Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- Dedication
- Preface
- 1 HISTORY OF FINLAND
- 2 FINLAND AND SWEDEN
- 3 FINLAND, SWEDEN AND RUSSIA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
- 4 THE FINNISH NATIONAL AWAKENING
- 5 THE FINNISH ECONOMY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
- 6 THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF FINLAND, 1863–I917
- 7 INDEPENDENT FINLAND
- 8 FINLAND IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
- 9 FINLAND IN THE POST-WAR WORLD: THE POLITICAL SITUATION
- 10 THE ECONOMY OF FINLAND IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
- 11 THE SPIRIT OF FINLAND
- Appendices
- Bibliography by John J. Horton
- Index
2 - FINLAND AND SWEDEN
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps
- Dedication
- Preface
- 1 HISTORY OF FINLAND
- 2 FINLAND AND SWEDEN
- 3 FINLAND, SWEDEN AND RUSSIA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
- 4 THE FINNISH NATIONAL AWAKENING
- 5 THE FINNISH ECONOMY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
- 6 THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF FINLAND, 1863–I917
- 7 INDEPENDENT FINLAND
- 8 FINLAND IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
- 9 FINLAND IN THE POST-WAR WORLD: THE POLITICAL SITUATION
- 10 THE ECONOMY OF FINLAND IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
- 11 THE SPIRIT OF FINLAND
- Appendices
- Bibliography by John J. Horton
- Index
Summary
The exact relationship of Sweden to Finland in the twelfth century is not fully understood, as it is based rather on legend and tradition than on historical documents. At this time the Swedish kingdom had been established and in the middle of the twelfth century the throne was occupied by King Erik, a Christian who gave his allegiance to the Roman Church. To the east, the semi-independent state of Novgorod, founded by Vikings in the ninth century and linked to Kiev, was a centre which had commercial ties with the Baltic region and was also a base for a powerful military force. Finland was a buffer zone between the rival powers of Sweden and Novgorod and also came under pressure from the Baltic Germans, who penetrated into the lands south of the Gulf of Finland. The Finns, unlike their powerful neighbours, had not at this time established a state of their own. They were divided between the three main groups – the Suomalaiset, the Hämäläiset and the Karjalaiset who were often in conflict amongst themselves.
The legends tell of a crusade, led by King Erik of Sweden (accompanied by Bishop Henry of Uppsala) in 1155. Henry was an Englishman, originally a monk from Bury St Edmunds, one of three English clerics who had an influence on Finland at this time. The others were Nicholas Breakspear, who was later the first English Pope, and Bishop Thomas, who subdued the Hämäläiset in the early thirteenth century.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Short History of Finland , pp. 18 - 48Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998