4.3.3 Finland: Viking Times And Before That
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
4.3.3 Finland: Viking Times And Before That
Finland as an entity did hardly exist before the 14th century.
The ancestors of nowaday Finns consisted different tribes like
Karelians, Tavastians and Finns. At that time, only the most
South-Western part of the country was known as "Finland" and
its inhabitants as Finns. These names came to be used of the
entire country and the population at the beginning of the
modern era. In the middle ages, the whole Finland was commonly
called Österlandet. (The South-Western part is now called as
Finland proper, Varsinais-Suomi, and its inhabitants as Proper
Finns.) ,
Speakers of an early form of Finnish (of Finno-Ugric languages
in any case) are believed to have lived in Finland for 6.000
years. Earlier settlers are of unknown descent. This was also
the time when Finnish and Hungarian lost contact with each
other. Archaeological finds of wood objects (as runners - jalas
/medar) made of pine from east of the Ural mountains indicate
how these people must have belonged to a hunting culture moving
over very wide areas.
Historical linguists believe that a major portion of Germanic
loan words were injected into the Finnish vocabulary
approximately 500 B.C. Before this, the Samis and the Finns had
split to constitute separate cultures.
The Samis and Finns probably split into distinct cultures
already 6,000 years ago, when the Baltic Indo-European
immigrants settled the coast and merged into the native
Comb-Ceramic culture. Thus the coast became a separate
("Finnish") cultural zone with elements of both cultures,
whereas the hunter-gatherers of the inland continued the
traditional lifestyle and seem to have developed to the Sami
culture.
4,500 years ago animal husbandry was introduced by Baltic
immigrants. (The first agriculture in Finland may also have
been introduced by them, although no definite proof exists as
of yet.)
2,000 years ago the southern and western coasts were inhabited
by people in close cultural contact with Scandinavia. The
inland kept the contacts to the east. The similarity of the
coastal bronze culture with that of Scandinavia is easily
explained with cultural diffusion; there are no evidence of a
conquest, and though much is similar, there are notable
differences too. The continuity of culture from the neolithic
(Kiukainen culture) is best shown in ceramics and stone tools,
as well as some aspects of burial.
During the "Roman Iron Age" (A.D. 1-400) evidences are
convincing for a Baltic sea-farer culture connecting estuaries
at Elbe (west for Jutland) and Vistula (at Gdansk) with
Finland, Estonia and Sweden. People began to bury deceased in
rich graveyards. The culture spread inland to Tavastia and
Ostrobothnia. Fur trading peaked, wealth increased and maybe a
new surge of immigrants arrived. In any case: Åland was
colonized by Germanics from Sweden and has remained
(culturally) Swedish ever since. The Åland population stood in
close contact with the people along the Finnish coast from
Ostrobothnia in north to Hanko in east.
Later during the first millennium the West-Finnish culture
spread to Karelia, around Lake Ladoga, where an independent
culture arose.
At Viking age three distinct Finnish cultures can be
identified: In Karelia, in Tavastia and in Varsinais-Suomi
("Finland proper" i.e. later Turku fief). In these three
provinces there is believed to have existed regents or
governors comparable to those among Germanic tribes; leading
cult, big game hunting, defense and military expeditions. Finns
are not believed to have launched Viking raids outside the
Baltic. But nothing certain is known.
Southern Ostrobothnia was inhabited by people in close contact
with the Scandinavians. The culture of Southern Ostrobothnia
certainly had strong Scandinavian flavor, but there are no
graves of Swedish types such as one finds on Åland, nor has
Swedish ceramics been found. It's rather obvious that the
"Scandinavization" of Southern Ostrobothnia in the migration
period is due to trade contacts - the inhabitants were Finns
(possibly the Kvæns mentioned in the sagas). The area becomes
depopulated by 800 A.D., probably because of changes in trade
routes (the eastern trade being now conducted through the Gulf
of Finland).
The northern shores of the Gulf of Finland were for unknown
reasons uninhabited - at least no archaeological traces have
been found. The Vikings did not like to lose the sight of land
while sailing, and used to camp each night, why one must assume
that the Gulf's shores were (at least) free from enemies of the
Vikings.
The Vikings are known for their assimilation in the cultures
along their trading routes. It's probable that Vikings settled
also at Finnish shores and estuaries, married Finns, learned
the language, and got Finnish children who after a few
generations had no affiliation what-so-ever with their
outlandish heritage.
Particularly in Karelia it is known (or sooner: believed) to
have existed Viking trading posts, which became assimilated or
alienated to the original Viking culture in Novgorod, Uppland,
Gotland or wherever they had come from. The town of Staraja
Ladoga was a Viking stronghold, for instance. A Viking type
(but Tavastian) trade station has in recent years been
excavated in the heart of Tavastia, in Varikkoniemi.
Finland's trade with the Vikings have left evidences as rich
findings of Arabic silver coins, indicating Finland to have
prospered as much as Scandinavia from the eastern trade.
Linguistic similarities suggest that Gotland is the Germanic
province which have been the greatest contributor to Swedish
settlements in Finland, and Gotland is also the province were
two thirds of Sweden's Viking time coins have been found; but
no written sources support this theory. (Except for the
Visby-bishops' great interest in supporting the Finnish
colleagues against pagans and Russians in the 12th and 13th
century.)
In early medieval time the eastern Christian Church extended
its influence to Novgorod, Karelia and Tavastia. The energetic
bishop Thomas (1220-45) extended the Finnish Catholic diocese
to Tavastia, probably with armed assistance in the 1230s from
the German Brethren of the Sword. His death was followed by a
pagan rebellion in Tavastia.
With Earl Birger (Birger Jarl), Sweden's virtual leader
1248-66, the Tavastian rebellion was defeated, the Finnish
bishopric was put under Sweden, and the German presence in
Finland limited to Hanseatic merchants. A strong castle was
built in Tavastia; And Uusimaa /Nyland along the Gulf of
Finland was colonized by Swedish "crusaders".
At the end of the 13th century the Catholic Church's control in
the Baltic sea region had increased, as Danes and Germans
occupied the Baltic countries and Swedish magnates extended the
Swedish realm along the Gulf of Finland to Viipuri /Viborg.
The Finns are sometimes pictured as weak victims of foreign
coercion. This is not entirely true. The Finns were expanding
tribes who extended their areas continuously by clearing of
woods, and sometimes by colonization of rich soil far away, as
in Karelia and along the Kemi and Tornio rivers. These areas
weren't uninhabited, but in fact belonged to the Sami, whom the
Finns (pirkkalaiset /birkarlar) taxed most brutally.
Finns were successful in colonizing the inland (inland rivers,
inland sea shores and inland woods), but maybe less interested
in long journeys in big boats. Is it a coincidence that Finns
still today are less of flock followers than our neighbor
Germanics?
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