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Finland Medieval Society and Economy
The late medieval period was marked by the expansion of
settlements along the coast and into the interior. The
Finns
gradually conquered the wilderness to the north, moved
into it,
cleared the forest, and established agricultural
communities.
This settling of the wilderness caused conflict between
the
Finnish farmers and the Lapp reindeer herdsmen, forcing
the Lapps
slowly northward. By the end of the fifteenth century, the
line
of settlement was about 200 kilometers north of the Gulf
of
Finland, and it ran along most of the coast of the Gulf of
Bothnia, though less than 100 kilometers inland. The
population
of Finland likewise had grown slowly in this difficult
environment; it numbered about 400,000 by the end of the
Middle
Ages.
The economy of medieval Finland was based on
agriculture, but
the brevity of the growing season, coupled with the
paucity of
good soil, required that farming be supplemented by
hunting,
fishing, trapping, and gathering. All but a small portion
of the
Finnish population earned their livelihood in this way.
Although the European institution of serfdom never
existed in
Finland, and although most of the farmers were freemen,
they had
little political power. Society and politics were
dominated by a
largely Swedish-speaking nobility. Finland was
represented,
however, in the Swedish Diet of the Four Estates
(Riksdag)--
clergy, nobility, burghers, and farmers--that had advisory
powers
in relation to the king. The Finns also had some
responsibility
for matters of local justice and administration.
Catholicism was deeply rooted in medieval Finnish
society.
The church parishes doubled as units of local
administration, and
the church played the leading role in fostering an
educated
Finnish leadership and the development of the Finnish
language.
For example, the general requirement that parish priests
use the
indigenous language helped to maintain the speaking of
Finnish.
Turku (Swedish, Abo), encompassing the whole country, was
the was
diocese, and the bishop of Turku was the head of the
Finnish
church. In 1291 the first Finn was named bishop, and
thereafter
all incumbents were native-born.
The southwestern seaport city of Turku, the seat of the
bishopric, became the administrative capital of Finland.
Turku
was also the center of Finland's mercantile life, which
was
dominated by German merchants of the Hanseatic League.
Finland's
main exports at this time were various furs; the trade in
naval
stores was just beginning. The only other city of
importance at
this time was Viipuri (Swedish, Vyborg), which was
significant
both as a Hanseatic trade center and as a military bastion
that
anchored Finland's eastern defenses against the Russians.
Data as of December 1988
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