The King-Born

KING-BORN: A Story for Teenagers and adults of all ages. Few of us in the English-speaking world nowadays believe that a man is bound by destiny; but medieval Europeans had no doubt of it. A "lucky" man would be successful; an "ill-starred" man would fail. The gods were paramount. During the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, the story of Olaf the Strong was a favourite of the English minstrels. Olaf was born the son of Magnus, King of the Danes; but Magnus died of his wounds when his son was still too young to hold the throne. Magnus' brother Thorard was to guard the throne until Olaf reached manhood; but he was greedy and plotted to kill Olaf. However, by the will of the gods Olaf overcame all obstacles and eventually gained not only the throne of Denmark but the throne of England as well. The King-born may be an old English account of the Danish conquest of England in 1013; and it provides a fascinating glimpse of Northern Europe 1000 years ago as well as the excitement of following Olaf's adventures.