A Concise History of Finland


Book Description

An up-to-date political, social and economic history of Finland from medieval times to the present. David Kirby traces the evolution of Finland's distinctive identity and of the Finnish national state from the long centuries under Swedish rule, through self-government within the Russian Empire, to independence in the twentieth century.




Medieval Scandinavia


Book Description

With full-page maps and supplementary photos, this encyclopedia covers every aspect of Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, including rulers and saints, overviews of the countries, religion, education, politics and law, culture and material life, history, literature, and art.




Reforming Finland


Book Description

Jason Lavery examines the Reformation in the Diocese of Turku during the reign of King Gustav Vasa (r. 1523-1560). This diocese, covering a territory better known then and now as Finland, encompassed the Swedish kingdom east of the Gulf of Bothnia. The Reformation in Finland was driven by King Gustav Vasa’s state-building program, sometimes referred to as “royal reform” in respect to the church, as well as the spread of Lutheran theology and practice. Both royal and Lutheran reform were mutually reinforcing and dependent upon one another.




A History of Finnish Higher Education from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century


Book Description

This book unravels the origins, continuities, and discontinuities of Finnish higher education as part of European higher education from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. It describes the emergence of universities in the Middle Ages and the Finnish student, and moves on to the Reformation and the end of Swedish rule. It then discusses the founding of the Royal Academy of Turku, its professors and governing bodies, its role as a community, student numbers, the research and controversies. Travelling through the age of autonomy, the first decades of independence and the Second World War, the book examines the expansion of higher education, the development of the system, and the establishment of polytechnics. It concludes by analysing the multiple institutional and organisational layers of Finnish higher education. Altogether, the book offers an historical study that shows how and why education and higher education have been important in the process of making the Finnish nation and nation state. Translator: Dr. Inga Arffman




On the Legacy of Lutheranism in Finland


Book Description

This volume analyses the societal legacy of Lutheranism in Finland in broad terms. It contributes to the recent renewed interest in the history of religion in Finland and the Nordic countries by bringing together researchers in history, political science, economics, social psychology, education, linguistics, media studies, and theology to examine the mutual relationship between Lutheranism and society in Finland. The two main foci are (i) the historical effects of the Reformation and its aftermath on societal structures and on national identity, values, linguistic culture, education, and the economy, and (ii) the adaptation of the church – and its theology – to changes in the geo-political and sociocultural context. Important sub-themes include nationalism and religion, the secularization and institutionalization of traditional values, multiple Protestant ethics, and long continuities in history. Overall the book argues that large changes in societies cannot be explained via ‘secular’ factors alone, such as economic development or urbanization, but that factors pertaining to religion provide substantial explanatory power for understanding societal change and the resulting societal structures.




Medievalism in Finland and Russia


Book Description

Since the end of the Cold War, the Middle Ages has returned to debates about history, culture, and politics in Northern and Eastern Europe. This volume explores political medievalism in two language areas that are crucial to understanding global medievalism but are, due to language barriers, often inaccessible to the majority of Western scholars and students. The importance of Russian medievalism has been acknowledged, but little analysed until now. Medievalism in Finland and Russia offers a selection of chapters by Russian, Finnish and American scholars covering historiography, presidential speeches, participatory online discussions and the neo-pagan revival in Russia. Finland is currently even more poorly understood than Russia in the discussions about global medievalism. It is usually mentioned only as of the birthplace of the Soldiers of Odin. The street patrol is, however, a marginal phenomenon in Finnish medievalism as this volume demonstrates. Instead of merely adopting the medievalist interpretation of the international alt-right, even the right-wing populists in Finland refer more to the nationalistic medievalist tradition, where crusades do not mark a Western Christian victory over the Muslim East, but a Swedish occupation of Finnish lands. In addition to presenting particular cases of medievalism, the chapters here on Finland challenge and diversify today's prevailing interpretation of shared online medievalism of European and American right-wing populists. This book reveals that while medievalisms in Finland and Russia share many features with the contemporary Anglo-American medievalist imaginations, they also display many original characteristics due to particular political situations and indigenous medievalist traditions. They have their own meta-medievalisms, cumulative core ideas and interpretations about the medieval past that are thoroughly examined here in English for the very first time.




A Short History of Finland


Book Description

A fascinating history of Finland from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century. The modern nation of Finland is the heir to centuries of history, as a wilderness at the edge of early Europe, a borderland of the Swedish empire, and a Grand Duchy of tsarist Russia. And, as Jonathan Clements’s vivid, concise volume shows, it is a tale paved with oddities and excitements galore: from prehistoric reindeer herders to medieval barons, Christian martyrs to Viking queens, and, in the twentieth century, the war heroes who held off the Soviet Union against impossible odds. Offering accounts of public artworks, literary giants, legends, folktales, and famous figures, Clements provides an indispensable portrait of this fascinating nation. This updated edition includes expanded coverage on the Second World War, as well as new sections on Finns in America and Russia, the centenary of the republic, and Finland’s battle with COVID-19, right up to its historic application to join NATO.




History of Finland


Book Description

A concise history of Finland, from its part in the Swedish kingdom to autonomous nation state







Northmen


Book Description

An authoritative volume that places the Vikings in their wider geographical and historical context.