UK St. Olave's Festival resurrected to mark 1100th anniversary of Norwegian influx

Next year is the 1100th anniversary of the arrival of the first wave of Norwegian settlers into Wirral - a UK peninsula outside Liverpool, between the Rivers Mersey and Dee. To mark this anniversary a group of enthusiasts have re-introduced St.Olave's Festival to the area after a gap of a mere 945 years. Next year is the 1100th anniversary of the arrival of the first wave of Norwegian settlers into Wirral - a peninsula outside Liverpool, between the Rivers Mersey and Dee. These refugees had left Harald Harfagre's Norway in the late 10th century, settled in Dublin and then were driven out in what historians report as mass migration numbers to move across the Irish Sea to Wirral * a small peninsula directly to the south of Liverpool - with an outlying community in the southern part of the old Roman city of Chester. To mark this anniversary a group of enthusiasts have re-introduced St. Olave's Festival to the Wirral, Liverpool and Chester area after a gap of a mere 945 years, and this years activities, held last month on the 5th and 11th August followed directly on from those at Trondheim, Norway (27 July-4 August). The event was broadcast on the BBC. Next year * the 1100th anniversary year of the peninsula will be an even bigger occasion with the City of Trondheim actively involved. The idea came from when local Viking expert Stephen Harding took Deputy Mayor of Trondheim Liv Sandven and Gerhard Dalen, Director of Cultural Affairs of Trondheim (and former Director of the Philharmonic Orchestra) around Chester following the launch of 2 books: 'Wirral and its Viking Heritage' (by Paul Cavill, Stephen Harding and Judith Jesch) and 'Ingimund's Saga: Norwegian Wirral' (by Stephen Harding) in which Liv and Gerhard were among the guests of honour. When reaching St. Olave's Church (now the Cheshire Revival Church) in Lower Bridge Street, Chester, they told Steve how big an occasion St. Olave's Fest - 'Olsok' was still in Norway, - St. Olave (995-1030AD) being of course the patron saint of Norway: the idea for a re-introducing comparable occasion of Wirral and Chester's own was hatched! This years programme, planned at relatively short notice (and with no budget!) involved two events. The first was held on Sunday 5th August at Arrowe Park, Wirral. Members of the Viking re-enactiment group Wirral Skip-Felag went straight back to 902AD, re-enacting events recorded in the Ancient Irish Annals. Literally straight off the boat with Ingimund, with displays of viking age craft: cookery, fabric handling, dying, weaving and spinning, weapon and chain mail making, and warrior training. This was followed by a battle re-enactment: The scene: Whilst Ingimund is away negotiating with the Aethelflaed, Queen of the English, Saxon warriors from Chester confronted the battle-weary Norwegian refugees expelled from Dublin. This re-enactment of their was seen by the crowd of over 3000 people: they were seen to win the skirmish and win the right to settle in the peninsula. Then on August 11th the second event focused on the south of the peninsula at Chester with a short service at St. Olave's, Lower Bridge Street (including a short talk about St. Olave) led by Oddgeir Bolstad who is Pastor of the Scandinavian Seaman's Church in Liverpool. The Mayor and Mayoress of Wirral were among the worshippers. The service was mostly in English with the blessing in Norwegian. A truly historic occasion, the first time Norwegian spoken as part of the service for 945 years. This year's Olsok then concluded with two illustrated and animated talks at the Grosvenor Museum, the first by Dan Robinson, Keeper of Archaeology, giving an introduction to the Viking Age, the second by Steve Harding on a Viking Story - the Norwegian Viking 'State' of Wirral and Chester. The events were a great success. Despite the short notice and no budget, 3000 people attended the event on 5th August, nearly 40 attended the Olsok service on the 11th and nearly 100 attended the presentations. This years events have provided a firm platform for next years 1100th anniversary events where the Wirral-Chester-Liverpool team will be working closely with the City of Trondheim: it is not unimaginable that Ingimund and his fellow settlers were Tronders. Indeed the area is currently the subject of a DNA investigation to see if light can be thrown on the precise racial composition of the Scandinavian settlers. (Norway Post)
Written by Rolleiv Solholm