The Cathedral Chapter of Bergen asked the King of Denmark and Norway, Christian II, about his preferences for the successor.
On 15 April 1523, the canons chose Olav Torkelsson as their next Bishop and he was appointed nine weeks later, on 1 July, by Pope Adrian VI.
In the autumn of 1523, Olaf Torkelsson and the rikshovmester (Lord High Steward) of Norway, Nils Henriksson of Austrått[note 1] (who died soon afterwards), answered the summons of the Bishop of Stavanger, Hoskuld Hoskuldsson, to attend the meeting in Bergen to deliver the support at the Bergenhus Fortress to Christian's uncle, Frederick, the new King of Denmark.
For their efforts, he appointed Torkelsson, Hoskuldsson and Vincens Lunge (the son-in-law of Nils Henriksson) to be advisers to the stattholders, as well as the Archbishop of Nidaros Olav Engelbrektsson, for Norway north of Lindesnes.
On 5 August 1524, at the meeting of the Riksråd of Norway in Bergen, all the councilors, including Torkelsson, swore their allegiance to King Frederick, two days before his coronation in Copenhagen.
The outgoing Governor of the Bergenhus len, Jørgen Hansson, before he followed Christian II to exile in the Netherlands, counted the Bishop as one of the supporters of his King and called him "true and good" [ tru og god ].
That did not please the new Governor of the Bergenhus len, Vincens Lunge, who was also the rikshovmester [ Lord High Steward ] of Norway.
[2] Lunge's personal chaplain, Soren Clemmentson, and the latter's own assistants went to every tavern in Bergen with the announcement that the parishioners did not have to donate any more money to the cost of candles for the Mass in the Cathedral.
The King also gave letters of protection to two Lutheran preachers for them to start preaching in Bergen in 1529, inflaming the atmosphere so much that one of them almost had his house blown to the heavens.
Bishop Torkelsson then told Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson that he had had to leave the town to avoid the harassment from Lunge and de sect lutheriana.
Having just succeeded Lunge as the Governor of the Bergenhus len and the rikshovmester, he wanted to expand and strengthen the defenses of his headquarters, the Bergenhus Fortress, but the Cathedral of Christ Church, the Royal Chapel of the Apostles, the Bishop's Palace, the Dominican convent and other ecclesiastical buildings were all sitting too close to the walls of the castle.
He went to the Riksråd [ National Council ] and asked for its support but three of the most important of its members, Olav Torkelsson, Eske Bille and Vincens Lunge, all refused to betray Frederick I.
As an administrator, he was talented but rough, and he tried to change the terms of land rent to the advantage of the bishop's chair" [ en velutviklet økonomisk sans, og han samlet jordegods i stor stil.
This article is adapted from the English translation of the Norwegian biography of "Olav Torkellsson" from the Norsk biographisk lekikson website.