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Acta Sanctorum

Sunniva, a Central and Important Name in Norwegian Mythology and History, Even as Religious Monument

Sunniva

Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant “sun gift” from the Old English elements sunne “sun” and giefu “gift”. This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.

Saint Sunniva (10th century) is the patron saint of the Norwegian Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. According to legend, Sunniva was the heir of an Irish kingdom, but had to flee when a heathen king, who wanted to marry her, invaded. At the Norwegian island of Selja, in the present-day municipality of Selje, she and her followers took refuge in a cave. The locals suspected the foreigners of stealing their sheep, and the king Håkon Jarl was sent for. Sunniva and her followers prayed to God that they should not fall into the hands of the heathens, upon which rocks fell down blocking the entrance to the cave.

Sunniva and the others died in the cave, but in the years to come miracles were reported on the island. When the Christian king Olaf Tryggvason excavated the cave in 996, the body of Sunniva was found intact. Later a Benedictine monastery was built on the site, the ruins of which can still be seen.

During the fires in Bergen in 1170/71 and in 1198 the remains of Sunniva were taken from the Christchurch and sat down by Sandbru. This reportedly halted the advance of the fire and was hailed as a miracle

Around 1170 the story of Sunniva was written down in a Latin hagiographic work titled Acta sanctorum in Selio.

Sunniva wa an irish princess which was extraordinary beautiful and wise. She decided very early to forsake the marriage and become Kristi bride. After her fathers death whe had to rule his kingdom with the help of relatives, family and friends. When she decided to decline a foreign Viking kings proposal for marriage, he plundered her land. Sunniva declared in the summoning that she would leave Ireland and become Kristi foresight and travel to unknown land with people who would follow her on this journey.

She left with a flock of veaponless men in three ships without any sails, rudder and ores and let herself and her companionship be lead by the sea currents. They were lead north of Scotland, passed Orkenys and the Viking nests found on the main land to the Firdafylke, where the inhabitants thought she and her travel companions where enemy Vikings and cast stones and arrows at them. This event is documented in Acta Sanctorum in Selio. A storm divide the three ships, one ended up on the small Island Kinn, north of Sognefjorden. The irish pilgrims on this ship must have live an isolated life through their lifetime, like other lonely souls on the islands in the Atlantic ocean.

The two other ships drifted off with Sunniva further north to the island Selja, in a bay at Stad where they could find fresh water, fish and birds for survival. They did not meet any people there, so they settled in natural caves in the mountain sides there. However, inhabitants by the fjord nearby felt threatened because their sheep grassed on this island. Hakon Jarl, the king sent men to the island to get rid of Sunniva and her people in the faith they were Vikings. On the island Sunniva and her followers of men, women and children pray for salvation and when the earl and his people entered the island, big blocks of rocks fell down in the entrance of their cave and blocked its entrance totally. They were not discovered due to this fact, and the earl had to leave the island without finding any Vikings settled there.

After some time, two farmers from the Firdafylke, Tord Eigileivsson and Tord Jorunsson were traveling to Trondheim. Then, one night when they had anchored up at the island Selje, they discovered a strange light over the island. It came down from the sky and assembled on one place on the beach so the glow shined in the ocean. They made it to the shore and found a scull on the beach, snow white and with a sweet smell. They did not understand this, but would like to take it with them to the Earl Hakon – Hakon Jarl. He had been killed in the meantime till they arrived in Trondheim, but in their continued travel they arrived to the king Olav Tryggvason, who now ruled in Norway. The new king and the bishop Sigurd understood that the skull was a relique. They made sure the two farmers where baptized and taught in the Christian faith, and asked people about this island Selja.

After this, they sailed to the island and found the cave where they found Sunniva., she was as whole as she was only sleeping and together with her were lots of skeletons that sent out the same sweet smell as the skull had done. Olav Tryggvason made a chapel in front of the cave and made a small church below this location. Human bones that they had found were put in a shrine which was made in the name of Saint Sunniva. This event took place in the year 996.

The day of memorial for Sunniva is the July 8th.

Sunniva became the protection saint for the western Norway and Selja became bishops seat for the Gulating region. In 1170 the bishops seat was moved to Bergen and Sunnivas shrine was transferred to Church of Christ and put on the high alter on August 31st 1170 by bishop Pål. At least the part of the shrines of the Selje men left on the island. On Selje the benedict munch moved in, probably from England, and built a monastery they named after St Alban (according to the legend , Sunnivas brother Alban was with her on this venture). Judged by the excavations around the monastery ruins they had a boys school there, and had been hit by both fires and epidemics before the reform. Traditions tells us that the monastery was idle and abandoned already before the reform after it had been trashed by Swedes before this event.

In 1668 it is told about a protestant priest widow which the successor of the Selje monastery would not marry nor provide for. As a revenge for this, she burned all the archives of the monastery. But tradition tells us that Olav the holly has nealed in front of the small Church of Sunniva and the chapel in front of the cave. He landed on the island Selja on his way home from England when he wanted to conquer Norway and follow Olav Tryggvasons mission.

The holy Sunniva and the Seljemen: Seljumanna mass. The day is also marked on the Norwegian Prime pin. She also has a translation feast (Sunniva translatio) August 31st , in memory of the transfer of Sunniva’s remains to Bergen. The catholic church in Molde is named after her.

When performing a Google search for Sunniva, it gives 523,000 hits.

Some Use of the name Sunniva

16-year old singer Tessa-Sunniva van Tol

Sunniva Dobermanns are a small kennel, located in Boddington, Western Australia

Sunniva Harte, a photographer, making exhibit on allposters.com

www.sunnivacollection.com/

Realated names to Sunniva are Synne and Synnøve

About the Author

Stig-Arne Kristoffersen
A Globetrotter
www.lulu.com/stig
www.travate.com
www.real-bahrain.com

Shockwave Sound – Acta Sanctorum (Preview)