Epic
Kalevala
Elias Lönnrot · 1849
Synopsis
The poem opens with the birth of the world, then follows the exploits and adventures of three heroes: Väinämöinen, the old singer and magician, the smith Ilmarinen and the seductive warrior Lemminkäinen. At its centre stands a marvellous object, the Sampo, and the long struggle of the people of Kalevala against Louhi, the mistress of the dark land of Pohjola, through descents into the underworld, battles and quests for brides.
Context
A first version, the Old Kalevala, appeared in 1835, with thirty-two cantos and a little over twelve thousand lines; the definitive one, in 1849, has fifty cantos and twenty-two thousand seven hundred and ninety-five lines. Its author linked the collected fragments into a continuous narrative, merged variants and composed verses of his own for the joins, under the influence of the Homeric model. The book gave Finland, then a Russian grand duchy, a national antiquity and nourished Sibelius and Gallen-Kallela. 28 February, the date of the 1835 preface, has become in Finland the day of the Kalevala and of Finnish culture.
Who it is for
Fifty cantos, more than twenty-two thousand lines, to be read in sections; the standard French edition runs to two volumes.
Prizes and reception
The most translated Finnish work, into sixty-one languages; its metre served Longfellow for Hiawatha, and Tolkien drew from it his Story of Kullervo.