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1362

Finland gets a say in choosing the king

In February 1362 the men of the realm gather on a meadow near Uppsala to choose a king. For the first time, representatives from Finland are among them.

High Middle Ages · Gothic
The big story

A vote on the Mora meadow

In February 1362 the men of the realm gathered on a meadow near Uppsala to choose a king. For the first time, representatives from Finland stood among them. Finland was no longer just a land the Swedes had conquered: it was one of the lands that chose the king.

An elected crown

  • Chosen, not just born. The kings of Sweden were elected. Usually a king’s son was chosen, but the election mattered: it was the realm agreeing to its king Well documented.
  • Uppland first. The old law of Uppland said that the three “folklands” of Uppland should choose the king first. The Mora meadow lay in their land Well documented.
  • The other lands. After the election the new king rode the Eriksgata, a journey from province to province, so that each could accept him in turn Well documented.
  • One law for the realm. In the mid-1300s King Magnus Eriksson issued a law of the realm to replace the old provincial laws. Under it, the lagmen, the law-speakers of each province, took part in choosing the king together with men from their provinces Likely.

1362: Finland joins in

  • A second king. In February 1362 King Magnus Eriksson’s son Haakon was elected at Mora to rule beside his father Well documented.
  • Finland at Mora. From 1362 representatives from Finland took part in the election Well documented.
  • Who went? We do not know exactly. Following the law of the realm, Finland probably sent its lagman with a group of men from Finland Likely.
  • What it meant. Finland now stood alongside the provinces west of the sea as one of the lands of the realm. Historians often see 1362 as the moment Finland became a full part of the kingdom Likely.

The Mora meadow

  • Where? The Mora meadow lies in Lagga parish, not far south-east of Uppsala Well documented.
  • Who was chosen here? Haakon in 1362, Albert of Mecklenburg, proclaimed king on 18 February 1364, and many more. The last king elected at Mora was Christian I in 1457 Well documented.
  • The stones today. The old stones are lost. Only fragments survive, kept in a small stone house built in the 1700s by a local officer, Carl Wijnbladh Well documented.
How do we know?

The sources are royal letters, the laws of the time and later chronicles. They tell us that Finland’s men took part from 1362, but not their names. Much of what we say about how an election worked comes from the laws, which describe how things should be done, not how they always were.

UPPLANDFINLANDUppsalaStockholmTurkuMora

Click a person or the stone.

The road to Mora. Switch between the years, then click the people and the stone.Schematic scene. The figures stand for groups; their number and dress are illustrative.
Why it matters

A vote at Mora gave Finland a voice in the affairs of the realm. Finns kept that voice, in one form or another, for the next four and a half centuries, until Finland was separated from Sweden in 1809. Two years after 1362, the same meadow saw Albert of Mecklenburg made king, and the struggle over the crown that followed reached all the way to Turku Castle (stop 8).

On the lighter side

An A and four lilies: the town seal

How did a medieval town sign a letter? With a seal. Turku’s oldest known seal is from 1309, and its design, a letter A among lilies, is still the city’s coat of arms more than 700 years later.

  • A town’s signature. The town council pressed a metal seal matrix into warm wax. The wax seal was hung on a letter by a cord or a strip of parchment, and it proved that the letter really came from the town Well documented.
  • Guard it well. Whoever held the matrix could speak in the town’s name, so it was kept safe, often locked away Likely.
  • 1309. The oldest known seal of Turku dates from 1309. It already shows the letter A with lilies around it Well documented.
  • What does the A mean? It may stand for Aboa, the town’s Latin name, or for Åbo, its Swedish name. It can also be read as a monogram of the Virgin Mary Debated.
  • Why lilies? The lily is the flower of the Virgin Mary, a sign of purity. Mary was the patron saint of the town, and the Cathedral is dedicated to her and to St Henry Well documented.
  • Colours came later. A wax seal has no colours. In the mid-1800s the shield was often painted red, later blue Well documented.
  • Official in 1966. The coat of arms was confirmed on 8 February 1966: on blue, a gold Gothic A with four silver lilies, one above, two beside and one below Well documented.
Seals everywhere

Not only towns had seals. Bishops, monasteries, guilds, nobles and even well-off burghers used them. A seal could show a saint, a coat of arms, a tool of a trade or just a letter. The study of seals has its own name: sigillography.

How we read an old seal

Old seals survive hanging on letters in archives, often cracked or worn. Researchers make casts and photographs in raking light to bring out the relief. A seal also helps to date and check a letter: a forged letter with the wrong seal gives itself away.

Make your own town seal

Medieval towns often chose a saint’s sign, a letter or something from their trade.

Press the seal, follow the design from 1309 to 1966, click its parts, then make a seal of your own.Simplified drawing based on the coat of arms, not a copy of the 1309 seal.

Sources and further reading

  1. Stones of Mora — the royal election site and its history.
  2. Albert, King of Sweden — proclaimed at Mora in 1364.
  3. Magnus Eriksson’s law of the realm — overview.
  4. Turku coat of arms — blazon, history and colours (Heraldry of the World).
  5. Turku — overview, with the coat of arms (in German).
  6. Turku Cathedral — overview.

Spotted a mistake? Know more?

This site is open and free. Corrections and additions are welcome — every page lists its sources so you can check them.