Now, bear in mind that Iβm struggling to put into the words many of the concepts discussed here. So sorry in advance if some parts feel nonsensical...! And as a disclaimer: my knowledge is mainly acquired as an interest and hobby β it does not hold water as actual, completely accurate information of a historical period. Itβs my interpretation, my fantasy of sorts.
First things first, song inspiration: Vilma JÀÀ β Manalan maillaΒ (if you know Finnish and like to read these, you might see the connectionΒ lol)
Kaunoβs story in nutshell: Kauno is a nobleman knight, who suffered a mortal wound to his neck when he was pinned in combat and stabbed between his armour plates. By all logic he shouldβve succumbed to such a wound, but he was rescued and nursed back to health. The nuns who took care of him did not have high hopes for the feverish nobleman to make it through, and yet eventually he woke up in perfect health and spirit. Kauno remembers little of the time from sickbed but has clear memory of vivid dreams of birdsβ¦
Visually Kaunoβs pose is heavy nod towards Botticelliβs painting βBirth of Venusβ. Iβve always associated this piece with rebirth and beauty, both which are at the heart of Kaunoβs character. His name quite literally means βbeautyβ and rest weβll get toβ¦!
So now, the most complex part is to acknowledge the co-existence of Christianity and folk religion in Finland during Middle ages. While itβs hard to point out how folk religion exactly died (Iβm not read enough on the topic), there are still letters to be found from church officials pointing out that some of the folk religion or the traditions persisted even till late medieval period and to renaissance. This period of time where beliefs melded and changed is something Iβm extremely interested to depict.
Now, religion facts: There are quite a few nods towards Christianity here, the number seven motif with the birds, rebirth etc. However, the story revolves even further to folk religionβs concept of lintukoto (birdsβ home). It was believed to be a physical place just outside the edge of the world, where birds went during winter. Everything was small in lintukoto to accommodate birds and sometimes souls could wander there. Notable is that lintukoto is _not_ heaven/afterlife in folk religion, but rather it seems one might get lost there by accident?
Terns: I thought terns are great way of marrying both religious imageries together. They dive almost completely into the water and rise anew, signifying Kaunoβs almost rebirth-like experience. There also rather many hymns describing angels and dead loved ones visiting earth as birds! And lastly, they are also bird that are more typically seen in southern Finland, as a reference towards lintukoto being to the south of the worldβs edge.
Armour: Yep, thatβs Kauno himself! Kauno is showing his neck, which has only the scar left from the combat, but heβs also gripping at the sinking armour at the same spot.
Fun fact: Kauno is literally shorter and slimmer ('smaller') than my other knights as a nod to lintukoto! So, is he an angel, rebirthed man, or just very lucky guy? Who can say for sure, but all these motifs are part of him.
