The Tavastians (Old Russian Yem or Yam, Finnish hämäläiset) farm the lake country of inner southern Finland: the core round Lake Vanajavesi (Hattula, Vanaja, Janakkala, Sääksmäki), Hauho, Lammi and Pälkäne, Kangasala, and the Hollola and Asikkala country on Lake Vesijärvi and the southern Päijänne.
They defend themselves from a chain of hillforts round Hämeenlinna, of which Rapola in Sääksmäki is the largest in Finland; villages grew round the forts (en.wikipedia Tavastians). A route later called the Oxen Road (Hämeen härkätie), possibly the oldest road in Finland, links them to the coast of Finland Proper (its age is not pinned). Christian influence reaches them from the 11th century, but most are pagan in 1200, and in 1236-37 they will rise against the church.
They are Novgorod's oldest enemies in the north: Novgorod campaigned against them in 1042, 1123 and 1186; they raided Ladoga in 1142 (the chronicle says 400 were killed) and the Votians in 1149; the Karelians attacked them in 1143, and Novgorod and the Karelians together burned their land and killed their cattle in 1191 (en.wikipedia Finnish-Novgorodian wars). Their hunters and traders range north into the forests and to the Ostrobothnian coast (the Kvens of the Norse sources may be Tavastian traders), and south to the Uusimaa coast for fish and seals.
Who holds it
- Name
- none named
- Title
- the Tavastian districts and their headmen (none named)
- Confidence
- high
No Tavastian leader is named for 1200. A papal letter of 1340 lists a 'Cuningas de Rapalum' among Tavastian farmers refusing church dues: a headman whom outsiders called 'king' (en.wikipedia Rapola Castle).
Overlord
None. Novgorod raids the Tavastians but does not rule them; the Swedish conquest is 1238-39 or 1249-50.
What it holds
- Lake Vanajavesi (Hattula, Vanaja, Janakkala, Sääksmäki)
- Hauho, Lammi and Pälkäne
- Kangasala
- Hollola and Asikkala on Lake Vesijärvi
How things stand that morning
Self-governing, mostly pagan Tavastian districts under no lord; the open feud with Novgorod and the Karelians has been quiet since the raid of 1191.
Wealth
Slash-and-burn and field farming, cattle, lake fish, furs from the northern wilds, iron from bog ore; trade by the Oxen Road to the coast and by the Kymi towards Ladoga.
Military
District levies; hillforts (Rapola; Tenhola in Hattula). Hakoinen, the later 'Tauestahus', is a castle of the late 13th or early 14th century, not of 1200 (en.wikipedia Hakoinen Castle).
Threats
- Novgorod and the Karelians (raids of 1186 and 1191; next 1226-27)
- Western crusade and mission
Law and courts
Customary law of the districts; the headmen of the hillfort districts (compare the 'Cuningas de Rapalum' of 1340). No written law.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
In 1200
- 1200 (no dated event)No raid on or by the Tavastians is recorded between 1191 and the 1220s.
Later, on the likely course
- 1226-1228 (after this year)Novgorod's winter campaign (1226-27) and the Tavastian attack on Ladoga (1228).
- 1236-37, then 1238-39 or 1249-50 (after this year)Tavastian rising against the church; the Second Swedish Crusade brings Swedish rule.
Places of note
- Rapola hillfort: the largest hillfort in Finland (Rapola)
- Hämeenlinna and Hattula: the Vanajavesi core of Tavastia; the castle is later
- Hollola: the eastern Tavastian district on Lake Vesijärvi
- Hauho: Tavastian lake district
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Novgorod chronicle entries (1042-1228), archaeology of the hillforts, later papal letters. Nothing dated to 1199-1200.
On the map: Drawn on the later province of Häme without its northern wilds (north of Jämsä and Sysmä, drawn as Sami forest) and without the Uusimaa coast (Uusimaa). The east edge towards the Karelians and Savonians on the Kymi and at Heinola is a judgement.
Primary sources for Finland
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Swedish diplomatarium and its main register, SDHK (documents of 817 to 1540). The register of every known Swedish medieval letter, with full texts for the early centuries. Read online
Sources and studies
- en.wikipedia: Tavastians
- en.wikipedia: Finnish-Novgorodian wars
- en.wikipedia: Rapola Castle
- en.wikipedia: Hakoinen Castle
- en.wikipedia: Kvenland
- en.wikipedia: First Swedish Crusade
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.