Editing Olaf Tryggvason (section)

===Death===
He died at the sea [[Battle of Svolder]] when his forces were defeated by a combined armada from [[Denmark]], [[Sweden]] and the [[Jarls of Lade]]. Finally surrounded on his flagship the ''[[Ormen Lange (longship)|Ormrinn Langi]]'' (Long Serpent), Danish sources report that when all was lost he committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea, "the end befitting his life", according to Adam of Bremen.<ref>Adam of Bremen 2002:82.</ref> Saxo Grammaticus says that Olaf preferred suicide to death at the hands of the enemy and jumped overboard in full armour rather than see his foes victorious.<ref>''Gesta Danorum'' 10.12.5.</ref> The Norwegian and Icelandic accounts are more complex and more favourable to Olaf. [[Hallfreðr Óttarsson|Hallfreðr]]'s memorial poem for his lord had already alluded to rumours that Olaf escaped death at Svolder. The sagas offer a variety of possibilities. ''Ágrip'' reports:

{{blockquote|"But of the fall of King Óláfr nothing was known. It was seen that as the fighting lessened he stood, still alive, on the high-deck astern on the ''Long Serpent'', which had thirty-two rowing places. But when Eiríkr went to the stern of the ship in search of the king, a light flashed before him as though it were lightning, and when the light disappeared, the king himself was gone."<ref>Driscoll 1995:35.</ref>}}

Other sagas suggest that one way or another Olaf made his way to the shore; perhaps by swimming, perhaps with the help of angels, most likely rescued by one of the Wendish ships present.<ref>Ekrem 2003:99; Oddr Snorrason 2003:134; Theodoricus monachus 1998:18.</ref> After his escape, Olaf supposedly sought salvation for his soul abroad, perhaps joining a monastery. ''Mesta'' describes a series of "sightings" of him in the Holy Land, the last in the 1040s.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120524203210/http://sagnanet.is/saganet/?MIval=/SinglePage&Manuscript=100234&Page=503&language=english Saganet: The Saga of King Olaf Tryggvason, p. 467.]}} Retrieved 30 January 2007.</ref>