Expedition to Lapland

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Linnaeus in the traditional dress of the Sami people of Lapland,[note 1] holding the Twinflower that became his personal emblem.
Contemporary map by Johann Homann (printed c. 1730) depicting the Scandinavian region of Europe; Lapland is the pale yellow area in the upper-middle.[note 2]
Waypoints[1] for Linnaeus' Lapland expedition.[note 3]

The expedition to Lapland, the northernmost region in Sweden, by Carl Linnaeus between May and October 1732 was an important part of his scientific career.

Linnaeus departed from

classification were first used in a practical way.[2]
Linnaeus kept a journal of his expedition which was first published posthumously as an English translation called Lachesis Lapponica: A Tour in Lapland (1811).

Background

In April 1732, Linnaeus was awarded a grant from the

Sami people, reindeer-herding nomads who wandered the vast tundras of Fenno-Scandinavia.[3][4]

Uppsala to Umeå

Linnaeus began his expedition from

ornithological manuscripts and sheets of paper for pressing plants. It took him 11 days to reach Umeå, via Gävle (near which he found great quantities of Campanula serpyllifolia, later known as Linnaea borealis, the twinflower that would become his favourite).[5] He sometimes dismounted on the way to examine a flower or rock[6] and was particularly interested in mosses and lichens, the latter a main part of the diet of the reindeer, a common animal in Lapland.[7]

First inland incursion

From Umeå, Linnaeus headed towards

Tablut
)

Umeå to Luleå and second inland incursion

After returning to Umeå, he travelled further north along the coast of the

arctic circle and Kvikkjokk (then Hyttan), into the Scandinavian Mountains, crossing the border into Norway, arriving in Sørfold on the coast and making a trip to nearby Rörstadt. He then returned the way he came, approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) back to Luleå.[11]

Luleå to Tornio, third inland incursion and return to Uppsala

Linnaeus then continued his travel along the coast to Tornio (Torneå in Swedish), from which he made his third and final inland incursion, along the Torne River as far as Vittangi. He spent some time in the Tornio area; in Kalix he received instructions in assaying. In the middle of September he began his return journey. Travelling via Kemi, he followed the Finnish coastline to Turku (Åbo in Swedish), where he sailed via Åland, arriving in Sweden in Grisslehamn and then finally home to Uppsala.[12]

Results

He returned from his six-month-long, over 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) expedition on 10 October, having gathered and observed many plants, birds and rocks.[13][14][15] Although Lapland was a region with limited biodiversity, Linnaeus described about a hundred previously undescribed plants. The details of his discoveries became the basis of his book Flora Lapponica.[16][17]

Linnaeus's account of the journey, Iter Lapponicum[18] was translated into English by James Edward Smith and published in 1811 as Lachesis Lapponica: A Tour in Lapland. Some of Linnaeus' original illustrations:

Notes

  1. missionaries
    , his coat would be removed and he would be held down while the main artery in his arm was opened; he was then left to bleed until he had promised to come to heel – a procedure, says Linnaeus, that was 'often successful'."
  2. Sápmi (area)
    .
  3. ^ See also this map Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine showing Linnaeus' travels during his Lapland expedition via [1] from Linné, Carl von. 1991. Lappländische Reise und andere Schriften. Leipzig.

References

  1. ^ Blunt (2001) Pages 41–65
  2. ^ Frodin, David 2002. Guide to Standard Floras of the World, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. p. 27.
  3. ^ Anderson (1997) Pages 42–43
  4. ^ Blunt (2001) Page 38
  5. ^ a b Blunt (2001) Pages 42–43
  6. ^ Anderson (1997) Pages 43–44
  7. ^ Anderson (1997) Page 46
  8. ^ Blunt (2001) Pages 47–51
  9. ^ Blunt (2001) Pages 45–47
  10. ^ Anderson (1997) Pages 50–51
  11. ^ Blunt (2001) Pages 55–56
  12. ^ Blunt (2001) Pages 64–65
  13. ^ Blunt (2001) Pages 63–65
  14. ^ Blunt (2004) Pages 39–42
  15. ^ Broberg (2006) Page 29
  16. ^ Quammen, David (June 2007). "The Name Giver". National Geographic: 2. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  17. ^ Stöver (1974) Pages 38–39
  18. ^ "Carl von Linnés Ungdomsskrifter, Andra serien". 1889.

Bibliography

External links
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