Passio Olavi, more correctly Passio a miracule beati Olavi (The Passion and miracles of the Blessed Olaf) is a collection of legends about the Norwegian national saint Olaf II the Holy. The text was probably collected while Eysteinn Erlendsson was Archbishop of Nidaros (1159-1188), and is possibly written by Eysteinn himself. Egil Kraggerud dated the Passio Olavi to ca. 1150–1160.[1]
The text is available in two versions, the more familiar long version is an Old Norse version of an Old Norwegian Homily Book, read on St Olaf's feast day (Olsok).[2] A shorter version in Latin had wide distribution and is found in several places in Europe including : England, France, Austria and Finland.[2] The long version is also known in an English manuscript from Fountains Abbey near York, which was the parent monastery of Lyse Abbey in Norway.[2]