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Finnish Medieval History

Finland had ties to Sweden long before the introduction of Christianity. The Vikings already had contact with Finland through trade and raids. Although there is currently no clear evidence that there were Viking settlements on the Finnish land, the discovery in the Nambotten district has caused controversy. In the Viking period, there may have been Swedish settlements in the Aland Islands, but some scholars believe that the Aland Islands were just a desert in the 11th century, and the Aland Islands were colonized by the Swedes in the 12th century.

According to discoveries on this island, Christianity gained a foothold in Finland in the 11th century. According to very few documents, the Christian Church was still in its infancy in the 12th century. Late medieval legends describe the Swedes’ attempts to occupy Finland and convert the Finns to Christianity in the 1150s.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Thomas became the first bishop of Finland. At that time, Sweden, Denmark, the Republic of Novgorod, or the Teutonic Knights all tried to occupy Finland. The Finns do not have a common leader, although they have their own. Russian chronicles also record conflicts between Novgorod and Finnish tribes from the 11th or 12th century to the beginning of the 13th century.

The name “Finland” is derived from a province in southwestern Finland that has been called Finland proper since the 18th century. “Österland” (Land of the East) is the name of this land in the east of Sweden. It wasn’t until around the 15th century that Finland began to become synonymous with “Österland”.

The Swedish regent Bliel Jarl captured Finland in 1249 through the Second Swedish Crusade. The crusade was waged against the Tavastians’ refusal to continue converting to Christianity. Novgorod controlled Karelia, which spoke East Finnish dialects. Sweden took control of Western Karelia in 1293 during the Third Swedish Crusade.

Western Karelia has since been included in the Western cultural circle, while East Karelia has gradually turned to Russia and Orthodox in culture. Although East Karelians remain closely related to the Finns in language and blood, they are usually treated as a separate people. The boundary between the Catholic and Orthodox worlds was also established on the eastern border of Finland with the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323.

Finland integrated into the medieval cultural circle in the 13th century. Dominicans arrived in Finland in 1249 and had a major impact. As early as the beginning of the 14th century, the first students of the Sorbonne University in Finland were documented. In Zeeland, Finland, the urban settlement of Turku is under development. Turku was once the largest town in the Kingdom of Sweden, and its residents included German merchants and craftsmen. Although the degree of urbanization in Finland in the Middle Ages was very low.

In southern Finland and along the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia there are only a few parishes and territories that depend on farming. The rest of Finland is inhabited by Sami people who subsist on fishing, hunting and small-scale farming. In the 12th and 13th centuries, large numbers of Swedes immigrated to the south and northwest coasts of Finland. In Åland and the archipelago between Åland and Turku, Swedish was even more common than it is today. Swedish also became the language spoken by the upper classes in other parts of Finland.

The diocese of Turku was established in the 13th century. Turku Cathedral is the center of worship of St. Henry, as well as a local cultural center. Bishops at that time had greater religious authority than they do today, and were often the most powerful people in their area. The bishop was usually a Finn, but the commander in the castle was usually a Swedish or German nobleman. In 1362, a representative of Finland was invited to stand in the election of the Swedish king.

This event is often seen as a manifestation of Finland’s integration into the Kingdom of Sweden. As part of the kingdom of Scandinavia, dignitaries and yeoman who could afford to equip one man and one horse formed the gentry and noble class, concentrated in southern Finland.

The fortress in Vyborg defends the eastern border of Finland. Sweden and Novgorod signed the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323, but this treaty was not kept for long. In 1348, King Magnus IV of Sweden launched a crusade against the heresy of the Orthodox Church. In the end, he only lost his support and lost the throne.

The crusade also failed. The dispute between Sweden and Novgorod was for control of the northern shore of the Gulf of Bothnia and the wilderness inhabited by the Savo people in eastern Finland. Novgorod saw it as a fishing and hunting base, and was dissatisfied with the slow infiltration of Catholic immigrants to the west. Sweden and Novgorod clashed intermittently with each other during the 14th and 15th centuries, but mostly maintained an uneasy peace. So are pre-existing internal tensions.

The civil war that broke out in the Scandinavian part of Sweden in 1380 also spread to Finland. In 1389, Margaret I, the victor of the civil war, brought the three kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway under his own rule, which was the Kalmar Union. For the next 130 years, various factions in Sweden tried to break this alliance.

Finland was also involved in the strife, but the 15th century appears to have been a time of relative prosperity, with a growing population and a growing economy.

By the end of the 15th century, the situation on the eastern frontier was becoming increasingly tense. The Grand Duchy of Moscow took Novgorod, a step closer to the unification of Russia. From 1495 to 1497, there was a war between Sweden and Russia, and the fortress of Vyborg was besieged by Russia. According to the legend of the time, the city was saved by a miracle.