What do you think?
Rate this book
Kalevala, the land of heroes
Trieste Publishing has a massive catalogue of classic book titles. Our aim is to provide readers with the highest quality reproductions of fiction and non-fiction literature that has stood the test of time. The many thousands of books in our collection have been sourced from libraries and private collections around the world.The titles that Trieste Publishing has chosen to be part of the collection have been scanned to simulate the original. Our readers see the books the same way that their first readers did decades or a hundred or more years ago. Books from that period are often spoiled by imperfections that did not exist in the original. Imperfections could be in the form of blurred text, photographs, or missing pages. It is highly unlikely that this would occur with one of our books. Our extensive quality control ensures that the readers of Trieste Publishing's books will be delighted with their purchase. Our staff has thoroughly reviewed every page of all the books in the collection, repairing, or if necessary, rejecting titles that are not of the highest quality. This process ensures that the reader of one of Trieste Publishing's titles receives a volume that faithfully reproduces the original, and to the maximum degree possible, gives them the experience of owning the original work.We pride ourselves on not only creating a pathway to an extensive reservoir of books of the finest quality, but also providing value to every one of our readers. Generally, Trieste books are purchased singly - on demand, however they may also be purchased in bulk. Readers interested in bulk purchases are invited to contact us directly to enquire about our tailored bulk rates.
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
11 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
William Forsell Kirby
103 books3 followersWilliam Forsell Kirby (14 January 1844 - 20 November 1912) was an English entomologist and folklorist.
He was born in Leicester. He was the eldest son of Samuel Kirby, who was a banker. He was educated privately, and became interested in butterflies and moths at an early age. The family moved to Brighton, where he became acquainted with Henry Cooke, Frederick Merrifield and J N Winter. He published the Manual of European Butterflies in 1862.
In 1867 he became a curator in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, and produced a Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera (1871; Supplement 1877).
In 1879 Kirby joined the staff of the Natural History Museum as an assistant, after the death of Frederick Smith. He published a number of catalogues, as well as Rhopalocera Exotica (1887–1897) and an Elementary Text-book of Entomology. He retired in 1909.
Kirby had a wide range of interests, knew many languages and fully translated the Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, from Finnish into English. Kirby's translation, which carefully reproduces the Kalevala meter, was a major influence on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, who first read it in his teens.
Kirby provided many footnotes to Sir Richard Burton's translation of the Arabian Nights. Kirby also did important work on orthopteroid insects including a three volume Catalogue of all known species (1904, 1906, 1910). A short biography of Kirby, with particular reference to his work on phasmids was published by Bragg in 2007.
Works
Entomology
* Manual of European Butterflies. 1862
* Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera. 1871
* Catalogue of the collection of diurnal Lepidoptera formed by the late William Chapman Hewitson of Oatlands, Walton on Thames; and bequeathed by him to the British Museum. London, John Van Voorst. iv + 246 pp.[[18
* A Hand-book to the Order Lepidoptera. 1896.
* Familiar butterflies and moths. 1901
* Butterflies and moths of Europe (Illustrated). 1903
* Elementary Text-book of Entomology.
* Marvels of Ant Life. Circa 1890s
* A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera. British Museum (Natural History), London. 3 volumes: 1904, 1906, 1910
He is also credited on a few other works:
* Illustrations of diurnal Lepidoptera by William Chapman Hewitson 1863
* Natural history. by Richard Lydekker 1897
Literary works
* Kalevala the Land of Heroes. 1907.
* The Hero of Esthonia and other studies in the romantic literature of that country. 1895
* Contributions to the Bibliography of the Thousand and One Nights and Their Imitations (An appendix to Volume 10 to Richard F. Burton's translation of The Nights. 1886
He was born in Leicester. He was the eldest son of Samuel Kirby, who was a banker. He was educated privately, and became interested in butterflies and moths at an early age. The family moved to Brighton, where he became acquainted with Henry Cooke, Frederick Merrifield and J N Winter. He published the Manual of European Butterflies in 1862.
In 1867 he became a curator in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, and produced a Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera (1871; Supplement 1877).
In 1879 Kirby joined the staff of the Natural History Museum as an assistant, after the death of Frederick Smith. He published a number of catalogues, as well as Rhopalocera Exotica (1887–1897) and an Elementary Text-book of Entomology. He retired in 1909.
Kirby had a wide range of interests, knew many languages and fully translated the Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, from Finnish into English. Kirby's translation, which carefully reproduces the Kalevala meter, was a major influence on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, who first read it in his teens.
Kirby provided many footnotes to Sir Richard Burton's translation of the Arabian Nights. Kirby also did important work on orthopteroid insects including a three volume Catalogue of all known species (1904, 1906, 1910). A short biography of Kirby, with particular reference to his work on phasmids was published by Bragg in 2007.
Works
Entomology
* Manual of European Butterflies. 1862
* Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera. 1871
* Catalogue of the collection of diurnal Lepidoptera formed by the late William Chapman Hewitson of Oatlands, Walton on Thames; and bequeathed by him to the British Museum. London, John Van Voorst. iv + 246 pp.[[18
* A Hand-book to the Order Lepidoptera. 1896.
* Familiar butterflies and moths. 1901
* Butterflies and moths of Europe (Illustrated). 1903
* Elementary Text-book of Entomology.
* Marvels of Ant Life. Circa 1890s
* A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera. British Museum (Natural History), London. 3 volumes: 1904, 1906, 1910
He is also credited on a few other works:
* Illustrations of diurnal Lepidoptera by William Chapman Hewitson 1863
* Natural history. by Richard Lydekker 1897
Literary works
* Kalevala the Land of Heroes. 1907.
* The Hero of Esthonia and other studies in the romantic literature of that country. 1895
* Contributions to the Bibliography of the Thousand and One Nights and Their Imitations (An appendix to Volume 10 to Richard F. Burton's translation of The Nights. 1886
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 7, 2011
Read this for the Mythgard Institute Tolkien and Epic class. I wanted to read the translation Tolkien originally read. it's a good one though a bit stilted. I am now comparing to the more modern translation for the class.
July 14, 2022
Like the first Alien movie, the Kalevala is the story of a bunch of silly men who never listen to women. Then they have the audacity to blame.... a woman for their actions.
I'm on team Lady of Pohjola. She helps Väinamoinen throughout the whole epic and what does he do? Be a pest and a terrible guest. Then she gives her daughter in marriage to Ilmarinen only to have her die. The Lady of Pohjola throws an epic party for her daughter's wedding. Invites almost everyone. And what do these ingrates do? Steal the Sampo?! Cause utter chaos and whine to Daddy Ukko to help them.
The Kalavala should be called, "Reasons Why Men Are Dumb."
I'm on team Lady of Pohjola. She helps Väinamoinen throughout the whole epic and what does he do? Be a pest and a terrible guest. Then she gives her daughter in marriage to Ilmarinen only to have her die. The Lady of Pohjola throws an epic party for her daughter's wedding. Invites almost everyone. And what do these ingrates do? Steal the Sampo?! Cause utter chaos and whine to Daddy Ukko to help them.
The Kalavala should be called, "Reasons Why Men Are Dumb."
November 8, 2022
Well it does have echoes of other sagas of oral origin I’ve read - like Homer. It takes getting used to, and I’m sure the somewhat archaic old translation add an extra layer (with pluses and minuses).
But it has lot of great bits, and the inspiration the names clearly gave Tolkien is a nice side to look out for.
I’ll admit the fact this set in Finland and maybe parts of Estonia, is a bonus for me, give my family heritage from neighbouring Latvia (indeed just a few kilometres from the Estonian border)
But it has lot of great bits, and the inspiration the names clearly gave Tolkien is a nice side to look out for.
I’ll admit the fact this set in Finland and maybe parts of Estonia, is a bonus for me, give my family heritage from neighbouring Latvia (indeed just a few kilometres from the Estonian border)
April 2, 2022
Not as exciting as the first volume but still very interesting.
July 29, 2015
Seconda parte dell’epica finnica.
La prima mi aveva deluso parecchio, in questo secondo volume invece abbiamo più azione e non ci sono momenti francamente noiosi come tutta la parte finale dell’altro libro, con i consigli sulla birra e sul comportamento della moglie.
Il libro si apre con Lemminkainen che si risente per non essere stato invitato al banchetto a Phojola, e così prende, raggiunge quella lontana terra, si presenta con arroganza al signore di Phojola scatenando una rissa che porta avanti sfidandolo a duello e decapitandolo.
Ovviamente la vedova reagisce indicendo una guerra contro di lui, che furbamente scappa a casa e imitando le gesta di suo padre prima di lui si nasconde su un lontano isolotto, dove con grande gioia scopre che vivono solo donne visto che gli uomini sono in guerra. E tutti sono contenti, finché gli uomini non tornano a casa e Lemminkainen fugge di nuovo per evitare il linciaggio.
Trova la casa distrutta e rasa al suolo, ma sua madre si è in qualche modo salvata quindi dopo aver provato un’improbabile guerra contro chi giustamente lo aveva attaccato lascia perdere e se ne resta a riposo.
Ritroviamo poi i due protagonisti del primo libro, il grande bardo Vainamonen, signore assoluto di quelle terre (dove il canto è magia) e il fabbro divino Ilmarinen, forgiatore dei cieli e del Sampo, e marito della vergine di Phojola.
La moglie di Ilmarinen però la vediamo poco: arriva un nuovo servo incapace e con una storiaccia alle spalle, e lei pensa bene di mandarlo a pascolare le mandrie preparandogli per pranzo un panino ripieno di pietre. Lui si vendica facendola divorare da lupi e orsi, ovviamente.
C’è da dire che oltre a essere una morte stupidissima, l’intera scena è resa a mio avviso molto, molto meglio nelle canzoni degli Amorphis. Così come accade per la creazione da parte di Ilmarinen di una nuova moglie d’oro e d’argento (per la quale viene deriso da Vainamonen).
In seguito a questa morte, e al rifiuto da parte della signora di Phojola di dargli un’altra figlia in sposa, i tre eroi si riuniscono per riprendersi il Sampo a suo tempo forgiato da Ilmarinen, portarlo a casa e così far prosperare la propria terra. Abbiamo la guerra non guerra in cui l’intera Phojola è messa a dormire da Vainamonen grazie al suo kantele magico, abbiamo le stregonerie di Phojola (una volta svegliati dai canti di Lemminkainen) che causano la distruzione del Sampo, abbiamo il rapimento della luna e del sole, la loro nuova creazione, la liberazione con l’ultima guerra contro Phojola.
Non ci sono in realtà grandi guerre, solitamente le sfide sono di magia cantata o immaginazione (un po’ come la sfida di magie nel film La spada nella roccia) o al massimo un duello.
Meglio del primo libro, per quanto mi riguarda, ma non mi sono scoperto un grande appassionato di questa epica finnica.
La prima mi aveva deluso parecchio, in questo secondo volume invece abbiamo più azione e non ci sono momenti francamente noiosi come tutta la parte finale dell’altro libro, con i consigli sulla birra e sul comportamento della moglie.
Il libro si apre con Lemminkainen che si risente per non essere stato invitato al banchetto a Phojola, e così prende, raggiunge quella lontana terra, si presenta con arroganza al signore di Phojola scatenando una rissa che porta avanti sfidandolo a duello e decapitandolo.
Ovviamente la vedova reagisce indicendo una guerra contro di lui, che furbamente scappa a casa e imitando le gesta di suo padre prima di lui si nasconde su un lontano isolotto, dove con grande gioia scopre che vivono solo donne visto che gli uomini sono in guerra. E tutti sono contenti, finché gli uomini non tornano a casa e Lemminkainen fugge di nuovo per evitare il linciaggio.
Trova la casa distrutta e rasa al suolo, ma sua madre si è in qualche modo salvata quindi dopo aver provato un’improbabile guerra contro chi giustamente lo aveva attaccato lascia perdere e se ne resta a riposo.
Ritroviamo poi i due protagonisti del primo libro, il grande bardo Vainamonen, signore assoluto di quelle terre (dove il canto è magia) e il fabbro divino Ilmarinen, forgiatore dei cieli e del Sampo, e marito della vergine di Phojola.
La moglie di Ilmarinen però la vediamo poco: arriva un nuovo servo incapace e con una storiaccia alle spalle, e lei pensa bene di mandarlo a pascolare le mandrie preparandogli per pranzo un panino ripieno di pietre. Lui si vendica facendola divorare da lupi e orsi, ovviamente.
C’è da dire che oltre a essere una morte stupidissima, l’intera scena è resa a mio avviso molto, molto meglio nelle canzoni degli Amorphis. Così come accade per la creazione da parte di Ilmarinen di una nuova moglie d’oro e d’argento (per la quale viene deriso da Vainamonen).
In seguito a questa morte, e al rifiuto da parte della signora di Phojola di dargli un’altra figlia in sposa, i tre eroi si riuniscono per riprendersi il Sampo a suo tempo forgiato da Ilmarinen, portarlo a casa e così far prosperare la propria terra. Abbiamo la guerra non guerra in cui l’intera Phojola è messa a dormire da Vainamonen grazie al suo kantele magico, abbiamo le stregonerie di Phojola (una volta svegliati dai canti di Lemminkainen) che causano la distruzione del Sampo, abbiamo il rapimento della luna e del sole, la loro nuova creazione, la liberazione con l’ultima guerra contro Phojola.
Non ci sono in realtà grandi guerre, solitamente le sfide sono di magia cantata o immaginazione (un po’ come la sfida di magie nel film La spada nella roccia) o al massimo un duello.
Meglio del primo libro, per quanto mi riguarda, ma non mi sono scoperto un grande appassionato di questa epica finnica.
January 16, 2011
Really enjoyed this book I read the first (Crawford) English translation and to be honest was unsure what to expect,I had heard about the work and it's importance in Finnish culture,the Section 'the origins of the Iron' had been used by battle metallers Turisas in this translation so again I had some though little awareness.
What I found was an eventive work ,the early creation myth itself was interesting with the yolk of a egg begeting the sun and the white the moon but it is the further tales mainly surrounding three mythical heroes of stature that drive the work.
the book is full of parables and origins and it's little suprise that Tolkien had some knowledge of it as the mythology does have parallels with some of his works.
Midway through my interest waned due to the repitition(A tool to keep it's folk lore status and continue the telling of the tale over the ages) but despite this I felt the book picked up and the final half is packed with quests and deeds of a warrior.
An enjoyable book therefore and one I will retain on my Kindle(I got it off the Project Gutenburg site)as I suspect further readings will be forthcoming and enable the story maybe to flow a little more as it can get confusing in parts but I suspect familiarity with the glossary helps
What I found was an eventive work ,the early creation myth itself was interesting with the yolk of a egg begeting the sun and the white the moon but it is the further tales mainly surrounding three mythical heroes of stature that drive the work.
the book is full of parables and origins and it's little suprise that Tolkien had some knowledge of it as the mythology does have parallels with some of his works.
Midway through my interest waned due to the repitition(A tool to keep it's folk lore status and continue the telling of the tale over the ages) but despite this I felt the book picked up and the final half is packed with quests and deeds of a warrior.
An enjoyable book therefore and one I will retain on my Kindle(I got it off the Project Gutenburg site)as I suspect further readings will be forthcoming and enable the story maybe to flow a little more as it can get confusing in parts but I suspect familiarity with the glossary helps
May 28, 2013
I didn't find it as interesting as Part I, maybe because I already knew the primary characters. Also, most of the events in this volume were about the Mistress of Pohja seeking revenge on Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen because Ilmarinen's wife was killed (who was the Mistress of Pohja's daughter). Almost every chapter (after the initial couple of chapters), each was about a different scenario.
The last chapter was an obvious re-working for the birth of Jesus story, complete with a virgin woman named Marjatta whom gave birth to a baby boy (after becoming pregnant from eating a cranberry) in a stable.
Either way, it was a pretty good read, but I do prefer volume 1.
The last chapter was an obvious re-working for the birth of Jesus story, complete with a virgin woman named Marjatta whom gave birth to a baby boy (after becoming pregnant from eating a cranberry) in a stable.
Either way, it was a pretty good read, but I do prefer volume 1.
August 14, 2008
It´s slow reading. But epic poetry is one of my favorite genres. Not amazing battles or fightings, but the creation of the world and the culture of the finnish people. (I´m reading the spanish version).
August 20, 2012
The stories are fascinating, translation clunky. Wound up reading the summaries at the beginning of each chapter and then skimming the text itself.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews