Kvenland

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Kvenland, known in medieval sources by various names including Cwenland, Qwenland, and Kænland, is an ancient region in northern Scandinavia. Kvenland and the ethnonym Kven are only mentioned in a small number of historical accounts and remain a subject of scholarly debate. Kvenland was located somewhere east of Scandinavian Mountains, and is often suggested to have been located at the Bothnian Bay in northern parts of present-day Sweden and Finland. The earliest surviving mention of Kvenland comes from an Old English Orosius, written in the late 9th century. This text is an Old English adaption of Historiae adversus paganos by Paulus Orosius (fl. c. 400), supplemented with information from the Norwegian chieftain and traveler Ohthere of Hålogaland. Ohthere described Cwenland and the conflicts between the Cwenas and the Northmen. Historia Norwegiæ, a brief history of Norway probably written in the 12th century, also mentions Kvenland. The most detailed accounts appear in Icelandic sagas written in the 12th and 13th centuries, such as Egil's Saga and Hversu Noregr byggðist. These texts, composed centuries after the events they describe, portray Kvenland as a realm with its own kings. The relationship between the historical reality and the legendary elements within these sagas is a central question in the study of Kvenland.