Finnish culture at the beginning of the 1800s.
The status of the Finnish language left much to be desired during the period of Swedish rule. The language used in schools and universities was either Swedish or Latin, and the language of state administration was Swedish. Only the ordinary peasants in the countryside spoke Finnish, and the only publications to appear in Finnish were some legal texts and religious literature.
Timo Setälä 1998. SKS By the end of the 1700s, however, there was already a small group of students at Turku University who were familiar with the ideology of National Romanticism. These students realized that the language of the common people, as well as folklore collection and publication were crucial to the development of a uniquely Finnish culture.
As part of the Russian empire, Finland occupied a special status. Located between Sweden and Russia, Finland was the military buffer zone in Russia's northwest corner. On the other hand, the Finns' autonomous status meant that they could begin to see themselves as a separate nation for the first time.
Although new cultural ties were formed with St. Petersburg, the border between the Finland and the Swedish 'motherland' was not entirely closed off. Romanticist ideals became stronger and made a significant impact on the attitudes of Finland's Swedish-speaking elite, who began to collect, study and publish Finnish folk poetry.
Väinämöinen, a central figure in the poems, was seen to be the symbol of national rebirth. A singer and player of the folk instrument, the kantele, Väinämöinen was compared to Orfeus of Ancient Greek mythology, who, like Väinämöinen, was able to enchant his listeners with his playing. The Turku Romantics realized that resources for the development of a small nation lay in its own language and distinctive culture. The first nationalistic works of art in Finland originated in the spirit of Romanticism.
