Henry came to Sweden in 1153 with the papal legate Nicolas Breakspear (the future Pope Adrian IV) and was made bishop of Uppsala.
When Erik the Holy, king of Sweden, decided to take a small armed force to help convert Finns to Christianity, he took Bishop Henry with him. Very soon after arriving on Finnish soil, however, he was slain by Lalli, most likely a rich man who owned a manor.
Henry was canonized by Pope Adrian IV and he became the patron saint of Finland.
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2 Political use of the legend |
Very few facts are known about the real causes for this, but the incident is replete with legend. A folk poem from the 13th century called the "Piispa Henrikin surmavirsi" (The death-psalm of Bishop Henry) written in the same manner as the Kalevala has survived.
In the most well known legend Lallis wife, Kerttu, alleged to him that upon leaving the manor, their ungrateful guest had without permission or recompense through violence taken food for himself and hay for his horse. This is supposed to have enraged Lalli so that he directly grabbed his skis and went in pursuit of the thief, and finally skied Henry down on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi, and executed him on the spot with an axe. Some other accounts describe Lalli as a miscreant and a criminal who, when reprimanded by Bishop Henry for his deeds, became enraged and killed the man.
The Legend
Heavenly retribution
Further legends enumerate the pestilences and misfortunes which befell Lalli after his "treacherous slaying" of the holy benefactor of the miserable Finnish paganss who were "twice removed" from the grace afforded by knowledge of Christ. His hair and scalp are said to have fallen out as he took off the bishops cap, which he had taken as a trophy. Furthermore he is said to have been constantly been nibbled by mice, which finally caused him such distress that he finally ran into a lake and drowned himself.Political use of the legend
This legend of Finnish ingratitude was much much expanded upon by preachers to justify later harsh measures they took to ensure that Finnish conversions to christianity were not mere words, but that they sincerely and unreservedly accepted church authority. Bishop Henry took the status of holy martyr, and Finnish folk revered him as a saint, even though he never gained that status officially from the Holy See.