St Sunniva is a Virgin-Martyr of about AD 960 in Norway.

She was an Irish Princess, a Christian, who was to inherit her father’s kingdom. At the same time arrived the conquering Vikings, and their chieftain was insisting on marrying Sunniva. She had, by this time, determined not to marry, and to devote her life to Christ, so she refused his offer both for this reason, and because he was a pagan. She, her siblings, and others with them entrusted themselves to the Lord, and set themselves adrift on the Irish Sea, having neither sails nor oars. They were not the first of that area to have done such a thing. In due time, the boats landed on two islands on the west coast of Norway. St Sunniva and her companions arrived at Selja, at the end of Nordfjord, and one of her sisters, and her companions landed on the island of Kinn, farther south, near Florø. They all settled as well as they could. There were some arable areas on the islands, but there were also resident sheep belonging to a local earl. When it was discovered that some sheep were missing, it was the new-comers who were blamed. People on the mainland had a mistrust of the newly arrived, and accused them of stealing sheep. The pagan population came against them with sword, and fire, but then a storm blew in. Then the local pagan leader, the Earl Håkon sent people to kill them. St Sunniva, and her companions, knowing that the earl’s people were on the way to confront them, retreated to a cave on higher ground, and they prayed that the Lord would protect them from being killed by the earl. Rocks came down from the higher slopes, and covered the mouth of the cave. The earl then could not find anyone, so he left. After that, many strange things seemed to appearing on the island.

According to some sources, we know the name of Sunniva’s siblings — her brother Saint Alban, and her sisters, Saints Borni, and Marita, all of whom are commemorated among the saints. These Irish refugees, who went ashore on the island of Kinn, had probably lived an isolated ascetic life on the spot, like hermits on various other islands in the Atlantic, until they died a natural death.

In 996, according to the Saga, St Olaf Trygvasson, by now the King of Norway, was told by two farmers from Firda County (Tord Eigileivsson, and Tord Jorunsson), his subjects, who had passed the island on their way to Trondheim, and seen it, that there was a bright light coming from the island. The light over the island was so great that they anchored at the island. They then found a white, fragrant skull, and some other sweet-smelling bones near a rock-fall. They continued the trip to Trondheim where they met with King Olaf Trygvasson, and Bishop Sigurd They believed that the skull had to be a relic, so they sailed down to Selja, and in the cave that they excavated, they found St Sunniva, whose body was whole, that is uncorrupt, and even looked as if she slept. Together with her, they found many skeletons of the same scent as the skull. The bones were gathered together, and placed in a box, and in a coffin that was constructed for the body of the Holy Sunniva. St Olaf is reported to have stopped to pray in the cave-chapel on his way to, and from England, when he was attempting to bring Christianity to Norway the first time. This mission did not succeed. It was only after his retreat to Kyiv, and his marriage to the daughter of his cousin Jaroslav the Wise, Anna, that the mission succeeded in Norway.

Soon, Benedictines from England settled in on Selja, and built a monastery which they consecrated to St Alban, who according to a version of the Saga was Sunniva’s brother. Judging by the archaeological excavations around the monastery, there was a school for boys there; and already in the period before the Reformation the monastery was affected by both fire, and epidemics. Soon also, there were built five churches on this island. Not long after this, Selja was established as an Episcopal See, along with Trondheim, for purposes of rooting the mission in Norway. There is also, close to the monastery walls, a well, or rather a spring, whose waters are cool, fragrant, and healing. In 1170, the Episcopal See was moved to Bergen. Sunniva’s body was transferred to the Church of Christ the Saviour in Bergen, and placed in the Sanctuary. This was on 31 August 1170, which is the second feast-day, the day of the translation of her relics.

During the fires in Bergen in 1170/71 and in 1198 the remains of Sunniva were taken from the Christchurch and set down by Sandbru. This reportedly halted the advance of the fire, and was hailed as a miracle

Around 1170, the story of Sunniva was written down in a Latin hagiographic work titled Acta sanctorum in Selio.

In this particular area of west Norway, there is a long-standing interchange between the Norse, and Gælic cultures, and there are mutually connected linguistic influences which are quite detectable.