Tuesday, 29 November 2016
The Cavalry Book Was Launched on 25 November
A report on the launch event for Suomalainen ratsuväki Ruotsin ajalla at Virrat city library on 25 November 2016 — the book's origins, its sources, and the speech given at the occasion.
The Virrat City Library kindly provided the venue for the launch and even laid on coffee — many thanks. My profession as a genealogist in Virrat would not have been possible without the library’s excellent services and its researcher room. Now, in the age of digital archives, location matters less than it once did.
Nearly 20 people were present. Only one journalist had made the effort to attend.
The library director opened the proceedings, after which I gave a presentation on the book lasting about half an hour. I spoke freely from a small prompt card. The key points follow.
I began with the book’s origins. The idea of studying Finnish cavalry in the Swedish era arose about ten years ago during a non-fiction writing course at Orivesi College. I assembled a long article on the subject in 2010 — about a hundred A4 pages — but could not get it published. A couple of articles on the theme appeared in the Sotahistoriallinen aikakauskirja (Journal of Military History) and a short overview in the book Suomalainen sotilas 2. After finishing the larger projects I had committed to, I began planning the cavalry book. The subject expanded like rising dough. Keeping the page count within the print-sheet limit of 792 was enormously difficult.
Three audiences
The book is intended for three types of reader. First, it has been written to satisfy trained researchers. The source citations should meet rigorous standards — even if professional historians will largely be free riders when it comes to buying it. Second, enthusiast researchers such as genealogists and local historians: they will benefit greatly from the carefully marked source citations, the extensive bibliography and the level of detail. (My Great Northern War book received criticism for having too few footnotes — under 500. This book will not repeat that; it has over a thousand more.) Third, readers interested in historical non-fiction generally, especially those drawn to history predating living memory. These readers can skip the footnotes and list-like sections and still have plenty to read.
Research method
The main source series was the muster rolls. I went through the catalogue carefully, sifted out the Finnish cavalry sections, retrieved images, processed them and transcribed them into text, then compiled summaries by company and by squadron. A second level of analysis came from the literature, much of it in Swedish, providing the broader context of events.
On terminology
I also spoke briefly about terminology — what was meant by cuirassiers, cavalrymen and dragoons, and the special place of the Life Guard Dragoon Regiment in the book. Tactics and horses were touched on as well.
For my closing words I chose those of a wise countryman — my maternal grandmother’s father, a Virrat farmer from Vaskivedi: Let him who says it know it, and let him who knows it say it.