Walking through the historic town of Hólar in northern Iceland, we stumbled across a large and impressive statue of Guðmundur Arason. Arason served as the Bishop of Hólar from 1203 until his death in 1237 and is seen as a Catholic Saint to Icelanders today. His life was recorded in the Guðmundar saga biskups, which is an Icelandic bishops’ saga solely pertaining to Arason’s.
I first encountered the Holger the Dane character (or Holger Danske) in the underground passageways of Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, Denmark. There, I found an immense statue of a sleeping warrior sitting in a chair with his sword and shield at the ready. I had not heard of Holger before my visit to Kronborg, but was immediately enraptured. Spotlights periodically turned on and off, brightly illuminating Holger in between periods of darkness, creating a breathtaking vision. Who was this man? What was he known for? Was he myth or history? So, I decided that I had to do a little bit of research.