View source for Ilmarinen

{{Short description|God from Finnish mythology}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| type         = Finnish
| name         = Ilmarinen
| deity_of     = Eternal Hammerer<br>God of the sky,<ref name="saarikivi"/> air and weather<ref name="gan"/>
| image        = Robert Stigell Ilmarinen 1888.jpg
| alt          = <!-- for alternate text of the title image per [[WP:ALT]] -->
| caption      = Statue of Ilmarinen at the [[Old Student House, Helsinki]] by {{Ill|Robert Stigell|fi}}, 1888
| other_names  = [[Central Finland]]: Ilimarinen, Ilmari, Ilman rinta<br>[[Ingria]]: Ilmari, Ilman rinta, Ilmarinta, Ismaro, Ismaroinen<br>[[Kainuu]]: Ilimari, Ilimarinen, Ilmari, Ilman rinta, Ilmarunen, Ilmola, Ilmorini, Imnarinen, Kopsu?<br>[[Karelia]]: Ilimari, Ilimarinen, Ilmari, Ilman rinta, Ilman ukko, Ilmarinta, Ilmola, Ilmollinen, Ilmollini, Ilmorinen, Ilmorini<br>[[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]]: Ilmari, Ilman rinta, Ilmarinta<br>[[Ostrobothnia (historical province)|Ostrobothnia]]: Ilmalainen, Ilmari, Ilman rinta, Ilmola<br>[[Savonia (historical province)|Savonia]]: Ilimari, Ilimarinen, Ilmari, Ilman ukko, Ilmarinta<br>[[Torne Valley]]: Ilmari
| symbol = [[Bellows]]{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=232}}
| equivalent1_type = Sámi
| equivalent1 = [[Biegga-galles]]{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=232}}
| equivalent2_type = Udmurt
| equivalent2 = [[Inmar]]{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=232}}
| equivalent3_type = Komi
| equivalent3 = [[Jen (deity)|Jen]]{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=232}}
}}
'''Ilmarinen''' ({{IPA|fi|ˈilmɑrinen|pron}}) is a god and archetypal artificer from [[Finnish mythology]].<ref name="als">{{cite book |last1=Siikala |first1=Anna-Leena |title=Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |year=2013 |isbn=978-952-222-393-7}}</ref> He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything. In addition, he is described as working the known metals of the time, including brass, copper, iron, gold, and silver. The great works of Ilmarinen include the crafting of the dome of the sky and the forging of the [[Sampo]].

Ilmarinen is the successor of the original sky god from West Uralic mythology, as well as the personification of the sky. In [[runic song]]s, many of his roles were later shifted to the new sky god [[Ukko]], but both became less important than the new [[Odin]]-resembling hero [[Väinämöinen]].<ref name="saarikivi">{{cite book|author=Janne Saarikivi|chapter=Huomioita Agricolan psalttarin esipuheen jumalista ja muusta itämerensuomalaisesta mytologisesta sanastosta|editor=Jeremy Bradley|title=Tonavan Laakso: Eine Festschrift für Johanna Laakso|series=Central European Uralic Studies|volume=2|year=2022|publisher=Praesens Verlag|isbn=9783706911597|page=387}}</ref> While Ukko gained the role of a controller of rain and weather for the purposes of agriculture, Ilmarinen continued to be regarded as a wind god.{{sfn|Pulkkinen|2014|page=376}}

In the ''[[Kalevala]]'', he is a [[blacksmith]] and an inventor. His usual epithet in the Kalevala is ''seppä'' or ''seppo'' ("smith"),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/#/seppo |title=seppo |publisher=Kotimaisten kielten keskus |website=Kielitoimiston sanakirja |access-date=8 September 2015 |language=fi }}</ref> which is the source of the given name [[Seppo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p2a1&s=p2a1s4&h=hp2a1&f=fp2s |title=Kalevala ja suomen kieli |publisher=Kalevalaseura |website=Kalevalan kulttuurihistoria |access-date=8 September 2015 |language=fi |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010115/http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p2a1&s=p2a1s4&h=hp2a1&f=fp2s |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Etymology and origin ==
Cognates of the Finnish word ''ilma'' ('air') are attested in almost all the main [[Finno-Ugric languages]] apart from the [[Mari language|Mari]] and [[Mordvinic languages]], allowing the reconstruction of proto-Finno-Ugric *''ilma'' meaning something like 'sky'. This noun is also attested as the name of a god in [[Khanty language|Khanty]] (''Num-Iləm''), [[Komi language|Komi]] (''Jen''), [[Udmurt language|Udmurt]] (''Inmar'') and the [[Finnic languages]], suggesting that proto-Finno-Ugric likewise had a [[sky god]] credited with creating the sky called *''Ilma''.{{sfn|Frog|2012|pp=210-11}}{{sfn|Frog|2012b|p=25}} In Proto-Finnic, the suffix -''r(i)'', which is used to form words for people associated with the root word, was added to *''ilma'' to give the god-name *''Ilmar(i)'' ('Sky-being'); rare attestations of similar forms such as [[Udmurt language|Udmurt]] ''Ilmar'' and [[Sami language|Sámi]] ''Ilmaris'' seem to be loans from Finnic.{{sfn|Frog|2012|p=215}} The name could've also existed among Sámi as a thunder god ''Ilmaričče''.<ref name="tursia">{{cite book |last=Frog |first=Mr |date=2017 |page=114 |chapter=Myöhäisrautakauden uskonto ja mytologia Suomessa |title=Tursiannotko: Tutkimuksia hämäläiskylästä viikinkiajalta keskiajalle. Tampereen museoiden julkaisuja, Nro 148 |location=Tampere |publisher= Tampereen museot |isbn=978-951-609-878-7 }}</ref> In [[Kalevala metre]] poetry, the diminutive suffix -''nen'' enabled the formation of the name ''Ilmarinen'', which neatly fills two [[trochee|trochaic feet]] and so became the dominant form of the name in that tradition.{{sfn|Frog|2012b|p=35}}

According to [[Eugene Helimski]] and [[Vladimir Napolskikh]], [[Proto-Uralic religion]] had a concept of a creator sky god who did not effect things much after the creation of the world, only providing stability and continuity somewhere in the background, almost like a ''[[deus otiosus]]''. He was usually not approached directly, and it was more common that deities of nature and the underworld were asked to help instead. As the forger of the sky, Ilmarinen fits as a successor of this Proto-Uralic sky god.{{sfn|Pulkkinen|2014|pages=39–41, 51}} He is believed to have taken on the qualities of a smith through the Proto-Finnic contact with iron-working cultures, such as the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] [[Balts]]<ref group="n">{{harv|Kuusi|Bosley|Branch|1977}} : rune 8 (''Seppä'', The Smith) explicitly refers to Ilmollini as ''jumala'' (god). in {{harvnb|Siikala|2002|loc=171}}</ref> or speakers of [[Common Germanic]].{{sfn|Frog|2012|p=217}}

Ilmarinen is also directly appealed to for aid in several incantation runes.{{sfn|Siikala|2002|loc=209}} Insofar as [[Elias Lönnrot]] heavily redacted the original runes collected by him and others, it's valuable to differentiate between the [[Kalevala]] and the original poems sung by {{ill|rune singers|fi|Runonlaulaja}}.
{{sfn|Pentikäinen|1999|loc=19-26}}

The first time Ilmarinen was mentioned in writing was by [[Mikael Agricola]] in 1551, who called Ilmarinen as the one who "brought peace and air, and took travellers forward" (''Ilmarinen Rauhan ja ilman tei / ja Matkamiehet edheswei.''). In 1663, [[Johan Cajanus]] wrote that in folk belief, Ilmarinen was one of the 12 sons of the giant [[Kalevi (mythology)|Kaleva]].{{sfn|Krohn|1914|page=339}} Despite Agricola's description, Ilmarinen rarely has the role as a helper of sailors in [[runic song]]s; only one such runic song has been recorded (from [[North Ostrobothnia]] and [[Kainuu]]) but its structure has raised doubts about if it was truly initially formed as oral tradition among the common folk. According to [[Kaarle Krohn]], being a helper of sailors seems more like something loaned from the [[Old Norse religion|Norse]] [[Njörðr]].{{sfn|Krohn|1914|pages=114–115}}

In 1728, a man named Påhl Hindrikinpoika Paskoja was accused of witchcraft in court in [[Pyhäjärvi]]. He had to sing runic incantations during the trial, including the [[Synty|origin]] of fire, where Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen struck fire by forging. He explained that Ilmarinen was a god people used to worship, while Väinämöinen was something which lived in a mountain.{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=231}}

In his 1789 book ''[[Mythologia Fennica]]'', [[Christfried Ganander]] described [[Jumala]] like Ilmarinen is typically described: as the forger of the dome of the sky. He wrote that even in pagan times, ancient Finns had a concept of a creator of everything.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1789 |title=SKVR XII2 8719. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-071492 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2024-06-02}}</ref> He also described Ilmarinen as Väinämöinen's younger brother and a god over air and weather who also had control over fire and water. He equated Ilmarinen with [[Aeolus (son of Hippotes)|Aeolus]].<ref name="gan">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1789 |title=SKVR XII1 4071. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-066696 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2024-06-02}}</ref> As a forger creator god, [[Martti Haavio]] compared Ilmarinen to Norse Odin as ''himnasmiðr'' ({{lit.|sky smith}}), Hindu [[Tvashtr]], Chinese [[Pangu]], and Abkhaz Szasz.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haavio |first=Martti |date=1960 |title=Suomalainen kulttuuriheeros (Virittäjä Vol 64 Nro 4 (1960)) |url=https://journal.fi/virittaja/article/view/34236/44239 |publisher=Virittäjä |page=264 |access-date=2025-07-21}}</ref>

Other names for Ilmarinen that are found in rune variants include ''Ilmorinen'', ''Ilmollini'',{{sfn|Kuusi|Bosley|Branch|1977|loc= runes 8 and 12}} ''Ilmalainen'', ''Ilman rinta'', ''Ilman ukko'', and ''Ismaroinen''.{{sfn|Krohn|1914|page=317}} [[Asko Parpola]] has attempted to connect the name to the [[Hindu god]] [[Indra]].<ref name="saarikivi"/> The word {{lang|fi|jumala}} ({{lit.|god}}) has been theorized to be loaned from [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] ''*dyumā́n'' ('celestial'), which is Indra's epithet in the [[Vedas]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://sanat.csc.fi/wiki/EVE:jumala |title= Jumala |website= Suomen vanhimman sanaston etymologinen verkkosanakirja |publisher=University of Helsinki |access-date=2025-07-22}}</ref>

== In runic songs ==
[[File:Walter Runeberg - Ilmarinen Forging the Moon.jpg|thumb|left|150px|"Ilmarinen Forging the Moon" by [[Walter Runeberg]] (1866).]]
Runic songs mention Ilmarinen as the one who forged the dome of the sky in a door-less and window-less forge. This idea was born during the [[Iron Age]],{{sfn|Pulkkinen|Lindfors|2016|pages=188–189, 351}} which in Finland spanned from {{circa}} 500 [[BCE]] to 1300 CE. Ilmarinen is also involved with two other [[Baltic Finnic creation myths]]: In [[Ingria]]n runic songs, he forged an iron rake for a swallow so it can gather the pieces of its eggs which end up becoming the Sun, the Moon, and the clouds.{{sfn|Siikala|2012|pages=148–152}} In the {{lang|fi|Kullasta saari}} ({{lit.|island from gold}}) creation myth from [[South Savo]], the island at the center of the world is born when a drop of boiling gold falls from Ilmarinen's pot to the middle of the sea.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1815|title=SKVR VI1 361. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-022792 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-04-04}}</ref>

In the runic songs of the [[Synty|origin]] of fire, a spark of fire is struck by Ilmarinen with three {{lang|fi|kokko}} eagle feathers.{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=327}} Pekka Hakamies equated the one striking fire to the lord of the thunderstorm. [[Uno Harva]] thought that while Ilmarinen is the primary figure of this position, it alone is not sufficient to categorize him as a true thunder god.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hakamies |first=Pekka |date=2012 |chapter=Ilmarinen and Popular Techno-Utopian Conceptions |title=Mythic Discourses: Studies in Uralic Traditions |url= |location=Helsinki |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |page=198 |isbn=978-952-222-763-8 |access-date=}}</ref> On the other hand, Frog wrote that that the sky god and thunder god likely used to be the same: Ilmari.<ref name="tursia"/> Ilmarinen is also the first to forge iron. Iron swore to Ilmarinen that it was not going to hurt anyone, but broke this promise when a hornet brought snake poison into iron's quenching water.{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=350}}

Ilmarinen is often the forger of the Golden Maiden: he spends days forging with his servants, creating a sword and a stallion. He is not satisfied with this and begins to work the bellows himself, which results in the creation of a golden maiden, finally making him happy. However, a maiden made of gold is cold to lie next to, so the song ends with a lesson: men should never make a maiden of gold and silver, for she will be cold. The role of the forger is sometimes given to different characters, such as Väinämöinen in [[Kiuruvesi]],<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1819 |title=SKVR VI1 40. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-022465 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-07-22}}</ref> or [[Lemminkäinen|Lemming]], [[Kullervo|Kuller]], [[Kalevi (mythology)|Kalev]], or an unnamed brother of the singer in [[Estonia]]. An Estonian song from [[Muhu]] also calls the forger a "world wise smith" ({{lang|et|seppa ilmatarka}}), which could mean Ilmarinen.{{sfn|Siikala|2012|pages=122–126}}

He is also described as forging items for humans and gods,{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=232}} such as weapons and women's everyday objects.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1820 |title=SKVR XII2 6065. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-068719 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-07-22}}</ref> Though Cajanus and Ganander called Ilmarinen a son of Kaleva, this title is never given to him in runic songs.{{sfn|Siikala|2012|page=229}}

==Epithets==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%;"
!Epithet
!class="unsortable"|Epithet meaning
!Regions
|-
|Seppo Ilmarinen<ref name="seppo">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1847 |title=SKVR VII3 loitsut 436. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-035831 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref><br>Seppä Ilmarinen<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1825 |title=SKVR VII3 loitsut 495. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-035894 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref>
|'Ilmarinen the Smith'
|[[Ingria]], [[Kainuu]], [[Karelian Isthmus]], [[Ladoga Karelia]], [[North Karelia]], [[North Ostrobothnia]], [[North Savo]], [[Olonets Karelia]], [[South Karelia]], [[South Savo]], [[White Karelia]]
|-
|Takoja iänikuinen<ref name="seppo"/>
|'Eternal hammerer'
|[[Ingria]], [[Karelian Isthmus]], [[Ladoga Karelia]], [[North Karelia]], [[North Savo]], [[Olonets Karelia]], [[South Savo]], [[White Karelia]]
|-
|Kovan rauan kolkuttaja<ref name="seppo"/>
|'Knocker of hard iron'
|[[North Karelia]]
|-
|Takoja taputtelija<ref name="tapu">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1846 |title=SKVR VII1 125. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-030617 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref>
|'Forger, patter'
|[[Ladoga Karelia]], [[Olonets Karelia]]
|-
|Palavan rauan patskuttaja<ref name="tapu"/>
|'Banger of burning iron'
|[[Ladoga Karelia]]
|-
|Kaiken maailman takoja<ref name="maailman">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1786 |title=SKVR XV 60. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-087958 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref>
|'Forger of the whole world'
|[[Ostrobothnia (historical province)|Ostrobothnia]]
|-
|Ilman kannen kalkuttaja<ref name="maailman"/>
|'Clatterer of the dome of the sky'
|[[Ostrobothnia (historical province)|Ostrobothnia]], [[White Karelia]]
|-
|Taivaan (taitava) takoja<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1860 |title=SKVR XII2 7453. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-070175 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref>
|'(Skillful) forger of the sky'
|[[Central Finland]], [[Kainuu]], [[White Karelia]]
|-
|Suuri Ukko Ilmarinen<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1845 |title=SKVR VII5 loitsut 4888. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-040347 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref>
|'Great Lord Ilmarinen'
|[[Ladoga Karelia]]
|-
|Päällä pilvehin Jumala<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1885 |title=SKVR VII4 loitsut 2731. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-038180 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref>
|'God on clouds'
|[[North Karelia]]
|-
|Tarkka entinen takoja<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1861 |title=SKVR IV1 1373. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-013042 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-10-27}}</ref>
|'Precise former forger'
|[[Ingria]]
|}

== In the ''Kalevala'' ==
===The Forging of the Sampo===
[[Image:Gallen Kallela The Forging of the Sampo.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Forging of the Sampo'' by [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela]], 1893]]
:''Summary based on {{harvnb|Lönnrot|1999|loc=105-119 [canto 10]}}''
When the old sage, [[Väinämöinen]], was traveling wide in the search of a wife, he was captured by the old mistress of [[Pohjola]], the land of the North. In return for giving him safe passage from the land of Pohjola back to his native country, the enchantress [[Louhi]] of Pohjola wanted to have made the [[Sampo]], a magic artifact. Väinämöinen replied that he could not make her one, but that Ilmarinen could, and promised to send the great smith to Pohjola to do just that. In return for this wondrous device, Louhi would also give Ilmarinen her daughter's hand in marriage.

On having returned home, Väinämöinen tries to awe Ilmarinen with tales of the maiden's beauty and so lure him to Pohjola. Ilmarinen sees through the ruse, however, and refuses. Not to be outdone, Väinämöinen tricks the smith into climbing a fir tree trying to bring down moonlight that is glimmering on the branches. Conjuring a storm-wind with his magical song, Väinämöinen then blows Ilmarinen away to Pohjola.

Once there, Ilmarinen is approached by the toothless hag, [[Louhi]], and her daughter, the Maiden of Pohjola, and having seen the maiden's beauty, consents to build a Sampo. For three days, he sought a place to build a great forge. In that forge he placed metals and started working, tending the magic fire with help of the slaves of Pohjola.

On the first day, Ilmarinen looked down into the flames and saw that the metal had taken the form of a crossbow with a golden arch, a copper shaft and quarrel-tips of silver. But the bow had an evil spirit, asking for a new victim each day, and so Ilmarinen broke it and cast the pieces back into the fire.

On the second day, there came a metal ship from the fire, with ribs of gold and copper oars. Though beautiful to behold, it too was evil at heart, being too eager to rush towards battle, and so, Ilmarinen broke the magic boat apart and cast back the pieces once more.

On the third day, a metal [[cow]] emerged, with golden horns and the sun and the stars on its brow. But alas, it was ill-tempered, and so the magical heifer was broken into pieces and melted down.

On the fourth day, a golden plow is pulled from the forge, with a golden plowshare, a copper beam and silver handles. But it too is flawed, plowing up planted fields and furrowing meadows. In despair, Ilmarinen destroys his creation once more.

Angered at his lack of success, Ilmarinen conjures the four winds to fan the flames. The winds blow for three days, until finally, the Sampo is born, taking the shape of a magic mill that produces grain, salt and gold. Pleased with his creation at last, Ilmarinen presents it to Louhi, who promptly locks it in a vault deep underground.

Returning triumphant to the Maiden of Pohjola, Ilmarinen bids her to become his wife. To his dismay, she refuses to leave her native land, forcing him to return home alone and dejected.

Variants of the original runes used by Lönnrot in compiling the Kalevala present a different picture of Ilmarinen. In one variant of The Sampo {{harv|Kuusi|Bosley|Branch|1977|loc=rune 12}} for example, Ilmarinen goes willingly to Pohjola to forge the Sampo, not because he was tricked by Väinämöinen, but in order to redeem Väinämöinen from death. In addition, the same rune portrays Ilmarinen as returning home successfully with the Maiden of the North.

Ilmarinen's portrayal as "unlucky in love" in the Kalevala is primarily due to Lönnrot's own choices while revising and compiling the original runes to form a cohesive narrative.<ref group="n">Lönnrot's revisions and even rewriting of runes is discussed at length in {{harv|Pentikäinen|1999|loc=ch. 2}}.</ref> In another example from an original rune entitled ''Kosinta'' (The Courtship), {{harv|Kuusi|Bosley|Branch|1977|loc=rune 17}} Ilmarinen takes a journey to compete for Hiisi's daughter. He again succeeds in obtaining his wife after completing the tasks of ploughing a field of vipers, bringing Tuoni's bear, and bringing the pike of Tuoni.

===Ilmarinen's bride of gold===
:''Summary based on {{harvnb|Lönnrot|1999|loc=497-504 [canto 37]}}''
After the loss of his first wife to [[Kullervo]]'s curse, the disheartened Ilmarinen attempts to craft a new one from gold and silver, but finds the golden wife hard and cold. Dismayed, he attempts to wed her to his brother Väinämöinen instead, but the old sage rejects her, saying that the golden wife ought to be cast back into the furnace and tells Ilmarinen to "forge from her a thousand trinkets". Speaking to all of his people, he further adds:
<poem>
"Never, youths, however wretched,
Nor in future, upgrown heroes,
Whether you have large possessions,
Or are poor in your possessions,
In the course of all your lifetime,
While the golden moon is shining,
May you woo a golden woman,
Or distress yourselves for silver,
For the gleam of gold is freezing,
Only frost is breathed by silver."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of Kalevala, Volume II (of 2), by Anonymous, Translated by W. F. Kirby.|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33089/33089-h/33089-h.htm|access-date=2020-12-02|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref><br />
</poem>

The tale of the Golden Wife can be seen as a cautionary tale based on the theme of "money cannot buy happiness". To a contemporary reader, there is also a similarity to the hubristic nature of the [[Golem]] legend, or to ''[[Frankenstein]]'', in that even the most skilled of mortals cannot rival divine perfection when creating life.

In another example of Lönnrot's editorial license, the Kullervo cycle originally existed as an independent series of runes. In his effort to create a homogeneous narrative, Lönnrot presented Kullervo as Ilmarinen's slave in order to insert Kullervo into the Sampo cycle of runes.{{sfn|Pentikäinen|1999|loc=40}} However, some scholars are convinced that the Golden Bride was originally an independent rune that was eventually added to the Sampo cycle.{{sfn|Pentikäinen|1999|loc=33}} Furthermore, independent variants of the ''Kultamorsian'' (Golden Bride) rune have been collected.{{sfn|Kuusi|Bosley|Branch|1977|loc =runes 21 and 22}} In [[Matti Kuusi]]'s opinion, the warning reproduced above is a secondary element that was probably added during the Christian period. Rather than serving as a cautionary tale, the original runes probably expressed the widespread myth of a [[Golden Woman]] found throughout Arctic [[Eurasia]].{{sfn|Kuusi|Bosley|Branch|1977|loc= endnotes for runes 21 and 22.}}

==In popular culture==
{{main|Kalevala#Influence}}
*A portrayal of Ilmarinen and depiction of selected tales from the Kalevala can be found in the 1959 movie [[Sampo (film)]].
*Finnish metal band [[Amorphis]] released their ninth album in 2009 called [[Skyforger (album)|Skyforger]], which is a concept album based around the stories and legends of Ilmarinen.
*The band [[Turisas]] recorded a song called "Cursed Be Iron" about the aforementioned smith, and he is mentioned in "Rauta" by [[Korpiklaani]]. Korpiklaani also released a song called "Kultanainen" about the creation of Ilmarinen's golden wife.
*In the trilogy ''The Winter of the World'' by [[Michael Scott Rohan]], Ilmarinen is the godlike Power revered by the [[duergar]], who say he forged the mountains in which they live. Another Power, the Odin-like Raven, speaks of Ilmarinen, "greatest of the Elder Powers," having taught him.<ref>{{citation| last = Rohan | title = The Hammer of the Sun| page = 460 | year = 1988 }}</ref>
*Ilmarinen appears in [[Joseph Michael Linsner]]'s comic ''[[Dawn (comics)|Dawn: Return of the Goddess]]'' when the title character seeks him out to forge a sword for her.
*Ilmarinen appears as Ilmari Heikkinen the Wonder-smith in [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s 500 Kingdoms Series' homage to [[Sámi shamanism|Sámi]] (among other [[Norse mythology|Scandinavian]] and northern European) myths and legends, ''[[The Snow Queen (Lackey novel)|The Snow Queen]]'' (2008).

==Gallery==

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|mode=packed
|height=150
|Joseph Alanen - Moonwatchers.jpg|''Moonwatchers'', {{ill|Joseph Alanen|fi}}, 1908–1910
|Robert Wilhelm Ekman - Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen by the Giant Spruce.jpg|''Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen by the Giant Spruce'', [[Robert Wilhelm Ekman]]
|Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Ilmarinen Flies Over the Moon.jpg|''Ilmarinen Flies Over the Moon'', Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1892
|Godenhjelm - Ilmarinen takoo Sammon.jpg|''Ilmarinen Forges the Sampo'', [[Berndt Godenhjelm]], 19th century
|Väinö Blomstedt - The Forging of the Sampo.jpg|''The Forging of the Sampo'' by {{ill|Väinö Blomstedt|fi}}, 1897
|Joseph Alanen - The Forging of the Sampo.jpg|''The Forging of the Sampo'', [[tempera]] by Joseph Alanen, 1910–1911
|Rudolf Koivu - Sammon taonta, Kalevalan kankahilla.jpg|Illustration of the Sampo being forged, by [[Rudolf Koivu]] in 1931
|Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Ilmarinen Ploughs a Field of Vipers.jpg|''Ilmarinen Ploughs a Field of Vipers'', Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1916 <small>([[:fi:Ilmarinen kyntää kyisen pellon|fi]])</small>
|Joseph Alanen - The Eagle and the Pike (fiery).jpg|''The Eagle and the Pike'', Joseph Alanen
|Johan Kortman - Ilmarinen Arrives as the Groom at Pohjola.jpg|''Ilmarinen Arrives as the Groom at Pohjola'', charcoal work by {{ill|Johan Kortman|fi}}, 1893
|Robert Wilhelm Ekman - The Wedding at Pohjola.jpg|''The Wedding at Pohjola'', Robert Wilhelm Ekman, 1860–1872
|Johan Kortman - The Wedding at Pohjola.jpg|''Pohjolan häät'', Johan Kortman, 1890
}}

==See also==
*[[Dwarf (mythology)]], in Germanic myth dwarfs commonly fit the "artificer" archetype

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="n"}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation| last1 =  Kuusi | first1 =  Matti| first2 =  Keith| last2 = Bosley| first3 =  Michael| last3 = Branch | year = 1977 | title = Finnish Folk Poetry: Epic: An Anthology in Finnish and English | publisher =  Finnish Literature Society }}
*{{citation| last=Krohn |first= Kaarle |year=1914 |title=Suomalaisten runojen uskonto |publisher = WSOY and Finnish Literature Society |location=Porvoo}}
* {{citation| last = Lönnrot| first =  Elias  | translator-last= Bosley | translator-first =  Keith  | year = 1999 | title = The Kalevala| work =  Oxford World's Classics | publisher =  Oxford University Press }}
* {{citation| last =  Pentikäinen| first =  Juha Y.  | translator-last= Poom |translator-first= Ritva| year = 1999 | title = Kalevala Mythology | publisher = Indiana University Press }}
* {{citation| last =  Pulkkinen | first =  Risto | year = 2014 | title = Suomalainen kansanusko | publisher = Gaudeamus |isbn= 978-952-495-340-5}}
* {{citation| last1 =  Pulkkinen | first1 =  Risto |last2 = Lindfors |first2= Stina | year = 2016 | title = Suomalaisen kansanuskon sanakirja | publisher = Gaudeamus |isbn= 978-952-495-405-1}}
* {{citation| last = Siikala| first =  Anna-Leena | year =2002 | title = Mythic Images and Shamanism: A Perspective on Kalevala Poetry| journal = FF Communications |number =  280 | publisher =  Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia}}
* {{citation| last = Siikala| first =  Anna-Leena | year =2012 | title = Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia | publisher =  Finnish Literature Society |isbn=978-952-222-393-7}}
*{{citation|  title = Mythic Discourses: Studies in Uralic Oral Tradition| editor-first =Mr| editor-last =  Frog| editor-first2= Anna-Leena|editor-last2= Siikala |editor-first3= Eila |editor-last3=Stepanova| publisher = Finnish Literature Society | number = 20| work = S tudia fennica folkloristica | year =  2012 | url = https://www.academia.edu/3719266 }}
**{{citation | last =Frog| first =Mr| chapter = Confluence, Continuity and Change in the Evolution of Myth: Cultural Activity and the Finno-Karelian Sampo-Cycle| title = Mythic Discourses: Studies in Uralic Oral Tradition|  year =  2012| chapter-url =  https://www.academia.edu/3687105 |pages = 205–256 }}
*{{citation|title = Finno-Ugric Folklore, Myth and Cultural Identity : Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Finno-Ugric Languages University of Groningen, 7-9, June 2011 | editor-first =    Cornelius |editor-last= Hasselblatt |editor-first2 = Adriaan|editor-last2 = van der Hoeven | year = 2012b | isbn =     978-90-423-0415-4 |work = Studia Fenno-Ugrica Groningana | number = 7  }}
**{{citation| first = Mr | last = Frog | chapter = Evolution, Revolution and Ethnocultural Substrata: From Finno-Ugric Sky-God to the North Finnic God-Smith Ilmarinen | title = Finno-Ugric Folklore, Myth and Cultural Identity | year = 2012b |pages =  25–43 |chapter-url =  https://www.academia.edu/3687102 }}

{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |author=Frog |chapter=Mythologies in transformation: Symbolic transfer, hybridisation, and creolisation in the Circum-Baltic arena (illustrated through the changing roles of *Tīwaz, *Ilma, and Óðinn, the fishing adventure of the thunder god, and a Finno-Karelian creolisation of North Germanic religion |title=Contacts and Networks in the Baltic Sea Region: Austmarr as a northern mare nostrum, ca. 500-1500 AD |editor1=Maths Bertell |editor2=Frog |editor3=Kendra Willson |pages=263–288 |location=Amsterdam |publisher=[[Amsterdam University Press]] |date=2019 |doi=10.1515/9789048532674-016}}
* {{cite book |last=Kouvola |first=Karolina |chapter=The artificial bride on both sides of the Gulf of Finland: The Golden Maiden in Finno-Karelian and Estonian folk poetry |title=Contacts and Networks in the Baltic Sea Region: Austmarr as a northern mare nostrum, ca. 500-1500 AD |editor1=Maths Bertell |editor2=Frog |editor3=Kendra Willson |pages=211–234 |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |date=2019 |doi=10.1515/9789048532674-014}}

==External links==
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune10.htm Story of the forging of the Sampo at sacred texts.com]
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune37.htm Story of the Golden Wife at sacred texts.com]

{{Kalevala}}
{{Finnish mythology footer}}

[[Category:Finnish mythology]]
[[Category:Finnish gods]]
[[Category:Smithing gods]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]
[[Category:Characters in the Kalevala]]