Olof Skötkonung

Olof Skötkonung was king of Sweden around the turn of the eleventh century and is commonly regarded as the first Swedish ruler to adopt Christianity. Coins bearing his name were struck at Sigtuna, and his reign was shaped by relations with Norway, Denmark and the emerging church. The extent of his authority varied across the regions later united as Sweden.

Novels about the Christianisation of Scandinavia use Olof to explore the negotiation between royal power, local assemblies and competing religious loyalties. Because the evidence is limited and later saga traditions are difficult to assess, fiction has considerable freedom, but it should avoid presenting conversion as a single event that immediately transformed the whole kingdom.