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Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland Complete
by
Sharing its title with the poetic name for Finland - 'the land of heroes' - Kalevala is the soaring epic poem of the Finnish people. Born of an ancient tradition of folklore and song, Kalevala is a work rich in magic, cosmic mystery and myth, presenting a story of a people through the ages, from the dawn of creation. Sung by rural Finns since prehistoric times, and formall
...more
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Paperback, 690 pages
Published
January 29th 2010
by Hardpress Publishing
(first published 1835)
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Start your review of Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland Complete


When Elias Lönnrot was born in 1802, Finland was a province of Sweden; by the time he came to compile the Kalevala in the 1830s and 1840s, it was part of the Russian Empire. ‘Finnishness’ was (and had been since the twelfth century) little more than a shared idea, and sometimes a dangerous one at that. So this epic is a part of that nineteenth-century fashion for literary and linguistic nationalism that also gave us curiosities like Pan Tadeusz in Poland or The Mountain Wreath in Serbia-Monteneg ...more

Oh my goodness, this is a real treasure!
I was expecting this classic Finnish mythos, this fantasy epic, to be kinda dense and worldly and weighty, but I didn't expect it to be totally readable, droll, classy, and exciting. I also didn't expect to see it as the source material for so many classics I adore, including most of the stories behind Tolkien's The Silmarillion and a good portion of his LoTR.
It reads like a fantastically mythical adventure from start to Finnish and it's no wonder, even i ...more
I was expecting this classic Finnish mythos, this fantasy epic, to be kinda dense and worldly and weighty, but I didn't expect it to be totally readable, droll, classy, and exciting. I also didn't expect to see it as the source material for so many classics I adore, including most of the stories behind Tolkien's The Silmarillion and a good portion of his LoTR.
It reads like a fantastically mythical adventure from start to Finnish and it's no wonder, even i ...more

This is a thought-provoking piece of majestic work. Thought-provoking because as I read it, an insane amount of questions kept coming to mind which I will try (completely incompletely) to compile here, although not with the mastery of Elias Lonnrot.
So, without further ado, three important lessons that I learned from The Kalevala:
Lesson 1: The Kalevala has fuck-all to do with Lord of the Rings.
Yes, yes, I know. Tolkien studied Finnish - an impressive feat because it holds the records for the mos ...more
So, without further ado, three important lessons that I learned from The Kalevala:
Lesson 1: The Kalevala has fuck-all to do with Lord of the Rings.
Yes, yes, I know. Tolkien studied Finnish - an impressive feat because it holds the records for the mos ...more

Foreword
Dedication
Finnish Pronunciation
Introduction
Select Bibliography
--The Kalevala
Notes
Appendix: Sibelius and the 'Kalevala' ...more
Dedication
Finnish Pronunciation
Introduction
Select Bibliography
--The Kalevala
Notes
Appendix: Sibelius and the 'Kalevala' ...more

Jan 15, 2012
Antonomasia
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
folklore,
nordic,
2013,
19th-century,
finland,
mythology,
poetry,
epic-poems-and-novels-in-verse
OUP edition, translated by Keith Bosley
"...the kind of excitement that palaeontologists felt on discovering a live coelacanth". Exactly! I'm not one of the scholars of early European epic Bosley is talking about in that paragraph of his wonderful introduction, just someone who once did a dissertation type thing on "pagan survivals" in late medieval (English) religion and sadly had to conclude that there was very little evidence for anything beyond the odd motif. But in Finland, there was an anc ...more
"...the kind of excitement that palaeontologists felt on discovering a live coelacanth". Exactly! I'm not one of the scholars of early European epic Bosley is talking about in that paragraph of his wonderful introduction, just someone who once did a dissertation type thing on "pagan survivals" in late medieval (English) religion and sadly had to conclude that there was very little evidence for anything beyond the odd motif. But in Finland, there was an anc ...more

Jun 07, 2014
Robert
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
poetry,
myth-legend-saga
Chances are that if you've heard of this work at all it's because it was the inspiration for Longfellow's Hiawatha, you've just heard about the publication of Tolkien's Story of Kullervo or you're some kind of expert in Epic Poetry. Which is to say it's fairly obscure outside it's native Finnland, where, by contrast everybody knows it because it's the National Epic, heavily influencing the development of a Finnish national consciousness.
(A brief aside on Tolkien: he used the Finnish language as ...more
(A brief aside on Tolkien: he used the Finnish language as ...more

Jul 12, 2008
Ammon
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Ammon by:
Jean Sibelius
Here's my trochaic rendition of my synopsis of the Kalevala:
Wainomainen, ancient minstrel,
Ilmarinen, magic blacksmith,
Lemmenkainen, reckless hero.
They get dumped by Lappish women.
Will they still the magic Sampo
With its lid of many colors?
You bet they will, motherfuckers. ...more
Wainomainen, ancient minstrel,
Ilmarinen, magic blacksmith,
Lemmenkainen, reckless hero.
They get dumped by Lappish women.
Will they still the magic Sampo
With its lid of many colors?
You bet they will, motherfuckers. ...more

This is a classic for a reason, with many fascinating story arcs, and some great writing. This English translation did pretty well in my opinion (not being a native Finnish speaker, I can't speak of the accuracy, but I found it very readable)
My one caveat here is that the heroes of these myths are deeply flawed. Heroes aren't always meant to be perfect, but the heroes do some really dumbassed things here. Vainamoinen makes himself so repulsive to the maid Aino that she decides that offing hersel ...more
My one caveat here is that the heroes of these myths are deeply flawed. Heroes aren't always meant to be perfect, but the heroes do some really dumbassed things here. Vainamoinen makes himself so repulsive to the maid Aino that she decides that offing hersel ...more

Aug 04, 2016
Jessica
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
scandinavian-authors,
theclassics
I've never gotten into Finnish history or literature as much as I've followed the other Scandinavian countries. Although, let's face it: Finland is amazing. Not just because they drastically lowered their infant mortality rate by putting their babies in cardboard boxes, and have the best education system in the world. But also because no one knows where they came from! Their language and culture and even genes are very different from the rest of Scandinavia.
And so the Kalevala is also an anomaly ...more
And so the Kalevala is also an anomaly ...more

Nov 23, 2015
Maaike
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favourites,
literature
4.75*
That was great. I never expected I would ever finish it, it being over 600 pages of poetry, but I did, and I enjoyed every second of it.
We all know Greek, Roman and Norse mythology, but Finnish mythology is unfortunately very unheard of. By reading this epoch you can see how the lives of Finnish people centuries ago were influenced a lot by nature. The nature in the story is alive; it speaks, thinks and feels. Birds, fish, bears and wolves all play a vital role in the tale, the god-heroes a ...more
That was great. I never expected I would ever finish it, it being over 600 pages of poetry, but I did, and I enjoyed every second of it.
We all know Greek, Roman and Norse mythology, but Finnish mythology is unfortunately very unheard of. By reading this epoch you can see how the lives of Finnish people centuries ago were influenced a lot by nature. The nature in the story is alive; it speaks, thinks and feels. Birds, fish, bears and wolves all play a vital role in the tale, the god-heroes a ...more

Old woman of underground
soil-dame, earth-mistress
now set the sward pushing up
the strong earth heaving!
The earth will not want for strength
ever in this world
while there’s love from the givers
and leave from natures’s daughters.
This poem immerses you in physical and mythical Finland. Every page is filled with original, lyrical communion with the natural world. Every episode combines folk heroes, folk wisdom, fantastic shape-changing and song. Because above all else you understand Finland as a coun ...more

Jul 19, 2013
Deborah Ideiosepius
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historic-fiction,
europe
I had never heard of the Kalevala, but recently I visited Finland for the first time (hopefully not the last) and it is everywhere; Go to an art gallery, or a historical house, or a museum and things based on the Kalevala are everywhere. Drive down the highway and there is a construction company named after a character in the Kalevala. So it soon became evident that if I wanted to understand anything about Finland I would have to read it. It proved to be no great effort; reading the Kalevala was
...more

Let me first clarify that the two-star rating is based solely on my experience with this book, and not on its overall quality.
There were two reasons why I started reading the Kalevala a while ago. Firstly, because it was one of Tolkien's major inspirations in his writing career. Secondly, because it seemed like a classical version of sword & sorcery mixed with old poetry. And that's amazingly enough just what it is.
The negative part is that the story is incredibly boring, filled with endless rep ...more
There were two reasons why I started reading the Kalevala a while ago. Firstly, because it was one of Tolkien's major inspirations in his writing career. Secondly, because it seemed like a classical version of sword & sorcery mixed with old poetry. And that's amazingly enough just what it is.
The negative part is that the story is incredibly boring, filled with endless rep ...more

Sep 20, 2018
Biblio Curious
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ancient-global-epic-project
The backstory of how this epic came to be is also fascinating & is riddled with language awesomeness. Women have important roles to play. And sometimes, men are simply buffoons. It's such a wonderful change of pace from these old epics to see women hold their own so well. In the early parts, among my favourite are when the man is newly created, he actually takes time to stop and think. He reflects on what he should do. When he stops thinking, that's when everything falls apart for him. There's s
...more

The Kalevala is without a doubt the most insanely hilarious and absurd epic poem or collection of epic poems I've ever read. It's really quite difficult to put to word just how ridiculous the story of The Kalevala truly is. In this book, you'll find a man peeling a rock and crafting a boat out of yarn, a man being born on top of a pile of burning charcoal with a pair of miniature smithing tools in each hand, a single bee going on a vast journey to collect special honey to be used as healing oint
...more

Matching Soundtrack :
Just A Poke - Sweet Smoke
Just A Poke - Sweet Smoke

This is a revised version of an Amazon review of two “Kalevala” translations, originally written and posted in 2004, and greatly enlarged in 2012.
For its appearance in Goodreads, I’ve made some additions (and omissions), briefly discussing two other, and readily available, older translations, which I had originally just mentioned.
One thing I learned from the original version of this review is that a reviewer proposes, but only Amazon disposes. (A lesson repeated frequently during the last couple ...more
For its appearance in Goodreads, I’ve made some additions (and omissions), briefly discussing two other, and readily available, older translations, which I had originally just mentioned.
One thing I learned from the original version of this review is that a reviewer proposes, but only Amazon disposes. (A lesson repeated frequently during the last couple ...more

Notes on reading the Kalevala:
I don't want to offer a scholarly analysis here. Instead I want to offer my impressions on first reading this work, and assume you all can fire up Google for more information. (This edition's introduction is excellent, and I recommend it)
I read the Kalevala because I was visiting Finland for the first time and wanted to dive into that nation's culture. I ended up staying in a Kalevala-themed hotel, which was fun.
It's an unusual work to read, mostly for formal reason ...more
I don't want to offer a scholarly analysis here. Instead I want to offer my impressions on first reading this work, and assume you all can fire up Google for more information. (This edition's introduction is excellent, and I recommend it)
I read the Kalevala because I was visiting Finland for the first time and wanted to dive into that nation's culture. I ended up staying in a Kalevala-themed hotel, which was fun.
It's an unusual work to read, mostly for formal reason ...more

Dec 03, 2016
Mina
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Mina by:
Langfocus on Youtube
Kalevala is a national treasure to the Finns, a collection of mythology that is the more precious for containing both the creation myth as well as cultural insights into the Finnish culture. It stands in comparison with other such treasures as the
The Poetic Edda
, the Greeks'
Theogony
and
The Illiad & the Odyssey
and so on. What's more, its stories and the Finnish perspective on stories common all around the world color a vivid picture of their culture.
What sets Kalevala apart is tha ...more
What sets Kalevala apart is tha ...more

In fact i decided to read kalevala because one of my favorite band,Amorphis from Finland,writes music that deals with stories from this epic poem.Well,i did right,cause as a fan of worldwide Mythologies,Kalevala offered me all the things i just wanted to read.Gods,evil witches,heroes,battles and exciting,heroic,funny or tragic stories.Recommended to all people who like such stuff,by reading this you will also put yourself in a place comparing the stories with similar of other's Mythologies.One o
...more

As a Finn, this epic speaks to my heart. I haven't finished the book--shameful--but the poetry and story are amazing. The Kalevala was the oral tradition of the Finns and this translation preserves that feeling.
...more

Oh my god, this translation. I first read it years ago while teaching in Alaska; purchasing it with my first paycheck because it caught my attention (I'd lived in the heavily Finnish Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and I'd long nurtured a love of epic poetry), and we had no TV so I needed something to read :)
Anyway, it was love at first look. The illustrations are beautful, but the language. Oh god that language. Friberg purposefully set out to translate the Kalevalla into American folk English. To ...more
Anyway, it was love at first look. The illustrations are beautful, but the language. Oh god that language. Friberg purposefully set out to translate the Kalevalla into American folk English. To ...more

May 18, 2016
Louisa
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mythology,
epic-poetry

Väinämöinen with his harp
The Kalevala is a delight; a wonderful rendering of ancient Finnish mythology. The English translation by John Crawford (1888) reads beautifully and follows closely the Finnish cadence with eight syllables in every line. While the male heroes Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen provide most of the action, I thought it was interesting to see how the Finnish world was created entirely by females; the Daughter of the Ether and a seabird that lays golden eggs on her knee ...more

As you know, this book is written
in trochaic tetrameter;
therefore, I will be reviewing
it that way. It just seems fitting.
This might be my favorite epic;
well, Paradise Lost excepted.
I don't mean the most well-written
(though it's certainly well-written);
what I mean is, well, the feeling.
This book has a lovely feeling
of cold, harsh old Scandinavia.
Even the poetic Edda
cannot match that lovely feeling.
Only five stars is enough for
such a wonderful old classic. ...more
in trochaic tetrameter;
therefore, I will be reviewing
it that way. It just seems fitting.
This might be my favorite epic;
well, Paradise Lost excepted.
I don't mean the most well-written
(though it's certainly well-written);
what I mean is, well, the feeling.
This book has a lovely feeling
of cold, harsh old Scandinavia.
Even the poetic Edda
cannot match that lovely feeling.
Only five stars is enough for
such a wonderful old classic. ...more

How could I forget: most kids in Finland must've been fed epic fantasy at some point, as a part of their basic education. And there certainly are several characters of intrigue in this epos.

Brothers-at-arms Lemminkäinen and Iku-Tiera being my personal favourite duo, though very briefly present as such. Also, blacksmith Ilmarinen warrants a mention. ...more

Brothers-at-arms Lemminkäinen and Iku-Tiera being my personal favourite duo, though very briefly present as such. Also, blacksmith Ilmarinen warrants a mention. ...more

Listening to The Kalevala can be a haunting experience. Its verse has a mesmerizing, sing-song quality that makes amble use of repetition. This has a certain beauty and charm, but what it lacked, for me, was the power of portraying its characters and their deeds with any kind of visceral reality. Though its heroes and villains are truly intriguing, the verse that described them kept me from fully immersing in their stories.
The heroes here are at once larger than life, god-like, yet full of huma ...more
The heroes here are at once larger than life, god-like, yet full of huma ...more

I was inspired by the special Kalevala exhibition at the Atheneum Art Museum in Helsinki the past weekend. The paintings and sculptures drew me into the epic world.
The words have served as vivid memories for my short visit. The English translation is rather easy to read compared with the Homeric Iliad or Odyssey. More importantly, as I read close and loud into the lines, Kalevala has the light touch, and sense of humor. It's not as cold as you think - Finns are warm as I encounter, from the very ...more
The words have served as vivid memories for my short visit. The English translation is rather easy to read compared with the Homeric Iliad or Odyssey. More importantly, as I read close and loud into the lines, Kalevala has the light touch, and sense of humor. It's not as cold as you think - Finns are warm as I encounter, from the very ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Q:
KULLERWOINEN, youthful wizard,
In his blue and scarlet stockings,
Henceforth lingered with his parents;
But he could not change his nature,
Could not gain a higher wisdom,
Could not win a better judgment;
As a child he was ill-nurtured,
Early rocked in stupid cradles,
By a nurse of many follies,
By a minister of evil. (c)
KULLERWOINEN, youthful wizard,
In his blue and scarlet stockings,
Henceforth lingered with his parents;
But he could not change his nature,
Could not gain a higher wisdom,
Could not win a better judgment;
As a child he was ill-nurtured,
Early rocked in stupid cradles,
By a nurse of many follies,
By a minister of evil. (c)
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
English Translati...: Elias Lonnrot - Kalevala: The Epic of the Finnish People | 2 | 8 | Nov 06, 2020 04:57PM | |
Goodreads Librari...: Fix book title please | 2 | 12 | Aug 04, 2020 08:03AM | |
Medieval literature: The Kalevala | 3 | 19 | Apr 13, 2020 09:48AM |
Elias Lönnrot was a Finnish philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for composing the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic compiled from national folklore.
Lönnrot was born in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa in Finland. He studied medicine at the Academy of Turku. To his misfortune the year he joined was the year of the Great Fire of Turku, burning down ha ...more
Lönnrot was born in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa in Finland. He studied medicine at the Academy of Turku. To his misfortune the year he joined was the year of the Great Fire of Turku, burning down ha ...more
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“Words shall not be hid
nor spells buried
might shall not sink underground
though the mighty go.”
—
19 likes
nor spells buried
might shall not sink underground
though the mighty go.”
“Once to swim I sought the sea-side,
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty son-bird, perished.
Never come a-fishing, father,
To the borders of these waters,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest daughter Aino.
Mother dear, I sought the sea-side,
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors,
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty song-bird perished.
Never mix thy bread, dear mother,
With the blue-sea's foam and waters,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest daughter Aino.
Brother dear, I sought the sea-side,
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty song-bird perished.
Never bring thy prancing war-horse,
Never bring thy royal racer,
Never bring thy steeds to water,
To the borders of the blue-sea,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest sister Aino.
Sister dear, I sought the sea-side,
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty song-bird perished.
Never come to lave thine eyelids
In this rolling wave and sea-foam,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest sister Aino.
All the waters in the blue-sea
Shall be blood of Aino's body;
All the fish that swim these waters
Shall be Aino's flesh forever;
All the willows on the sea-side
Shall be Aino's ribs hereafter;
All the sea-grass on the margin
Will have grown from Aino's tresses.”
—
19 likes
More quotes…
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty son-bird, perished.
Never come a-fishing, father,
To the borders of these waters,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest daughter Aino.
Mother dear, I sought the sea-side,
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors,
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty song-bird perished.
Never mix thy bread, dear mother,
With the blue-sea's foam and waters,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest daughter Aino.
Brother dear, I sought the sea-side,
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty song-bird perished.
Never bring thy prancing war-horse,
Never bring thy royal racer,
Never bring thy steeds to water,
To the borders of the blue-sea,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest sister Aino.
Sister dear, I sought the sea-side,
There to sport among the billows;
With the stone of many colors
Sank poor Aino to the bottom
Of the deep and boundless blue-sea,
Like a pretty song-bird perished.
Never come to lave thine eyelids
In this rolling wave and sea-foam,
Never during all thy life-time,
As thou lovest sister Aino.
All the waters in the blue-sea
Shall be blood of Aino's body;
All the fish that swim these waters
Shall be Aino's flesh forever;
All the willows on the sea-side
Shall be Aino's ribs hereafter;
All the sea-grass on the margin
Will have grown from Aino's tresses.”