Miracles of St Olaf

THE third miracle was of a woman who had come from Sweden, and had suffered much distress on this pilgrimage from her blindness; but, trusting in God’s mercy, had come travelling to this solemnity. She was led blind into the church to hear mass this day; but before the service was ended she saw with both eyes, and got her sight fully and clearly, although she had been blind fourteen years. She returned with great joy, praising God and King Olaf the Saint.

There happened a circumstance in Nidaros, when King Olaf’s coffin was being carried about through the streets, that it became so heavy that people could not lift it from the spot. Now when the coffin was set down, the street was broken up to see what was under it at that spot, and the body of a child was found which had been murdered and concealed there. The body was carried away, the street put in order again as it had been before, and the shrine carried on according to custom.*

From ‘The Heimskringla; or Chronicle of the Kings of Norway’ Vol. 3, by Snorro Sturluson (1179-1241), translated by Samuel Laing.

* The shrine is now lost. It was broken open in 1537 during the Protestant Reformation — much as the shrine of St Cuthbert was in Durham Cathedral — and the precious gems and metals were stripped and taken by the Government. The body of St Olaf survived the desecration, and was reburied in Nidaros Cathedral in 1564. His remains were moved several times thereafter, but their current location is unknown.

Précis
That same day, another blind pilgrim was healed, this time a lady from Sweden. Furthermore, during a procession through the streets of Trondheim the coffin of St Olaf suddenly refused to move forward, and excavations revealed the body of a murdered child at just that spot. The remains were gently moved, the road was mended and the procession continued.
Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

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