The False King Olaf and His Necklace of Letters

Abstract

As the False King Olaf was led to the stake, on the 28th of October 1402, it would have been no comfort for him to know that much of his story had happened before, and would happen again. He was an impostor, posing as a king who had died young, now apparently back from the dead. This was not an unheard-of occurrence in medieval kingdoms (Cheesman and Williams 2002, 87–8; Lecuppre 2006, 67–72). The False Olaf claimed to be King Olaf II of Denmark and Norway, who had died at the age of seventeen in 1387. Similarly, the False Konradin in 1269 had impersonated King Konradin of Sicily and Jerusalem, dead at sixteen the previous year (Scales 2012, 237; Schreibmüller 1949). Lambert Simnel was a commoner who in 1487 impersonated Edward Plantagenet, attainted at the age of ten. The False Olaf was an alien in the country he wished to govern, propped up by both domestic and foreign actors. In this, he resembled Perkin Warbeck, a half-Walloon Fleming who pretended to be first Edward Plantagenet and later Richard of Shrewesbury, who was backed by English Yorkists, the Scottish court, a Portuguese converso, and an army of Cornish rebels (Gairdner 1898, 263–336; Roth 1918–1920). Parallels could be found in European or Islamic royal imposture for nearly every aspect of the case of the False Olaf (Lecuppre 2005, 14–20; Ingram 1882, 77–85). But there is one detail that is unusual. Two sources record a peculiarly Gothic spectacle when pseudo-Olaf was burnt. In Johann von Posilge's Chronicle of the Country of Prussia (ca. 1420), it is said that before he was immolated, “wart behangen alumbe mit sinen briffen, die her der konigynne gesent hatte als ir son, und wart eyn crone ufgesatzt” (Posilge 1965, 261) [he was draped with his letters, which he had sent to the queen as her son, and a crown was fastened to him]. The anonymous Chronicle of Nordelbian Saxony reports that “uppe sineme houede ene koninglike krone uan papire” (Lappenberg 1865, 100) [upon his head (was affixed) a royal crown of papers].In what follows, I will interpret the meanings of this theatrical destruction of documents, staged as part of an execution. We will consider the case in the context of royal imposture, but also in the context of documentary culture. I provide (1) background on the real identity of the False Olaf (insofar as anything can be known); (2) a study of the beginnings of the imposture, including to what extent the impostor was coached; (3) some deductions on what letters the False Olaf had with him; (4) a theory on how he came to be given those letters; (5) the symbolism of the making and burning of the crown and the necklace; and (6) hypotheses on the meaning of the letters to the False Olaf's supporters.The question of who set up the impostor conspiracy is discussed in a separate article, and so is generally not treated here (Cole 2002, 100–6). However, a brief précis of my findings will also provide some background to the affair. On the death of the real King Olaf in 1387, the thrones of Denmark and Norway passed to his mother, Queen Margaret (r. Denmark and Norway, 1387–1412, Sweden 1389–1412). The young king's demise coincided with the return of four castles in Scania to to the on a in the of The as the had not and that Queen Margaret was not from The of the by In the by King (r. 1402, the was to the return of to for a the of the a The imposture as a by to on in was it up by the who to the False Olaf to Margaret in to real Posilge's provide the of his her und und (Posilge 1965, 261) that he was by the in a and his was and his can the but not the impostor at but the in the of to which had Perkin was in the of in and my is which was of the said of and my is Perkin his and but not his In the case of Lambert no sources in of medieval royal but the of one of the is the is his and of the of the sources discussed by the of and the is a in this in of royal imposture, the for the was to of royal in the this was the that to be those that would this, the real identity was to Posilge's as of the in and of the it be that was in part from a of the given by the False is also as an in a that letters of could be but the was have the one from and that the impostor be to and one from the both the of pseudo-Olaf is not the of the in the which is in of the of However, the case at the Richard of was part of an English to Denmark the affair. In a to the in 1402, he an to a now that both the with the and in the is in the of a a before to his the of the and English is not in of a for with European but it at the of sources that have been in in 2012, to know that it be to on the of that have in the country but that of the of the who is at the of the of Sweden a with the also the of a who and claimed to be the King of Denmark and Norway, and of which at I to which was the of the have not with the King of or with her or her as of the of the of October at the as his in and Simnel his in reports that the False Olaf he had been in a on the he was by who his to the real King he was in und was her in (Posilge 1965, a and had here to this country In the the from to meaning that he would have been or by the his he was a not a he would have been an who had a the of the to it is and from the of the to the False Olaf was in one and in on had that in the could have to was in a that when and in was the age that the real Olaf would have that is to is some in this as of royal imposture could be The case of the False Margaret in Norway had a in her of Norway, who have been seventeen that pseudo-Olaf was a (Posilge 1965, much King He was of an This would that he had to Prussia from Saxony or at a the I his but for it will to that he to have had what as a (Cole 2002, is that he to Prussia with his as the would have been a for a of sources that the False Olaf had of of sources is to his was a first a and later in a who a in in a European The first a that a had been by Queen The the detail that the impostor was it is by a who in the of the of the was said at the of the queen to have the The which from to was also had been this, so by a who had the young the of that had him the first and sources to provide detail on the who had The the of the of the in in and in the In his the False Olaf von der was in der die of the much of that had happened to Olaf his which Olaf's had him]. In both and it was pseudo-Olaf the it he had Prussia for But in the and the first of his Chronicle of the of which the to for for der for the year a up who to be King the of Queen he he of which could know the Queen her But he was the of King Olaf's from he had Queen who that he could not be her had died at his at his in the at said in of he her he would have a his when an was was not he was the before and an it been that the story of the the However, it that was on the Chronicle by a and Queen Margaret my son, will have a which in of the is the that the False Olaf and the real Olaf that pseudo-Olaf was so for his to on the to be (1) a who to Prussia and a son, or (2) a who to as and came to to I will that be on this but no be the some of is one aspect of the theory that is not as as it on first to but of was not in is the False Olaf's had been a to he would have been to a much of wart in her und der 261) [he was found to be in as he was not in the and he also could not the his had been a to would a for her and her royal as a was a would to a for her to but have that this is not The of for a from to a in the would have been The that had been a who up as a to before a in a on the of of Denmark to her impostor is so that it can be so that can be that the sources would record The that pseudo-Olaf was his mother, back in to be the who him with to was a with the story of the but the detail to the of by the a the detail is what can with We that the of his in Prussia was and that he his was this that Prussia a by the and a of from the is to that the False Olaf's and had of an is a of who who who for in return for who the of and so is generally in the of to Prussia of European and much to there was a of and the of to be by The for and Margaret is and Margaret in the or of is by the that to und her (Posilge 1965, came him and him he had with The that some the be but the for an to a would have been in a In this would have been the of which first in sources in but can be to have been in the when the the a and the the was but the year some would have been in as as by as a to a or by in the as a from in of and in pseudo-Olaf was his to the king was was a and an for the of was also the to was but and in The of would have the for pseudo-Olaf to have with who would have and to an imposture Queen Margaret on the he the False not from a that no as the of before to a part of from including Denmark in Prussia as in much of happened could could be in and in could how pseudo-Olaf with is as he to or to it is that he but he had some his also have been to as a in his with the when he in The set him up with a court, including a a but in this also a eyn von von der und und und der und und for und und die her der und in her und konigynne von her ir und und in der her her und (Posilge 1965, of who was as von der of Olaf and the and and treated him and a of of the of Denmark and Norway came and him to so that the him as a and him and to him he in a a came to him who for and had a for He and sent a to the Queen of that he was her son, and wished to to the and would much have his in but now the had him that he his country and his as this was in a with the of a or a of the that in back or in this from (1) The was apparently the of who had up some to He was not one who could his and the in a but one who had the to a or one (2) The was was in but apparently not his to The of those in imposture was generally and and the that sources record the False Olaf that the and his it to but the who at the of the The an that a the impostor, but However, is so and that it can be In a as it would have been to in the or in the with (3) As I the detail in the Chronicle of Nordelbian Saxony that pseudo-Olaf a crown when he was and I interpret the crown as of his his letters have been on not on was the of and The of was on letters as as what the that some letters to Margaret to be her son, which is However, Margaret not with the False Olaf his to given that his would have had no in her by and on 1402, to the that Queen Margaret that is in also and in who King her a who had the real Olaf in his as the young king and a and of at that of was from on 1402, that of the will der von who as a king of The False Olaf was not to his as it had been by his He have had to to As that in the him as a and him and to him he in a The first of the those of with the those so that could not or would not that a king of Denmark could the of the in However, have been to in the of could be of and in was by the False Olaf when he in Scania was a his We have that that part of was that he much have his in but now the had him that he his country and his to the impostor not to have to with of his he to have given a of the real so he could not have been by the to the detail the would have been the for the to the of was However, this in would have been to there was no for in royal in or could be but this was from the have that letters apparently of But on the background of the False Olaf's in was a The and The and of von der been treated in by previous but it is to of what letters the False Olaf have In Posilge's he is a of who pseudo-Olaf to of the of his the is not by one but by a of This is a of von have his In the by and he is von der But in the by and he was von der and to the and by the of I have not been to the of Posilge's to However, to so would as of the I to that is as an of a for the in The is also by von der in in this in sources is was a of as his the of his could be to up is In the making as to the as and have that and that his first at was not a is a record from a on the it is that one of of and the destruction on the in the this is the who and of at at some in the of on of the and that von der pseudo-Olaf to of the for to and to by would have been up for a to that was part of the from the The of and and and for that had a in would have been the of the and so he would have there of the who for von in is or a of would to have been a with a and could be to a of is to that the False Olaf's have been one of in of a by him to is not in Denmark and In had in the of and a to the II of Denmark (r. He was in by to King (r. was in a a royal him as a with his royal that set [he was in the year and four on the and a crown was his head he had by the anonymous of a that was to the crown his der krone der krone a with the and to to who had a the he him at is also was and to and was on the and had a crown of on his head and was on the with a crown of on his this happened is by the of a of and his crown in of in and to from Denmark but Richard of was his by at the of his head was on a at with a crown 2006, a crown the of a to the of is the case of a who a with was a from the that had his the part is that in the of and the was for in a previous at the in the detail that he be with a he be to a on the of he be to the he the the crown is not the of the but of the the death of was at the sources record the of a a of on his head a crown with on and to the is a He the crown with his crown which my and for my on his head was and But this which is and to I to for my he was and to the and before his the and of his that had the he was led the of the of the of the to the of is not the crown of a as the that to the of burning the of a part of the have been a that was a the of The crown and the both in and the In some it a In it a In a of the crown as a As a the crown by a can both and so is to be a by not both of one However, I on a by his had of not of As in the to the for a and it on the the was The with was not the on crown to his But the was for to an on his in his the case of the False sources of his the execution. As him a crown and a of or was draped with his letters, which he had sent to the queen as her son, and a crown was fastened to However, not the of which the crown was The Chronicle of Nordelbian Saxony that the crown was but no of the also a of the wart ene uan an ene in der wart ene sineme houede ene koninglike krone uan (Lappenberg 1865, the young king came before his was and said had set him before, and for the but he be a and at the a was and he was up there to the his head a royal crown of and and him and the is the which he was burnt. no but the given by Nordelbian is and to he was from an it that the False Olaf was to a that was the This be it be that to the and one to which pseudo-Olaf was to him from his Posilge's and the Chronicle of Nordelbian Saxony at no provide In for on one that to it would also that his crown was of one or of his letters, his letters to the and to for his is that the his on the that the letters on the stake, but this to be a of The the that would later be at when was of the of the of to the question of pseudo-Olaf and his was the this at was as a that he had been by the also is of that burning at the was the for but there with this no or the False for which is was an the of which one could be in medieval and a it was by no with some medieval that could be to the 2005, to the in the from the and the False Olaf's and the The him and eyn and a impostor and and The of Chronicle was in by from to the on the False Olaf and 1965, this Queen of The had an impostor at We have that Posilge's Margaret that be a of a been a The of to when the was the could not have the that pseudo-Olaf was a in but it that the here is to who the The medieval had to was and that to have been as a that a could as an in or The that was a is that of This to The The from the on the of The the of which it to what would of as and However, as sources have to The medieval to have of English as of it In it was for to be in the as or and In medieval the had a both and imposture We have that this is the by Richard in his of the False which I have as for with of English from the and that the of was in the as the who and the who pretended to a in which not or a at this the could a to In in a and his found of and a for a have the of the to for one in the and that the said be the the for to be a at the in medieval could also to have or to The was that the be and the who it to the the of the as a for This is a in the context of medieval European However, some that the of in be by The for the The of that und in and in a This to a of from English there is no to the to the the I can in a medieval for what happened to pseudo-Olaf is from the of the of a a up with here in the of or or which been for it is a who is a foreign he his with his it is a in which case he with of his from of his he in this his is and the be and to by and one the with when it is and which can be and the of have been the by is some from that had from the of King I The (r. from and it is not to it or the death of the False Olaf on the of the of to have been at in the pseudo-Olaf and not be that and have had by the of the both and is not that the to be and be so one this was the of The a of to is how the is so as it is from was and is so found no be given but it be or to or be the so that no can and The of on the one one that for a aspect it to the a of a the of the a this in in in 1402, one part of the was that pseudo-Olaf was or can be in the as documents, a can be have letters to an of as The False Olaf's crown have been a for a in as also in the case of was in the both he and his The burning of the False Olaf's and his letters have from the of the of have the of burning pseudo-Olaf with his In will consider the of burning the letters The destruction of in a part of the could documents, the of or in including and the burning of letters was part of the by rebels the of as the destruction of could also be a of by by in the of and (r. the of for an by of with a In in the of the English King Richard II (r. the country with the rebels to documents, the up and to one the King his one of by in set to be and will in not the to but now case of this spectacle of the can be found in In King II to an and a The to his which would have not up for the The be as an for and there of in to the for the of the would have had the to the to and of at those and a as to or would have been for the to and for to would have been a to the from by one The also at which to on and to and of the as a King II from the was by the at as a and to and of the symbolism of the burning have that it was of of the of him in in the with the of burning not of to the of the burning of King the for the But it have also sent a in the the to the the of to the who to the as for of a up in is no in sources that the False Olaf letters for for for to or to part in or to as and so would have been he the of the impostor that was not in which the However, the of the False Olaf had the to be of of what I by this, will (1) who in the False and (2) how in The Chronicle of Nordelbian Saxony that (Lappenberg 1865, his could and to be at the that there and was a was and had and came to and on and and would have from the with who a of European and been in as as the and one would In one for the at from with from the of the castles back the royal now had in the of the that Richard and the False Olaf with his He was not the foreign for came to for who could in a by in The of later to this the is to the he to the he with him when he to and to the king and to the he The who the of the False have been and also have been have that had to in to the of royal have is that who not that by Queen We at the of but the or the the medieval in that in that what for or is a to However, I not that to in the False it would to the In I that the not have a of how Margaret and her with the would I would that and will to a of as much of as This was as in as it was at been that in the it was a before the of the not have a of what (Cheesman and Williams 2002, But also the that not the of that as could not be to a the had not been in could be a for at the of the to the at the of This is not the as to that it is for could be that in the case of the False Margaret of an the False Olaf was in and was as a both in Norway and in for to the of a False in he of the that pretended to and at the As and Williams this is a for the in by the of the have a to which before the impostor came and that could be as a set of how and will know what what not know not set from what We set from and on the of the of the and of and with and that those who to not be of but one can We also for there is a in anything that up be in the of is not also as the of the to in the both for and the of In this the False Olaf's and his The at in a that had with his He had documents, and he be a real the real In the his letters and his and But the to and the letters could no be the his would the with which was the as a also the of a