Acta sanctorum in Selio
Encyclopedia
Acta sanctorum in Selio is a Latin
hagiographical
work on Sunniva
and the other saints of Selja
. It is believed to have been composed shortly after 1170. Oddr Snorrason
made use of it in his Latin Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar.
The text tells the story of Sunniva, an Irish
princess who flees her native land with a group of followers. They settle the previously uninhabited islands of Selja and Kinn
in Norway
during the rule of the pagan
Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. Their Norwegian neighbors on the mainland suspect the Christians of stealing sheep and complain to Jarl Hákon. Hákon arrives on Selja with a group of armed men, intending to kill the inhabitants. When the Christians realize what is happening they hide in caves on the island and pray to God to collapse the caves to spare them from being ravaged by Hákon and his men. The caves collapse and kill all the Irishmen.
In the following years a miraculous light is seen on the island. The Christian king Óláfr Tryggvason investigates the island and finds the bones of the martyrs and the completely undamaged body of Sunniva. A church is erected on the island. In 1170 the relics are transferred to Bergen
.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
hagiographical
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
work on Sunniva
Sunniva
Saint Sunniva 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...
and the other saints of Selja
Selja, Selje
Selja is a small island in the municipality of Selje in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It has been formerly known as Sellø or Selø. The island is located in the Sildagapet bay, just west of Selje harbor....
. It is believed to have been composed shortly after 1170. Oddr Snorrason
Oddr Snorrason
The Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar of Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a Latin royal biography attributed to a 12th century Icelandic Benedictine monk at the Þingeyrar monastery ....
made use of it in his Latin Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar.
The text tells the story of Sunniva, an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
princess who flees her native land with a group of followers. They settle the previously uninhabited islands of Selja and Kinn
Kinn
Kinn is a small island west of the town of Florø in the municipality of Flora, Norway. The island lies about west of the neighboring island of Reksta and the village of Rognaldsvåg, which is the main population center for the area...
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
during the rule of the pagan
Norse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. Their Norwegian neighbors on the mainland suspect the Christians of stealing sheep and complain to Jarl Hákon. Hákon arrives on Selja with a group of armed men, intending to kill the inhabitants. When the Christians realize what is happening they hide in caves on the island and pray to God to collapse the caves to spare them from being ravaged by Hákon and his men. The caves collapse and kill all the Irishmen.
In the following years a miraculous light is seen on the island. The Christian king Óláfr Tryggvason investigates the island and finds the bones of the martyrs and the completely undamaged body of Sunniva. A church is erected on the island. In 1170 the relics are transferred to Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
.