Rumors have begun to surface in Norway in 995 about a king in Ireland of Norwegian blood.

This catches the ear of Jarl Haakon, who had sent Thorer Klakka to Ireland, posing as a merchant, to see if he was the son of Tryggve Olafson.

Haakon told Thorer that if it were him, to lure him to Norway, so Haakon could have him under his power.

Thorer had befriended Olaf and told him of the situation in Norway, that Haakon Jarl had become unpopular with the populace, because he often took daughters of the elite as concubines, which was his right as ruler.

He quickly grew tired of them and sent them home after a week or two. (A number of textually related sources also recount Earl Haakon's predilection for raping women, whether the daughters of nobles or of commoners.)

He had also been weakened by his fighting with the Danish king, due to his rejection of the Christian faith.

Olaf seizes this opportunity, and sets sail for Norway.

A quarrel breaks out in spring 995 between Haakon II Sigurdsson Jarl, de facto ruler of Norway for a quarter-century, and the Trønders, the dominant tribe inhabiting central Norway and east central Sweden, just as Olaf Tryggvason arrives.

Haakon quickly loses all support and goes into hiding in a hole dug in a pigsty, together with one of his slaves, Tormod Kark.

When Olaf meets the rebels, they accept him as their king, and together they start to search for Haakon.

They eventually come to the farm where Haakon and Kark are hiding, but cannot find them.

Olaf hols a meeting just outside the pigsty and promises a great reward for the man who kills the Jarl.

The two men in the hole hear this speech, and Haakon becomes distrustful of Kark, fearing he will kill him to claim the price.

He cannot leave the sty, nor can he keep awake forever, and when he falls asleep Kark takes out a knife and cuts off Haakon's head.

The next day, the slave goes to meet Olaf and presents him with the head of Haakon.

The king does not reward him, and instead beheads the slave.

Olaf, after his confirmation as King of Norway, travels to the parts of Norway that had not been under the rule of Haakon but of that of the King of Denmark; they, too, swear allegiance to him.

He then demands that they all be baptized, and, most reluctantly, they agree.

Haakon’s two sons Eric and Sven, and several others, flee to …