Origin of the name Kven

The origin of the name Kven is unclear. The name appears for the first time in a 9th-century Old English version, written by King Alfred of Wessex, of a work by the Roman author Orosius, in the plural form Cwenas.

Today, however, Kven refers to Finnish-speaking people who have migrated to northern Norway in relatively recent times, with no connection to the Cwenas/Kænir mentioned in the sagas.

Norwegian background

All ancient references to Kvenland and Kvens seem to be from Old English and Icelandic sources (9th to 13th centuries). Furthermore, most of them seem to have been connected to a certain geographical area in Norway in one way or another:

  • Ottar, the source used by King Alfred of Wessex, was from Hålogaland
  • Orkneyinga saga described how Nór travelled from Kvenland to Trondheim
  • Egil's saga described how Thorolf travelled from Namdalen (north of Trondheim) to Kvenland
  • Writer of the publication mentioning Terra Feminarum was especially familiar with Trondheim and also mentioned Hålogaland
  • Kvens were mentioned 1271 to have pillaged Hålogaland

This might indicate that the term Kven was originally used in Norwegian dialects around a rather compact area ranging from Trondheim to Hålogaland.

Theories

Widely accepted is the view first presented by Jouko Vahtola[1][2] that kven etymologically originates from Old Norse hvein, meaning "swampy land."[3] Nevertheless, kven translates to "woman" in Old Norse. Proto-Germanic *kwinōn, *kunōn; *kwēni-z, *kwēnō "woman" developed into Old Norse kona; kvǟn, kvān, kvɔ̄n; kvendi; kvenna, kvinna.[4] A reference to Terra Feminarum ("Woman Land") in a Latin text dated to 1075 CE is likely a translation of Kvenland. A 14th-century Icelandic manuscript describes a kuenna land ("Woman Land") north of India populated by hermaphroditic women.[5]

Theory three: Sami background

Similar sounding words to "kainuu" also exist in the Sami languages. In Northern Sami, Gáidnu is a rope made of roots for boats or fishing nets. Gáidnulaŝ refers to a clumsy person and Geaidnu stands for a road or a way.[6] In the early saami dictionaries Kainolats/Kainahaljo had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish man while Kainahalja had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish women, it could also have the meaning peasant. Helsing-byn close Torneå was referred to as Cainho.[7]

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References
  1. Vahtola, J. (1994), Kvenerne – vem var de ursprungligen? In: Torekoven Strøm (eed.), Report from the seminar ”Kvenene – en glemt minoritet?” 14.11.94 at the University of Tromsø/Tromsø Museum.
  2. Vahtola, J. (2001), Folk och folkgrupper inom det nordliga rummet över tid. In: Tedebrand, L.-G. & Edlund, L.-E. (ed.), Tre kulturer i möte. Kulturens frontlinjer. Papers from the research program Kulturgräns norr, 27. Published by Johan Nordlander-sällskapet, 23. Umeå.
  3. Etymology of hvein.
  4. Etymology of kwen.
  5. Manuscript "AM 764 4to" Archived 2006-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. See also entire text in Icelandic.
  6. Álgu-database
  7. Lexicon lapponicum, Erik Lindahl, Johann Öhrling, Typis Joh. Georg. Lange, 1780"
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