"Lotta Svärd" – means a
sword
A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
– is the fourth poem in the second part of
Johan Ludvig Runeberg
Johan Ludvig Runeberg (; 5 February 1804 – 6 May 1877) was a Finnish priest, lyric and epic poet. He wrote exclusively in Swedish. He is considered a national poet of Finland. He is the author of the lyrics to (''Our Land'', in Finnish) whi ...
's
epic poem
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...
''
The Tales of Ensign Stål
''The Tales of Ensign Stål'' (Swedish language, Swedish original title: , , or year 2007 translation ) is an epic poem written in Swedish by the Finland-Swedish author Johan Ludvig Runeberg, the national poet of Finland. It was published in two ...
'' from 1860.
The "Lotta Svärd" poem is about a woman who manned a field kitchen during the
Finnish War
The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...
. The name was later used for several Lotta movements (women's auxiliary movements) in the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway).
"Lottas" refers to the volunteer women who participated in the national defense in a variety of roles.
See also
The poem ''Lotta Svärd'' in Wikisource*
Lotta Svärd
Lotta Svärd () was a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. Formed originally in 1918, it had a large membership undertaking volunteer social work in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed to support the White Guard. Duri ...
– Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women.
*
Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization
The Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization ( (''SLK'') communicatively, , and ''Riksförbundet Sveriges lottakårer'' juridically, ) is an independent auxiliary defence organization in Sweden. The organisation is part of the Swedish Total ...
("Lottorna")
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotta Svard (poem)
1860 poems
Finnish War
Johan Ludvig Runeberg