Origin of the name Kven
Encyclopedia
The origin of the name "Kven
" is unclear. The name appears for the first time in a 9th century Old English
version, written by King Alfred of Wessex
, of a work by the Roman author Orosius, in the plural form "Cwenas". It is still in use today, indicating a Finnish
speaking Kven
minority in northern Norway
.
in one way or another:
This might indicate that the term "Kven" was originally used in Norwegian dialects around a rather compact area ranging from Trondheim
to Hålogaland
.
"hvein," meaning "swampy land". If Kvenland was the same as Finland
and since Finland of the past was largely nothing more than swamps, the theory would fit.
A problem with this approach is that Kvenland does not seem to have been used that much as a geographical term, but rather as the "land of the Kvens". It is also only known to have been used by Norwegians
. Had it been a geographical term, wider acceptance would have been expected. Especially noteworthy is the complete ignorance of all "Kven" related names among the Swedes. A decent explanation for this could be that also "Finland
" is derived from "hvein land". Thus "Kvenland" would have been a local form of the name Finland used exclusively in some Norwegian dialects.
("Woman Land") in a Latin text from 1075 CE. Finland is not mentioned. Another reference to a north-bound land of women is from an Icelandic manuscript from the 14th century that describes a kuenna land ("Woman Land") north of India
that would only have women with both reproduction organs. As the name appears in a geographical list of countries and Finland is nowhere to be found, it may also be a misunderstanding from an era that no longer recognized Kvenland any more.
The reason why Finland would have been called as "Woman Land" is not immediately explained. However, there was a rumour already in the 1st century CE, written down by Tacitus
himself, that a tribe called Sitones
possibly living somewhere in the present-day Finland were ruled by a woman. This could have led into some Germanic tribes calling Finland as the "woman land", placing a slightly deragotary meaning on the name (at least Tacitus was appalled by the rumour). Swedes living closer to Finns would have restrained using such a name, which would explain absence of "Kvenland" in Swedish contexts.
All in all, there was a persistent tradition of various contents about a land controlled by women in the north which might have generated the name "Kvenland" in a somewhat similar manner than later times invented the name for the River Amazon
.
. In North Samic, Gáidnu is a rope made of roots for boats or fishing nets. Gáidnulaŝ refers to a clumsy person and Geaidnu stands for a road or a way. In the early saami dictionaries Kainolats/Kainahaljo had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish man while Kainahalja had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish women, it could also have the meaning peasant. Helsing-byn close Torneå was referred to as Cainho.
Related to the discussion around the origin of the name Kven is also the origin of the name Kainuu
.
Kven
Kvens are an ethnic minority in Norway who are descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Northern Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries...
" is unclear. The name appears for the first time in a 9th century Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
version, written by King Alfred of Wessex
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
, of a work by the Roman author Orosius, in the plural form "Cwenas". It is still in use today, indicating a Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
speaking Kven
Kven
Kvens are an ethnic minority in Norway who are descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Northern Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries...
minority in northern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Norwegian background
All ancient references to Kvenland and Kvens seem to be from Old English and Icelandic sources (9th to 13th centuries). Furthermore, most of them seem to have been connected to a certain geographical area in NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in one way or another:
- Ottar, the source used by King Alfred of Wessex, was from Hålogaland
- Orkneyinga saga described how Nór travelled from Kvenland to Trondheim
- Egil's saga described how Thorolf travelled from Namdalen (north of Trondheim) to Kvenland
- Writer of the publication mentioning Terra Feminarum was especially familiar with Trondheim and also mentioned Hålogaland
- Kvens were mentioned 1271 to have pillaged Hålogaland
This might indicate that the term "Kven" was originally used in Norwegian dialects around a rather compact area ranging from Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
to Hålogaland
Hålogaland
Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the mediaeval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a petty kingdom extending between Namdalen in Nord-Trøndelag and Lyngen in Troms.-Etymology:...
.
Theory one: "Swampy land"
Widely accepted is the view first presented by Jouko Vahtola that "kven" etymologically originates from Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
"hvein," meaning "swampy land". If Kvenland was the same as Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and since Finland of the past was largely nothing more than swamps, the theory would fit.
A problem with this approach is that Kvenland does not seem to have been used that much as a geographical term, but rather as the "land of the Kvens". It is also only known to have been used by Norwegians
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
. Had it been a geographical term, wider acceptance would have been expected. Especially noteworthy is the complete ignorance of all "Kven" related names among the Swedes. A decent explanation for this could be that also "Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
" is derived from "hvein land". Thus "Kvenland" would have been a local form of the name Finland used exclusively in some Norwegian dialects.
Theory two: "Woman"
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. An example of this is that Kvenland was most likely translated to Terra FeminarumTerra Feminarum
Terra feminarum is a name for a land in Fennoscandia that appears in Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum by Adam of Bremen 1075 AD...
("Woman Land") in a Latin text from 1075 CE. Finland is not mentioned. Another reference to a north-bound land of women is from an Icelandic manuscript from the 14th century that describes a kuenna land ("Woman Land") north of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
that would only have women with both reproduction organs. As the name appears in a geographical list of countries and Finland is nowhere to be found, it may also be a misunderstanding from an era that no longer recognized Kvenland any more.
The reason why Finland would have been called as "Woman Land" is not immediately explained. However, there was a rumour already in the 1st century CE, written down by Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
himself, that a tribe called Sitones
Sitones
Sitones were a Germanic people living somewhere in Northern Europe in the 1st century CE. They are only mentioned by Cornelius Tacitus in 97 CE in Germania. Tacitus considered them a Germanic people similar to Suiones :...
possibly living somewhere in the present-day Finland were ruled by a woman. This could have led into some Germanic tribes calling Finland as the "woman land", placing a slightly deragotary meaning on the name (at least Tacitus was appalled by the rumour). Swedes living closer to Finns would have restrained using such a name, which would explain absence of "Kvenland" in Swedish contexts.
All in all, there was a persistent tradition of various contents about a land controlled by women in the north which might have generated the name "Kvenland" in a somewhat similar manner than later times invented the name for the River Amazon
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
.
Theory three: Sami background
Similar sounding words to "kainuu" also exist in the Sami languagesSami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
. In North Samic, Gáidnu is a rope made of roots for boats or fishing nets. Gáidnulaŝ refers to a clumsy person and Geaidnu stands for a road or a way. In the early saami dictionaries Kainolats/Kainahaljo had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish man while Kainahalja had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish women, it could also have the meaning peasant. Helsing-byn close Torneå was referred to as Cainho.
Other theories
One possibility is that "kven" is not originally a Germanic word at all, but lifted from Finnish. However, no fitting etymology has been presented for this theory.Related to the discussion around the origin of the name Kven is also the origin of the name Kainuu
Origin of the name Kainuu
Origin of the name Kainuu has been a disputed subject among Finnish historians and linguistics. Kainuu is a region of Finland. The reason for the controversy is the speculated connection between areas known as Kainuu and Kvenland, both historical lands in Fennoscandia.-Theory one: Swampy land:As a...
.