The Kalevala is the great Finnish epic which, like the Iliad and Odyssey, grew out of a rich oral tradition with prehistoric roots. During the first millennium of our era, speakers of Uralic languages (outside the Indo-European group) who had settled in the Baltic region developed an oral poetry that was to last into the nineteenth century. This poetry provided the basis of the Kalevala, assembled by the Finnish scholar Elias Lonnrot and published in its final form in 1849. It played a central role in the process towards Finnish independence and inspired some of the greatest music of Sibelius.

The Kalevala (Oxford World's Classics)

Literature & Fiction

Elias Lönnrot

Albert B. Lord

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

Kanteletar: Taikka, Suomen Kansan Wanhoja Lauluja Ja Wirsiä

Arts & Photography

Franklin Classics Trade Press

Kalevala (European Thought)

Poetry

Continuum International Publishing Group-Athlone

The national folk epic of Finland is here presented in an English translation that is both scholarly and eminently readable. To avoid the imprecision and metrical monotony of earlier verse translations, Francis Magoun has used prose, printed line for line as in the original so that repetitions, parallelisms, and variations are readily apparent. The lyrical passages and poetic images, the wry humor, the tall-tale extravagance, and the homely realism of the Kalevala come through with extraordinary effectiveness.

The Kalevala: Or Poems of the Kaleva District

Harvard University Press

A compelling insight into the myths and folklore of Finland, The Kalevala is often compared to such epic poems as Homer's Odyssey. Drawing from oral storytelling traditions, Elias Lonnrot made this collection in the 19th-century, and it helped to cement Finnish identity in the turmoil of the 20th-century.

The Kalevala

Naxos Audio Books

This beautiful edition of The Kalevala, exquisitely translated into American English at its best by Eino Friberg, and insightfully illustrated, in full color, by one of Finland's great 20th century artists, Bjorn Landstrom is a genuine treasure

The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People

Otava

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Books by Elias Lönnrot