Finnveden


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 the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Jönköping.
It was first mentioned by Jordanes when he referred to its population as the Finnaithae when describing the nations of Scandza in Getica.

Etymology

The Scandinavian placenames Finnveden, Finnmark and the province of Finland are all thought to be derived from finn, an ancient Germanic word for nomadic "hunter-gatherers". 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.