Reign of Magnus I (1270 – 1299)
The passing of King Birger I was a watershed moment for the new Kingdom. Many men are able to create Kingdoms and Empires during their lifetime, but it is a mark of true greatness that such institutions survive them. Perhaps it was the still disunited nature of the Kingdom which allowed people to largely speaking ignore the monarchy, perhaps it was the respect that both the nobles and commons held for the now dead King, or perhaps it was the sheer cunning and genius of his heir, the thirty year old Magnus Birgersson, but the first Finnish succession went off without a hitch.
After the large state funeral of King Birger was dealt with, the Rälssi were gathered at Åbo to discuss the matters of succession. Though many realms in Europe already handled succession from father to eldest son, that could simply not due as that would've passed the crown off to Valdemar whom was already King of Sweden. As such the Rälssi was allowed to debate the candidates (mostly other sons of Birger and a few of their own numbers) until they reached a consensus where Birgers second son Magnus, whom had for decades now been groomed to be the heir was allowed to ascend to the throne as King of Finland and Grand Prince of Karelia.
Having married Sophia of Denmark some decade and a half ago, Magnus had the distinct honour of having been groomed by his father to be the next King, and had thus acted as his emissary, adviser and general go-between on many occasions, letting the local nobility get a feel for the capable young man that seemed to have a magical ability to rub together two coins to create a third. He'd even spent several years in the Danish court, honing his diplomatic skills and forging alliances with the greatest of the Nordic Kingdoms. As such... no matter what the Rälssi may have muttered, his ascencion was never truly in doubt, and when he was crowned with the crown of the North he hit the ground running, already negotiating with the nobles, clergy and even a few of the more prominent burghers to get some of his ideas passed.
His first decree is what he is most commonly known for and received his Swedish nickname 'Ladulås' or 'Barnlock' for. It is theorized that he gained it due to having decreed that the commoners would no longer have to provide sustenance for travelling nobles and bishops when not on said nobles own lands. Though a seemingly minor concession, it heralded its roots to the misuse of said law by even the likes of Saint Henry, where nobles and clergy would come, eat the larder dry and drink all the ale and leave, never to be heard from again except maybe to come collect some bastards that had been sired with the hosts daughters.[1]
His second decree is less well known, mostly because it was less clear and quite frankly mostly due to Magnus' own disinterest in things military; but the Maasotilas Komento[2] formalized many of the facts that were already in place within the Kingdom; commanding that the landed nobles answer calls to arms with mounted men and knights, the burghers arrive with pikes, spears and shields and that the tribes arrive with what they could amass.... mostly bows, spears and axes. Strange as it may sound, the Edict and its records allow us a glimpse into the army of the Kingdom, wherein during the Novgorodian Invasion of Karelia in 1280, the composition of the army was detailed thus:
-1,000 men of the royal retinue
--100 Mounted Knights
--600 Men at Arms
---200 Mounted
---400 On Foot
--300 Crossbowmen
-1,000 levies of the Crownlands
--700 Footmen, mostly armed with spears, bills and pikes
--200 Crossbowmen
--100 Mounted Gentry
-3,000 Tribal Levies (mostly from Tavastia and Savolax, but with more trickling in from as far as Österbotten)
Though there is little explanation or ratio given for the tribal levies, it is likely that many of them would've used whatever tools or weapons they used in their daily lives, which would've meant axes for lumberjacks, spears and bows for hunters and whatever could be gotten for the rest.
Though Magnus was no warrior king, his experiences in the south and the lessons of his father had given him an excellent understanding of power, and how one had to present it to the outside world. As such, among the MaasotilasKomento he included several orders that stipulated a certain amount of money for the royal forces, equipping them to the latest standard and even with a bit of finery to make them strike out from the 'rabble'. These were the troops that the both enemies and friends were meant to see, and fear fighting on the field of battle; even if their numbers might make them a largely minor part of any host.
In addition to the vast amounts of legislations, edicts and commands that Magnus came up with and were faithfully recorded by royal scribes and the clergy into the first Lakikirja (Lawbook), Magnus not only kept pace with his fathers construction and infrastructure projects, but increased them in both size and scope, deciding that the port faculties in Åbo needed an increase, and that the chief Bishop of Finland should have a grander house than a mere church; he funded both projects, fostering better relations with the merchants in th Baltic, and constructing the very first Cathedral in Finland.
All of this cost money however, as Magnus soon discovered; and though King Birger had been by some accounts the richest man in Sweden and brought much of his wealth with him, it was one thing to savour the wealth as a rich man in Östergotland, and quite another to spend it in the maintenance and general running of a kingdom. The crown was running out of money... fast.
Thanks to his fathers great 'credit rating', he was able to secure some low interest loans from merchants and bankers, both foreign and domestic, but it soon became apparent that this was purely a stopgap measure, and that the crown would need a far greater source for income than the taxes and rents gained from the Crownland alone. At first he considered simply raising taxes on his own territory, but when the mayor of Åbo noted that a king who raised taxes too much might find himself a head short, Magnus elected for an... alternate solution.
Or two.
What came to be was the first Finnish tolling system where the way posts set prior by King Birger also began to serve as tolling booths to collect a fee for using the increasingly vital royal highways; and in the ports ships also began to pay toll for using the harbour faculties. Whilst the income was not a massive godsend, it did at least allow the crown to balance the books and maintain the standards of living they were becoming accustomed to.
The latter half of the 70s saw another great threat rise from the east, as the Mongol Empire ravaged many of the Russian Principalities, burning cities to the ground and extracting tribute from the rest. Many families found themselves displaced and began to flee as far from the horde as they could, with a surprisingly large number aiming north, past the Novgorod and the Neva river into Karelia, which was rumoured to be free of Mongols and protected by witches.
Unsurprisingly, the native Karelians did not give the refugees a warm welcome, and soon began to raid their caravans and settlements, forcing the refugees further westwards, until they reached the western branch of the Vuoksi river, only to be met by an armed host of the Kingdom, whom demanded to know where they were going.
What followed was a lengthy introduction as the emerging leaders of the refugees were allowed to travel further west to Åbo to make their case to the King, and the others began to settle on crown territory under the watchful eye of the Kings men, whom not only kept the peace, but banished any further Karelian raiders.
In Åbo, King Magnus was sympathetic to the Russians needs and though he had his reservations, allowed the refugees to settle at the place where they'd been halted under royal protection. Eventually the ad-hoc refugee camp would be surrounded by a palisade and begin to surround the armed guards camp which soon enough grew into a castle, and the camp into a city which the new 'natives' took to calling "Viipuri" or Vyborg.
Despite the royal magnanimity however, the native Karelians did not take kindly to the new settlers, and violence between the Orthodox and pagan populations was an additional headache for the crowned heads of Finland, until the conversion of Karelia begun to take root.
Karelia, it seemed was destined to be a battlefield however, as in 1285 Andrei Alexandrovich of Novgorod announced his intention of subduing the region under his Principality. It seemed, that even though Sweden and Novgorod no longer shared any borders, the old grudges that had resulted in the Swedish-Novgorodian wars still held strong, and so the young monarchy was now forced to either concede its papal given claim to Karelia, or then step up to battle possibly the strongest remaining Russian state for control of the region.
Though the Rälssi talked and talked and talked, Magnus was already taking action. Sending messengers to Denmark and Norway to which he was tied by marriage and the marriage of his sister, he requested aid against the Orthodox Russian invasion of what was clearly Catholic territory of the Kingdom. Though he did not expect his allies to desert him, the strength of the response took even him by surprise.
In several months time a multitude of Longships bearing a thousand men from Denmark, and a similarly sized host from Norway appeared on the horizons, only to be met with rapturous glee at Åbo where their leaders were wined and dined by the King, even as the men ate with the people of the city, emptying many a tavern and ale sink of all its goods. If this was war, it was good to be in one!
The celebrations grew larger still, when a fleet from Denmark bearing both; King Valdemar and his troops arrived as well. Though uninvited, they clearly came to aid their brethren, and the image of teary eyed Magnus and Valdemar embracing in Åbo harbour has forever been imprinted in the cathedral of the city... and the collective imaginations of their people.
The celebrations were tempered by news from the scouts, however. It seemed that a Novgorodian host, eight thousand strong was marching through the Karelian isthmus towards the Vuoksi river, intent on forcing the capitulation of the recently arrived refugees, as well as the local Karelian tribes.
Acting in unison, the Nordic armies decided upon a plan where the two thousand professional Finnish men at arms and their Scandinavian allies would march eastwards to confront the main host, whereas the tribal chieftains were responsible for invading northern Karelia, forcing submission from the local chieftains and petty kings, as well as distract any alternate Novgorodian offensives in that direction.
What followed was the first proper military campaign undertaken by the young realm, and surprisingly enough... the Battle of Vuoksi river was a resounding victory for the Finns and their allies.
The allies had the good fortune to arrive at Vuoksi river before the Novgorodians could cross, and the allies march had gone unseen by their scouts, so the allies were able to hide in the manyfold forests and bushes on their side of the river, awaiting for the Novgorodians to build rafts for their equipment and begin to ford the river. When a sufficient number of them had crossed, the Finns and Norse sprung from their hiding places and laid great violence upon the divided and leaderless Novgorodians, many of whom died with sword, spear or axe to their back even as they attempted to flee to their side of the river.
Though bloodied, the Novgorodians led by Andrei Alexandrovich still held the advantage of numbers and mobility thanks to their enlarged cavalry contingent, so the battle did not end there. Rather the two armies would continue to manouver and skirmish across the width and breadth of the river, unleashing volleys from their bows, crossbows and even throwing weapons, only to fall back out of reach. Though this sort of warfare lasted for over a week, eventually Andrei Alexandrovich lost his temper and decided to cross the ford on the eastern branch of Vuoksi, Nordic alliance there or nay.
What followed was a fierce and bloody battle where the Nordic men at arms formed a disciplined shieldwall on their side, even as the Novgorodian host crossed the river and assaulted them, screaming bloody battle cries. The Finns, whom held the centre of the formation seemed to hold strong at first, but were eventually forced on their back foots by the sheer numbers assailing them, the allied formation slowly beginning to resemble a U rather than the disciplined line it had been.
That however, like at Carrhae turned to the defenders advantage as the previously rash assault of the Novgorodians had left their flanks exposed, allowing the Swedes, Danes and Norwegian men to strike them at their sides and back, causing chaos and mayhem on a scale not seen before. The wailing of men and animals filled the air as blood was spilled by both sides, but in the end it was the Novgorodian levies that began to rout, terrified as rumours of Norse berserkers and Finnish witches filled their ranks.
Though many died in the bloodied waters of Vuoksi, the Novgorodian defeat was not complete, as they had complete cavalry superiority and once the Nordic forces crossed the river they were forced to contend with a much more mobile enemy that was able to harass and raid them with practical impunity. Deciding to end the war, King Magnus ordered a march through the Isthmus towards Novgorod herself, intending to sack the city and force capitulation from his enemies.
As the Nordic forces crossed from the Isthmus however, panic began to overtake the citizens of the city whom now found themselves defenceless against the combined Nordic armies, and Andrei Alexandrovich was forced to come to terms.
The terms imposed by King Magnus were harsh. In addition to the Novgorodians having to sign away any and all claims to territory north of the Onega, a tribute was exacted by the King to pay for his troops, allies and with some leftover for his own coffers. The terms were considered fair, and even lentient by many however, as Novgorod, unlike so many other Russian cities of the period escaped being sacked, and with the issue of Karelia settled once and for all, the relations between the Kingdom and Principality could be normalized.
Back west in Åbo, Magnus celebrated his victory with his kin and brother. Not only had he gained a great victory to his name, the tribute from Novgorod had stabilized his coffers for now, and cemented his place in history. As his allies began to head back west however, he offered one last embrace to his brother Valdemar, knowing somewhere deep in his heart that it would be the last time they'd meet.
As the 80s turned into 90s, the Kingdom was once again at peace, and had grown to its greatest natural extent, encompassing everything from the southern coast of Finland to the northern mountains of Norway, as well as everything from the Gulf of Bothnia eastwards until the White Sea. Though many of the areas were quasi-independent (such as the Sami tribes that traversed around Lappland and Kola peninsula), the King could at least on paper claim to be leading a mighty kingdom with few equals in size.
Not only were the borders of the Kingdom expanding, but so were its coffers. Whilst Finland proper had never been short of resources such as furs, timber, tar and amber to name a few, within Karelia the Finns would find a veritable motherlode of iron, diamonds and copper which would go onto fuel a native iron industry and save the Kingdom from having to be reliant on external suppliers. All of these raw materials began to be ferried along the slowly emerging roads or river systems to either Åbo or Viipuri, where they'd be transformed into goods or transported along the Baltic southwards into the Germanies or even so far as England. The English unrepentant lust for Finnish timber and tar would only grow with years.
As his Kingdom and its wealth grew, Magnus once again looked to the defence of his realm and ordered the construction of more royal strongholds in Savolax, Karelia and Vyborg, intent on securing the vital river networks and his borders. He also ordered the enlargement of the Åbocastle which had served as the royal home since the times of King Birger and earlier.
With that, it seemed that the once vigorous king ran out of time and energy, and in the winter of 1299 he took with a fever, and slept into the arms of god on the 18th of December, leaving behind a Kingdom far richer and grander than he'd inherited. Whilst many attribute King Birger with the founding of the realm, Magnus has often been seen as the man that took the raw iron of Finland and forged something of true worth out of it. Not only did he vastly expand the borders and economy of the kingdom, he also solidified diplomatic relations with the other Nordic realms, and fostered closer relations with Novgorod... even if inadvertently.
[1]: See how the tale of Saint Henry came around?
[2]: Edict of Levy.
