The Viking Saint

The Viking Saint written by John Carr and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £20 - Hardback - Pages 208

The Vikings and sainthood are not concepts normally found side by side. But Norway’s King

Olaf II Haraldsson (c. 995-1030) embodied both to an extraordinary degree. As a battle-eager

teenager he almost single-handedly pulled down London Bridge (as in the nursery rhyme)

and took part in many other Viking raids . Olaf lacked none of the traditional Viking qualities

of toughness and audacity, yet his routine baptism grew into a burning missionary faith that

was all the more remarkable for being combined with his typically Viking determination and

energy – and sometimes ruthlessness as well. His overriding mission was to Christianize

Norway and extirpate heathenism. His unstinting efforts, often at great peril to his life, earned

him the Norwegian throne in 1015, when he had barely reached his twenties. For the next

fifteen years he laboured against immense odds to subdue the rebellious heathen nobles of

Norway while fending off Swedish hostility. Both finally combined against Olaf in 1030, when

he fell bravely in battle not far from Trondheim, still only in his mid-thirties. After his body was

found to possess healing powers, and reports of them spread from Scandinavia to Spain and

Byzantium, Olaf II was canonized a saint 134 years later. He remains Norway’s patron saint

as well as a legendary warrior. Yet more remarkably, he remains a saint not only of the

Protestant church but also of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches – perhaps

the only European fighting saint to achieve such acceptance.

I have to admit this was a new book to me and a new subject, Viking history has been one of

those parts of history I’ve been meaning to look further into. This book, about a Norweigen

Saint King Olaf II, I have to admit I had never heard about before but it seems he had a big

influence over many countries and religions. I should say that I have enjoyed reading this

book and learnt quite a bit, it seems a good opening for someone to investigate more into it.

If you already have a good knowledge of this subject it might be a bit basic. I found the book

to be quite informative and quite a battle at some points but it was certainly a good read.

The Salvation Army - 150 Years of Blood & Fire

The Salvation Army - 150 Years of Blood & Fire written by Stephen Huggins

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 240

In 2015 the Salvation Army celebrated the 150th anniversary of its birth in the poverty and

squalor of London’s East End. Today the Army is to be found in towns and cities throughout

Britain, its members readily recognised through their military uniform and their reputation

for good works widely acknowledged. Many people, however, are unaware of the origins

and subsequent development of the organisation. At times Salvationists were imprisoned,

beaten up in street riots and ridiculed in the press for their religious beliefs. Despite this

persecution, the Army put in place a programme of help for the poor and marginalised of

such ambition that it radically altered social thinking about poverty.

There have been very few attempts at writing a wider and more accessible account which locates the Army in its historical context. This is something of an omission given that it has made a unique contribution to the changing social, cultural and religious landscape of Britain. The Salvation Army: 150 years of Blood and Fire aims to provide a history of the organisation for the general reader and is for anyone who is interested in the interplay of people, ideas and events. The book reveals how the story of the Salvation Army raises fundamental questions about issues of power, class, gender and race in modern society; all as pertinent today as they were in Victorian Britain. The Salvation Army: 150 years of Blood and Fire also makes extensive use of pictures illustrative of the Army’s history gathered from around the world, most of which have never previously been published.

The Salvation Army and other smaller religious groups like the Quakers, always fascinate me. I think I just have a keen interest in smaller groups that get little attention and this makes me want to find out more about them. I should also point out that when I used to live in a small Bedfordshire village, the Salvation Army was very prominent and used to do a lot of work locally. I was surprised at how much I already knew about the Salvation but the book does a great job of informing the reader about its origins, aims, strengths, development and why it began and also why it is still relevant today. This was a really interesting read, started by the Booth’s who really seemed to care about society and community. I would happily tell people to give this book a read.