Cwenland or Quenland is a pre-historic region at the northern Scandinavia where the Finnic people called Cwens lived. The region - or more precisely, a part of it - is often identified as the coast shore of the Gulf of Bothnia (a sea deviding today's Sweden and Finland). In general, however, in the historic writings Cwenland most presumably refers to the entire northern Scandinavia, excluding the Sami-inhabited regions.
The historic Viking age Sagas told about the kings of Cwens. Egils saga tells about Nór, founder of Norway, and his ancestors who lived in Cwenland.
Some of the only few sources about Cwenland are the Norse sagas and the Account of the Viking Othere. Cwenland has also been associated with Pohjola (Ostrobothnia) in the Finnish Kalevala-tradition folklore. Various theories concerning the name's origin has been put forward. Some schools argue Cwenland is identical to the Finnish region of Kainuu and others that it comes from an older name of Gulf of Bothnia. C.p. Cwen.
The earliest known written mentionings of the Cwens in history are from
the early Viking age . However, the stories and legends of the Finnish epic
Kalevala are - to a large extend - based on the history of the Cwens (kainuulaiset in Finnish) and Cwenland (Kainuu in
Finnish).
The historic Viking age Norse sagas told about the kings of Cwens. Egils saga tells about Nór, founder of Norway, and his ancestors who lived in Cwenland.
In modern terminology, however, only those of Finnish background living in Northern Norway are
called Cwens.
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvenland
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