A Small Find on a Map

My book Suomalainen ratsuväki Ruotsin ajalla (Finnish Cavalry in the Swedish Era) is at the printer and will come out sometime in October. The launch will be at the Virrat City Library, right in the centre of Virrat at Mäkitie 1, on Friday 4 November during the day. The exact time will be confirmed later (the library can also be contacted as the date approaches).

The book has 790 pages, B5 format. The recommended retail price is €49, plus any postage and handling costs.

It is a fairly heavy book — 1,850 grams.

There will also be a Kuulutko sukuuni (“Are you in my family?”) fair in Vantaa on 8–9 October. I will be there at my own stand, Toiminimi Toiset Aijat. Come along to discuss the forthcoming book, or anything else connected to my research. Earlier publications will also be available without postage costs.

Finland’s earliest land surveyors began their work around the middle of the 17th century, drawing regional maps. The oldest surviving map of Ylä-Satakunta (Upper Satakunta) has been dated to 1650. The detail shown here is taken from that map and shows the Kolkinlahti area. The farms visible in this excerpt are: Pohjaslahti (Poiaslaks), Kangasjärvi (Kangasierfvi), Mäyränen (Meürenen), Myry (Myrhä) and Laasoniemi (Lasonemi, better known today as Salmi). The Sappisalo peninsula stands out prominently. From the direction of Laasoniemi a long narrow inlet extends — this is Kolkinlahti, here spelled as a village name in the form Kåiklacks.

The Mäyränen name is interestingly spelled with an e and a German y. In my view this is one more piece of evidence that Mäyränen and Meuronen originally referred to the same name, with the animal name mäyrä (badger) as the root. The green line running from top to bottom behind Kangasjärvi marks the old boundary between the parishes of Ruovesi and Keuruu.

Source: vanhakartta.fi, accessed 25 September 2016.