Men of Yore: Raud the Strong

This is intended to be a series of posts about men from history who have either achieved great things in one form or another by pushing boundaries: either in themselves or in society or science or exploration of some form. Boundary pushing and growth is what men do, it's their nature: to grow and push outwards. We, as men, are the frontiers men, the first to discover/uncover new territory, in a metaphysical sense (i.e. including both material and the immaterial) that is later colonised and 'civilised' by the rest of humanity.

Raud the Strong was a Norse Seiðr priest and seafaring warrior, who resisted conversion to Christianity in the late 10th century AD.

Olaf Tryggvason was King of Norway from 995 to 1000 AD. He played an important part in the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity. Olaf traveled to the parts of Norway that had been under the rule of the King of Denmark. He demanded that the citizenry be baptized, and most reluctantly agreed. Those that did not were tortured or killed. Despite King Olaf’s persuasive efforts, many of the Vikings were reluctant to renounce their Gods and adopt Christianity. New and increasingly painful tortures and executions were devised by Olaf and his men. One of the most famous incidents of recalcitrance to Olaf’s attempts at coerced conversion to Christianity is that of Raud the Strong.
Raud the Strong was a large landowner, a leader-priest of Seiðr (an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery or witchcraft that was practiced by the pre-Christian Norse), and a sea-farer. Raud was known for his beautiful longship, a boat larger than any of Olaf’s, with a dragon’s head carved into the bow. The ship was called “The Dragon” or “The Serpent.” Raud the Strong, who also had the reputation of being a wizard, was defeated by Olaf in a sea battle. He escaped on his vessel, using the technique of sailing against the wind, which was a sailing technique unusual in northern European waters at that time. Raud outran Olaf and escaped to his settlement in Gylling and Haering, a part of the Godey Isles.

After the weather calmed, Olaf sailed under cover of darkness to Godey and seized Raud from his bed. Then the king told Raud that if he accepted Christian baptism, he could keep his lands and ship and the king would be his friend.

But Raud refused, saying he would never believe in Christ, and mocked Olaf's religion and deity. Olaf became incensed and said Raud should die a horrible death. The king ordered him to be bound to a beam of wood, with his face pointed upward, and a round pin of wood put between his teeth to force his mouth open. The king then ordered a snake to be put into Raud’s mouth, but the snake would not go in. Olaf then ordered a drinking horn to be put into Raud’s mouth, and forced the serpent to go in by holding a red-hot iron at the opening of the horn. As a result, the snake crept into Raud’s mouth and down his throat, and gnawed its way out his side and Raud died.

Olaf seized Raud’s gold and silver, weapons and many valuable artifacts. All the men who were with Raud were baptized, or, if they refused, were killed or tortured. The king also took the dragonship that Raud had owned, and steered it himself since it was a much larger than any ship that he had. 

According to legend this is how the famous Viking ships got their distinctive shape.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raud_the_Strong

Despite what you may have been told Christianity is not a religion of peace.  As the story of Raud the Strong shows us, people (of all races, including Europeans, not just Amerindians and Africans) are often converted at the point of the sword and, if they are still alive, they are subsequently disarmed and told 'slaves, love your masters'.  This is how Christianity has been foisted upon humanity.  The people that you see going to church on Sundays are the descendents of those converts, those who decided to forego their own freedom.

Thanfully though not all men can be brought to heel and are willing to foresake their way of living and of thinking and of beleiving, Raud the Strong is one of those such men.


[End.]