallies well with a number of significant textual and musical
compositions for the liturgy of St. Olaf (see below), and with the
contemporary organisation of pilgrimage on a larger scale.
Furthermore the historian Theodoricus Monachus, who was a probably a canon
at the cathedral in this very period and certainly a well-informed local
who dedicated his work to Eystein sometime between the years 1177 and
1188, writes in ch. 20:
Quomodo vero mox omnipotens Deus merita martyris sui Olavi declaraverit
ccis visum reddendo et multa commoda gris mortalibus impendendo, et
qualiter episcopus Grimkel ? qui fuit filius fratris Sigwardi episcopi,
quem Olavus filius Tryggva secum adduxerat de Anglia - post annum et
quinque dies beatum corpus e terra levaverit et in loco decenter ornato
reposuerit in Nidrosiensi metropoli, quo statim peracta pugna transvectum
fuerat, quia hc omnia a nonnullis memori tradita sunt, nos notis
immorari superfluum duximus.
(It has been related by several how almighty God soon made known the
merits of his martyr lfr, by restoring sight to the blind and bestowing
manifold comforts on the infirm; and how, after a year and five days.
Bishop Grmkell (who was the nephew of bishop Sigeweard, whom lfr
Tryggvason had brought with him from England) had lfr?s body exhumed and
laid in a fitly adorned place in the metropolitan city of Nidarss, where
it had been conveyed immediately after the battle was finished. But
because all these things have been recorded by several, I regard it as
unnecessary to dwell on matters which are already known.) (transl.
MCDOUGALL & MCDOUGALL 1998, 32-33).
Although this passage has given rise to a number of discussions (further
references in MCDOUGALL & MCDOUGALL 1998, 32-33) it is safe to infer that
Theodoricus knew of writings (?memori tradita sunt?) about some of Olaf?s
posthumous miracles and about the translation of Olaf?s body to Trondheim
? and that he expected his primary audience to know about such texts. All
other traces of a translation text has disappeared, but the miracles must
at least be some of those we know from the legend, or even simply
identical to a certain group of them. STREM 2001, 34-35, has questioned
STORM?s hypothesis (1880, XXXIV) that Theodoricus is here speaking of a
lost Translatio S. Olavi. Others have extended his doubts (e.g. CHASE
2005, 12) with the resulting interpretation that Theodoricus?s testimony
simply shows that the events were known. But although STREM is correct in
saying that we cannot take for granted that Theodoricus is referring to a
liturgical text, we have to acknowledge that he is referring to specific
writings existing at the cathedral in Trondheim. ?Memoriae tradere? is
standard classical and medieval Latin for putting into writing, and it
would need other indicators and a lot of good will to make it refer to,
for instance, (unwritten) skaldic verse. That Theodoricus is not talking
vaguely of knowledge floating around in common memory is underlined by the
phrase ?a nonnullis?, i.e. writings by certain people. He may or may not
have known who the authors were, but his entire point is to say that what
you do not find in this book you will find in others (almost certainly,
Latin books here at the cathedral). Leaving aside the question of the
Translatio, for the present purpose it is sufficient so far to establish
that Theodoricus presumed that it would be straightforward for his
readers/listeners around 1180 to find one or more written accounts of a
number of Olaf?s posthumous healing miracles.
STORM 1880 and SKARD 1932 were convinced that Theodoricus also knew the
Passio, i.e. the vita-part of the legend more or less as we have it in its
long version. Their textual arguments are not particularly strong and
their view has since become muddled by a number of factors. First,
METCALFE?s discovery of the fullest version (A) of the legend in 1881 with
some of its additional miracles penned by Eystein led to an assumption
that the entire legend came from his hand (and, consequently, must have
been at least contemporary with Theodoricus, if not later). The stylistic
investigation by SKARD 1932 allegedly proved unitary authorship by the
archbishop ? a position that has been accepted by most leading scholars
since, for instance by HOLTSMARK 1937 and GUNNES 1996 although both
believed that some sort of written account did exist before 1153 and was
used by Eystein acting as redactor. The unitary style which SKARD had
suggested, however, was difficult to uphold, both because what seemed to
him stylistic idiosyncrasies are now known to be standard medievalisms,
and because a number of other traits in the text point to more to a
multilayered composition than unitary composition or redaction (cf. EKREM
2000 & MORTENSEN 2000a, MORTENSEN & MUNDAL 2003, and see Summary of
contents below). A particularly intriguing passage in Theodoricus
complicates matters further. He presents as his personal finding (and
there is no reason to doubt this) that Olaf was baptized in Rouen: this
can be learnt from the Norman chronicler, William of Jumiges (ca. 1070,
book 5, ch. 11-12). The Passio takes this information for granted and it
would therefore seem to postdate Theodoricus (for a full discussion of
this see MORTENSEN 2000b). It has also been shown that the short vita
(evidenced before ca. 1200 in the Douai manuscript, version B above) ? by
some scholars believed to have been a first version ? is in fact an
abbreviation of the long vita (STREM 2001, 45 ff., MORTENSEN & MUNDAL
2003, 366). Finally ANTONSSON 2004a has pointed to a convincing motif
parallel (see Sources below) with the legend of Thomas Becket which gives
a terminus post quem of 1173. All this certainly point to the 1170s and
1180s as the crucial period for the composition of the long vita. Instead
of focusing on Eystein alone, it is probably safer to talk of a team
effort by the senior clergy at the Trondheim cathedral (cf. Theodoricus?s
share in discovering evidence for Olaf?s baptism, see also Composition and
style below).
While we can be certain that the Passio is a late twelfth-century
Trondheim composition, and that the entire legend, including the miracles,
must have been put together in a form like A at the same time and place,
this does not preclude the possibility that a first series of miracles
were taken down at an earlier stage, before Eystein, and probably also
before 1153 (for the various groupings of miracles, see below Summary and
Composition). There is a good amount of evidence for this. Theodoricus?s
statement quoted above implies that he knew written accounts of a number
of miracles (and of the translation), but not of a passio. At the
beginning of miracle 37 Archbishop Eystein writes:
Perlectis his, que de uita et miraculis beati Olaui nobis antiquitas
commendauit, congruum estimamus a nobis quoque, qui eius presentialiter
nouis passim illustramur miraculis, que ipsi uidimus aut ueratium uirorum
testimoniis uirtuose ad eius gloriam adeo facta probauimus, futuris
generationibus memoranda litteris assignari.
(Having read all those accounts which antiquity has entrusted to us
concerning the life and miracles of the blessed lfr, we deem it fitting
that we, who have been personally enlightened by his widespread miracles
in our own day, should also commit to the attention of future generations,
in writing, those things which have been performed by miraculous powers,
to his greater glory, as we have seen for ourselves or have learnt from
the testimony of truthful men.)
Eystein?s reference to antiquitas here is somewhat puzzling because it was
clear to him that both the vita and most of the miracles were taken down
after 1153. But he may think of the oldest core of miracles (see below
Summary) at the beginning of the book which radiated ?antiquity? ? or he
may have known for a fact that the collection of miracle reports had
indeed been initiated before 1153.
The strongest indication that a written tradition of old miracles was
available before 1153 is the Old Norse stanzaic poem Geisli (Sunbeam)
composed on commission by the poet Einar Sklason for the festivities at
the establishment of the archdiocese in 1153. In Geisli eight of the first
nine miracles of the Latin collections are describes in a poetic
rephrasing (cf. HOLTSMARK 1937, PHELPSTEAD 2001, XXXII & CHASE 2005).
Usually this is taken as evidence that the vernacular poet was drawing on
Latin writing or stories told on the basis of a Latin text (EKREM 2000,
PHELPSTEAD 2001, MORTENSEN & MUNDAL 2003). It is correctly pointed out by
CHASE (2005, 13) that we cannot be certain that the influence does not run
the other way (as long as we do not possess a pre-1150 fragment containing
Latin miracles), but probability, I think, speaks against it. It is a
widely well-attested practice in the eleventh and twelfth centuries to
take down miracle reports at the main shrine in Latin rather than in the
vernacular, and in this case it is difficult to see how the Latin should
have been extracted from a highly specialized poetic discourse. Some
details of authentication have also been left out by the poet, such as the
presence of votive gifts in the church stemming from miracle 4 and 5 (cf.
Geisli, stanzas 51-56 & 35-36). As these miracle report seem to have
served as an explanation of the votive gifts it would be more difficult to
interpret the authentication as an addition to the Latin text than as
something left out through poetic treatment. More analysis drawing on the
entire miracle corpus in Latin and Old Norse is needed, but I am inclined
to agree with the widely held view that a small collection of Latin
miracle reports was already available in Trondheim before 1153 (cf.
HOLTSMARK 1937, GUNNES 1996, 178-79, EKREM 2000, PHELPSTEAD 2001, XXXVIII)
? although it is difficult to say when it was taken down. One possibility
is the active period of building and ?positioning? in the 1130s and 1140s,
but at the present stage of research there is no clear indication that it
could not be as old as around 1100.
Apart from this possible group of pre-1153 core miracles (1-10) the
remainder of the miracle collection as we know it in version A consists of
various layers composed between 1153 and 1188 (death of Eystein who penned
some of the last miracles) or ca. 1200 (latest palaeographical date of the
Fountains Abbey manuscript.) The Summary below gives some additional
internal evidence for this time frame.
Version B is contemporary with A and strongly related to it (see Summary
below). Version C in all probability stems from Sweden, perhaps from the
diocese of Linkping where it could have been composed around 1200 (STREM
2000 & 2001).
D and E are both late medieval texts (ca. 1460) composed outside of
Norway, D is known through the legendary put together by Herman Greven in
Kln 1460 ? it is probably of German origin as it reflects the world of
Hanseatic traders and was immediately translated into Low German. E is
known through the work of Petrus Mathie in Ribe in southern Denmark (ca.
1460-1465), and is related to D in narrative and motifs.
Summary of contents
Version A: Passio: The long Passio begins by a lofty summary of the role
of Olaf as the ruler who converted the cold North. It includes a number of
biblical quotations where this deed is foreshadowed, and Olaf is hinted at
? he is for instance the ?boiling pot? (olla) mentioned by Jeremiah. The
rest of the Passio is structured chronologically from the time he was
baptized in Rouen. He was the perfect ruler, a rex justus, who spread the
word of God, uprooted paganism, and kept justice by his own humble example
and by restraining the proud. But his efforts was not welcomed by everyone
and due to rising pressure he went into exile in Russia to await a better
time to carry through God?s plan. After a while he felt ready to return,
also to suffer martyrdom if that was God?s will. His adversaries gathered
to meet him, partly bribed by his enemy ?a certain Canute? [the Great],
partly through their own ambition and reluctance to accept Christianity.
Olaf faced death bravely with his eyes fixed on eternal life and was
struck down at Stiklestad [north of Trondheim] on Wednesday July 29, 1028
[according to this version].
Miracles: In this version 49 miracles are collected which can be divided
in four major series: 1-10, 11-21, 22-36, 37-49. For discussion of
possible divisions see HOLTSMARK 1937, GUNNES 1996, 178-88, EKREM 2000,
JRGENSEN 2000, MUNDAL & MORTENSEN 2003. The present division, and others
that have been proposed, owes as much to the transmission of miracles in
other versions as to an analysis of formalities, style and contents ? a
distinction that has not yet been systematically applied. In terms of
content the first series stand out in several respects: it includes two
miracles which happened in Olaf?s lifetime (1 & 10, all other miracles are
posthumous); three miracles (3-5) end with a reference to the votive gift
which can be seen in the martyr?s church now (hec ecclesia). There are no
references to archbishop or arch see. Number 10, which deals with Olaf?s
self-inflicted punishment of his transgression against the rule of resting
on a Sunday, is introduced by an editorial voice explaining that although
this miracle comes last, it should really have been put first in terms of
chronology. No. 2 narrates the ?protomiracle?, the first healing worked by
the saint on the day after his death. 3-5 and 9 report stories of miracles
outside of Norway through prayers to Olaf, and 6-8 of healings of people
who attended the memoria of the saint, i.a. the feast of 29 July. These
miracles (with or without no. 10) are also usually grouped together
because the Old Norse poem Geisli from 1153 (see above) reports all the
miracles here except 8 and 10 and none from any subsequent series.
The beginning of the next series, 11-21, is marked by the reference to the
?archbishop and the brothers? at the end of 11 (... archiepiscopo et
fratribus exposuit) ? the brothers no doubt referring to the regular
canons of the Trondheim cahtedral. Miracle 19 is explicitly dated to the
year when Olaf?s church in Trondheim received the pallium. The majority of
these miracles are healings, but two deal with escape from fire and one
with a boy lost and found (!). The feast and shrine in Trondheim again
dominate, but there are two miracles reported from the Norwegian community
in Novgorod and two from the province of Telemark. No. 21 deals with the
healing of an unnamed Norwegian king at Olaf?s local church in Stiklestad,
but there is no textual break between 21 and 22, in fact 22 begins by
saying ?in the same year...?. The reason that scholars have put a caesura
here is because the miracles 1-21 are transmitted together in a number of
other manuscripts and vernacular texts. With one small exception (part of
miracle 23 in the Breviarium Nidrosiense from 1519), miracles 22-49 are
only known from version A ? the Fountains abbey manuscript. The Anchin
manuscript (see below version B) stops after miracle 21 and so does the
Old Norse Homiliary version from ca. 1200. The vernacular Legendary saga
of Olaf from the beginning of the thirteenth century also confines itself
to the first 21 miracles, and a fragment from the thirteenth century with
Old Norse adaptations of Olaf miracles contain pieces only within this
range as well (cf. JRGENSEN 2000).
The third series, 22-36, is equally dominated by healings at the shrine
(mostly in connection with the celebrations on 29 July). Occasional
?distance? miracles are also reported where the person(s) favoured through
a vow to Olaf present themselves in Trondheim to pay homage to the saint.
An authenticating voice is often present ? it is a ?we? who receives gifts
for the church or who have heard the story from so and so. In two miracles
(26 & 30) the ?we? addresses themselves to a caritati uestre, probably the
archbishop. In no. 34 we are informed that a gift was sent ?to us while we
were in Bergen?; it is most natural to take this as pluralis maiestatis,
hence it is possible that the author here is archbishop Eystein, although
it could be another senior official. Miracle 35 tells of an opening of the
shrine (the miracle is the sweet fragrance) and is also interesting
because it begins with a date ?some time during the reign of King Eystein
...?; this means that this miracle must have been taken down after Eystein
Haraldson?s death in 1157. Some miracles are dated relatively ?the same
year? or ?next winter?. There is no explicit conclusion of this series,
but the next one begins with a clear break.
The fourth and last series, 37-49, is opened by the title ?Tractatus
Augustini Norewagensis episcopi etc? (for Eystein?s opening words about
adding to the miracles, see above Date and Place). In miracle 37 Eystein
tells vividly of a miraculously healed injury he suffered during
inspection of the construction of the new basilica. It is not clear
whether ?tractatus? is the title for miracle 37 alone or for all the
remaining ones, but as they have titles of their own the first alternative
is preferable. His voice is not as explicit in other miracles, but can
probably be discerned in 38, 39 (?we were held up by ecclesiastical
business? ecclesiasticis detinebamur negociis) and 44, as well as in 47
and 49 where the authorial voice suddenly addresses itself to fratres
dilectissimi, the canons of the chapter. This might lead to the conclusion
that the entire last series is authored by Eystein, but in 42 we suddenly
meet the caritas again as addressee as in 26 and 30. Most of the miracles
are healings at the shrine ? as in the other series. In 49 we get an
interesting piece of information on the organisation of healings, namely
the mention of a hospital for pilgrims.
One preliminary conclusion to be drawn about version A is that neither
Eystein or any other redactor were interested in smoothing over the seams
between miracles or groups of miracles in this version ? they were meant
to stand with their pointers in different directions, perhaps also because
they then kept an air of authenticity, but perhaps simply because they
reflect an accepted way of accumulating reports with different authorial
voices. These voices, in turn, all view things in a cathedral perspective,
so the question of authorship can perhaps be resolved by pointing to a
collective of senior officials at Olaf?s church.
Version B Passio: In this version the Passio has been telescoped into less
than a page. Some scholars have viewed the A version as an elaborated B
version whereas others think that B must be an abbreviation of A (see,
with further references, EKREM 2000 & STREM 2001). The present author is
of the opinion that the issue can be settled by internal textual arguments
in favour of B being an abbreviation (argued in MORTENSEN & MUNDAL 2003,
366).
Miracula: The B version includes, in that order, miracles 1-9, 50, 10-21 ?
no. 50 being the only one not in the A version. It deals with an English
knight who (successfully) seeks help in Trondheim on Olaf?s feast day.
There are no specificities about time nor does the authorial voice give
itself away. Miracles 1,4,5,9 and 10 are missing some passages in
comparison with version A, but in nos. 11-21 there are no editorial
differences (cf. EKREM 2000, 124). After miracle 21 there is an epilogue
formula which is similar to the one introducing miracle 26 in version A.
Version C This alternative Passio was first identified and edited by
STREM 2000 & 2001 in a fragment from the National Archives of Sweden
(cod. 97). It consists of 9 lessons, of which 1, 4, and most of 5 have
been lost. It follows the same basic structure as version A with a
depiction of Olaf?s piety, just rule and protection of the poor, his
conflict with his adversaries, his exile in Russia and his return to
martyrdom. But it is nevertheless a completely different text which does
not seem to draw directly on A. The plot and the rhetoric are similar, but
other scriptural references and etymologies are employed (Stiklestad as
locus pugionum uel sicariorum). The most salient feature, in comparison
with A and B, is the more important role allotted to King Canute as leader
of Olaf?s enemies and instigator of evil.
Version D This late medieval adaptation follows version A closely for
about the first half of the text, but then introduces completely new
elements such as Olaf?s rivalry with a pagan brother and the popular story
of Olaf sailing through a mountain. Most striking is the description of
Olaf?s martyrdom during which he is crucified. On the cross Olaf prays for
merchants who call for his help on the dangerous seas.
Version E The other late medieval legend adds a romantic novella about
Olaf?s father Harald?s adventures during a pilgrimage to Santiago de
Compostella and makes the theme about the pagan brother into a main
vehicle for the whole plot.
Composition and style
The only existing investigation of stylistic matters is that done by SKARD
1932 (the A version). Many of his individual observations are still
valuable, but his main conclusion ? that the A text has a unitary style
attributable to Eystein as the sole author/redactor ? has been challenged.
OEHLER (1970, 63 n. 23) put his finger on the soft spots of SKARD?s
procedure: (1) the examples are not drawn systematically from all the
parts of the text whose unity he wants to demonstrate. (2) Most of the
stylistic idiosyncracies SKARD finds are ordinary medievalisms. In spite
of this ? and indeed in spite of Eystein?s explicit statement at the
beginning of miracle 37 that he wants to add to a text transmitted from
antiquity ? Eystein?s role as author of the whole legend (in version A)
has remained uncontested in Norwegian scholarship until recently (e.g.
SKARD 1930-1933, HOLTSMARK 1937, GUNNES 1996; the exception is BULL 1924).
For fuller references to the debate and its present status see MORTENSEN
2000, 101-3, EKREM 2000, 138-39, PHELPSTEAD 2001, XXXVI-XXXIX, MORTENSEN &
MUNDAL 2003, 363-68.
What is still wanting is a modern stylistic analysis (including probings
into the prose rhythm) which characterizes the various parts of the work
irrespective of the author issue. This cannot be offered here, but just to
illustrate the diversity within the A version, consider the following
three passages. The first is about the success of Olaf?s mission from the
passio (ed. METCALFE 1881, 70), the next is from miracle 20 (ibid. 93) and
the third from miracle 37 (ibid. 104) ? one of the pieces certainly
written by Eystein (in a few cases METCALFE?s text is adjusted; the
translation is by P. Fisher [not yet published]):
Plurimum profecit in breui, et innumerabilem Domino multitudinem
adquisiuit. Confluebant ad baptisma certatim populi, et numerus credentium
augebatur in dies. Effringebantur statue, succidebantur luci, euertebantur
delubra, ordinabantur sacerdotes, et fabricabantur ecclesie. Offerebant
donaria populi cum deuocione et alacritate. Erubescebant ydolorum
cultores, confundebantur qui confidebant in scultili, et in multis illius
regionis partibus infidelium depressa multitudine mutire non audens omnis
iniquitas opilabat os suum.
(In a short time he made excellent progress, procuring a countless host
for the Lord. In eager droves they flocked to be baptized, and the number
of believers swelled daily. The effigies were shattered, the groves hewn
down and the shrines overthrown. Priests were ordained, churches built.
The people brought votive offerings piously and promptly. Those who
worshipped idols blushed with shame, those who relied firmly on a graven
image were thrown into confusion, and in many areas of that region the
crowd of unbelievers were quelled, with the result that, not daring to
mutter a sound, all iniquity stopped her mouth.)
Waringus quidam in Ruscia seruum emerat, bone indolis iuuenem, set mutum.
Qui cum nichil de se ipse profiteri posset, cuius gentis esset
ignorabatur. Ars tamen, qua erat instructus, inter waringos eum
conuersatum fuisse prodebat: nam arma, quibus illi soli utuntur, fabricare
nouerat. Hic, cum diu ex uenditione diuersa probasset dominia, ad
mercatorem postmodum deuenit, qui ei pietatis intuitu iugum laxauit
seruile.
(A certain Varangian had bought a slave in Russia, a young man of fine
natural qualities, but dumb. Consequently he could make no declaration
about himself and therefore people were ignorant of his race. However, the
craftsmanship he was versed in showed that he had lived among the
Varangians, for he knew how to forge the kind of armour that they alone
wore. When he had passed by sale from one master to another, he eventually
came into the hands of a merchant, who on compassionate grounds loosed him
from the yoke of slavery).
Ego itaque Augustinus per uoluntatem dei in ecclesia beati martiris Olaui
episcopalem ad tempus sollicitudinem gerens, cum a magistro, qui operariis
ecclesie preest, pro quibusdam in opere disponendis super muri fastigium
euocarer, pons, in quo lapides trahebantur, multitudinis, que nos
sequebatur, molem non ferens confractus cecidit. Peccatis autem
exigentibus ut uite et iniuncte sollicitudinis cautior redderer, ceteris
ponti et machinis adherentibus solus in precipicium feror.
(And so, when I, Eystein, was at that time, by God?s wish, bearing the
responsibility of archbishop in the church of the blessed martyr Olaf, I
was called out to the top of the wall by the foreman in charge of those
labouring on the church, so that I might settle certain details of the
work; but the gangplank along which the stone was being hauled could not
bear the weight of all the people following us up, so that it shattered
and collapsed. With my sins demanding that I should make myself be rather
careful of my life and the responsibility imposed on me, while the rest
were clinging to the gangplank and scaffolding I alone fell headlong.)
The first sample is effectively built by one perfect (profecit) followed
by a number of emphatically foregrounded imperfects depicting the movement
of conversion (confluebant, effringebantur etc.) which, in spite of the
lack of concreteness, conjures up images of the process. The language is
steeped in biblical phrases referring to conversion and paganism: numerus
credentium augebatur could echo Act. 5.14 magis autem augebatur credentium
in Domino multitudo virorum ac mulierum, the effigies and the groves no
doubt come out of Josias?s uprooting of idolatry in 4. Reg. 23.14 et
contrivit statuas et succidit lucos. The pun on confundo and confido is
from Is. 42.17 confundantur confusione qui confidunt in sculptili, and
finally the recherch phrase about iniquity brought to silence is borrowed
from Ps. 106.42: et omnis iniquitas oppilabat os suum.
The second example shows a straightforward novelistic miracle account,
paratactic and without any biblical or poetic embellishment. The only
exertion in that direction, it seems, is the modest hyperbaton at the end
of the quotation, iugum laxauit seruile. This paratactic style is typical
of many of the shorter miracles ? a sort of reportatio or protocol
matter-of-fact style. The third example, in contrast, is extremely
hypotactic with a very substantial postponement of the main element pons
.... cecidit. The opening absolute ablative of the second clause, peccatis
exigentibus, is a twelfth-century favourite in explaining setbacks for the
good cause, frequently used in crusading historiography whenever the
Christian army loses to the infidel.
Sources
The literary and hagiographical background of the Legend ? and here the
long Passio (version A) is the most relevant object of study ? has not
been investigated systematically. It is almost certain that one motif (of
the cold North heated by the calor fidei) is borrowed from lnoth?s legend
of Sanctus Kanutus rex (cf. SKNLAND 1956) and influences from Hugh of St
Victor?s De sacramentis has also been traced in the way Olaf is described
as rex justus (GUNNES 1996, 213-14). In general it has been assumed that
the author of Passio Olaui used English hagiographical models for
describing a martyr king (cf. HOFFMANN 1975, PHELPSTEAD 2001, XLIII); most
pertinent here are probably the widespread Abbo?s Life of Edmund (d. 869,
Passio written 985-987) and perhaps the anonymous Life of Edward Martyr
(d. 978, Passio written ca. 1100), but no striking verbal parallels have
so far been demonstrated. The Legend(s) of Thomas Becket (d. 1170) has
also been drawn into the picture on account of strong similarities in the
motif of premeditated flight and exile as a necessary preparation of
martyrdom (ANTONSSON 2004a).
Purpose and audience
The Passio (version A) was composed during the archbishopric of Eystein,
probably around 1180, and should be seen as part of the textual and
liturgical initiatives to which also Theodoricus? History and the Office
and Sequences of Olaf belong. The Passio provided the the textual backbone
for the new liturgy. Most of the miracles were also taken down at the
shrine in this same period which was characterized by building activity
and organization of pilgrimage on a larger scale. A miracle protocol
served a double purpose of divine and human bookkeeping ? Olaf?s
miraculous deeds had to be inscribed into the book of God as well as to
document his powers for pilgrims. It would seem that a protocol had
existed in an early version before 1153, but it is certain that it was
kept assiduously during the reign of Eystein. After that it does not seem
to have been updated anymore. Version B is an example of a contemporary
condensed text with basically the same purpose as A; many other such
extracts and condensations were made (see below transmission) mainly for
liturgical purposes. In addition we possess in C an alternative vita,
probably made for a specific Swedish liturgy; again many such variants may
have existed.
The particular circumstances around versions D and E have not been
studied, but they were hardly written for a Norwegian audience, but rather
for Northern German and Danish merchant communities around 1460.
Medieval reception and transmission
As is already clear from the above the Legend of St Olaf became a very
wide spread text in the Nordic Middle Ages. Many brief versions for
liturgical readings surface in the early printed breviaria from Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, and northern Germany and thus reflect a steady manuscript
transmission from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries. Of these liturgical
codices a considerable number of pertinent fragments have been identified
(see especially STREM 2001) which corroborates a spread through the
Nordic dioceses already from the early thirteenth century. The Latin text
? again in various versions ? were also translated into Old Norse (ca.
1200, Gamal norsk homiliebok, ed. G. Indreb, Oslo 1931), Old Swedish
(fourteenth cent., ed. ##) and Low German (Lbeck 1492 (1499, 1505):
Passionael efte Dat Levent der Hyllighen) and it played an important role
for part of the Saga literature on King Olaf in the thirteenth century. It
is thus a testimony to the dramatic library history of the Nordic
Reformations that the important manuscript textual witnesses to the full
legend ? as typically copied in legendaries ? survive only in foreign
codices, namely English (A) and French (B). A large number of similar
texts must have been around locally, especially in Norway. The main
manuscripts for versions A-E are:
(A) Oxford, Corpus Christi College 209, fols. 57r-90r; Fountains
Abbey (Cistercian), Yorkshire, last quarter of the twelfth century.
Version A: long passio, miracles 1-49, unique witness to miracles
22-49.

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson C 440, fols. 187v-194r; English,
probably Cistercian from Yorkshire, second quarter of the thirteenth
century. Version A: long passio, miracles 1-11, 50 (some now lost due to
mutilation). Dresden, Schsisches Landesbibliothek cod. A 182, fols.
172-177; Liber Laurentii Odonis, Sweden (Linkping?), ca. 1400. Version A:
long passio, miracles 1-5 #.
(B) Douai, Bibliothque municipale, 295, fols. 94r-108v; Anchin
(Benedictine), Northern France, last quarter of the twelfth century.
Version B: short passio, miracles 1-9, 50, 10-21.

Wiener-Neustadt, Neukloster XII. D 21, ##; Bordesholm (Augustinian
canons), Holstein, 1512. Version B: short passio, miracles 1-10, 50, 13-14
#].
(C) Stockholm, National Archives, Fr. 596/614 (cod. 97#); Swedish,
second half of the thirteenth century. Unique (fragmentary) witness
to version C.

(D) Berlin, Staatsbibliothek - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Theol. lat.
fol. 706, ff. 168r-169v [Kln 1460, by Hermann Greven. Version D].

(E) Copenhagen, The Arnamagnan Collection, AM #### [Ribe 1460-1465,
by Petrus Mathe. Version E].

Officium
The most important part of a saint?s liturgy such as St. Olaf?s, in
addition to the legend, is the approximately 35 chants that were sung
during the canonical hours: Vespers, Matins and Lauds. As was customary,
they are closely linked to the legend. The antiphons of Vespers are
general invocations, but most of the chants for Matins are taken straight
from the legend text, with only slight adaptations. The antiphons for
Lauds are short summaries of some of the miracles.
The printed Breviarium Nidrosiense (1519) also contains a few chants that
stem from the oldest layer of liturgical celebration of St Olaf, the
office in the Leofric Collectar from ca. 1060. This office was probably
compiled by Grimkell, Olaf?s own missionary bishop and the one who
canonized Olaf in 1031 (see BIRKELI 1980, JOHNSEN 1975, and STREM 2001).
The melodies of the chants consistently employ a small set of fixed,
standardized formulae, and they have been described by one scholar as
?rather dull and uninspired? (HUGHES 1993, 409).
Metre/rhythm
Most of the chant texts in the office of St. Olaf are in prose, and not in
the style of the rhymed office with metrical and rhymed texts, which was
the dominating style for this kind of saint?s office from the eleventh
century onwards. Only the hymns, the antiphon for the Magnificat Adest
dies letitie, and some of the early antiphons which go back to the Leofric
collectar are in verse. The hymns are all trochaic septenarii (3 x [8p +
7pp]), except the asclepiadic O quam glorifica (4 x [6 + 5p]). Adest dies
letitie is in iambic dimeters (8pp), and the early antiphons are in
hexameters or elegiac couplets.
Size
A full liturgical office such as the feast of St. Olaf consists of six
antiphons, a responsory, and a hymn for Vespers; the same for Lauds; ten
antiphons, nine responsories, and a hymn for Matins; and one antiphon for
Magnificat at the second Vespers, a total of ca. 35 chants. In addition to
this come short chapter lessons, prayers, versicles, etc. at each of the
hours.
Editions
Breviarium Nidrosiense, Paris 1519 (Facsimile edition by Brsums
forlag, Oslo 1964).

? STORM, G. 1880: Monumenta historica Norvegiae, 229?282, Christiania
[Oslo].

REISS, G. 1912: Musiken ved den middelalderlige Olavsdyrkelse i
Norden (Videnskabsselskabets skrifter, II. Hist.-Filos. Klasse, 1911
no. 5), Christiania [Oslo].

DESWICK, E.S. & FRERE, W.H. 1914-1921: The Leofric Collectar, London.
? STREM, E. 2001: The Office of St Olaf. A Study in Chant
Transmission, Uppsala.

Date and place
As with the Legend, which is the textual point of departure for the
Office, there is no reason to assume that the Office should have been
written anywhere but in Trondheim, and it is equally probable that it
stems from the concerted effort of senior clerics during the reign of
Eystein or shortly thereafter. The earliest manuscripts (or fragments)
that contain the Office can be dated to the decades around 1200. The
terminus post quem is more difficult to determine. Several manuscripts
have been preserved which lack a proper St. Olaf?s office, but where
Olaf?s name is mentioned in the collect prayer for the saints who were
previously celebrated on that day (e.g. ?Presta quesumus omnipotens deus
ut sicut populus christianus martyrum tuorum felicis simplicii faustini
beatricis atque olaui temporali sollemnitate congaudet?, from S-Skam Br
250). All the sources of this type are from the middle or the end of the
twelfth century, and none of them is younger than the oldest source with
the complete Office. This may be taken as an indication that no office
existed when these older books were produced, i.e. roughly the third
quarter of the twelfth century. All in all this strengthens the hypothesis
that the Office was composed during Eystein Erlendsson?s episcopacy
(1161-1188), either by him or under his supervision. If the above argument
about Theodoricus is accepted (see Legend), this means that the Office in
its known form can hardly have been in place before 1180.
Summary of contents
The antiphons of Vespers, which begin the Office, are all invocations of
the kind: Sancte martyr domini Olave, pro nobis quesumus apud deum
intercede (Holy martyr of the Lord, Olaf, we beg you to intercede for us
before God) (first antiphon of Vespers).
The nine antiphons of Matins are all taken from the beginning of the
Legend. The first two antiphons briefly summarize the first section of the
Passio which can be described as the ?cosmic view? of the state of affairs
at the time of Olaf ? how God looked upon the people of the North and in
his mercy ?founded his city in the eagle?s quarters? (in lateribus
aquilonis fundavit civitatem suam) during Olaf?s reign. The rest of the
antiphons together with the first responsory contain, sentence by
sentence, the entire text of the following section of the Passio (from
?Hic evangelice veritatis? to the passage ending ?ad agnitionem et
reverentiam sui creatoris reduxit?, which in the last antiphon is changed
to ?ad veri dei culturam revocabat?). In this text passage, the
perspective is narrowed down, beginning with Olaf?s baptism, then
enumerating his deeds as a Christian ruler: although he was a pagan, he
was benign and honest at heart, always meditating on heavenly things, even
when he was involved in the affairs of the kingdom, and, not being content
with his own salvation, he desired to convert his subjects also.
The purpose of responsories in the office was originally to function as
commentaries to the lessons that preceded them, often in such a way that
taken together they would tell the whole story of the saint. In the Office
of St. Olaf, however, this is hardly the case. The texts for the
responsories show no attempt to present a continuous narrative, as in the
antiphons. Rather, they are compilations of passages from different places
in the Passio, in some cases combined with foreign material. The
selections seem to have been made so as to present a condensed version of
the main contents of the Passio text, where each chant text presents a
separate theme. The first three responsories, which were sung during the
first Nocturn, are a characterization of the king and his good nature ? a
pious ruler who despised all earthly glory (R1), who was filled with
burning fervour in the face of resistance (R2), and who courageously faced
danger, even in the prospect of death (R3). The responsories of the second
Nocturn recount his acts and the fruits they bore: how he wandered among
the people like an apostle (R4), turning them away from their heathen gods
and baptizing them (R5), until eventually the word took root and churches
were built everywhere (R6). The third Nocturn presents Olaf?s passio in
three glimpses: how he met his enemies (R7), how he saw Jesus in a dream
(R8), and how he could finally ?exchange his earthly kingdom for the
heavenly? (R9).
The antiphons of Lauds are taken in their entirety from the legend; they
are very condensed summaries of five of the miracles. The antiphon for the
Magnificat in the second Vespers again returns to the ?cosmic perspective?
of the introduction: Hodie preciosus martyr olavus ab inimicis veritatis
occisus (Today Olaf was slain by enemies of truth).
The hymns (or hymn) that run(s) through the Office as it is preserved in
the Breviarium Nidrosiense follow(s) more or less the same pattern as the
antiphons: a short version of the most important parts of the legend,
followed by a few miracles.
Literary and musical models
A common way of compiling new offices was to adapt chants from already
existing offices. This is the case also for the chants on the Office of St
Olaf, where ca. half of the antiphons have known models of this kind
(owing to the lack of a comprehensive reference material for Responsories
in medieval offices, these have not been studied with any consistency).
The gospel antiphons for Vespers, Lauds, and Second Vespers, and the
antiphon for the Invitatory of Matins, are based upon corresponding
antiphons in the early-twelfth-century Office of St. Augustine; the rest
of the chants for Vespers can be found in various offices for St. Martin
of Tours, which suggests that they all stem from a single St. Martin?s
Office, even though no such office is known today; and several of the
remaining antiphons in the office have models in the office of St.
Vincentius. R9 Rex inclytus is based upon a text found in the commune
sanctorum of York and Durham. The same text is used in offices for several
other martyrs, e.g. Dionysius (cf. BERGSAGEL 1976).
In most of these chants, the borrowing also extends to the chant texts,
ranging from the Vespers antiphons, where the entire text except the name
of the saint have been taken over, through the incorporation of an incipit
or a key-phrase, as in the chants taken from the Office of St. Augustine,
to antiphons where only the melody has been used.
The sources from which the chants have been taken are not insignificant:
the Augustine reform movement was a driving force in the early period of
the Archbishopric of Nidaros; Eystein himself introduced the feast of St.
Augustine in Nidaros and latinized his name ?Augustinus?. Likewise, St.
Martin had attributes like ?apostle of France?, ?proto-bishop?, patron
saint of monasticism and of the Merovingian kingdom, all of which are
close to the position that Olaf had (or was attempted to be given) in the
early Norwegian church.
For the remaining chants, no direct sources have been found. These chants
are all written in a highly formulaic musical language, where each melody
consists of a series of repetitions of small melodic cells, completely in
conformance with the style of the late twelfth century. Some attention
seems to have been given to the syntactical structure of the texts in the
ordering of the melodic cells, which may be an indication that they were
indeed assembled in Nidaros, but there may also have been models which
have not yet been disclosed.
The Office of St. Olaf was used for the celebration of the feast of St.
Olaf (29 July) in the Nordic countries and throughout the period from the
early thirteenth century up to the Reformation. St. Olaf was celebrated
with a feast of one of the highest ranks throughout most of the Nordic
countries (summum, totum duplex or duplex; the exception is Uppsala,
where, mainly for ecclesio-political reasons, it only had the rank of
novem lectiones). Every church in the region can therefore be assumed to
have had at least one copy of the Office in their liturgical books. This
probably makes it the most widely spread text in this handbook.
During the first decades of the sixteenth century the Scandinavian
liturgies were revised and codified in printed breviaries. These contain
the legend and the chant texts, but they are all without musical notation.
Thus, for the music and for the transmission prior to 1500 we have to rely
on parchment fragments, mainly from liturgical books, which were used as
wrappers around account books in the growing administrations of the
sixteenth century, and which have been collected in the National Archives.
Due to differences in archival praxis, the extant collections from the
Danish area (including Norway and Iceland) are rather small, whereas in
the National Archives of Sweden (Riksarkivet) there are ca. 20 000 such
fragments, mainly bifolia from liturgical books (see BRUNIUS 1993 & 2005
(ed.), ABUKHANFUSA 2004, OMMUNDSEN 2006). This gives a total of a little
more than 100 fragments from the Scandinavian countries that contain parts
or all of the Office, with a great predominance of Swedish material.
The transmission is remarkably stable in this material as a whole. A few
variants, probably connected to specific dioceses, are discernible, e.g. a
few texts from the dioceses of Linkping in Sweden have a special
responsory for Vespers (Sancte Olave Christi martyr), and a proper hymn, O
quam glorifica lux hodierna, seems to have been used only in Vsters,
also in Sweden. The extant material from Norway is too small to draw any
conclusions concerning local practices.
In addition to the office based on Passio Olavi, there is evidence of a
second office, based on a different legend (see STREM 2000). Even this
office can be dated to ca. 1200 or earlier. Of the three textual witnesses
to this legend, one has the different legend text, combined with chants
from the office based on Passio Olavi, one has the legend text from Passio
Olavi combined with chants based on the different legend, and the third
has a legend that switches from Passio Olavi to the other legend after the
sixth lesson.
Missa
Title
Missa in natalicio beati Olavi regis et martyris (constructed on the basis
of the rubric of the Nidaros ordinal), or Missa in solennitate sancti
Olavi regis et martyris (on basis of the rubric of Missale Nidrosiense).
The mass could also be referred to with the incipit from the Oratio
collecta in the first part of the mass; ?Deus regum corona? (the Red Book
of Darley, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 422), or ?Deus qui es regum
omnium corona? (Missale Nidrosiense) (GJERLW 1968, 124).
Editions
*REISS, G. 1912: Musiken ved den middelalderlige Olavsdyrkelse i Norden,
Kristiania, 104-5 (reprint of the text in Missale Nidrosiense. No musical
notation apart from Alleluia with verse printed on p. 67).
EGGEN, E. 1922: Nyfunnen Olavsmusikk, Serprent or Norsk aarbok
(presentation of the liturgical elements with dubious musical
notation for the chants).

GJERLW, L 1968, Ordo Nidrosiensis Ecclesiae, Oslo, 372-73 (edition
of the entries in the Nidaros ordinal. Incipits only).

Most of the chants for St. Olaf?s mass can be found in editions of the
Missale or Graduale Romanum, like Graduale Romanum (Solesmes 1974) or
Graduale Triplex (Solesmes 1979) in the liturgy for the commons (Communia
sanctorum elementa).
Date and place
St. Olaf?s mass was probably celebrated already from the mid eleventh
century, both in Norway and England. The earliest testimony is the Red
Book of Darley, from the early 1060s. One may suspect that the person
responsible for putting these liturgical elements together in a mass was
Olaf?s English bishop Grimkell (d. 1047), who seems to have been active in
propagating the cult of Olaf immediately after his death in 1030 (see for
instance STREM 2001, 28-33).
Summary of contents
The mass contains few elements proper to the saint. Still, it is carefully
assembled to fit the celebration of a martyr king. The text ?Posuisti
domine super caput eius coronam de lapide pretioso? (Ps. 20, 4: thou
settest a crown of pure gold on his head) is sung twice, first as the
gradual between the two readings, then as the offertory. The liturgical
elements are as follows:
Introitus: Gaudeamus omnes in Domino. Ps. Misericordias domini [Ps. 88].
Coll. Deus qui es regnum omnium corona. Ep. Justum deduxit [Sap. 10,
10-14]. Gr. Posuisti domine. V. Desiderium. Alleluia. Sancte Olave qui in
celis vel Alleluia. Letabitur iustus. Seq. Lux illuxit. Ev. Si quis vult
post me venire [Matth. 16, 24-28]. Offert. Posuisti domine. Secr.
Inscrutabilem secreti tui. Com. Magna est gloria. Postcom. Vitalis hostie
verbi carofacti.
The Missale Nidrosiense gives an alternative to the psalm verse for the
introit (Domine in virtute, Ps. 20) and an alternative to the
Postcommunion; Agni celestis.
Sources
The sources for St. Olaf?s mass are the common elements for the saints,
mainly the martyrs. The introit Gaudeamus omnes is in the Graduale Romanum
also used for Agatha, Benedict, Mary (the Annunciation and the Assumption)
and All saints. The gradual Posuisti with the verse Desiderium is from the
Commune martyrum in the Graduale Romanum. So is the Alleluia with the
verse Letabitur. The Alleluia with verse Sancte Olave qui in celis letaris
is in Missale Nidrosiense found in the Commune unius confessoris (Sancte
N. qui in celis letaris). The offertorium Posuisti also belongs to the
Commune martyrum, while the communion Magna est gloria is in the Commune
apostolorum.
The rubric in Missale Nidrosiense reads In solennitate sancti Olavi Regis
et martyris, referring to the feast celebrated on St. Olaf?s nativitas 29
July. The mass was also celebrated at the date of the translatio, 3
August. In addition there was a service every Wednesday, possibly limited
to Lent (omni quarta feria, see sequence Predicasti dei care below)
(GJERLW 1968, 127).
St. Olaf?s mass was celebrated in the Nordic countries and, as it seems,
parts of England, and possibly also in other places in Northern Europe.
The mass remained virtually unchanged for five hundred years, from its
earliest transmitted appearence in the English service book from the early
1060?s to the printed Missale Nidrosiense (1519). The most important
textual witnesses are:
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 422 [a Sherbourne service book
known as ?The Red book of Darley?, penned in the early 1060s; Olaf is
on fol. 162].

Copenhagen, The Arnamagnan Collection, AM 241 b I.
Copenhagen, The Arnamagnan Collection, AM 98 8 II.
Oslo, National Archives, Lat. fragm. 932 [thirteenth century;
Alleluia with verse and a few lines of the sequence Lux illuxit].

Reykjavk, Thodminjasafn slands, No. 3411 v. [the introit with
verse, Alleluia with verse and first part of the sequence Lux
illuxit].

Printed books:
Graduale Suecanum, Lbeck ca. 1490.
Missale Lincopense, ##
Missale Nidrosiense, Copenhagen 1519 (without notation).
For a survey of the British material on St. Olaf, see DICKINS 1940; for
the early Swedish texts, see SCHMID 1945.
Sequentiae
Four sequences for St. Olaf are transmitted. The most important and the
earliest sequence is Lux illuxit, from the late twelfth century. The
remaining sequences, Predicasti dei care, Postquam calix babylonis and
Veneremur sanctum istum are later and were probably never as widely
spread. The latter is only known from Sweden and Finland.
A. Lux illuxit
Incipit/explicit
Lux illuxit letabunda, lux illustris lux iocunda.../...tua salvet dextera.
Amen.
Size
Eight strophes.
Editions
BYSTRM, O. 1903: Ur medeltidens kyrkosng i Sverige, Norge och
Finland, II, Stockholm.

? REISS, G. 1912, 12-44. Ugivere: Analecta Hymnica 42, 302.
? EGGEN, E. 1968, I, 213-21.
Recordings
Slvguttene (dir. T. Grythe): Kormusikk fra Norge i Middelalder og
Renessanse, samt fra vr tid. Choeur Gregorien de Paris, Lux illuxit
laetabunda, 1989. Schola Sanctae Sunnivae: Rex Olavus, 2000. Schola Canto
Gregoriano Sola: Aquas plenas, 2001.
Translations
(Norwegian, nynorsk) EGGEN, E. in undated newspaper article.
(Norwegian, nynorsk) STYLEN, B. 1923, in Norsk Salmebok 1985, no.
741 (adjusted to the melody of Predicasti dei care).

(Norwegian, nynorsk) FOSS, R. 1938, 95-98 & FOSS, R. 1949, 111-15.
(Norwegian, bokml) REISS 1912, 14 (n. 4).
(English) LITTLEWOOD, A. 2001 (CD-leaflets, Scholae Sanctae Sunnivae,
Schola Canto Gregoriano Sola) [English].

(Norwegian, bokml) KRAGGERUD 2002, 106-8.
Date and place
Lux illuxit was composed between ca. 1150 and 1215. The terminus ante quem
applied by REISS, namely the presence of the sequence?s incipit on a
manuscript fragment in the National Archives dated ca. 1200, should be
disregarded since the fragment in the hand of the scribe generally
referred to as the ?St. Olaf scribe?, should be dated closer to 1300 (see
GJERLW 1968, 35-36). The earliest manuscript fragment with evidence of
Lux illuxit is a sequentiary from the first half of the thirteenth century
(Oslo, National Archives, Lat. fragm. 418).
Lux illuxit is a testimony to the ?transitional style? often connected
with the period 1050-1150 (and beyond) and characterized by a variation in
the structure and metre of the verses combined with a certain use of
rhythm and rhyme. This transitional style, however, existed alongside the
rhymed sequence of the late style (KRUCKENBERG 1997, 145). A few passages
in the sequence seems to owe their wording to the Passio Olavi (or the
office ?In regali fastigio? based on the Passio), which could indicate a
date after ca. 1180 (see Legend above).
The sequence was in all probability composed by a Norwegian, as can be
inferred by the reference to St. Olaf as ?our special protector? (tutor
noster specialis) (REISS 1912, 17). REISS presents Eirik Ivarsson
(archbishop 1188-1206) as a likely candidate for the composer. VANDVIK
points out that there are four possible composers, who had their education
from St. Victor, namely the archbishops Eystein, Eirik and Tore
(archbishop 1206-1214) or Tore, bishop of Hamar (1189-1196) (VANDVIK
1941). Both Eystein and Eirik were committed to the moulding of a uniform
Nidaros rite. It would be natural to see the sequence in connection to the
other activity in Nidaros during the second half of the twelfth century.
Summary of contents
The strophes 1-3 encourage the people to sing and celebrate on the feast
day of St. Olaf. The strophes 4-7 tell of Olaf as a king who longs for
eternal life, and is devoted to Christ, suffering many troubles to save
his people and accepting hatred, punishments and exile with an unwavering
mind. The night before the battle he had a vision, and got a foretaste of
what he loved, which he finally won through his illustrious martyrdom. The
final strophe is directed to Olaf, asking for his protection.
Lux illuxit has eight strophes. The melody changes from strophe to strophe
in the typical manner of the sequence, with the two versicles or
hemi-strophes in each strophe sharing the same melodic line. The only
exception is the first strophe, which has two different melodies for each
versicle. While the strophes 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 are predominantly
trochaic (although not equal in structure), the third and sixth strophes
are dactylic. The structure is as follows (sung twice in each strophe):
1. 8p + 8p + 7pp
2. 7pp + 7pp + 7pp
3. 6pp + 6pp + 6pp + 6pp
4. 8p + 8p + 7pp
5. 8p + 8p + 8p + 8p + 7pp
6. 6pp + 6pp + 6pp + 6pp + 6pp
7. 8p + 8p + 8p + 7pp
8. 8p + 8p + 8p + 8p + 7pp
The sequence is rhymed in different patterns. For verse 1, 2 and 4 the
rhyme is aabccb, v. 3 has aaaa, v. 5, 6 and 8 have aaaabaaaab, and v. 7
aaabcccb. The use of rhythm and rhyme gained increasing popularity in the
history of the sequence, culminating in what is called the late style, or
?second epoch? sequences, connected with the Abbey of St. Victor in Paris,
and its cantor Adam of St. Victor (d. 1146) (regarding the recent
identification of Adam of St. Victor as Adam Precentor, d. 1146, as
opposed to another twelfth century figure d. 1192, see, for instance,
FASSLER 1993, 206-7). In the case of Lux illuxit, however, given the lack
of uniformity of structure between the strophes, one may see it as a
sequence of the transitional style rather than the late style (for the
transitional style, see KRUCKENBERG 1997).
The composer is fond of alliteration, anaphor, and other repetitions: ?lux
illuxit letabunda, lux illustris, lux iocunda, lux digna preconio.? Str.
3a: ?Insignis martiris insignis gloria, dulcis est gaudii dulcis materia.?
The repetition in versicle 3a is with seemingly similar words, but as they
are different cases, they actually form the rhetorical figure polyptoton,
with insignis first in the genitive case, then in nominative. Dulcis comes
first in nominative, then in the genitive case. At the same time the words
martiris/materia and gloria/gaudii form chiastic alliterations. Other
examples of polyptoton are found in the following versicles: Str. 3b:
?celesti iubilo tange celestia,? Str. 6b: ?felix felicia migrans ad
gaudia,? Str. 7b: ?Quod amabat pregustavit, pregustatum plus optavit, plus
optatum vendicavit illustri martirio.? The composer evidently strove for
repetition more than variation. A similar joy in word-repetion is found in
the sequence Lux iocunda (most likely by Adam of St. Victor, FASSLER 1993,
272), a sequence which was possibly an inspiration for our composer: Str.
1a: ?Lux iocunda, lux insignis.? Str. 1b:?Corda replet linquas didat ad
concordes nos invitat cordis lingue modulos.? Str. 8b: ?Nil iocundum nil
amenum nil salubre nil serenum nichil dulce nichil plenum?. It is also
tempting to compare with the last part of the final verse of the night
office in St. Olaf?s office ?In regali fastigio?, where a similar fondness
for repetition and polyptoton is evident: ?regem rex videt in decore suo
et in salutari regis magna gloria regis.?
The melody builds a climax towards the centre of the sequence, as so often
in the sequences. As in the text there are also melodic quotations of
Parisian/Victorine sequences, see below.
Sources and literary models
Even though Lux illuxit is not a late style sequence, the text seems
inspired by sequences by Adam of St Victor, particularly the Easter
sequence Lux illuxit dominica (?Lux illuxit Dominica, lux insignis lux
unica, lux lucis et laetitiae, lux immortalis gloriae?), the sequence for
Pentecost Lux iocunda, lux insignis, and possibly also the sequence for
St. Vincentius: Triumphalis lux illuxit. The rhymes ?triumphalis,
specialis, malis? as used in v. 8 in Lux illuxit letabunda is found in
Adam of St. Victor?s sequence for the relics of St. Victor, Ex radice
caritatis, and similarly ?spiritalis, specialis, malis? in Adam?s sequence
Virgo mater Salvatoris (REISS 1912, 16). The link to the sequence for
Thomas Becket Gaude Sion et letare also mentioned by REISS suggested on
the basis of the expression felicio commercio seems less important, as Lux
illuxit here follows more closely the final verse of the night office in
St. Olaf?s office ?In regali fastigio'?: Felici commercio pro celesti
regnum commutans terrenum; As we compare with our sequence v. 2b, we see
that also the choice of the verb is the same as in the night office: Pro
eternis brevia commutavit gaudia felici commercio. It is therefore more
likely that the Passio or the Office is the source of this particular
choice of words. Also in verse 4a ? rex Olavus constitutus in regni
fastigio ? we can sense a link to the Passio and the Office: In regali
fastigio constitutus spiritu pauper erat rex Olavus (from the first
responsory of the night office). The regali fastigio is altered to regni
fastigio, presumably to fit the verse better.
The melody of the first strophe of Lux illuxit appears to be a quotation
of the transitional sequence Letabundus exultet (EGGEN 1968, 219). The
second strophe goes on to quote what is regarded as the melodic
cornerstone of the Victorine sequences, namely Laudes crucis. The strophes
five and eight are also founded on melodic lines from Laudes crucis, as
well as the first part of strophe four. These quotations may very well be
an expansion of the textual associations to Lux iocunda (see above), since
Lux iocunda was set to the melody of Laudes crucis, at least in the Abbey
of St. Victor (FASSLER 1993, 179).
Lux illuxit was made to be sung in St. Olaf?s mass on 29 July. It was also
sung for the octave, and for the translation (3 Aug).
The sequence Lux illuxit was probably quite widely spread. In Norway and
the other areas belonging to the Trondheim archsee it would have been
?everywhere?, and it also spread to Sweden and Finland, and probably
Denmark, and perhaps other areas in the Northern parts of Europe. In the
Norwegian National Archives four fragments are found with the sequence Lux
illuxit. In the Swedish National Archives as many as 38 fragments exist
containing the sequence (according to information from G. Bjrkvall).
Apart from these the sequence or parts of it is transmitted in the
following manuscripts:
Copenhagen, The Arnamagnan Collection, AM 98 8 II, fols. 5-8.
Oslo, National Archives, Lat. fragm. 418 [str. 8], thirteenth
century.

Oslo, National Archives, Lat. fragm. 932 [str. 4-5], thirteenth
century.

Oslo, National Archives, Lat. fragm. 1030 [incipit only], thirteenth
century.

Oslo, National Archives, Lat. fragm. 986 [str. 1-6], fifteenth
century.

Reykjavik, Thodminjasafn slands, No. 3411 [str. 1-2],
fourteenth-fifteenth century

Skara, Stifts- och Landsbibliotek, musik handskrift 1; paper codex
written in Sweden ca. 1550 (Lux illuxit on fol. 245)]

Stockholm, Royal Library, Brocm. 196; ?Brocman?s Antiphonarium?,
paper codex, sixteenth century (Lux illuxit on fols. 18-19).

Uppsala, University Library, C 513; paper codex written in Sweden
(Vesters) ca. 1500 (Lux illuxit on fol. 74-76).

Printed books:
Graduale Suecanum, Lbeck ca. 1490, only copy, in Stockholm, Royal
Library.
Missale Nidrosiense, Copenhagen 1519 (without musical notation).
Missale Uppsalense ##
Missale Hafniense ##
Missale Aboense ##
B. Postquam calix Babylonis
Incipit/explicit
Postquam calix Babylonis.../...cunctis et a sordibus. Amen.
Size
Five strophes
Editions
? REISS, G. 1912, 57-66. [REISS interpreted Predicasti dei care as
the last part of Postquam calix Babylonis in a more original version
of the sequence, preceding the one in Missale Nidrosiense].

Analecta Hymnica 55, 272.
? EGGEN, E. 1968, 222-27. [EGGEN saw Postquam calix Babylonis as a
later rewriting of Predicasti, where the first verse has been
replaced by three new verses. They are edited as two sequences, one
composed on the basis of the other].

Translations
(Norwegian, bokml) DAAE 1879, 115.
(Norwegian, nynorsk) FOSS 1949, 115-17.
Date and place
REISS (1912, 64) suggests that the first three verses of Postquam calix
Babylonis are the product of a fourteenth century composer, while the
versicle Predicasti dei care and the two last verses are from the late
twelfth or the thirteenth century.
Summary of contents
The first strophe contrasts the chalice of Babylon spewing out snake?s
poison with the pot (olla) of the North boiling with the oil (oleo) of
devotion thanks to Olaf. The second strophe compares the rescue of Noah
and his ark to Olaf and that of the Norwegian people: ?The bird brings the
flower of the olive (olive), and Noah finds rest on the mountains of
Armania. With Olaf comes a weak breeze of wonderful scent and the key to
heaven finds the shores of Norway.? The third strophe elaborates on the
name of Olaf resembling the name of ointment (oleum), and his name as the
oil effused from the sting of his passion. The two last strophes are the
same as those of the sequence Predicasti dei care (see below).
The sequence Postquam calix Babylonis has five verses as transmitted in
the Missale Nidrosiense, the two final verses corresponding to those of
Predicasti dei care. The three first verses share the same stylistic
approach, and was probably written at the same time, while the two last
verses are of an earlier date. Postquam calix begins with the image of
Babylon without the usual introduction encouraging people to sing and
celebrate a particular feast, which is so common in sequences.
The metre is trochaic, of the kind characteristic of the late style (8p +
8p +7pp). The third verse line of the third strophe, however, ends
somewhat abruptly (8p + 8p + 4p) in both versicles. The rhyme of the three
first strophes is consistently following a pattern of aabaab, while the
two last strophes have aabccb.
The theme of the sequence is spinning around the name of Olaf, playing
with similar sounding words like olla, the boiling pot, oleum, the oil of
devotion, oliva, the ?flower? bringing the news of salvation. In this way
it further unfolds the ?likeness?-approach to Olaf?s name already
mentioned in the Passio (olla, see above) and known from a number of other
saints? lives (e.g. Sanctus Kanutus rex). According to the third strophe
King Olaf bears the name of ointment, and his name is the oil effused
through the sting of his passion. The style of this sequence has not
impressed many modern scholars. According to REISS ?the bombastic
expressions and somewhat far-fetched metaphors in the first three verses
appear a little strange? (REISS 1912, 59, here quoted in English
translation from EGGEN), a view supported by EGGEN (1968 I, 225). By
GJERLW the first three verses are described as a ?turgid effort with a
tiresome wordplay? (GJERLW 1988, 10). KRAGGERUD has spoken out in defence
of the sequence, claiming that it displays a rather refined use of
biblical references: Babylon is presented as the golden chalice in
Jeremiah (51, 7) leading the world astray with its poison (Apoc. 18, 23),
here described as the snake?s poison (fel draconis) of the enemies of God
referred to in the Deuteronomy (32,33). The vision of the boiling pot from
Jeremiah (1, 13) is also found in the initial parts of the Legend, along
with the references to the North, also from Jeremiah (50, 3). Olaf is then
identified with Noah from the Old Testament in strophe 2, and with Christ
(?the anointed?) from the New Testament in strophe 3, who effused blood
and water through the wound from the spear at his passion (John. 19, 34)
(KRAGGERUD 2002, 108-115).
The composition is charged with biblical allusions. It also seems to
continue along the path of Passio Olavi in its reference to Jeremiah and
the vision of the boiling pot, along with the new role of the North. The
source for the two final verses seems to be an older sequence, now
beginning imperfectly Predicasti dei care (see below).
As Postquam calix has adopted the two final strophes of Predicasti dei
care containing the reference to ?every Wednesday? (omni quarta feria), it
seems that the sequence was intended to be sung at the weekly celebration
of St. Olaf at Wednesdays (which was the weekday he suffered his
martyrdom), possibly restricted to Lent (GJERLW 1968, 127). KRAGGERUD
(2002, 109) suggests that the sequence probably was primarily adressed to
a more theologically learned audience than the average pilgrim, since the
contents is not immediately accessible.
? Missale Nidrosiense, Kbenhavn 1519.
Copenhagen, The Arnamagnan Collection, AM 670 e 4 [apparently
copied from Missale Nidrosiense, corrected by Arne Magnusson, cf.
REISS 1912, 57-58].

C. Predicasti dei care
Incipit/explicit
Incipit lost (v. 1b: Predicasti dei care...)/...iunge celi civibus. Amen.
Size
The sequence originally had three strophes, of which two and a half are
preserved. In his edition REISS (1912, 62-63) has kept the two final
strophes as strophe four and five, assuming that the two initial verses
are missing. GJERLW, however, has pointed out that one hemistrophe (and
probably not more) is lost due to the loss of the three lower lines of the
manuscript fragment (GJERLW 1988, unpublished, 9-10).
Editions
? REISS, G. 1912, 57-66.
? EGGEN, E. 1968 I, 222-27.
Norsk Salmebok 1985, no. 741 [presents the music, with the translated
lyrics of Lux illuxit.]

Recordings
Slvguttene (dir. T. Grythe): Kormusikk fra Norge i Middelalder og
Renessanse, samt fra vr tid.
Schola Sanctae Sunnivae: Rex Olavus, 2000.
Translations
(English) LITTLEWOOD, A. 2001 (CD-leaflets, Scholae Sanctae Sunnivae,
Schola Canto Gregoriano Sola).

Date and place
REISS (1912, 64) suggests that the preserved versicle Predicasti dei care
and the two following verses are from the late twelfth or the thirteenth
century.
Summary of contents
The preserved last half of the first strophe reads ?You, God?s beloved,
announced the age of salvation, the age which is the age of mercy.? The
second strophe refers to the celebration every Wednesday (omni quarta
feria) ?in worship of the memory of your agony and blessed passion.? The
final strophe is a prayer to Christ?s martyr to cleanse us from sins with
his prayer, and unite us with the citizens of heaven.
The three strophes have the characteristics of the late style sequence,
with consistent rhythm and rhyme. The metre is trochaic (8p + 8p +7pp).
The rhyme is following the pattern aabccb. As a sequence it is a
relatively short one ? they usually contain a larger number of strophes.
The style of this sequence has enjoyed a better reputation than that of
Postquam calix. REISS (1912, 64) finds it reasonable to assume that the
verses were composed in the ?classical? time of sequence composition, i.e.
the late twelfth or the thirteenth century and according to EGGEN, this is
a worthy counterpart to Lux illuxit (EGGEN in undated newspaper article).
As pointed out by REISS (1912, 64) the melody is taken from the late style
sequence Hodierne lux diei from the late eleventh century, a sequence
which became popular throughout northern Europe in the twelfth century
(see FASSLER 1993, 333). Strophe 1 in Predicasti corresponds with strophe
1 in Hodierne. The following strophes share melody with strophe 3 and 5
respectively in Hodierne.
The ?assistentes tue laudi? in strophe two of Predicasti gives an
association to the Office of the Holy Blood (Susceptio sanguinis), where
the verse of the responsory at matins reads ?assistentes ergo tue laudi?
(who minister to your praise) (ATTINGER & HAUG 2004, 36).
The reference to ?every Wednesday? (omni quarta feria) indicates that the
sequence was intended to be sung at the weekly celebration of St Olaf at
Wednesdays (which was the weekday he suffered his martyrdom), possibly
restricted to Lent (GJERLW 1968, 127).
The two last strophes are also transmitted in the Missale Nidrosiense
(1519) as the last strophes of Postquam calix Babylonis. Only one
manuscript fragment survives for the earlier sequence: Oslo, National
Archives, Lat. fragm. 986 [str. 1-6], fifteenth century.
D. Veneremur sanctum istum
Incipit/explicit
Veneremur sanctum istum.../... tua salvet dextera (the explicit is the
same as for the sequence Lux illuxit (see A. above).
Size
Four original strophes with the two final strophes of Lux illuxit added,
forming a total of six strophes.
Edition(s)
MALIN, A. 1922, 18.
KRAGGERUD 2001, 67-69.
Translations
Date and place
The structure of the strophes and the melody are those of Veneremur crucis
lignum, a sequence generally believed to originate in Sweden (ref. Eggen?
Gjerlw? Nid?)#. It may therefore be reasonable also to connect Veneremur
sanctum istum to Sweden.
Summary of contents
The sequence opens with an encouragement to worship the saint. The second
strophe presents Olaf as God?s holy man, to whom his sinful servants run
weeping. The third and fourth strophes ask for governance and mercy for
those who visit his holy altar. The sequence ends with two strophes quoted
from Lux illuxit, with a prayer for Olaf?s protection from the dangers of
this world.
The metre is trochaic, in the form so common for sequences during and
after the 12th century; 8p + 8p + 7pp.
The incipit of the sequence gives associations to the sequence for the
cross Veneremur crucis lignum. The melody and structure are the same, and
the Olaf?s sequence is likely modelled on the sequence for the cross. The
two final strophes are direct quotations of the final strophes in the most
famous Olaf?s sequence Lux illuxit.
The contents of Veneremur sanctum istum point more directly to the
practice of pilgrimage than the other sequences for St. Olaf. Medieval
reception and transmission Veneremur sanctum istum is transmitted through
one Finnish and one Swedish fragment. It is not known from Norwegian
manuscripts, but it could very well have been in use also in Norway and
Trondheim. It was first made known by MALINIEMI in his edition of
Sequences in Finnish fragments (1922). Veneremur sanctum istum is found
with notation in a fragment of a 15th century gradual from bo diocese
(and now part of the fragmenta membranea collection in Helsinki University
Library). The Swedish fragment comes from a fourteenth century gradual
also containing sequences for Erik and Helena of Skvde: Stockholm,
National Archives, Fr. 1748.
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