The Kalevala

by Elias Lonnrot, John Martin Crawford (Translator)

Overview

"The Kalevala" is a collection of Finnish and Karelian poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from oral folklore and mythology. Lönnrot was a physician, botanist, and linguist, who in 1828 began collecting folk songs and poetry of Finland, traveling extensively in order to obtain his sources. "The Kalevala", first published in 1835, is considered to be one of the most important works of Finnish literature, and regarded as the national epic of Finland. The most commonly read version was published in 1849, and is comprised of 22,795 verses. It begins, like most cultural mythologies, with traditional creation stories that delve into the creation of the earth, flora and fauna, accompanied by characters who serve to narrate the tales. Other stories include themes of magic, romance, lust and seduction, as well as human vulnerability or mortality. The most significant element of the whole work is the "Sampo", a magical talisman that brings good fortune to its holder. Fans of mythology and the cultural history of Scandinavia will delight in this brilliant collection of tales. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781420965179
Publisher:	Digireads.com
Publication date:	12/19/2019
Pages:	536
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.19(d)

About the Author

Elias Lönnrot was a Finnish country doctor born in 1802. During 20 years spent working in a remote part of eastern Finland, Lönnrot collected fragments of folk tales and poetry which he believed formed a continuous epic. He undertook 11 field trips on a quest to gather as much material as he could, partly funded by the Finnish Literary Society, of which he was a founding member. The result was the Kalevala, first published in 1835. Lönnrot continued to collect material, eventually bringing out the version we know today in 1849. It consists of 22,795 verses, divided into 50 songs. Lönnrot became a professor of Finnish language and literature at the University of Helsinki in 1853. His work paved the way for the development of modern Finnish literature and promoted Finnish as the national language over Swedish. From 1866 he worked on the 14-year-long task of compiling the first Finnish–Swedish dictionary which contained over 200,000 entries. Horatio Clare is the author of Running for the Hills.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Preface xix

Book 1 Proem 5

Rune I Birth of Wainamoinen 7

Rune II Wainamoinen's Sowing 15

Rune III Wainamoinen and Youkahainen 27

Rune IV The Fate of Aino 45

Rune V Wainamoinen's Lamentation 61

Rune VI Wainamoinen's Hapless Journey 69

Rune VII Wainamoinen's Rescue 76

Rune VIII Maiden of the Rainbow 87

Rune IX Origin of Iron 95

Rune X Ilmarinen forges the Sampo 111

Rune XI Lemminkainen's Lament 126

Rune XII Kyllikki's Broken Vow 138

Rune XIII Lemminkainen's Second Wooing 153

Rune XIV Death of Lemminkainen 162

Rune XV Lemminkainehs Restoration 176

Rune XVI Wainamoinen's Boat-building 195

Rune XVII Wainamoinen finds the Lost-Words 208

Rune XVIII The Rival Suitors 224

Rune XIX Ilmarinen's Wooing 244

Rune XX The Brewing of Beer 259

Rune XXI Ilmarinen's Wedding-feast 277

Rune XXII The Bride's Farewell 289

Rune XXIII Osmotar the Bride-adviser 303

Rune XXIV The Bride's Farewell 326

Editorial Reviews

"One of the great mythic poems of Europe." —New York Times


"I was immensely attracted by something in the air of the Kalevala." —Tolkien to W.H. Auden in 1955


"Did so much to bolster early Finnish nationalism on the road to independence." —Guardian


"The Kalevala, the 19th-century folk epic that crystallised national resistance to Russian rule, was compiled by Elias Lonnrot from ancient runes sung from memory in the eastern forests of Karelia. The Kalevala inspired not only Sibelius but JRR Tolkien, whose Middle Earth and elfin tongue tapped Finnish myths and language." —Guardian

From the Publisher