Finnish Puukkojunkkarit in Literature

This bachelor thesis deals with the phenomenon of so-called puukkojunkkarit or häjyt, knife fighters active in Southern Ostrobothnia from the end of the 18th century until the end of the 19th century, and their image in the literature and comic books. The initial part of the thesis introduces puukkojunkkarit generally and includes information about homicides they committed. The main part of the thesis contains an analysis of three works: Santeri Alkio's novel Puukkojunkkarit: kuvauksia nyrkkivallan ajoilta (1894), Timo Mäkelä's comic Häjyt (2003) and Ensio Aalto's, Eija Kuusisto's and Jukka Kuusisto's comic Rannanjärvi on kuallu ja Isontaloon Antin tarina (2013). The objective of the thesis is to determine how puukkojunkkarit are portrayed in those works and to what extent their characters are based on real historical figures. Keywords puukkojunkkarit, häjyt, Finnish literature, comic, Southern Ostrobothnia, 19th century, crim