First Swedish Crusade

The First Swedish Crusade was a possibly mythical military expedition in the 1150s to Southwestern Finland by Swedish King Eric IX and English Bishop Henry of Uppsala.

The earliest written sources of the crusade are from the late 13th century. The main sources of the crusade, the legend of Saint Erik and the legend of Saint Henry, describe the crusade as caused by the multiple raids of pagan Finns on Sweden.^[1]

The crusade has traditionally been seen as the first attempt of the Catholic Church and Sweden to convert Finnish pagans to Christianity. However, the Christianisation of Southwestern Finland is known to have already started in the 10th century, and in the 12th century, the area was probably almost entirely Christian.^[2] According to legends, after the crusade, Bishop Henry was killed at Lake Köyliönjärvi by Lalli. Henry later became a central figure of the Catholic Church in Finland.^[3]

^ Heikkilä, Tuomas (2006). Pyhän Henrikin Legenda. Helsinki: Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seuran toimituksia 1039. pp. 138–139.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Eric's crusade to Finland". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.. Original medieval legend in Latin.

[1] Heikkilä, Tuomas (2006). Pyhän Henrikin Legenda. Helsinki: Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seuran toimituksia 1039. pp. 138–139.

[:0-2] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] "Eric's crusade to Finland". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.. Original medieval legend in Latin.

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