Oluf Hunger, - 1095 -, ~ Ingegerd Haraldsdatter

Kilde:
Dansk Biografisk Lexicon
Carl Fr. Bricka
Project Runeberg
(1887-1905)

Oluf Hunger, -1095, king, was an illegitimate son
of Svend Estridsen and was probably jarl under his
brother Knud den Hellige. He was however in
opposition to his brother; when Knud had gathered
a mighty fleet for an expedition to England, but was
delayed at the southern border of Denmark, the ship
crews got angry and sent via Oluf a message to Knud
to ask him to come or appoint another leader of the
fleet.Oluf did his job eloquently, but Knud got
furious and let via his brother Erik (Ejegod) Oluf
put in irons; he dared not keep him imprisoned in
Denmark and sent him to his father-in-law, count
Robert Friser in Flandern (1085).

The popular rising against Knud meant that Oluf
became king; he had suffered from Knud's capricious
ways, so he was an obvious leader of the reaction
against his supremacy; furthermore was Oluf the
eldest living of the Svend's sons at that time.In
order to free his brother Niels went to Flandern
as a hostage - and then Oluf came home and was
elected king, while Erik took flight to Sweden.
(1086) Knud's laws were abandoned , the influence
of the royal power and the clerical power were
limited, and the magnates were proud again.The
connection to the Gregorian church party was
probably also given up and they joined the emporial
opposite pope Wibert; it is later said that a
"Wibertine" raged in Denmark and this can hardly
refer to anything else than the time of Oluf. It
was understandable that they opposed to the hated
Knud's efforts, but it was however unfortunate that
they turned their back to the European cultural
development. Bishop Svend of Roskilde portended the
punishment from Heaven and went on a pilgrimage.

And it happened that a several years long famine
harrassed the western Europe, it came to Denmark
and was especially vicious here.In these conditions
the public life was paralysed, the Wends harrased
in the Danish waters, and when Skjalm Hvide's
brother Aute was a victim of the Wendic expeditions,
Skjalm had to revenge his brother's kill himself
while king oluf was inefective. The national
disasters damaged the king and gave him the sad
byname Hunger (Famine). The Roskilde Chronicle,
which author was an adherent of the magnates'
power and an opponent of the strong royal power,
said that Oluf had deserved a better fate, he had
been out in some very difficult conditions. The
dissatisfaction in the country initiated a new
political reversal; still in Oluf's lifetime Knud
den Hellige's bones were shrined (April 1095), and
when Oluf died shortly after (18. August 1095), Erik
Ejegod became king and took up Knud's work.

Oluf was married to Ingegerd, a daughter of the
Norwegian king Harald Hardrada.

Ræder, Danmark und. Svend Estridsen og hans Sønner.
A. D. Jørgensen, Den nord. Kirkes Grundlæggelse.
H. Olrik, Konge og Præstestand I.


Kilde:
Dansk Biografisk Lexicon
Carl Fr. Bricka
Project Runeberg
(1887-1905) 

translation grethe bachmann  ©​ copyright