Köyliö residents grind axe over claim that Henry and Lalli never existed
"Bishop Henry is Vatican fact"
By Pyry Lapintie
The people of Köyliö were thoroughly shocked to hear on the radio on Thursday morning of the claims that Bishop Henry and Lalli may never have existed.
Köyliö's Municipal Mayor Seppo Saarinen heard part of the interview and said that it was a shaky argument, if the conclusions are drawn based on a lack of DNA evidence in the bones.
"People here believe in the original story of Henry and Lalli, and this research does not give any cause for panic."
"Before I start believing in the results of this research, we will need to have a stand from the Catholic Church. Do we have to go and ask the opinion of the new Pope on the matter? We are not yet donning our sackcloth over here. On the contrary, we are starting to grind our axes", Saarinen said defiantly.
Köyliö's cultural secretary Ulla Kolu says that similar claims have been made before; Lalli has been said to be a Swede, and he has been claimed by various communities. "We have to hear some more points of view."
The Chairman of the Municipal Council of Köyliö, Esa Ruohola (Centre), says: "We are very surprised. It is always possible to say that all history is legend, but there are documents about Henry even in libraries and archives in The Vatican."
"The fact that there is nothing about Henry to be found in Finland is explained by the fact that when the Finnish Church became Lutheran, it destroyed even the faintest whiff of Catholicism, and these things have apparently been preserved only in the oral tradition of the people."
"If this researcher wants DNA samples, then he can take them from me. I happen to be a direct descendant of Lalli, because I am the Chairman of the Municipal Council. Henry, for his part, is Vatican fact. He is listed as one of the saints. There is an old book in The Vatican, that the researcher can perform carbon dating on. The name Köyliö is written in there before Turku was even established", Ruohola says.
Köyliö isn't going to give up on its moment of history without a fight.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 22.4.2005
More on this subject:
 Historian says Bishop Henry and Lalli may have been fictional characters
BACKGROUND: Difference between reality and legend pondered at school
PYRY LAPINTIE / Helsingin Sanomat
pyry.lapintie@hs.fi
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