THE SCENE: When a bishop tells a Danish king that the idols he worships are actually demons, the King forces him to prove his point via a trial by ordeal.
THE TEXT: The Danes were Christians from ancient times, but nevertheless they worshipped idols according to the custom of the gentiles. It happened on one occasion that an argument arose at a certain banquet, at which their king was present, concerning the worship of the gods, the Danes affirming that Christ was indeed a god, but that there were other gods more powerful than He, namely those who showed to mortals greater signs and wondrous deeds done through their power.
In opposition to these statements a certain cleric, now leading a truly religious life as a bishop, but the name of Poppa, gave testimony that there was one true God, the Father, together with his only begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit., and the idols were really demons and not gods.
But King Harold, who is reported to have been a man quick to listen and slow to speak, asked if he were willing to defend his faith with his life. The cleric unhesitatingly replied that he was willing. The king then ordered the cleric to be held under guard until the morrow. The next morning he ordered a bar of iron of great weight to be heated with fire, and then bade the cleric, in defense of the Catholic faith, to carry the glowing iron. The confessor of Christ without hesitation picked up the metal and carried it for a short distance, within view of the king himself; then he showed to all his unscathed hands, and vindicated to all present the truth of the Catholic faith.
A this the king was converted, and issued a decree that Christ alone was the only God to be worshipped; he commanded the idols to be torn down by all the people subject to him, and he ordered that fitting honor should be shown to the priests and ministers of God.
– The Deeds of the Saxons, Widukind of Corvey, 10th Century AD
