Bishop Henry

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Bishop Henry and Lalli as depicted in Missale Aboense.

Bishop Henry or Saint Henry (Piispa Henrik or Pyhä Henrik in Finnish) (died allegedly January 20, 1156) is claimed to have been a Roman Catholic Bishop of Uppsala, who according to a legend was martyred in Finland during a mission journey. Henry has not been officially canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

1 Traditions of Henry
2 Political use of the legend
3 Battle of the bones
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Traditions of Henry

Lalli killing Henry.

Very few facts are known about Henry's life and death, if he ever existed. Many modern historians see Henry as merely a fictional figure there being no contemporary or even near-contemporary records referring to him.^[1]

According to a 16th century source,^[2] Henry came to Sweden in 1153 with the papal legate Nicolas Breakspear (the future Pope Adrian IV) and was made Bishop of Uppsala. A certain Henry is mentioned in the 13th century chronicle of Uppsala archbishops before Kopmannus and Stefan (1164), but after Siwardus (Severinus, 1141), Nicolaus and Sveno.^[3] However, in another source, some Henry is mentioned as a Bishop of Uppsala in 1129.^[4] According to legends, Henry accompanied king Eric of Sweden to Finland on the so-called First Swedish Crusade. Henry remained in Finland, becoming a martyr there later.

There are two main traditions on Henry's death. According to a folk poem "Piispa Henrikin surmavirsi"^[5] (The Death-lay of Bishop Henry), earliest from the 14th century, the killer was called Lalli. Lalli's wife Kerttu falsely claimed to him that upon leaving the manor, their ungrateful guest Henry, travelling around on his own in the middle of winter, had without permission or recompense through violence taken food for himself and hay for his horse. This is supposed to have enraged Lalli so that he immediately grabbed his skis and went in pursuit of the thief, finally chasing Henry down on the ice of Lake Köyliönjärvi. There he killed him on the spot with an axe. Bishop Henry's body was then buried at Nousiainen. Medieval folk traditions enumerate the pestilences and misfortunes which befell Lalli after his "treacherous slaying" of the holy benefactor of the miserable Finnish pagans who were "twice removed" from the grace afforded by knowledge of Christ. His hair and scalp are said to have fallen out as he took off the bishop's cap, taken as a trophy. Furthermore, he is said to have been constantly nibbled by mice, which finally caused him such distress that he ran into a lake and drowned himself.

Both Lalli (Laurentius) and Kerttu (Gertrud) are originally German names, which might indicate that the folk tradition was partly constructed on foreign models. Other elements in the legend also indicate that.^[6] Extensive borrowing from unrelated Finnish legends seems to have taken place as well, leaving little original material left at all.^[7] The poem, following the traditional Kalevala metre, has survived as a 17th century litteration. Based on the finds from medieval church ruins in a tiny island of Kirkkokari ("Church Rock", earlier known as the "Island of Saint Henry") in Lake Köyliönjärvi, bishop's worship there started in the later half of the 14th century.^[8] A small granary in the near-by Kokemäki, claimed to have been bishop's place of rest the night before his death, could not be dated earlier than the late 15th century in dendrological examinations.^[9]

The official Catholic legend of Henry, "The Life of Saint Henry", from around 1300 knows nothing of Lalli. It describes the anonymous killer as a miscreant and a criminal who, when reprimanded by Henry for his deeds, became enraged and killed the man. Conflicting traditions might indicate that the "bishop" killed by Lalli was not the bishop at all, but an earlier lone preacher.

[edit] Political use of the legend

Henry's sarcophagus with depictions of the crusade.

This legend of Finnish ingratitude was much expanded upon by preachers to justify later harsh measures they took to ensure that Finnish conversions to Christianity were not mere words, but that they sincerely and unreservedly accepted church authority. Bishop Henry took the status of holy martyr, and Finnish folk revered him as a saint. Henry was never officially canonized, but from the late 13th century onwards he became the patron saint of Finland. The annual feast day of bishop Henry was January 20th, according to tradition the day of his death, even though in Sweden his memorial was held already in January 19th, since more important saints had already reserved the 20th. After reformation, Henry's day was moved to 19th in Finland as well.^[10] Despite claims that the martyr had been Bishop of Uppsala, his worship was mainly centered in Finland.

Although Henry has not been officially canonized, he nevertheless is usually called a saint in today's papal documents.^[11]^[12] He is also commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

[edit] Battle of the bones

Henry was allegedly buried in Nousiainen, from where his bones - or at least something that was thought to be his bones - were translated to Turku in 1300. However, the medieval church of Nousiainen was later adorned with a grandiose 15th century cenotaph of Bishop Henry.

Most of the bones in Turku were apparently lost after being removed by Russian soldiers in 1720. However, it is generally acknowledged that a piece of his ulna had been placed in Bishop Hemming's reliquarium that was built in 1514 and treasured in the Cathedral of Turku. Also enclosed was a piece of parchment stating the bone belonged to Henry. During the restoration work of the cathedral, the relic was relocated to the National Board of Antiquities.

In the 1990s, the National Board of Antiquities claimed the relic as its own on the basis of the Finnish law on ancient objects and was contradicted by the Cathedral Parish of Turku. However, the Board let the bone be relocated in the Cathedral of Saint Henry in Helsinki, the oldest church in the modern Catholic diocese of Finland. Since then, the bone has been located inside the altar of the cathedral.

After a public controversy, the bone is planned to be returned to Turku during 2007. Also its authenticity is going to be examined.^[13]