Finnveden

The small lands of Småland, Sweden. The black and red spots indicate runestones. The red spots indicate runestones telling of long voyages. Most runestones in Finnveden describe men who died in England.

Finnveden or Finnheden is one of the ancient small lands of Småland. It corresponded to the hundreds of Sunnerbo Hundred, Östbo Hundred and Västbo Hundred. Finnveden had its own judicial system and laws as the other small lands. Finnveden is situated around lake Bolmen and the river Lagan. Most runestones in Finnveden describe men who died in England. Finnveden is today divided and is a part of Hallands län, Kronobergs län and Jönköpings län.

It was first mentioned by Jordanes when he referred to its population as the Finnaithae (derived from an old form of Finnheden, Finn(h)aith-) when describing the nations of Scandza in Getica.

Etymology

The Scandinavian placenames Finnveden, Finnmark and the province of Finland (which gave name to Finland) are all thought to be derived from finn, an ancient Germanic word for nomadic "hunter-gatherers" (as opposed to sedentary farmers, cf. to find ). This would explain the connection between these names and the modern nation called Finns, few of whom were nomadic or semi-nomadic until the Middle Ages beside the farming majority.

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