Swedenization of the North – the early medieval Swedish northern expansion and the emergence of the Birkarls.

Abstract

The State of Sweden expanded its domains successfully towards the north during the medieval period – particularly during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This expansion north from Norrland over the Bothnian coast and further into Lapland has traditionally been discussed within the classical colonial framework. In this paper, however, we argue that the Swedish northern expansion was actually more a result of successful negotiations between the State of Sweden and the northern Iron Age economic elite, leading to the peaceful integration of the northern social system(s) into the Swedish society. As a result of this process the concept of Birkarls – the traditional medieval trade elite of the north – appeared into Swedish historical documents. Recent research has brought forward evidence indicating that the Birkarl system harks back to the Iron Age northern social system, and that the medieval Birkarls were a direct continuation of the Late Iron Age trader society that was integrated and assimilated into the Swedish society during the early fourteenth century.

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