The concept of Swedish identity, 800-1288

This thesis explores the development of Swedish identity between c.800 and 1288. It investigates how the idea of a public nation grew in Sweden during this period. This was achieved by identifying and analysing the interactions between regional identities, and the manufactured national identities promoted by political and ecclesiastical institutions. The first chapter, an Introduction, looks at how the concept of nation in Sweden has been treated by past generations of scholars. The first main section surveys the different regions which constituted Sweden by 1288. The second chapter studies the Svear and the Götar, their interactions, and the definition of their homelands. The third chapter turns to Gotland, its literary culture, and its ambiguous relations with the mainland. The fourth chapter discusses the establishment of Swedish settlements in the eastern Baltic region and Rus, and the conquest of Finland. The second section explores the influence of external factors in the spread of a new national identity. The fifth chapter studies the Church's subtle influence on both the general population and the elites, through the establishment of monastic institutions and the introduction of a new legal framework. Lastly, the sixth chapter emphasises the impact of new dynastic connections and trade networks by demonstrating the important role that immigrants played in cementing the first legal definition of Swedish nationality. The thesis concludes that following three centuries of state formation, a legal definition of Swedish nationality was established in the thirteenth century for the political and economic benefit of a small landowning and religious elite. Until then, regional identities remained prevalent not only in ordinary people's daily lives, but also at a political level. The thesis therefore shows that multiple layers of identity were used by different actors, for different purposes, in different circumstances.