| Sunniva | | | | island, big blocks of rocks fell down in the |
| | | | entrance of their cave and blocked its |
| Scandinavian form of the Old English name | | | | entrance totally. They were not discovered |
| Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old | | | | due to this fact, and the earl had to leave |
| English elements sunne "sun" and giefu | | | | the island without finding any Vikings |
| "gift". This was the name of a legendary | | | | settled there. |
| English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway | | | | |
| and killed by the inhabitants. | | | | After some time, two farmers from the |
| | | | Firdafylke, Tord Eigileivsson and Tord |
| Saint Sunniva (10th century) is the patron | | | | Jorunsson were traveling to Trondheim. Then, |
| saint of the Norwegian Diocese of | | | | one night when they had anchored up at the |
| Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western | | | | island Selje, they discovered a strange light |
| Norway. According to legend, Sunniva was the | | | | over the island. It came down from the sky |
| heir of an Irish kingdom, but had to flee | | | | and assembled on one place on the beach so |
| when a heathen king, who wanted to marry her, | | | | the glow shined in the ocean. They made it |
| invaded. At the Norwegian island of Selja, in | | | | to the shore and found a scull on the beach, |
| the present-day municipality of Selje, she | | | | snow white and with a sweet smell. They did |
| and her followers took refuge in a cave. The | | | | not understand this, but would like to take |
| locals suspected the foreigners of stealing | | | | it with them to the Earl Hakon - Hakon Jarl. |
| their sheep, and the king HÃ¥kon Jarl was | | | | He had been killed in the meantime till they |
| sent for. Sunniva and her followers prayed to | | | | arrived in Trondheim, but in their continued |
| God that they should not fall into the hands | | | | travel they arrived to the king Olav |
| of the heathens, upon which rocks fell down | | | | Tryggvason, who now ruled in Norway. The new |
| blocking the entrance to the cave. | | | | king and the bishop Sigurd understood that |
| | | | the skull was a relique. They made sure the |
| Sunniva and the others died in the cave, but | | | | two farmers where baptized and taught in the |
| in the years to come miracles were reported | | | | Christian faith, and asked people about this |
| on the island. When the Christian king Olaf | | | | island Selja. |
| Tryggvason excavated the cave in 996, the | | | | |
| body of Sunniva was found intact. Later a | | | | After this, they sailed to the island and |
| Benedictine monastery was built on the site, | | | | found the cave where they found Sunniva., she |
| the ruins of which can still be seen. | | | | was as whole as she was only sleeping and |
| | | | together with her were lots of skeletons that |
| During the fires in Bergen in 1170/71 and in | | | | sent out the same sweet smell as the skull |
| 1198 the remains of Sunniva were taken from | | | | had done. Olav Tryggvason made a chapel in |
| the Christchurch and sat down by Sandbru. | | | | front of the cave and made a small church |
| This reportedly halted the advance of the | | | | below this location. Human bones that they |
| fire and was hailed as a miracle | | | | had found were put in a shrine which was made |
| | | | in the name of Saint Sunniva. This event took |
| Around 1170 the story of Sunniva was written | | | | place in the year 996. |
| down in a Latin hagiographic work titled Acta | | | | |
| sanctorum in Selio. | | | | The day of memorial for Sunniva is the July |
| | | | 8th. |
| Sunniva wa an irish princess which was | | | | |
| extraordinary beautiful and wise. She decided | | | | Sunniva became the protection saint for the |
| very early to forsake the marriage and become | | | | western Norway and Selja became bishops seat |
| Kristi bride. After her fathers death whe had | | | | for the Gulating region. In 1170 the bishops |
| to rule his kingdom with the help of | | | | seat was moved to Bergen and Sunnivas shrine |
| relatives, family and friends. When she | | | | was transferred to Church of Christ and put |
| decided to decline a foreign Viking kings | | | | on the high alter on August 31st 1170 by |
| proposal for marriage, he plundered her land. | | | | bishop PÃ¥l. At least the part of the |
| Sunniva declared in the summoning that she | | | | shrines of the Selje men left on the island. |
| would leave Ireland and become Kristi | | | | On Selje the benedict munch moved in, |
| foresight and travel to unknown land with | | | | probably from England, and built a monastery |
| people who would follow her on this journey. | | | | they named after St Alban (according to the |
| | | | legend , Sunnivas brother Alban was with her |
| She left with a flock of veaponless men in | | | | on this venture). Judged by the excavations |
| three ships without any sails, rudder and | | | | around the monastery ruins they had a boys |
| ores and let herself and her companionship be | | | | school there, and had been hit by both fires |
| lead by the sea currents. They were lead | | | | and epidemics before the reform. Traditions |
| north of Scotland, passed Orkenys and the | | | | tells us that the monastery was idle and |
| Viking nests found on the main land to the | | | | abandoned already before the reform after it |
| Firdafylke, where the inhabitants thought she | | | | had been trashed by Swedes before this event. |
| and her travel companions where enemy Vikings | | | | |
| and cast stones and arrows at them. This | | | | In 1668 it is told about a protestant priest |
| event is documented in Acta Sanctorum in | | | | widow which the successor of the Selje |
| Selio. A storm divide the three ships, one | | | | monastery would not marry nor provide for. As |
| ended up on the small Island Kinn, north of | | | | a revenge for this, she burned all the |
| Sognefjorden. The irish pilgrims on this ship | | | | archives of the monastery. But tradition |
| must have live an isolated life through their | | | | tells us that Olav the holly has nealed in |
| lifetime, like other lonely souls on the | | | | front of the small Church of Sunniva and the |
| islands in the Atlantic ocean. | | | | chapel in front of the cave. He landed on |
| | | | the island Selja on his way home from England |
| The two other ships drifted off with Sunniva | | | | when he wanted to conquer Norway and follow |
| further north to the island Selja, in a bay | | | | Olav Tryggvasons mission. |
| at Stad where they could find fresh water, | | | | |
| fish and birds for survival. They did not | | | | The holy Sunniva and the Seljemen: Seljumanna |
| meet any people there, so they settled in | | | | mass. The day is also marked on the Norwegian |
| natural caves in the mountain sides there. | | | | Prime pin. She also has a translation feast |
| However, inhabitants by the fjord nearby felt | | | | (Sunniva translatio) August 31st , in memory |
| threatened because their sheep grassed on | | | | of the transfer of Sunniva's remains to |
| this island. Hakon Jarl, the king sent men to | | | | Bergen. The catholic church in Molde is named |
| the island to get rid of Sunniva and her | | | | after her. |
| people in the faith they were Vikings. On the | | | | |
| island Sunniva and her followers of men, | | | | When performing a Google search for Sunniva, |
| women and children pray for salvation and | | | | it gives 523,000 hits. |
| when the earl and his people entered the | | | | |