The origin and ancient history of the Finnic peoples



by sargamentpargament

2 comments
  1. I think this series is actually quite interesting. But I haven’t seen any references, so that’s a bummer. Would be fun to follow up on some topics

  2. One thing that struck me was the name Viro.

    While Viru County was definitely located in Northeastern Estonia, there is absolutely no reason to think such a toponym would have always had exactly the same meaning. It is entirely possible that “Viru” referred to the entire North Estonian coast or even all of Estonia. For example, the main elements of the Estonian Kalvipoeg mythology are tied to the area around Tallinn – namely Iru, Lake Ülemiste and Toompea. Yet the place where the protagonists lived was called the “Viru beach/coast” (*Viru rand*) and there was a sea called the “Viru Sea” (*Viru meri*) which likely meant the Gulf of Finland or the wider Baltic Sea and that name was even used in some Old Rus’ sources.

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