Editing Lalli

{{short description|12th-century apocryphal Finnish person}}
{{Distinguish|Lali (disambiguation){{!}}Lali}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
[[Image:Henrik Lalli Ekman.JPG|thumb|''The murder of [[Henry (bishop of Finland)|St. Henry]] by Lalli'', painting by [[C. A. Ekman]] (1854)]]
{{Lead too short|date=March 2025}}
'''Lalli''' is an apocryphal character from [[Finland|Finnish]] history. According to the legend, he killed [[Henry (bishop of Finland)|Bishop Henry]] on the ice of [[Köyliönjärvi]] on 20 January 1156.<ref Name="Lee">{{cite DNB | wstitle =Henry (fl.1150)}}</ref><ref Name="Michell">{{cite book  | last =Michell  | first =Thomas   | title =Handbook for Travellers in Russia, Poland, and Finland  | publisher =J. Murray, [etc., etc.]  | year =1888  | pages =[https://archive.org/details/handbookfortrav00conggoog/page/n556 532]  | url =https://archive.org/details/handbookfortrav00conggoog  | quote =Lalli bishop.  }}</ref><ref Name="Fryxell">{{cite book  | last =Fryxell  | first =Anders Fryxell  | title =The History of Sweden  | publisher =R. Bentley  | year =1844  | location =Original from the New York Public Library  | pages =[https://archive.org/details/historysweden00fryxgoog/page/n209 192]  | url =https://archive.org/details/historysweden00fryxgoog  | quote =Lalli bishop.  }}</ref>

== Legend ==
The story begins with an expedition of one of the first Christian missionaries in Finland, Bishop Henry, during the [[First Swedish Crusade|alleged first crusade of Sweden]]. In the midst of travelling, he and his entourage stop at a dwelling. Only the matron of the house, Kerttu, is home. Bishop Henry asks for food for his party and hay for the horses, but the matron refuses him. In their hunger, Bishop Henry and his men then forcibly take the food and hay but leave payment before continuing on with their journey. After they are gone, Lalli, the husband of Kerttu, returns and hears of what has happened. In most versions of the story, Kerttu leaves out the part of the payment entirely. When Lalli hears of the bishop ransacking his home, he becomes enraged and pursues the bishop. Lalli catches up to the bishop on a frozen lake, said to be [[Köyliönjärvi]]. At Bishop Henry's bidding his entourage flees to a nearby forest. The bishop tries to calm the angered man, but Lalli strikes and kills Henry with an axe.<ref name="helminen">{{cite web |last1=Helminen |first1=MInna |title=Legenda piispa Henrikistä ja Lallista |url=http://opinnot.internetix.fi/fi/muikku2materiaalit/lukio/hi/hi5/2._kristinuskon_myota_osaksi_eurooppaa/07_legenda_piispa |website=opinnot.internetix.fi |publisher=Otavan Opisto |access-date=9 February 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190209180229/http://opinnot.internetix.fi/fi/muikku2materiaalit/lukio/hi/hi5/2._kristinuskon_myota_osaksi_eurooppaa/07_legenda_piispa|archive-date=9 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="Yle Areena">{{cite web |title=Puoli seitsemän: 2 Legendat - Piispa Henrik ja Lalli |url=https://areena.yle.fi/1-2434210 |website=Yle Areena |publisher=Yle |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Albert Edelfelt - Bishop Henry killed by Lalli.png|thumb|''Bishop Henry killed by Lalli'', painting by [[Albert Edelfelt]] (1877)]]

There are numerous versions as to how Lalli then met his own gruesome fate, but typically Lalli takes the bishop's [[mitre]] to wear it pompously and cuts off the bishop's finger to snatch his valuable ring. The mitre becomes fused to Lalli's head and when he tries to remove it, it tears his scalp off with it. When he tries to remove the bishop's ring from his finger, it likewise tears his finger off. Lalli runs to the woods, where mice or rats corner him up a tree. Lalli then falls from the tree into the lake [[Hiirijärvi]] and drowns. The bishop's body parts are collected by his servants and transported with oxen towards the south. The place where the oxen stopped became the site of the first church in Finland.<ref name="Yle Areena"/>

The legend is enshrined in a famous Finnish folk poem called ''Henrikin surma'' ("The Slaying of Henry"). The poem includes such characters as a talking statue of [[Christ]]. One of the versions of the poem is found in the ''[[Kanteletar]]'', a collection of old Finnish folk poetry.

==Cultural significance==
Lalli is a well-known figure in [[Finland|Finnish]] [[folklore]]. He has been depicted as a figure prostrated at the feet of the Bishop Henry in wooden statues. The name ''Lalli'' is not common in Finland; it may be a form of "[[Laurentius]]", and is also said to be a name for the [[bear]] (traditionally saying the actual name of the animal was avoided, so [[Noa-name|the use of nicknames]] arose). Also, in the Finnish toponymy ''Lalli'' occurs, for example, in [[Pirkkala]], where there is both the place name ''Lalli'' and ''Lallin lahti'' ("Lalli Bay") on the shores of [[Pyhäjärvi (Tampere region)|Lake Pyhäjärvi]].<ref>[https://asiointi.maanmittauslaitos.fi/karttapaikka/?lang=fi&share=customMarker&n=6816388&e=316192&title=Lalli+ja+Lallin+lahti&desc=Lalli+ja+Lallin+lahti&zoom=7&layers=%5B%7B%22id%22%3A2%2C%22opacity%22%3A100%7D%5D Karttapaikka: Lalli ja Lallin lahti] - [[National Land Survey of Finland]]</ref>

In the television series ''[[Suuret suomalaiset]]'' – the Finnish version of ''[[100 Greatest Britons]]'' – Lalli was chosen as the 14th greatest Finn. Lalli used to be generally viewed as an evil-doer along with his wife, but in the 20th century he also became viewed as sort of a rebel pagan against imperialism and forced conversion of the [[Northern Crusades]].<ref name="heininen">{{cite web |last1=Heininen |first1=Simo |title=Talonpoika Lalli - Paha pakana vai vihainen viljelijä? |url=https://www.tiede.fi/artikkeli/jutut/artikkelit/talonpoika_lalli_paha_pakana_vai_vihainen_viljelij |publisher=Tiede|website=tiede.fi |access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref>

===Satakunta===
Lalli's axe, along with Bishop Henrik's [[mitre]] feature in the coat of arms of the former [[Municipalities of Finland|municipality]] of [[Köyliö]] and now from 2015 the merged [[Säkylä]]. There is a statue of Lalli in Köyliö designed by [[Aimo Tukiainen]], as well as two prominent relics in [[Satakunta]]: Lalli's hut and Lalli's tombstone. Both are, according to legend, places where Lalli took refuge after killing the bishop. Lalli's hut is located in ''Lootinnummi'' in Köyliö. There has been no actual archeological evidence that the mound of stone was once a house, but folklore claims that it was. 13 km away from Lalli's alleged hut is Lalli's tombstone: a boulder by Lake Hiirijärvi said to be still damp with Lalli's tears. This area has been called Lalli's farm.<ref name=salminen>{{cite book|last1=Salminen |first1=Tapio |title=Joki ja sen väki – Kokemäen ja Harjavallan historia jääkaudesta 1860-luvulle, Kokemäen ja Harjavallan kaupungit ja seurakunnat |date=2007 |publisher=Kokemäen ja Harjavallan kaupungit ja seurakunnat |isbn=9789529994113}}</ref> Lake Hiirijärvi ("Lake Mouse") allegedly received its name from the Lalli myth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://meka.tv/suistomaat/harjavalta/hiirijarvi.htm |title=Hiirijärven kylä Karhuseudun suistoissa |website=Karhuseudun suistomaat |date=18 December 2006}}</ref> [[Martti Haavio]], a researcher of Finnish mythology, theorised that this was not part of the original story, but added later on. It is possible that the legends marking these areas as Lalli's settlements were manufactured by the church, as it would grant them rights to the land.<ref name=salminen/>

<gallery mode=packed>
File:Köyliö.vaakuna.svg|[[Köyliö]] Coat of Arms, featuring elements from the Lalli legend.
File:Lallin asumus.JPG|Storied "Lalli's residence" at ''Lootinnummi''
File:Lallin itkukivi.JPG|Similar Lalli's "crystone" in ''Hiirijärvi'', which is still said to be moist from his tears<ref>[http://www.raumakuvasto.fi/index.php?url=http://www.raumakuvasto.fi/tiedosto.php?id=766 Lallin itkukivi] (''tr. "Lalli's weeping stone"'') ''www.raumakuvasto.fi'', accessed 3 May 2021</ref>
</gallery>

=== In modern popular culture ===
The story of Lalli and Henry’s death on the lake is the subject of the song ''Köyliönjärven jäällä'', by Finnish [[metal band]] [[Moonsorrow]].<ref>[https://genius.com/Moonsorrow-koylionjarven-jaalla-pakanavedet-ii-lyrics Moonsorrow – Köyliönjärven jäällä (Pakanavedet II)] – Genius Lyrics</ref>

==Historicity==

Although often considered a fictional story as there are no records of a Bishop Henry (as pointed out in research by historian Tuomas Heikkilä),<ref name="peuhkuri">{{cite news |last1=Peuhkuri |first1=Lea |title=Historiantutkija kyseenalaistaa piispa Henrikin olemassaolon |url=https://www.ts.fi/uutiset/1074039362 |access-date=9 February 2019 |publisher=Turun Sanomat}}</ref> new research by linguist Mikko Heikkilä claims that Bishop Henry was in fact a German missionary named Heinrich. He claims to have found records that state a missionary by the name of Heinrich (or "Heinärikki" as called by Finns) was slain in the early 12th century, only a few decades before the Bishop Henry of legend. According to him the fictional character of Bishop Henry was mostly based on Heinrich but was then conflated with the legend of [[Eric IX of Sweden]], who is also storied to have met his end gruesomely murdered.<ref name="heikkila">{{cite book |last1=Heikkilä |first1=Mikko K. |title=Kuka oli herra Heinäricki? - piispa Henrikin arvoitus |date=2016 |publisher=Tampere University Press |isbn=978-952-03-0305-1}}</ref><ref name="tapio">{{cite news |last1=Tapio |first1=Ilari |title=Ratkesiko 900 vuoden takainen murha? – talonpoika Lalli tappoikin ehkä saksalaisen Heinrichin |url=https://www.ts.fi/uutiset/3177500 |access-date=9 February 2019 |publisher=Turun Sanomat |date=25 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="nuuttila">{{cite news |last1=Nuuttila |first1=Sakari |title=Uusi tutkimus: Lalli ei surmannutkaan piispa Henrikiä, vaan herra Heinärikin - historialliset kaimat ovat menneet legendassa sekaisin |url=https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/201801212200684522 |access-date=9 February 2019 |publisher=Iltalehti |date=21 January 2017}}</ref> Tuomas Heikkilä doubts this version of the events and states that Mikko Heikkilä combines different sources liberally.<ref name="manninen">{{cite news |last1=Manninen |first1=Tuomas |title=Tappoiko Lalli piispan sijaan saksalaisen lähetyssaarnaajan? Uusi tulkinta Suomen kuuluisimmasta surmasta |url=https://www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-2000005064056.html |access-date=9 February 2019 |publisher=Iltasanomat |date=27 January 2017}}</ref>

==Gallery==

<gallery mode=packed heights=170>
File:Nousiainen.vaakuna.svg|[[Nousiainen]] Coat of Arms, with Henry stepping on Lalli
File:Missale Aboense cropped.jpg|Bishop Henry with Konrad Blitz and Maunu Särkilahti on top of Lalli, ''[[Missale Aboense]]'' (1488)
File:St Henrik Storkyro kyrka.jpg|15th century imagery from a [[retable]] in the church of [[Isokyrö]]
File:Bishop-Henrik-1955.jpg|1955 stamp depicting a wooden sculpture of Henry stepping on Lalli, from the church of Isokyrö
File:Bishop Henry on Lalli, 15th century Isokyrö church retable.jpg|Henry on Lalli, 15th century [[Isokyrö]] church retable
File:Biskop Henrik i Pyttis.jpg|Wooden statue in the church of [[Pyhtää]]
File:Wooden sculpture of Bishop Henry stepping on a bloodied Lalli from Akaa church, c. 1500.jpg|Wooden sculpture of Henry stepping on a bloodied Lalli from [[Akaa]] church, c. 1500
File:Drawing of a medieval wooden sculpture of Bishop Henry on Lalli from Sääksmäki church.jpg|Drawing of a medieval wooden sculpture from [[Sääksmäki]] church
File:Once painted birch sculpture of Bishop Henry on Lalli from Asikkala church, 15th century.jpg|Once painted [[birch]] sculpture from [[Asikkala]] church, 1300–1500
File:Decorative panel of Lalli slaying Bishop Henry and wearing his mitre from Nousiainen church, c. 1420.jpg|Decorative panel of Lalli slaying Henry and wearing his mitre from [[Nousiainen]] church, c. 1420
File:Decorative panel of Lalli's finger wearing Bishop Henry's ring being found in Spring on a block of ice from Nousiainen church, c. 1420.jpg|Decorative panel of Lalli's finger wearing Henry's ring being found in Spring on a block of ice, Nousiainen church c. 1420
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category inline}}

{{authority control}}
[[Category:Fictional characters from the 12th century]]
[[Category:Finnish mythology]]
[[Category:Finnish murderers]]
[[Category:Legendary Finnish people]]