Christianization of Finland
People
Bishops: Thomas · Henry
Rodulff · Fulco · Bero
Popes: Alexander III
Innocent III · Gregory IX
Archbishops: Anders
Valerius
Others: Birger Jarl
Sergius · Lalli · King Eric
Locations
Kokemäki · Köyliö
Nousiainen · Koroinen
Turku Cathedral
Events
Finnish-Novgorodian wars
First Swedish Crusade
Second Swedish Crusade

Lalli is an apocryphal character from Finnish history. According to legend, he killed Bishop Henry on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland on January 20, 1156. St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting pagan practices, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Diocese of Finland was the predecessor of the Catholic diocese of Turku. ... Thomas is the first known Bishop of Finland. ... Saint Henry (pyhä Henrik or piispa Henrik in Finnish, Biskop Henrik or Sankt Henrik in Swedish, Henricus etc in Latin; died allegedly 20 January c. ... Bishop Rodulff (Rodulf) is claimed by a 15th century chronicle Chronicon episcoporum Finlandensium to have worked as a missionary bishop in Finland after Bishop Henry had died in the 1150s. ... Bishop Fulco was the first known missionary Bishop of Estonia. ... Bishop Bero (Björn) was the first quite certainly Swedish Bishop of Finland in the mid-13th century. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Pope (from Latin... Alexander III, né Orlando Bandinelli (c. ... Pope Innocent III (c. ... Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino dei Conti, was pope from 1227 to August 22, 1241. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... Anders Sunesen in the Battle of Lyndanisse 1219 Anders Sunesen (also Andreas, Suneson, Sunesøn, Latin: Andreas Sunonis) (c. ... Valerius was the Swedish Archbishop 1207-1219. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Sergius and Herman of Valaam on a 19th century icon Saint Sergius of Valaam (b. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Kokemäki (Kumo in Swedish) is a municipality of Finland. ... Köyliö (Kjulo in Swedish) is a municipality of Finland. ... Province Western Finland Region Finland Proper District Turku City manager Hannu Rämö Official languages Finnish Area  - total  - land ranked 331st 198. ... Koroinen on a map of Turku. ... The Cathedral of Turku The Turku Cathedral is a Evangelical Lutheran cathedral in Turku, Finland. ... Finnish-Novgorodian wars were a series of badly documented conflicts that took place between the Finnish tribes and the Republic of Novgorod in the 12th and early 13th centuries. ... The First Swedish Crusade is a legendary military expedition presumably in the 1150s that has traditionally been seen as the conquest of Finland by Sweden, with pagan Finns converted into Christianity. ... Second Swedish Crusade was a semi-historical Swedish military expedition to Finland by Birger jarl in the 13th century. ... Bishop Henry and Lalli as depicted in Missale Aboense. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy fortifies Moscow, regarded as the date of the founding of the city Establishment of the Carmelite Order Hogen Rebellion in Japan January 20 - According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of the lake Köyliönjärvi...

Legend

According to the legend, Lalli was a rich Finnish man who resisted a bishop's attempts to convert his family to Christianity. The story tells that when Lalli returned home one day, his wife informed him that the bishop recently visited their house, but lied saying that he had departed without paying for his food, drink, or fodder. When Lalli heard of this, he became enraged and left to pursue the bishop. At Bishop Henry's bidding, his entourage fled and hid in a nearby forest while Lalli cut the his head off with an axe.

The legend is enshrined in a famous Finnish folk poem called Henrikin surma ("The Slaying of Henry"). The details of the poem follow a pattern typical to the era's folktales. Lalli took the bishop's hat from his decapitated head and cut off the bishop's finger to take his ring. The hat became fused to Lalli's head and when he tried to remove it, it tore his scalp off with it. When Lalli tried to remove the bishop's ring from his finger, it likewise tore his finger off. Afterward, Lalli drowned in the lake Köyliönjärvi. Per the bishop's last wish, his body parts were collected by his servants and transported with oxen. Where the oxen stopped became the site of the first church in Finland.

The Lalli poem makes use of characters such as a talking statue of Christ and a lying spouse. She sealed Henry's fate with her false accusation that Bishop Henry left Lalli's house without paying. This negligence was probably seen as criminal at the time of the story's setting, but the poem also presents Lalli as a violent madman. This poem is found in the Kanteletar, a collection of old Finnish folk poetry. Christ is the English term for the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ...

Cultural significance

Lalli is a well-known figure in Finnish folklore whose name is not common in Finland and may be a form of "Laurentius". He has been depicted as a figure prostrated at the feet of the Bishop Henry in wooden statues. More recently, Lalli has been seen as representing a positive rebellion against oppressive authority. He is a hero for many present day pagans, since his story reflects the battle between the earlier pagan Finnish beliefs, and Christianity. As a character, he has probably influenced Eino Leino's cruel and power-hungry Pagan figures of Helkavirsiä. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Heroine” redirects here. ... Look up pagan, heathen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The elk is a common image in many Finnish petroglyphs Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in present-day Finland and Karelia prior to Christianization. ... Eino Leino (July 6, 1878 - January 10, 1926) was a Finnish poet and journalist, considered one of the important developers of Finnish poetry. ...

In the the television series Suuret suomalaiset, the Finnish version of Greatest Britons, Lalli was elected as the 14th greatest Finn. Suuret Suomalaiset (Great Finns) is a Finnish spinoff-version of the 100 Greatest Britons programme on the BBC. Made by the national broadcaster YLE over October to December 2004. ... In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time. ...

Controversy

In 2005, Tuomas Heikkilä, pro tempore professor of history at the University of Helsinki, claimed that Bishop Henry was a completely fictional character. Heikkilä claims that Bishop Henry's name cannot be located anywhere in the archives of the Catholic Church, nor can the legend itself be substantiated. The local administration of Köyliönjärvi became angry with Heikkilä's statements, and insisted that the slaying of Bishop Henry was a historical event; they claimed that Bishop Henry's name can be found in the Vatican's records. University of Helsinki is not to be confused with Helsinki University of Technology. ...