olaf was the son of king tryggve olafsson of norway and grandson of harald fairhair, the first king of all norway. according to tradition, gunhild, wife of eric bloodaxe, wanted him killed. instead he and his mother were sold as slaves. when they were freed, he ended up in russia where he grew up. he commanded the mercenary troops of vladimir the great in kiev. in 985 he led his vikings through the baltic sea in a raid on the british isles. he won the battle of maldon in 991. he and sweyn forkbeard, the two leaders, received a payment from the english of of money (in gold and silver). according to the anglo-saxon chronicle, he accepted the christian faith just after a failed attack on london in 994. rich, newly converted and with many followers, he decided to return to norway to spread christianity.