| Second Swedish Crusade | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Northern Crusades | |||||||||
 Birger Jarl conquering Häme and the construction of Häme Castle by Joseph Alanen (1912) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Sweden |
Tavastians Supported by Novgorod[1] | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Erik Eriksson Birger Jarl | Unknown | ||||||||
The Second Swedish Crusade was a military expedition by the Kingdom of Sweden into Tavastia (Häme) in southern Finland described by the Erik's Chronicle. According to the chronicle, the Swedes defeated the pagan Tavastians under the leadership of Birger Jarl, and started building a castle in Tavastia.[4]
The expedition has traditionally been dated to 1249–1250 based on the chronology of the chronicle. However, some researchers have suggested that the expedition instead took place already in 1238–1239, shortly after the Tavastian uprising and before the Battle of the Neva against the Novgorod Republic. The castle that the Swedes began constructing during the expedition has traditionally been identified as Häme Castle, but it may also have been the older Hakoinen Castle.
The Second Swedish Crusade consolidated and extended Swedish control over Finland.
- ^ Meinander, Henrik (15 April 2020). History of Finland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-754003-9.
- ^ Sundberg, Ulf (1999). Medeltidens svenska krig (1st ed.). Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg. p. 73. ISBN 9189080262.
- ^ Harrison, Dick (10 January 2019). "Svenskt korståg kuvade det finska motståndet". Svenska Dagbladet.
- ^ Carlquist, Erik; Hogg, Peter C.; Österberg, Eva (1 December 2011). The Chronicle of Duke Erik: A Verse Epic from Medieval Sweden. Nordic Academic Press. ISBN 978-91-85509-57-7.