St Olav - Norway House, Cockspur Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.447 W 000° 07.806
30U E 699156 N 5710163
Over the entrance to Norway House, on the south side of Cockspur Street, is a guilded statue of St Olav who was also known as Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway.
Waymark Code: WMMV5K
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/07/2014
Views: 4
The statue is set into a recess above the main door to what is now a Thai restaurant. Beneath the statue is the inscription "St Olav" and below that a Coat of Arms set between the wording "Norway House".
The life-size statue of St Olav of Norway, shows the saint standing in a symmetrical pose wearing armour and helm, his hands are on the hilt of his down-pointing sword, and a wide cloak held below the neck, spreading out to reveal a prominent cross on his chest.
Wikipedia tells us about King/Saint Olaf/Olav:
Olaf II Haraldsson (995 – 29 July 1030), later known as St. Olaf, was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae (English: Norway's Eternal King) and canonised in Nidaros (Trondheim) by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. His remains were enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral, built over his burial site.
Olaf's local canonisation was in 1164 confirmed by Pope Alexander III, making him a universally recognised saint of the Catholic Church. The exact position of Saint Olaf's grave in Nidaros has been unknown since 1568, due to the Lutheran iconoclasm in 1536–37. Saint Olaf is symbolised by the axe in Norway's coat of arms, and the Olsok (29 July) is still his day of celebration. The Order of St. Olav is named after him.
Modern historians generally support that Olaf was inclined to use extensive violence and brutality. This was, however, not unusual among Olaf's contemporaries. Earlier scientific presentations of Olaf are accused of undercommunicating these aspects of Olaf. A symbol of national independence and pride, not least during Romantic Nationalism, Olaf had to be presented in a way that better suited contemporary authorities.