An Imaginary Saint for an Imagined Community: St. Henry and the Creation of Christian Identity in Finland, Thirteenth – Fifteenth Centuries

Summary

This chapter aims to explore the creation of a new, Christian identity in the newly Christianized eastern part of the Swedish realm in the thirteenth century by a close analysis of one single text and the cult of one single saint. Although the actual process of Christianization of the area of present-day Finland was slow and the concomitant moulding of values took several centuries, much of the ideals were concretized in a single text written in commission of the Bishop of Turku (Sw. Åbo) in the late thirteenth century: the Latin legend of the semi-legendary Apostle of Finland, St. Henry. By far the most influential medieval text written in the Österlandet, the eastern part of the Swedish realm, the legend provided its audience – the faithful of the diocese of Turku – with the right answers regarding both the religious and temporal history of Finland, as well as with the proper Christian set of values to follow. Thus, the Legend of St. Henry was enormously important in building a Christian identity and creating a new community that shared the same values and the same concept of history.

It should be noted that the medieval term ‘Finland’ referred only to the southwestern area around the city and episcopal see of Turku, hence also known as ‘Finland Proper’. For practical reasons, however, I use the term according to the normal practice of medieval studies to signify the whole eastern part of the Swedish realm known as the Österlandet, comprising the coastal regions and the southern inlands of the area. Similarly, the term ‘diocese of Turku’ is being used in scholarship synonymously with ‘medieval Finland’ or Swedish Österlandet.

As I will show, the fact that the first local literary work written in Finland was a hagiography of the local apostle was by no means a coincidence or a result of a traditional pattern just repeated everywhere where Christian faith was spread during the Middle Ages. Quite the contrary, the writing of the Legend of St. Henry (Legenda sancti Henrici) served very specific purposes and was a vital part of a very active moulding of the variety of old values towards a more uniform Christian group identity.