Olaf I of Denmark

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Olaf I of Denmark (Danish: Oluf I Hunger) (c. 1050 - 1095), was king of Denmark following his brother Canute IV starting from 1086. He was a natural son of king Sweyn Estridson and married Ingegard, princess of Norway, the daughter of Harald Hårdråde.

Olaf was the third son of King Sweyn Estridsen to become king of Denmark. The road to the throne was not easy. Olaf was the Count of southern Jutland and was blamed by his brother, Canute IV for stirring up trouble against him. In 1086 Olaf was banished to Flanders in chains to keep him out of Canute's way. When Canute was murdered at St Albani church in Odense in July 1086, Olaf was proclaimed king at the Viborg Assembly (Danish:landsting), though he was still in Flanders. An arrangement was made to swap Olaf for his younger brother, Niels, to permit Olaf to return to Denmark.

Olaf's reign was plagued by several consecutive years of crop failure which earned him the nickname "Hunger" (same meaning in Danish). According to Arild Hvitfeldt's "Danmarks Riges Krønike" the spring of the years were so dry that the fields looked as if they had been burned and in the fall the skies opened up and rain fell so often that people floated about on pieces of wood to cut the heads off the grain that rose above the water. The hunger of the people grew so great that they dug the earth looking for roots. The wealthy grew thin, and the poor died of starvation. Sickness and starvation soon visited great and small. Supporters of his murdered predecessor Canute IV claimed that the famine was sent by God as a punishment on him and especially upon the Jutlanders who were most responsible for Canute's death. Olaf and his brothers Ubbe, Harald and Niels supported the uprising against King Canute, and some used this against him, blaming the king for the famine.

Olaf died 18 August 1095 under mysterious circumstances. Some speculate that he may have killed himself or that he was "offered" on behalf of his luckless people. Saxo Grammaticus writes the he "lay down his dignity, when he willingly gave himself to loose the land of its back luck and begged that all of it (guilt) would fall upon his head alone. So offered he his life for his countrymen."^[1]

His is the only Danish monarch whose burial site is not known. It has been postulated that his body was divided among the regions of Denmark as a kind of scapegoat which was to take away the blood guilt of Denmark and restore it to its previous fortunes.

Regnal titles
Olaf I Born: c. 1050 Died: 1095
Preceded by Canute the Saint	King of Denmark 1086-1095	Succeeded by Eric Evergood

v • d • e Monarchs of Denmark

Early Danish monarchs	(Harthacnut) · Gorm the Old · Harald Bluetooth · Sweyn Forkbeard^†* · Harald II · Canute the Great^†* · Harthacanute* · Magnus the Good^† · Sweyn II · Harald III · Canute the Saint · Olaf I · Eric Evergood · Niels · Eric the Memorable · Eric Lamb · Sweyn Grathe & Canute V & Valdemar the Great · Canute VI · Valdemar the Victorious · Eric Plough-tax · Abel · Christopher I · Eric Klipping · Eric Menved · Christopher II · Valdemar III · Christopher II · Valdemar Atterdag · Olaf II^† · Margaret I^†^‡

House of Palatinate-Neumarkt	Eric of Pomerania^†^‡ · Christopher of Bavaria^†^‡

House of Oldenburg	Christian I^†^‡ · Hans^†^‡ · Christian II^†^‡ · Frederick I^† · Christian III^† · Frederick II^† · Christian IV^† · Frederick III^† · Christian V^† · Frederick IV^† · Christian VI^† · Frederick V^† · Christian VII^† · Frederick VI^† · Christian VIII^† · Frederick VII

House of Schleswig- Holstein-Sonderburg- Glücksburg	Christian IX · Frederick VIII · Christian X^§ · Frederick IX · Margrethe II

^† also Monarch of Norway · ^‡ also Monarch of Sweden · * also Monarch of England · ^§ also Monarch of Iceland