A tomb in the modern-day area of Finland from c. 1100 AD revealed a wealthy female buried in it.
The deceased was about 45 years old and 170 cm tall at the time of her death (the modern average height of Finnish and Swedish females is 165-166 cm).
The dress of the woman was reconstructed and can be seen above. Jewelry found from inside her grave can be seen below.
Terra Feminarum
In 97 AD, the Roman historian Julius Tacitus writes that Kvens (Sithons) are led by women.
In 1075 AD, the German chronicler Adam of Bremen calls Kvenland 'Terra Feminarum', "Territory of Women".
According to the Finnish epic Kalevala, in the ancient past Kvenland (Kainuu) was ruled by a woman, Louhi - a.k.a. 'Pohjan-akka'. The ancient Norse knew the ruler-goddess of the North by the name of 'Gyger' (Gygr).
Whatever the origin of the name "kven" is, it effortlessly translates to "woman" in 'Old Norse'. Proto-Germanic "*kwinōn, *kunōn; *kwēni-z, *kwēnō" for "woman" had developed into "kona; kvǟn, kvān, kvɔ̄n; kvendi; kvenna, kvinna" in Old Norse.
Among references to a north-bound land of women is one from an Icelandic manuscript from the 14th century which describes a 'kuenna land' ("Woman Land").
The ancient ballad 'Finn the Fair' - still sung on the Faroe Islands on the late 19th century - talks about Vinland as a well known place, and of two brothers who are sent there by their princess, to slay American kings.
"Upon the Suiones, border the people Sitones; and, agreeing with them in all other things, differ from them in one, that here the sovereignty is exercised by a woman. So notoriously do they degenerate not only from a state of liberty, but even below a state of bondage."
- Germania, P.C. Tacitus, 97 AD
"Meanwhile Swedes (Sueones), who had expelled their bishop, got a divine revenge. And at first King's son called Anund, whose father had sent him to enlarge his kingdom, after arriving to Women's Land (patriam feminarum), whom we consider to be Amazons, was killed along with his army from poison, that they had mixed to the spring water." (III 15)
"After that come the Swedes (Sueones) that rule wide areas up until Woman Land (terram feminarum). Living east of these are said to be Wizzi, Mirri, Lamiy, Scuti and Turci up until the border of Russia (Ruzziam)." (IV 14)
- Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, Adam of Bremen, 1075 AD
A sign of Viking Age Christianity in Finland and Kvenland - jewelry found in Taskula, Maaria, in the present-day area of Finland, dating to c. 1000 AD. Among prehistoric Christian artifacts discovered in Finland are over 30 similar crosses. They date to time before the alleged crusade to Finland by English clergyman Saint Henry in c. 1150.
By legend previously taught in Finnish schools, Henry was invited to organize the Finnish Christian community. However, no historical evidence has been found - whatsoever - showing that he ever even existed. Christianity - on the other hand - is known to have existed in parts of the area of the modern-day Finland since at least the end of the first millennia AD.
Origin of 'Kainuu'
Historically, the Finnic Kven people have always been referred to as a separate group from the Finno-Ugric Sami people, who throughout the known history have inhabited largely the same areas as the Kvens. Both peoples are indigenous to the area.
The Finnic Karelians began calling the neighboring Kvens by the Finnish language term "kainulainen" - or ''kainuulainen" -, based on the area the Kvens lived in, Kainuu (Suomi kautta aikojen, Zetterberg & Tiitta, 1997, p.31).
Both Kvens and Karelians are discussed widely in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. In the Kalevala too, Kvenland is known as Kainuu, a.k.a. Kainuunmaa ('maa' meaning "land").
The origin of the name 'Kainuu' is uncertain. However, in the early Sami language dictionaries the area of Tornio - and/or Helsing-byn close to Tornio - in the heart of the historic Kvenland (Kainuu) by the Bay of Bothnia was referred to as Cainho.
Accordingly, Cainho is believed to refer to Kainu/Kainuu, as adding the letter 'h' inside Finnish language words is customary in the northernmost dialects of Finnish. Yet, it is not clear whether or not the term 'Kainuu' also originates from the Sami language (Lexicon lapponicum, 1780).
In or near the Tornio Valley region there are other ancient place names which include the term "kainuu" as a part of the name. One such name is Kainuunväylä, or 'Kaihnuunväylä' in the local Kven/Finnish language - or dialect - called Tornedalen ("meänkieli" in Finnish and Tornedalen languages).
Kainuunväylä refers to the lower part of what is known today in Swedish as Kalix River, which is a Gulf of Bothnia tributary.
Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, which in its entirety since ancient times until the end of the Middle Ages - and beyond - was referred to as Kainuunmeri ("Sea of Kainuu") by those speaking Finno-Ugric languages, and was known as the "Kven Sea" by all others.
The most highly distinguished Kven expert Kyösti Julku - and nearly all others these days - interpret the term 'kven' to equal to 'kainuu' (or 'kainu' and 'kainulainen') in Finno-Ugric languages, such as Finnish and Kven language (previously often referred to as the Kven dialect of Finnish).
According to Jouko Vahtola, "kven" etymologically may be connected to the Old Norse term "hvein", meaning "swampy land", "suomaa" in Finnish (compare to modern-day "Suomi", meaning "Finland" in Finnish).
Historically - and largely today as well -, Kvenland and Finland indeed consisted of a lot of swamp lands, in addition to over 200'000 lakes and numerous rivers, in an area surrounded by big bodies of water (as stated by King Alfred the Great in c. 890 AD), such as the Atlantic Ocean, Barents Sea, White Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga.
A map showing the modern-day area of Sweden in 840 AD. The colors point out which people form the majority of inhabitants in the various areas.
The pink and red areas show the easternmost parts of Kven-Norse petty kingdoms in the extreme southern coastline of what today is Norway.
The red dots point out to major Kven strongholds in the shown area at the time. For more Kvenland news and images please visit us on Facebook - click logo above.
Kven legacy lives
Today, the Kven culture of the past is perhaps most visibly carried on by the Kvens of Northern Norway, where the Kven people are also still called by their historic name, 'Kvens'.
In Norway, the Kvens were granted a legal minority people's status in 1996, and the Kven language - a.k.a. Kainu - a legal minority language status in 2005.
The Kvens of Northern Sweden - a.k.a.'Tornedalians' - were recognized as minority people of Sweden by the Swedish government in 1999 when the local Finnish dialect of the Kvens, Meänkieli, was acknowledged as an official minority language of Sweden.
Elsewhere in the Nordic areas, the Kven culture has greatly contributed to and become a part of the mainstream cultures of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
The Kvens kings travelled to - and they had an impact on - far away places. The Kven dynasty spread into Norway through Nor, to France through Rollo, to Russia through Rurik and to the British Isles through Rognvald "The Wise" Eysteinsson, the founder of the 'Earldom of Orkney', a Kven-Norse dignity in Scotland.
Kven versus Queen
Alternate spellings for Kven in historic texts include - but are not limited to:
Qven, e.g. in a map by Olaus Magnus in 1539 AD;
Cwen (Cwenas), in 'Old English' texts, e.g. in the Universal History of Orosius, republished by King Alfred the Great of Wessex in 890 AD. The spelling was also still used nearly nine centuries later by Johann Reinhold Forster in 1772 AD in the terms "Cwen Land" and "Cwen Sea";
Quen, in old Latin and English writings, seen used e.g. in 1716 AD by Johannis Ihre in the term "Quenlandia";
Qwen, used e.g. by Wulfila in the term "qwens" (also "qwnio") in c. 352 AD and by King Alfred the Great in 890 AD in the term "Qwensae" (Kven Sea) in the Universal History of Orosius. In c. 1625 AD, Messenius wrote about "Qwenland" in 'Scondia Illustrata' (the book was not published before 1700 AD).
In his 1906 book, 'Origin of the Anglo-Saxon Race', Thomas William Shore discusses impact left by Vikings of Finnic origin on place names, terminology, people and way of life in Britain.
Other historians such as F.N. Flinck (1899) and Julius Pokorny (1936) have also suggested similar type of impact from Finnish language to Germanic languages - and vice versa.
To view a few takes from the book by Thomas William Shore, 'Origin of Anglo-Saxon Race', and to explore the royal Kven lineage leading from Kvenland to the British Isles, click here.
Prehistoric discoveries made in Finland and the historical area of Kvenland include world's oldest skates, sleighs and fishing equipment and some of the oldest skis and hunting equipment - all dating to the period between 8'300 and 3'500 BC.
Kantele is a traditional Finnish musical instrument, discussed in the Finnish national epic Kalevala, compiled and edited by Elias Lönnrot from 1828 to 1835, on the basis of the epic folk poems he had collected in the Finland's province of Kainuu as well as from Karelia.
It has been estimated that approximately 2,500–3,000 years ago there occurred a major new development in the culture of the proto-Finnic groups living near Gulf of Finland.
The result of this development was a unique form of song characterized by alliteration and parallelism as well as an absence of stanza structure. The poetic meter of these songs was a special trochaic tetrameter which is now often called Kalevala meter."
The modern-day province of Kainuu in Finland is merely a small part of the historic territory of 'Kainuumaa' - "the Land of Kainuu" -, Kvenland (click image to enlarge).
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