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{{Short description|1835 Finnish epic poem compiled by Elias Lönnrot}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Kalevala
| title_orig        = Kalevala {{noitalic|(or}} Kalewala{{noitalic|, first edition, 1835)}}
| translator        = {{hlist|[[John Addison Porter]]|[[John Martin Crawford (scholar)|John Martin Crawford]]|[[William Forsell Kirby]]|[[Francis Peabody Magoun|Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr.]]|[[Eino Friberg]]|[[Keith Bosley]]}}
| image             = Kalevala1.jpg
| caption           = First edition, 1835
| author            = [[Elias Lönnrot]]
| country           = [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] 
| language          = [[Finnish language|Finnish]] 
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Epic poetry]]|[[National epic]]}}
| publisher         = J. C. Frenckell ja Poika, among others
| pub_date          = {{unbulleted list|1835: ''Old Kalevala''|1849: ''New Kalevala''}}
| english_pub_date  = {{hlist|1888|1907|1963|1989}}
| pages             = {{unbulleted list|''Old Kalevala'': vol 1, 208pp; vol 2, 334pp|''New Kalevala'': ~500pp}}
|congress =PH324 .E5
|dewey=894.5411
| orig_lang_code    = fi
| native_wikisource = Kalevala
| wikisource        = The Kalevala
}}
The '''''Kalevala''''' ({{IPA|fi|ˈkɑleʋɑlɑ|IPA}}) is a 19th-century compilation of [[epic poetry]], compiled by [[Elias Lönnrot]] from [[Finnish language|Finnish]], [[Karelian language|Karelian]] and [[Ingrian language|Ingrian]] [[folklore]] and [[Finnish mythology|mythology]],<ref name="Overview">{{cite web|last=Asplund|first=Anneli|url=http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=160078&contentlan=2&culture=en-US|access-date=15 August 2010|title=Kalevala: the Finnish national epic|author2=Sirkka-Liisa Mettom|date=October 2000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123171927/http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=160078&contentlan=2&culture=en-US|archive-date=23 November 2010}}</ref><ref>Kallio, Petri. ''Muinaiskarjalan uralilainen tausta'' (2018), p. 11: "(...) varsinaiskarjalaa ja inkeroista, joiden puhuma-alueilta esimerkiksi niin sanottu Suomen kansalliseepos Kalevala oli valtaosaltaan kerätty."</ref> telling a story about the [[Creation myth|Creation of the Earth]], describing the controversies and retaliatory voyages between the peoples of the land of Kalevala called Väinölä and the land of [[Pohjola]] and their various [[protagonist]]s and [[antagonist]]s, as well as the construction and robbery of the mythical wealth-making machine [[Sampo]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.finnwards.com/living-in-finland/kalevala-the-national-epic-of-finland/ |title=Kalevala, the national epic of Finland – Finnwards |date=27 February 2020 |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228081438/https://www.finnwards.com/living-in-finland/kalevala-the-national-epic-of-finland/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The ''Kalevala'' is regarded as the [[national epic]] of [[Finland]] and [[Karelia]], and is one of the most significant works of [[Finnish literature]] along with [[J. L. Runeberg]]'s ''[[The Tales of Ensign Stål]]'' and [[Aleksis Kivi]]'s ''[[The Seven Brothers]]''.<ref>[https://seitsemanveljesta150.fi/kansalliskirjailija/ Kansalliskirjailija on kansakunnan peili] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419185425/https://seitsemanveljesta150.fi/kansalliskirjailija/ |date=19 April 2021 }} (in Finnish)</ref><ref>[https://www.putkilahti.net/k090120f.php Tosi ja taru Vänrikki Stoolin tarinoissa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125223206/https://putkilahti.net/k090120f.php |date=25 November 2020 }} (in Finnish)</ref><ref>[https://kotimaatutuksi.fi/blogi/suomalaiset-klassikkokirjat/ Suomalaiset klassikkokirjat – Oletko lukenut näitä 10 kirjaa?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207203018/https://kotimaatutuksi.fi/blogi/suomalaiset-klassikkokirjat/ |date=7 December 2023 }} (in Finnish)</ref> The ''Kalevala'' was instrumental in the development of the [[Finnish national identity]] and the intensification of [[Finland's language strife]] that ultimately led to [[Finland's Declaration of Independence|Finland's independence from Russia]] in 1917.<ref name="The Role of The Kalevala">{{cite web |last=Vento |first=Urpo |url=http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol1num2/vento.pdf|access-date=17 August 2010 |title=The Role of The Kalevala |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716165757/http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol1num2/vento.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref><ref>William A. Wilson (1975) "The Kalevala and Finnish Politics" ''Journal of the Folklore Institute'' 12(2/3): pp. 131–55</ref> The work is known internationally and has partly influenced, for example, [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Tolkien's legendarium|legendarium]] (i.e. [[Middle-earth]] mythology, especially ''[[The Children of Húrin]]'').<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Carpenter |editor-first=Humphrey |editor-link=Humphrey Carpenter |year=1981 |title=The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] |isbn=0-395-31555-7 |at=letter 163 to [[W. H. Auden]], 7 June 1955 |quote=But the beginning of the legendarium, of which the Trilogy is pan (the conclusion), was in an attempt to reorganize some of the Kalevala, especially the tale of Kullervo the hapless, into a form of my own.}}</ref><ref name="sanders-bbc">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34063157 |title=Kullervo: Tolkien's fascination with Finland |first=Hannah |last=Sander |work=[[BBC News]]|date=27 August 2015|access-date=16 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163355/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34063157 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The first version of the ''Kalevala'', called the ''Old Kalevala'', was published in 1835, consisting of 12,078 verses. The version most commonly known today was first published in 1849 and consists of 22,795 verses, divided into fifty folk stories ({{langx|fi|runot|links=no}}).<ref name="Society-description">{{cite web |url=http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/s_kalevala_e.php |author=Kalevala Society |access-date=15 August 2010 |title=Kalevala, the national epic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323074759/http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/s_kalevala_e.php|archive-date=23 March 2010}}</ref> An abridged version, containing all fifty poems but just 9,732 verses, was published in 1862.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Project Gutenberg EBook of Kalevala (1862)|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/54753/pg54753-images.html.utf8.gzip|access-date=6 December 2020|website=www.gutenberg.org}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In connection with the ''Kalevala'', there is another much more lyrical collection of poems, also compiled by Lönnrot, called ''[[Kanteletar]]'' from 1840, which is mostly seen as a "sister collection" of the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://finland.fi/arts-culture/the-kanteletar/ |title=Finland's Other Epic: The Kanteletar |first=Keith |last=Bosley |work=This is Finland |date=March 2000|access-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-date=5 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105035142/https://finland.fi/arts-culture/the-kanteletar/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{TOClimit|3}}

==Collection and compilation==

===Elias Lönnrot===
{{Main|Elias Lönnrot}}
[[Image:Elias Lönrot Cabinet Portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Elias Lönnrot]]

Elias Lönnrot (9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a physician, [[botanist]], [[linguist]], and poet. At the time he was compiling the ''Kalevala'' he was the district health officer based in [[Kajaani]] responsible for the whole [[Kainuu]] region in the eastern part of what was then the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]. He was the son of Fredrik Johan Lönnrot, a tailor, and Ulrika Lönnrot; he was born in the village of [[Sammatti]], [[Uusimaa]].

At the age of 21, he entered the [[Royal Academy of Turku|Imperial Academy of Turku]] and obtained a master's degree in 1826. His thesis was entitled ''De Vainamoine priscorum fennorum numine'' (''Väinämöinen, a Divinity of the Ancient Finns''). The [[monograph]]'s second volume was destroyed in the [[Great Fire of Turku]] the same year.<ref name="Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr.">Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. "The Kalevala or Poems of the Kaleva district" ''Appendix I. (1963)''.</ref><ref>Tuula Korolainen &amp; Riitta Tulusto. "Monena mies eläessänsä – Elias Lönnrotin rooleja ja elämänvaiheita". Helsinki: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö (2002)</ref>

In the spring of 1828, he set out with the aim of collecting folk songs and poetry. Rather than continue this work, though, he decided to complete his studies and entered [[Imperial Alexander University]] in Helsinki to study medicine. He earned a master's degree in 1832. In January 1833, he started as the district health officer of Kainuu and began his work on collecting poetry and compiling the ''Kalevala''. Throughout his career Lönnrot made a total of eleven [[field trip]]s within a period of fifteen years.<ref name="Elias Lönnrot's field trips to Kainuu">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/index.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu|access-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513194739/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/index.html|archive-date=13 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="Elias Lönnrot (1802 - 1884)">{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/lonnrot.htm |title=Elias Lönnrot |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221051648/http://kirjasto.sci.fi/lonnrot.htm |archive-date=21 December 2013 }}</ref>

Prior to the publication of the ''Kalevala'', Elias Lönnrot compiled several related works, including the three-part ''Kantele'' (1829–1831), the ''Old Kalevala'' (1835) and the ''[[Kanteletar]]'' (1840).

Lönnrot's field trips and endeavours helped him to compile the ''Kalevala'', and brought considerable enjoyment to the people he visited; he would spend much time retelling what he had collected as well as learning new poems.<ref name="Travel account 1">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/matkat/m4k1.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu|access-date=20 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130532/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/matkat/m4k1.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Travel account 2">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/matkat/syys1.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu|access-date=20 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130544/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/matkat/syys1.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref>

===Poetry===
[[Image:Helsinki-Folk-singer-statue-1750.JPG|thumb|230px|The statue of [[Väinämöinen]] by Robert Stigell (1888) decorates the [[Old Student House, Helsinki|Old Student House]] in Helsinki]]

====History====
Before the 18th century, ''Kalevala'' poetry, also known as [[runic song]], was common throughout Finland and Karelia, but in the 18th century it began to disappear in Finland, first in western Finland, because European rhymed poetry became more common in Finland. Finnish folk poetry was first written down in the 17th century<ref>[http://www.karuse.info/ Kalevala poetry society (Finnish)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307142922/http://www.karuse.info/ |date=7 March 2005 }}, [http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/index.php?m=11&s=38&l=1 Finnish Literature Society (Finnish)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524081440/http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/index.php?m=11&s=38&l=1 |date=24 May 2011 }}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20041103164118/http://www.muhos.fi/koivujatahtipaivat/missa_kalevala_on_syntynyt.htm "Where was The Kalevala born?" Finnish Literature Society, Helsinki, 1978.] Accessed 17 August 2010</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dbgw.finlit.fi/skvr/teksti.php?id=skvr11108660|title=SKVR XI. 866. Pohjanmaa. Pentzin, Virittäjä s. 231. 1928. Pohjal. taikoja ja loitsuja 1600-luvulta. -?|access-date=31 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718172531/http://dbgw.finlit.fi/skvr/teksti.php?id=skvr11108660|archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref> and collected by hobbyists and scholars through the following centuries. Despite this, the majority of Finnish poetry remained only in the oral tradition.

Finnish-born nationalist and linguist [[Carl Axel Gottlund]] (1796–1875) expressed his desire for a Finnish epic in a similar vein to the ''[[Iliad]]'', ''[[Ossian]]'' and the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'' compiled from the various poems and songs spread over most of Finland. He hoped that such an endeavour would incite a sense of nationality and independence in the native Finnish people.<ref name="Swedish Literary News">{{Citation
| last  = Gottlund
| first = Carl Axel
| author-link = Carl Axel Gottlund
| title = Review
| newspaper = Svensk literatur-tidning 
| location = Stockholm
| volume = 25
| date   = June 21, 1817
| page   = 394
}}</ref> In 1820, {{ill|Reinhold von Becker|fi}} founded the journal ''Turun Wiikko-Sanomat'' (Turku Weekly News) and published three articles entitled ''Väinämöisestä'' (''Concerning [[Väinämöinen]]''). These works were an inspiration for Elias Lönnrot in creating his masters thesis at Turku University.<ref name="Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr."/><ref name="Turun Wiikko-Sanomat 1820">{{cite web|url=http://digi.lib.helsinki.fi/sanomalehti/secure/browse.html?action=year&id=1457-4888&name=Turun%20Wiikko-Sanomat|title=Turun Wiikko-Sanomat 1820 archive.|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722150629/http://digi.lib.helsinki.fi/sanomalehti/secure/browse.html?action=year&id=1457-4888&name=Turun%20Wiikko-Sanomat|archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

In the 19th century, collecting became more extensive, systematic and organised. Altogether, almost half a million pages of verse have been collected and archived by the [[Finnish Literature Society]] and other collectors in what are now [[Estonia]] and Russia's [[Republic of Karelia]].<ref name="Folklore Fellows #15">{{cite web|url=http://www.folklorefellows.fi/netw/ffn15/fls.html|title=The folklore activities of the Finnish Literature Society|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517044417/http://www.folklorefellows.fi/netw/ffn15/fls.html|archive-date=17 May 2006}}</ref> The publication ''[[Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot]]'' (''Ancient Poems of the Finns'') published 33 volumes containing 85,000 items of poetry over a period of 40 years. They have archived 65,000 items of poetry that remain unpublished.<ref name="Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot">{{cite web|url=http://dbgw.finlit.fi/skvr/|title=Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot kotisivu|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910231028/http://dbgw.finlit.fi/skvr/|archive-date=10 September 2010}}</ref> By the end of the 19th century this pastime of collecting material relating to Karelia and the developing orientation towards eastern lands had become a fashion called [[Karelianism]], a form of [[national romanticism]].

The [[chronology]] of this [[oral tradition]] is uncertain. The oldest themes, the origin of Earth, have been interpreted to have their roots in distant, unrecorded history and could be as old as 3,000 years.<ref name="Crawford Kalevala">John Martin Crawford. ''Kalevala – The national epic of Finland'', "Preface to the First edition, (1888)".</ref>
The newest events, e.g. the arrival of Christianity, seem to be from the [[History of Finland#Iron Age|Iron Age]], which in Finland lasted until c. 1300 [[Common Era|CE]]. Finnish folklorist [[Kaarle Krohn]] proposes that 20 of the 45 poems of the ''Kalevala'' are of possible [[Ancient Estonia]]n origin or at least deal with a motif of Estonian origin (of the remainder, two are [[Ingrian language|Ingrian]] and 23 are Western Finnish).<ref name="Laugaste1990">{{cite book |last=Eduard |first=Laugaste |editor=Lauri Honko |title=Religion, Myth and Folklore in the World's Epics: The Kalevala and its Predecessors |date=1990 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-087455-6 |pages=265–286 |chapter=The Kalevela and the Kalevipoeg}}</ref>

It is understood that during the [[Religion in Finland#The Reformation|Finnish reformation]] in the 16th century the clergy forbade all telling and singing of [[Paganism|pagan]] rites and stories. In conjunction with the arrival of European poetry and music this caused a significant reduction in the number of traditional folk songs and their singers. Thus the tradition faded somewhat but was never totally eradicated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/index.php?m=11&s=38&l=1|title=Laulut Kalevalan takana|access-date=31 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524081440/http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/index.php?m=11&s=38&l=1|archive-date=24 May 2011}}</ref>

====Lönnrot's field trips====
[[Image:Lonnrot4.jpg|thumb|200px|A caricature of Elias Lönnrot by A. W. Linsen: "Unus homo nobis currendo restituit rem" – "One man saved everything for us by running".]]

In total, Lönnrot made eleven field trips in search of poetry. His first trip was made in 1828 after his graduation from Turku University, but it was not until 1831 and his second field trip that the real work began. By that time he had already published three articles entitled ''Kantele'' and had significant notes to build upon. This second trip was not very successful and he was called back to Helsinki to attend to victims of the [[Second cholera pandemic]].<ref name="Juminkeko 2">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_1.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 2|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130554/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_1.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref>

The third field trip was much more successful and led Elias Lönnrot to Viena in [[east Karelia]] where he visited the town of Akonlahti, which proved most successful. This trip yielded over 3,000 verses and copious notes.<ref name="Juminkeko 3">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_2.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 3|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130735/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_2.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref> In 1833, Lönnrot moved to Kajaani where he was to spend the next 20 years as the district health officer for the region, living in the Hövelö croft located near the [[Oulujärvi|Lake Oulujärvi]] in the [[Paltaniemi]] village, spending his spare time searching for poems.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kainuunsanomat.fi/artikkeli/nakokulma-elias-lonnrotin-hovelon-aika-196185427/|title=Näkökulma: Elias Lönnrotin Hövelön aika|first=Esko|last=Piippo|work=[[Kainuun Sanomat]]|date=28 February 2021|access-date=1 October 2022|language=fi|archive-date=1 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001143932/https://www.kainuunsanomat.fi/artikkeli/nakokulma-elias-lonnrotin-hovelon-aika-196185427/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kainuunsanomat.fi/artikkeli/kotiseutuna-kajaani-maanjaristys-tuhosi-ensimmaisen-kirkon-paltaniemella-kirkkoaholla-on-toiminut-erikoinen-elaintarha-197176727/|title=Kotiseutuna Kajaani: Maanjäristys tuhosi ensimmäisen kirkon Paltaniemellä – Kirkkoaholla on toiminut erikoinen eläintarha|first=Tiina|last=Suutari|work=[[Kainuun Sanomat]]|date=16 March 2021|access-date=1 October 2022|language=fi|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207015719/https://www.kainuunsanomat.fi/artikkeli/kotiseutuna-kajaani-maanjaristys-tuhosi-ensimmaisen-kirkon-paltaniemella-kirkkoaholla-on-toiminut-erikoinen-elaintarha-197176727/}}</ref> His fourth field trip was undertaken in conjunction with his work as a doctor; a 10-day jaunt into Viena. This trip resulted in 49 poems and almost 3,000 new lines of verse. It was during this trip that Lönnrot formulated the idea that the poems might represent a wider continuity, when poem entities were performed to him along with comments in normal speech connecting them.<ref name="Juminkeko 12">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_3.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 4|access-date=20 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130752/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_3.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Helsingfors Morgenblad 1">{{cite web|url=http://digi.lib.helsinki.fi/sanomalehti/secure/showPage.html?conversationId=4&action=entryPage&id=393243&pageFrame_currPage=4|title=Letter to J L Runeberg.|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722151040/http://digi.lib.helsinki.fi/sanomalehti/secure/showPage.html?conversationId=4&action=entryPage&id=393243&pageFrame_currPage=4|archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

On the fifth field trip, Lönnrot met [[Arhippa Perttunen]] who, over two days of continuous recitation, provided him with some 4,000 verses for the ''Kalevala''. He also met a singer called Matiska in the hamlet of Lonkka on the Russian side of the border. Although this singer had a somewhat poor memory, he did help to fill in many gaps in the work Lönnrot had already catalogued. This trip resulted in the discovery of almost 300 poems at just over 13,000 verses.<ref name="Juminkeko 4">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_4.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 5|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130809/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_4.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref>

In the autumn of 1834, Lönnrot had written the vast majority of the work needed for what was to become the ''Old Kalevala''; all that was required was to tie up some narrative loose ends and complete the work. His sixth field trip took him into Kuhmo, a municipality in Kainuu to the south of Viena. There he collected over 4,000 verses and completed the first draft of his work. He wrote the foreword and published in February of the following year.<ref name="Juminkeko 5">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_5.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 6|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130814/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_5.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref>

With the ''Old Kalevala'' well into its first publication run, Lönnrot decided to continue collecting poems to supplement his existing work and to understand the culture more completely. The seventh field trip took him on a long winding path through the southern and eastern parts of the Viena poem singing region. He was delayed significantly in Kuhmo because of bad skiing conditions. By the end of that trip, Lönnrot had collected another 100 poems consisting of over 4,000 verses.<ref name="Juminkeko 6">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_6.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 7|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130848/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_6.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref> Lönnrot made his eighth field trip to the Russian border town of Lapukka where the great singer Arhippa Perttunen had learned his trade. In correspondence he notes that he has written down many new poems but is unclear on the quantity.<ref name="Juminkeko 7">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_7.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 8|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528051206/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_7.html|archive-date=28 May 2011}}</ref>

[[Image:Elias Lönnrot field trips-notable karelia locations-1.png|thumb|right|250px|Notable towns visited by Elias Lönnrot during his 15 years of field trips – both sides then belonged to Russia]]

Elias Lönnrot departed on the first part of his ninth field trip on 16 September 1836. He was granted a 14-month leave of absence and a sum of travelling expenses from the [[Finnish Literary Society]]. His funds came with some stipulations: he must travel around the Kainuu border regions and then on to the north and finally from Kainuu to the south-east along the border. For the expedition into the north he was accompanied by [[Johan Cajan|Juhana Fredrik Cajan]]. The first part of the trip took Lönnrot all the way to [[Inari, Finland|Inari]] in northern [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]].<ref name="Juminkeko 8">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_8.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 9 North|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130926/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_8.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref> The second, southern part of the journey was more successful than the northern part, taking Lönnrot to the town of [[Sortavala]] on [[Lake Ladoga]] then back up through [[Savonia (historical province)|Savo]] and eventually back to Kajaani. Although these trips were long and arduous, they resulted in very little Kalevala material; only 1,000 verses were recovered from the southern half and an unknown quantity from the northern half.<ref name="Juminkeko 9">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_8b.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 9 South|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130943/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_8b.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref>

The tenth field trip is a relative unknown. What is known however, is that Lönnrot intended to gather poems and songs to compile into the upcoming work ''Kanteletar''. He was accompanied by his friend C. H. Ståhlberg for the majority of the trip. During that journey the pair met [[Mateli Magdalena Kuivalatar]] in the small border town of [[Ilomantsi]]. Kuivalatar was very important to the development of the ''Kanteletar''.<ref name="Juminkeko 10">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_9.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 11|access-date=20 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615130959/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_9.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref> The eleventh documented field trip was another undertaken in conjunction with his medical work. During the first part of the trip, Lönnrot returned to Akonlahti in Russian Karelia, where he gathered 80 poems and a total of 800 verses. The rest of the trip suffers from poor documentation.<ref name="Juminkeko 11">{{cite web|url=http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_10.html|title=Elias Lönnrot in Kainuu – Field trip 11|access-date=20 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615131135/http://www.juminkeko.fi/lonnrot/en/aihe_3_10.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref>

====Methodology====
[[Image:Inha runonlaulajat.jpg|thumb|right|[[Republic of Karelia|Karelian]] poem singing brothers Poavila and Triihvo Jamanen reciting [[runic song]], Uhtua, 1894.]]

Lönnrot and his contemporaries, e.g. [[Matthias Castrén]], Anders Johan Sjögren,<ref>Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. "The Kalevala or Poems of the Kaleva district" ''Appendix II. (1963)''.</ref>
and [[Daniel Europaeus|David Emmanuel Daniel Europaeus]]<ref name="suomi.fi">{{cite web|url=http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/suomi/tietopaketit/perustietoa_suomesta/kansalliset_symbolit_ja_juhlat/index.html|access-date=24 August 2010|title=Kansalliset symbolit ja juhlat – Kalevala|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314051635/http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/suomi/tietopaketit/perustietoa_suomesta/kansalliset_symbolit_ja_juhlat/index.html|archive-date=14 March 2010}}</ref><ref name="New Kalevala">Elias Lönnrot. "Kalevala" ''Preface to the First edition, (1849)''.</ref> collected most of the poem variants; one poem could easily have countless variants, scattered across rural areas of Karelia and [[Ingria]]. Lönnrot was not really interested in, and rarely wrote down the name of the singer except for some of the more prolific cases. His primary purpose in the region was that of a physician and of an editor, not of a biographer or counsellor. He rarely knew anything in-depth about the singer himself and primarily only catalogued verse that could be relevant or of some use in his work.<ref name="Honko1990">{{cite book|last=Honko |first=Lauri|editor=Lauri Honko |title=Religion, Myth and Folklore in the World's Epics: The Kalevala and its Predecessors |date=1990 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-087455-6 |pages=181–230 |chapter=The Kalevela: The Processual View}}</ref>

The student David Emmanuel Daniel Europaeus is credited with discovering and cataloguing the majority of the Kullervo story.<ref name="New Kalevala"/><ref name="Alhoniemi1990">{{cite book |last=Alhoniemi |first=Pirkko |editor=Lauri Honko |title=Religion, Myth and Folklore in the World's Epics: The Kalevala and its Predecessors |date=1990 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-087455-6 |pages=231–246 |chapter=The Reception of the Kalevela and Its Impact on the Arts}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Kansalliset symbolit ja juhlat| url=http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/suomi/tietopaketit/perustietoa_suomesta/kansalliset_symbolit_ja_juhlat/index.html| access-date=31 August 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314051635/http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/suomi/tietopaketit/perustietoa_suomesta/kansalliset_symbolit_ja_juhlat/index.html| archive-date=14 March 2010}}</ref>

Of the dozens of poem singers who contributed to the ''Kalevala'', significant ones are:
* [[Arhippa Perttunen]] (1769–1840)
* Juhana Kainulainen
* Matiska
* Ontrei Malinen (1780–1855)
* Vaassila Kieleväinen
* Soava Trohkimainen

====Form and structure====
The poetry was often sung to music built on a [[pentachord]], sometimes assisted by a [[kantele]] player. The rhythm could vary but the music was arranged in either two or four lines in [[Quintuple meter|{{music|time|5|4}}]] metre.{{Citation needed|reason = Five beat music, four beat poem?|date=August 2010}} The poems were often performed by a duo, each person singing alternative verses or groups of verses. This method of performance is called an [[antiphon]]ic performance, it is a kind of "singing match".

====Metre====
Despite the vast geographical distance and customary spheres separating individual singers, the folk poetry the ''Kalevala'' is based on was always sung in the same [[Metre (poetry)|metre]].

The ''Kalevala''{{'}}s metre is a form of [[trochaic tetrameter]] that is now known as the ''Kalevala metre''. The metre is thought to have originated during the [[Finnic languages|Proto-Finnic]] period. Its [[syllable]]s fall into three types: strong, weak, and neutral. Its main rules are as follows:<ref>{{cite book | year = 1977 |editor=[[Matti Kuusi]] |editor2=[[Keith Bosley]] |editor3=Michael Branch | title = Finnish Folk Poetry: Epic: An Anthology in Finnish and English | publisher = Finnish Literature Society | isbn = 978-951-717-087-1 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/finnishfolkpoetr00kuus/page/62 62–64] | url = https://archive.org/details/finnishfolkpoetr00kuus/page/62 }}</ref><ref name="Kalevalan runomitta">{{cite web|url=http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1a2&s=p1a2s7&h=hp1a2&f=fp1s|title=Kalevalan runomitta|access-date=30 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720190419/http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1a2&s=p1a2s7&h=hp1a2&f=fp1s|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>
* A long syllable (one that contains a long [[vowel]] or a [[diphthong]], or ends in a [[consonant]]) with a main stress is metrically strong.
:In the second, third, and fourth [[Foot (poetry)|foot]] of a line, a strong syllable can occur in only the rising part:
:: {{lang|fi|Veli / '''kul'''ta, / '''veik'''ko/seni|italic=no}} (1:11)
:: ("Dearest friend, and much-loved brother"<ref name="Kirby Kalevala">''[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25953 Kalevala: The Land of Heroes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419065956/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25953 |date=19 April 2019 }}'', trans. by W. F. Kirby, 2 vols (London: Dent, 1907).</ref>)
:The first foot has a freer structure, allowing strong syllables in a falling position as well as a rising one:
:: {{lang|fi|Niit' '''en'''/nen i/soni / lauloi|italic=no}} (1:37)
:: ("These my father sang aforetime")
* A short syllable with a main stress is metrically weak.
:In the second, third, and fourth feet, a weak syllable can occur only in the falling part:
:: {{lang|fi|Miele/ni '''mi'''/nun '''te'''/kevi|italic=no}} (1:1)
:: ("I am driven by my longing")
:Again, the first foot's structure is more free, allowing weak syllables in a rising position as well as a falling one:
:: {{lang|fi|'''ve'''sois/ta ve/tele/miä|italic=no}} (1:56)
:: ("Others taken from the saplings")
* All syllables without a main stress are metrically neutral. Neutral syllables can occur at any position.

There are two main types of line:<ref name="Kalevalan runomitta"/>
* A normal tetrameter, word-stresses and foot-stresses match, and there is a [[caesura]] between the second and third feet:
: {{lang|fi|Veli / kulta, // veikko/seni|italic=no}}
* A broken tetrameter (Finnish: ''murrelmasäe'') has at least one stressed syllable in a falling position. There is usually no caesura:
: {{lang|fi|Miele/ni '''mi'''/nun '''te'''/kevi|italic=no}}
Traditional poetry in the Kalevala metre uses both types with approximately the same frequency. The alternating normal and broken tetrameters is a characteristic difference between the Kalevala metre and other forms of trochaic tetrameter.

There are four additional rules:<ref name="Kalevalan runomitta"/>
* In the first foot, the length of syllables is free. It is also possible for the first foot to contain three or even four syllables.
* A one-syllable word can not occur at the end of a line.
* A word with four syllables should not stand in the middle of a line. This also applies to non-compound words.
* The last syllable of a line may not include a long vowel.

====Schemes====
There are two main schemes featured in the ''Kalevala'':<ref name="Kalevalan runomitta"/>
* [[Alliteration]]
:Alliteration can be broken into two forms. Weak: where only the opening consonant is the same, and strong: where both the first vowel or vowel and consonant are the same in the different words. (e.g. {{langx|fi|'''va'''ka '''va'''nha '''Vä'''inämöinen|links=no|translation=Steadfast old Väinämöinen|label=none}}).
* [[Parallelism (grammar)|Parallelism]]
:Parallelism in ''The Kalevala'' refers to the stylistic feature of repeating the idea presented in the previous line, often by using synonyms, rather than moving the plot forward. (e.g. {{langx|fi|Näillä raukoilla rajoilla / Poloisilla pohjan mailla|links=no|translation=In these dismal Northern regions / In the dreary land of Pohja|label=none}}). Lönnrot has been criticised for overusing parallelism in ''The Kalevala'': in the original poems, a line was usually followed by only one such parallel line.<ref name="Kalevalainen kerto eli parallellismi">{{cite web|url=http://www.karuse.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94:kalevalainen-kerto-eli-parallellismi&catid=4:tyylikeinoja&Itemid=25|title=Kalevalainen kerto eli parallellismi|access-date=20 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002746/http://www.karuse.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94:kalevalainen-kerto-eli-parallellismi&catid=4:tyylikeinoja&Itemid=25|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

The verses are sometimes inverted into [[chiasmus]].

====Poetry example====
{{listen
  |filename=Vaka vanha Vainamoinen.ogg
  |title=Vaka vanha Väinämöinen
  |format=[[Ogg]]
  |image=none
  |description=Excerpt of song 40 from the ''Kalevala''. [[:File:Vaka vanha Vainamoinen.ogg#Lyrics|The excerpt]] begins at verse 221 and ends at verse 264.<br />The [[Library of Congress]]' ''California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collection''; performed by John Soininen on 5 November 1939 in [[Berkeley, California]].<br />The song describes the creation of the first [[kantele]] and of the attempts by old and young to play it ({{Audio|DIY kantele sample raw.ogg|same melody on a kantele|help=no}}).
}}

Verses 221 to 232 of song forty.<ref name="Kirby Kalevala"/><ref>{{cite book | year = 1849 |editor=Elias Lönnrot | title = The Kalevala }}</ref>
{{Verse translation|
{{lang|fi|Vaka vanha Väinämöinen
itse tuon sanoiksi virkki:
"Näistäpä toki tulisi
kalanluinen kanteloinen,
kun oisi osoajata,
soiton luisen laatijata."
Kun ei toista tullutkana,
ei ollut osoajata,
soiton luisen laatijata,
vaka vanha Väinämöinen
itse loihe laatijaksi,
tekijäksi teentelihe.}}
|
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
"Yet a harp might be constructed
Even of the bones of fishes,
If there were a skilful workman,
Who could from the bones construct it."
As no craftsman there was present,
And there was no skilful workman
Who could make a harp of fishbones,
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Then began the harp to fashion,
And himself the work accomplished.}}

===Lönnrot's contribution to the ''Kalevala''===
Very little is actually known about Elias Lönnrot's personal contributions to the ''Kalevala''. Scholars to this day still argue about how much of the ''Kalevala'' is genuine folk poetry and how much is Lönnrot's own work – and the degree to which the text is 'authentic' to the oral tradition.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pertti |first1=Anttonen |editor1-last=Bak |editor1-first=János M. |editor2-last=Geary |editor2-first=Patrick J. |editor3-last=Klaniczay |editor3-first=Gábor |title=Manufacturing a Past for the Present: Forgery and Authenticity in Medievalist Texts and Objects in Nineteenth-Century Europe |date=2014 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-27680-2 |pages=56–80 |url=https://brill.com/view/title/20073 |chapter=The Kalevala and the Authenticity Debate |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=11 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111011601/https://brill.com/view/title/20073 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the compilation process it is known that he merged poem variants and characters together, left out verses that did not fit and composed lines of his own to connect certain passages into a logical plot. Similarly, as was normal in the preliterate conventions of [[oral poetry]]&mdash;according to the testimony of Arhippa Perttunen&mdash;traditional bards in his father's days would always vary the language of songs from performance to performance when reciting from their repertoire.<ref name="New Kalevala"/><ref name="Honko1990"/><ref>John Miles Foley, ''A companion to ancient epic'', 2005, p.207.</ref><ref name="Thomas DuBois">Thomas DuBois. "From Maria to Marjatta: The Transformation of an Oral Poem in Elias Lönnrot's Kalevala" ''Oral Tradition, 8/2 (1993) pp.247–288''</ref>

The Finnish historian Väinö Kaukonen suggests that 3% of the {{lang|fi|Kalevala}}{{`s}} lines are Lönnrot's own composition, 14% are Lönnrot compositions from variants, 50% are verses which Lönnrot kept mostly unchanged except for some minor alterations, and 33% are original unedited oral poetry.<ref name="Väinö Kaukonen">Väinö Kaukonen. "Lönnrot ja Kalevala" ''Finnish Literature Society, (1979)''.</ref>

== Publishing ==

=== Finnish language ===
[[File:Kalevala 1887 (Finnish Literature Society, 3rd ed.).jpg|thumb|Finland's national epic "The Kalevala", 3rd edition (1887, published by the Finnish Literature Society)]]
The first version of Lönnrot's compilation was entitled ''Kalewala, taikka Wanhoja Karjalan Runoja Suomen Kansan muinoisista ajoista'' ("The Kalevala, or old Karelian poems about ancient times of the Finnish people"), also known as the ''Old Kalevala''. It was published in two volumes in 1835–1836. The ''Old Kalevala'' consisted of 12,078 verses making up a total of thirty-two poems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201002031239|title=Doria.fi archive of the ''Old Kalevala'' volume 1|access-date=23 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201002031240|title=Doria.fi archive of the ''Old Kalevala'' volume 2|access-date=23 August 2010}}</ref>

Even after the publication of the ''Old Kalevala'' Lönnrot continued to collect new material for several years. He later integrated this additional material, with significantly edited existing material, into a second version, the ''Kalevala''. This ''New Kalevala'', published in 1849, contains fifty poems, with a number of plot differences compared with the first version, and is the standard text of the ''Kalevala'' read and translated to this day. (Published as: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran Toimituksia. 14 Osa. KALEVALA.)

The word ''Kalevala'' rarely appears in the original folk songs. The first appearance of the word in folk songs was recorded in April 1836.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dbgw.finlit.fi/skvr/teksti.php?id=skvr01111580|title=SKVR I2. 1158. Lönnrot Mehil. 1836, huhtik.|access-date=31 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718172521/http://dbgw.finlit.fi/skvr/teksti.php?id=skvr01111580|archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref> Lönnrot chose it as the title for his project sometime at the end of 1834,<ref name="Juminkeko 6"/><ref name="Kalevala Lipas">Matti Kuusi and Pertti Anttonen. "Kalevala Lipas" ''Finnish Literary Society, 1985''.</ref> but his choice was not random. The name "Kalev" appears in Finnic and Baltic folklore in many locations, and the ''[[Kalevipoeg|Sons of Kalev]]'' are known throughout Finnish and Estonian folklore.<ref name="Laugaste1990"/>

Lönnrot produced ''Lyhennetty laitos'', an abridged version of the Kalevala, in 1862. It was intended for use in schools. It retains all 50 poems from the 1849 version, but omits more than half of the verses.

=== Translations ===
{{see also|List of Kalevala translations}}
[[File:John Martin Crawford - The Kalevala (Vol 1) - (IA kalevalaepicpoem01craw).pdf|thumb|upright=0.8|page=8|Volume 1 of Crawford's English translation (PDF)]]
Of the few complete translations into English, it is only the older translations by [[John Martin Crawford (scholar)|John Martin Crawford]] (1888) and [[William Forsell Kirby]] (1907) which attempt to strictly follow the original ([[Kalevala metre]]) of the poems.<ref name="Crawford Kalevala"/><ref name="Kirby Kalevala"/>

A notable partial translation of [[Franz Anton Schiefner]]'s German translation was made by Prof. [[John Addison Porter]] in 1868 and published by [[Henry Holt and Company|Leypoldt & Holt]].<ref name="New Englander and Yale Review Volume 0027 Issue 103 (April 1868)">{{cite web |url=https://digital.library.cornell.edu/cache/5/6/c/56c36e40576a484fab0c5570675afd97/nwng0027-2.383.s.image.content.html|title=The Kalevala or National epos of the Finns|access-date=26 September 2010}}</ref>

[[Edward Taylor Fletcher]], a British-born Canadian literature enthusiast, translated selections of the ''Kalevala'' in 1869. He read them before the [[Literary and Historical Society of Quebec]] on 17 March 1869.<ref>Fletcher, E. T. Esq. "The Kalevala, or National Epos of the Finns." ''Transactions of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec'' NS 6 (1869): 45–68.</ref><ref name="Early Publications of the Literary & Historical Society of Quebec">{{cite web|url=http://www.transactions.morrin.org/docsfromclient/books/198/198.html|title=The Kalevala or National epos of the Finns|access-date=1 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727094104/http://www.transactions.morrin.org/docsfromclient/books/198/198.html|archive-date=27 July 2011}}</ref>

[[Francis Peabody Magoun]] published a scholarly translation of the ''Kalevala'' in 1963 written entirely in prose. The appendices of this version contain notes on the history of the poem, comparisons between the original ''Old Kalevala'' and the current version, and a detailed glossary of terms and names used in the poem.<ref name="Finland's folk epic">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/hellahulla/kalevala.html|title=Finland's folk epic|access-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027154930/http://www.geocities.com/hellahulla/kalevala.html |archive-date=27 October 2009}}</ref> Magoun translated the ''Old Kalevala'', which was published six years later entitled ''The Old Kalevala and Certain Antecedents''.

[[Eino Friberg]]'s 1988 translation uses the original metre selectively but in general is more attuned to pleasing the ear than being an exact metrical translation; it also often reduces the length of songs for aesthetic reasons.<ref name="Friberg Kalevala">Eino Friberg. ''Kalevala – Epic of the Finnish people'', Introduction to the first edition, 1989.</ref> In the introduction to his 1989 translation,<ref name="OUP_Reviews_KB">{{cite book |title= The Kalevala – Reviews and Awards |url= https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-kalevala-9780199538867?cc=gb&lang=en& |date= 9 October 2008 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0-19-953886-7 |access-date= 11 August 2019 |archive-date= 31 May 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220531111945/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-kalevala-9780199538867?cc=gb&lang=en& |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Keith Bosley]] stated: "The only way I could devise of reflecting the vitality of Kalevala metre was to invent my own, based on syllables rather than feet. While translating over 17,000 lines of Finnish folk poetry before I started on the epic, I found that a line settled usually into seven syllables of English, often less, occasionally more. I eventually arrived at seven, five and nine syllables respectively, using the ''impair'' (odd number) as a formal device and letting the stresses fall where they would."<ref name="KB_Kalevala1989">{{cite book |last= Lönnrot |first= Elias |author-link= Elias Lönnrot |translator-last= Bosley |translator-first= Keith |translator-link= Keith Bosley |title= The Kalevala |chapter= Introduction |year= 1989 |location= Oxford / New York |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0-19-953886-7}}</ref>{{rp|l}}

Most recently, Finnish/Canadian author and translator Kaarina Brooks translated into English the complete runic versions of ''Old Kalevala'' 1835 (Wisteria Publications 2020) and ''Kalevala'' (Wisteria Publications 2021). These works, unlike some previous versions, faithfully follow the Kalevala meter (Trochaic tetrameter) throughout and can be sung or chanted as Elias Lönnrot had intended. Brooks says, "It is essential that the translation of Kalevala into any language follows the Kalevala metre, for that was how these runes were sung in times immemorial. So that readers get the full impact of these ancient runes, it is imperative that they be presented in the same chanting style." Kaarina Brooks is also the translator of, An Illustrated Kalevala Myths and Legends from Finland, published by Floris Books UK.<ref>[http://cff.ca/upcomingevents/celebration-of-finnish-independence-featured-lives-dec-4/ Celebration of Finnish Independence – Featured Lives – postponed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105033512/http://cff.ca/upcomingevents/celebration-of-finnish-independence-featured-lives-dec-4/ |date=5 November 2021 }} – Canadian Friend of Finland</ref><ref>[https://www.kalevalaistennaistenliitto.fi/2021/05/31/kalevalainen-nainen-maailmalla/ Kalevalainen nainen maailmalla] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105033514/https://www.kalevalaistennaistenliitto.fi/2021/05/31/kalevalainen-nainen-maailmalla/ |date=5 November 2021 }} – Kalevalaisten Naisten Liitto (in Finnish)</ref>

Modern translations were published in the Karelian and [[Urdu]] languages between 2009 and 2015. Thus, the ''Kalevala'' was published in its originating Karelian language only after 168 years since its first translation into Swedish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kalevalaseura.fi/kalevalasta/kalevalan-kaannokset/ |title=Kalevalan käännökset &#124; Kalevalaseura |access-date=2 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124040652/http://kalevalaseura.fi/kalevalasta/kalevalan-kaannokset/ |archive-date=24 January 2016}}</ref>

As of 2010, the ''Kalevala'' had been translated into sixty-one languages and is Finland's most translated work of literature.<ref name="translations">{{cite web|url=http://www.folklorefellows.fi/netw/ffn16/translation.html |title=The Kalevala in translation |access-date=17 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111005554/http://www.folklorefellows.fi/netw/ffn16/translation.html |archive-date=11 January 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finlandia.org.mx/Public/default.aspx?contentid=187130&nodeid=31939&culture=en|title=National epic "The Kalevala" reaches the respectable age of 175|access-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722230149/http://www.finlandia.org.mx/Public/default.aspx?contentid=187130&nodeid=31939&culture=en|archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

==The story==
<!-- The story here should not be expanded, it's meant to be concise. Even if you only need to add only a few words, do it at the main article for the cantos. -->

===Introduction===
The ''Kalevala'' begins with the traditional Finnish [[creation myth]], leading into stories of the creation of the earth, plants, creatures, and the sky. Creation, healing, combat and internal story telling are often accomplished by the character(s) involved singing of their exploits or desires. Many parts of the stories involve a character hunting or requesting lyrics (prayers) to acquire some skill, such as boatbuilding or the mastery of iron making. As well as prayer casting and singing, there are many stories of lust, romance, kidnapping and seduction. The protagonists of the stories often have to accomplish feats that are unreasonable or impossible which they often fail to achieve, leading to tragedy and humiliation.

The [[Sampo]] is a pivotal element of the whole work. Many actions and their consequences are caused by the Sampo itself or a character's interaction with the Sampo. It is described as a device that brings its possessor great fortune and prosperity, but its precise nature has been the subject of debate to the present day.

=== Cantos ===

{{main|Cantos of the Kalevala}}

====First Väinämöinen Cycle====

[[File:Robert Wilhelm Ekman - Ilmatar - A II 1256 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|thumb|250px|''Ilmatar'' by [[Robert Wilhelm Ekman]], 1860]]

'''Cantos 1 to 2:''' The poem begins with an introduction by the singers. The Earth is created from the shards of the egg of a sotka bird, from which the first man, Väinämöinen, is born to [[Ilmatar]], the Holy Spirit of the Heaven. Ilmatar forms the seas and the archipelagos and the lands, while Väinämöinen brings trees and life to the barren world.

'''Cantos 3–5:''' Väinämöinen encounters the jealous [[Joukahainen]] and they engage in a battle of song. Joukahainen loses and pledges his sister's hand in return for his life; the sister Aino soon drowns herself in the sea.

'''Cantos 6–10:''' Väinämöinen heads to [[Pohjola]] to propose to a maiden of the north, a daughter of the mistress of the north [[Louhi]]. Joukahainen attacks Väinämöinen again, and Väinämöinen floats for days on the sea until he is carried by an eagle to Pohjola. He makes a deal with Louhi to get [[Ilmarinen]] the smith to create the Sampo. Ilmarinen refuses to go to Pohjola so Väinämöinen forces him against his will. The Sampo is forged. Ilmarinen returns without a bride.

====First Lemminkäinen Cycle====

'''Cantos 11–15:''' [[Lemminkäinen]] sets out in search of a bride. He and the maid Kyllikki make vows but the happiness doesn't last long and Lemminkäinen sets off to woo a maiden of the north. His mother tries to stop him, but he disregards her warnings and instead gives her his hairbrush, telling her that if it starts to bleed he has met his doom. At Pohjola Louhi assigns dangerous tasks to him in exchange for her daughter's hand. While hunting for the swan of [[Tuonela]], Lemminkäinen is killed and falls into the river of death. The brush he gave to his mother begins to bleed. Remembering her son's words, she goes in search of him. With a rake given to her by Ilmarinen, she collects the pieces of Lemminkäinen scattered in the river and pieces him back together.

[[Image:Gallen Kallela Lemminkainens Mother.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Lemminkäinen's Mother]] by [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela]], 1897]]

====Second Väinämöinen Cycle====

'''Cantos 16–18:''' Väinämöinen builds a boat to travel to Pohjola once again in search of a bride. He visits Tuonela and is held prisoner, but he manages to escape and sets out to gain knowledge of the necessary spells from the giant Antero Vipunen. Väinämöinen is swallowed and has to torture Antero Vipunen for the spells and his escape. With his boat completed, Väinämöinen sets sail for Pohjola. Ilmarinen learns of this and resolves to go to Pohjola himself to woo the maiden. The maiden of the north chooses Ilmarinen.

====Ilmarinen's Wedding====

'''Cantos 19–25:''' Ilmarinen is assigned dangerous unreasonable tasks to win the hand of the maiden. He accomplishes these tasks with some help from the maiden herself. In preparation for the wedding, beer is brewed, a giant steer is slaughtered, and invitations are sent out. Lemminkäinen is uninvited. The wedding party begins and all are happy. Väinämöinen sings and lauds the people of Pohjola. The bride and bridegroom are prepared for their roles in matrimony. The couple arrive home and are greeted with drink and viands.

====Second Lemminkäinen Cycle====

'''Cantos 26–30:''' Lemminkäinen is resentful for not having been invited to the wedding and sets out immediately for Pohjola. On his arrival he is challenged to and wins a duel with Sariola, the Master of the North. Louhi is enraged and an army is conjured to enact revenge upon Lemminkäinen. He flees to his mother, who advises him to head to Saari, the Island of Refuge. On his return he finds his house burned to the ground. He goes to Pohjola with his companion Tiera to exact his revenge, but Louhi freezes the seas and Lemminkäinen has to return home. When he arrives home he is reunited with his mother and vows to build larger better houses to replace the ones burned down.

====Kullervo Cycle====

[[File:Kullervo puhuu miekalleen.jpg|thumb|170px|''Kullervo Speaks to His Sword'' by [[Carl Eneas Sjöstrand]], 1868 <small>(cast into bronze in 1932)</small>]]

'''Cantos 31–36:''' Untamo kills his brother Kalervo's people, but spares his wife who later conceives [[Kullervo]]. Untamo sees the boy as a threat, and after trying to have him killed several times without success, sells Kullervo as a slave to Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen's wife torments and bullies Kullervo, so he tricks her into being torn apart by a pack of wolves and bears. Kullervo escapes from Ilmarinen's homestead and learns from an old lady in the forest that his family is still alive, and is soon reunited with them. While returning home from paying taxes, he meets and seduces a young maiden, only to find out that she is his sister. Upon realizing this, she kills herself and Kullervo returns home distressed. He decides to wreak revenge upon Untamo and sets out to find him. Kullervo wages war on Untamo and his people, laying all to waste, and then returns home, where he finds his farm deserted. Filled with remorse and regret, he kills himself in the place where he seduced his sister.

====Second Ilmarinen Cycle====

'''Cantos 37–38:''' Grieving for his lost love, Ilmarinen forges himself a wife out of gold and silver, but finds her to be cold and discards her. He heads for Pohjola and kidnaps the youngest daughter of Louhi. The daughter insults him so badly that he instead sings a spell to turn her into a bird and returns to Kalevala without her. He tells Väinämöinen about the prosperity and wealth that has met Pohjola's people thanks to the Sampo.

====Theft of the Sampo====

'''Cantos 39–44:''' Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen sail to Pohjola to recover the Sampo. While on their journey they kill a monstrous pike and from its jaw bone the first {{lang|fi|kantele}} is made, with which Väinämöinen sings so beautifully even deities gather to listen. The heroes arrive in Pohjola and demand a share of the Sampo's wealth or they will take the whole Sampo by force. Louhi musters her army; however, Väinämöinen lulls everyone in Pohjola to sleep with his music. The Sampo is taken from its vault of stone and the heroes set out for home. Louhi conjures a great army, turns herself into a massive eagle and fights for the Sampo. In the battle the Sampo is lost to the sea and destroyed.

====Louhi's Revenge on Kalevala====

'''Cantos 45–49:''' Enraged at the loss of the Sampo, Louhi sends the people of Kalevala diseases and a great bear to kill their cattle. She hides the sun and the moon and steals fire from Kalevala. Väinämöinen heals all of the ailments and, with Ilmarinen, restores the fire. Väinämöinen forces Louhi to return the Sun and the Moon to the skies.

====Marjatta cycle====

'''Canto 50:''' The shy young virgin Marjatta becomes impregnated from a [[lingonberry]] she ate while tending to her flock. She conceives a son. Väinämöinen orders the killing of the boy, but the boy begins to speak and reproaches Väinämöinen for ill judgement. The child is then baptised King of Karelia. Väinämöinen sails away leaving only his songs and kantele as legacy but vowing to return when there's no moon or sun and happiness isn't free anymore.

The poem ends and the singers sing a farewell and thank their audience.

===Characters===

====Väinämöinen====
[[File:Robert Wilhelm Ekman - Väinämöinen’s Play.jpg|thumb|170px|Väinämöinen is deeply identified with his [[kantele]]. <small>(''Väinämöinen's Play'', Robert Wilhelm Ekman, 1866)</small>]]
Väinämöinen, the central character of ''The Kalevala'', is a [[shaman]]istic hero with a magical power of song and music similar to that of [[Orpheus]]. He is born of Ilmatar and contributes to the creation of Earth as it is today. Many of his travels resemble shamanistic journeys, most notably one where he visits the belly of a ground-giant, [[Antero Vipunen]], to find the songs of boat building. Väinämöinen's search for a wife is a central element in many stories, but he never finds one.

Väinämöinen is associated with playing a {{lang|fi|kantele}}, a Finnish stringed instrument that resembles and is played like a [[zither]].<ref name="Matkoja musiikkiin 1800-luvun Suomessa (Journeys into music in 19th century Finland)">{{cite web|url=http://acta.uta.fi/english/teos.php?id=8519|title=Matkoja musiikkiin 1800-luvun Suomessa (Journeys into music in 19th century Finland)|access-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720194536/http://acta.uta.fi/english/teos.php?id=8519|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="kantele">{{cite web|url=http://www.finnishheritagemuseum.org/MONTHLY.stories/March09/index.html|title=The Kantele Sings in Finnland – A Cultural Phenomenon|access-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721083935/http://www.finnishheritagemuseum.org/MONTHLY.stories/March09/index.html|archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>

====Ilmarinen====
Seppo Ilmarinen is a heroic artificer (comparable to the Germanic [[Wayland the Smith|Weyland]] and the Greek [[Daedalus]]). He crafted the [[Finnish mythology#The origins and the structure of the world|dome of the sky]], the Sampo and various other magical devices featured in ''The Kalevala''. Ilmarinen, like Väinämöinen, also has many stories told of his search for a wife, reaching the point where he forges one of gold.

====Lemminkäinen====
[[File:Ekman, Lemminkäinen tulisella järvellä (sketch).jpg|thumb|250px|Lemminkäinen and overlord Ukko]]
Lemminkäinen, a handsome, arrogant and reckless seducer, is the son of {{langnf|fi|Lempi|term1=lust |term2=favourite|links=no}}. He has a close relationship with his mother, who revives him after he has been drowned in the river of Tuonela while pursuing the object of his romantic desires.

====Ukko====
{{langnf|fi|[[Ukko]]|Old man|links=no}} is the god of sky and thunder, and the leading deity mentioned within ''The Kalevala''. He corresponds to [[Thor]] and [[Zeus]].

====Joukahainen====
Joukahainen is a base young man who arrogantly challenges Väinämöinen to a singing contest, which he loses. In exchange for his life Joukahainen promises his young sister [[Aino (mythology)|Aino]] to Väinämöinen. Joukahainen attempts to gain his revenge on Väinämöinen by killing him with a crossbow, but only succeeds in killing Väinämöinen's horse. Joukahainen's actions lead to Väinämöinen promising to build a Sampo in return for Louhi rescuing him.

====Louhi====
[[File:Sammon puolustus.jpg|thumb|Mistress of the North, Louhi attacking Väinämöinen in the form of a giant eagle with her troops on her back. <small>(''[[The Defense of the Sampo]]'', Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1896)</small>]]
Louhi, the Mistress of the North, is the shamanistic matriarch of the people of Pohjola, a people rivalling those of Kalevala. She is the cause of much trouble for Kalevala and its people.

Louhi at one point saves Väinämöinen's life. She has many daughters whom the heroes of Kalevala make many attempts, some successful, to seduce. Louhi plays a major part in the battle to prevent the heroes of Kalevala from stealing back the Sampo, which as a result is ultimately destroyed. She is a powerful witch with a skill almost on a par with that of Väinämöinen.

====Kullervo====
Kullervo is the vengeful, mentally ill, tragic son of Kalervo. He was abused as a child and sold into slavery to Ilmarinen. He is put to work and treated badly by Ilmarinen's wife, whom he later kills. Kullervo is a misguided and troubled youth, at odds with himself and his situation. He often goes into [[Berserker|berserk]] rage, and in the end commits suicide.

====Marjatta====
Marjatta is a young virgin of Kalevala. She becomes pregnant from eating a [[Vaccinium vitis-idaea|lingonberry]]. When her labour begins she is expelled from her parents' home and leaves to find a place where she can sauna and give birth. She is turned away from numerous places but finally finds a place in the forest and gives birth to a son. Marjatta's nature, impregnation and searching for a place to give birth are in allegory to the Virgin Mary and the [[Christianisation]] of Finland.<ref>''Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics'', Part 14, by James Hastings, p. 642.</ref> Marjatta's son is later condemned to death by Väinämöinen for being born out of wedlock. The boy in turn chastises Väinämöinen and is later crowned King of Karelia. This angers Väinämöinen, who leaves Kalevala after bequeathing his songs and kantele to the people as his legacy.

==Influence==
The ''Kalevala'' is a major part of Finnish culture and history. It has influenced the arts in Finland and in other cultures around the world.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} In 2024, the [[European Commission]] granted the epic with a [[European Heritage Label]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yle.fi/a/74-20083250 |title=Finnish epic Kalevala receives European Heritage Label |access-date=12 April 2024 |work=Yle |date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411143751/https://yle.fi/a/74-20083250 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Finnish daily life===
[[File:Le hall du musée national de Finlande (Helsinki).jpg|thumb|150px|Entrance hall of the [[National Museum of Finland]] with Kalevala frescoes by Gallen-Kallela]]

The influence of the ''Kalevala'' in daily life and business in Finland is tangible. Names and places associated with the ''Kalevala'' have been adopted as company and brand names and as place names.

There are several places within Finland with ''Kalevala''-related names, for example: the district of [[Tapiola]] in the city of [[Espoo]]; the district of [[Pohjola, Turku|Pohjola]] in the city of [[Turku]], the district of [[Metsola, Vantaa|Metsola]] in the city of [[Vantaa]], and the districts of [[Kaleva (Tampere)|Kaleva]] and [[Sampo (district)|Sampo]] in the city of [[Tampere]].{{Cn|date=March 2025|reason=Not all of these are necessarily derived from Kalevala. "Pohjola" has other meanings, and "Kaleva" occurs in old place names.}} In addition, the Russian town of Ukhta was in 1963 renamed [[Kalevala, Russia|Kalevala]]. In the United States a small community founded in 1900 by Finnish immigrants is named [[Kaleva, Michigan]]; many of the street names are taken from the ''Kalevala''.

The banking sector of Finland has had at least three ''Kalevala''-related brands: [[Sampo Bank]] (name changed to Danske Bank in late 2012), [[OP-Pohjola Group]]{{Cn|date=March 2025|reason="Pohjola" can refer to the north, and is not necessarily related to the Kalevala}} and Tapiola Bank.

The jewellery company [[Kalevala (brand)|Kalevala Koru]] was founded in 1935 on the 100th anniversary of the publication of the ''Old Kalevala''. It specialises in the production of unique and culturally important items of jewellery. It is co-owned by the [[Kalevala Women's League]] and offers artistic scholarships to a certain number of organisations and individuals every year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kalevalakoru.fi/yritys|title=Kalevala Koru Oy – Company information.|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729175942/http://www.kalevalakoru.fi/yritys|archive-date=29 July 2010}}</ref>

The Finnish dairy company [[Valio]] has a brand of [[ice-cream]] named Aino, specialising in more exotic flavours than their normal brand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pingviini.fi/aino|title=Aino Jäätelö – product page|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810042226/http://www.pingviini.fi/aino|archive-date=10 August 2010}}</ref>

The construction group [[Lemminkäinen Group|Lemminkäinen]] was formed in 1910 as a [[Roofing material|roofing]] and [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]] company. The name was chosen specifically to emphasise that they were a wholly Finnish company. They now operate internationally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lemminkainen.com/Company|title=Lemminkäinen Oyj – Company information|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901211833/http://www.lemminkainen.com/Company|archive-date=1 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lemminkainen.fi/WebRoot/10008509/page.aspx?id=10010119|title=Early 1950s informational video (Finnish)|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720190554/http://www.lemminkainen.fi/WebRoot/10008509/page.aspx?id=10010119|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>

The private healthcare company [[Mehiläinen]] was formed in 1909.  "Mehiläinen" means [[bee]] in Finnish, and the name was chosen to represent the "selfless and hardworking healer" in the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mehiläinen – 115 years of treatment and care |url=https://www.mehilainen.fi/en/company/history |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=www.mehilainen.fi |language=en}}</ref>  After Lemminkäinen is drowned, his mother collects the pieces of him, but cannot bring him back to life.  It is not until a bee has retrieved a drop of honey as ointment that Lemminkäinen is saved.  

====Finnish calendar====
[[Kalevala Day]] is celebrated in Finland on 28 February, to celebrate the publication date of Elias Lönnrot's first version of the ''Kalevala'' in 1835.<ref name="Society">{{cite web|url=http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/index_e.php |author=Kalevala Society |title=Kalevala Society Homepage |access-date=15 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202031751/http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/index_e.php |archive-date= 2 February 2012 }}</ref> By its other official name, the day is known as the Finnish Culture Day.<ref name="FinnishCulture">{{cite web|url=http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?contentid=160083&nodeid=37598&culture=en-US|author=thisisFINLAND|title=The Finnish flag|access-date=28 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124140209/http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?contentid=160083&nodeid=37598&culture=en-US|archive-date=24 January 2013}}</ref>

Several of the names in the ''Kalevala'' are celebrated as Finnish [[name day]]s. The name days themselves and the dates they fall upon have no direct relationship with the ''Kalevala'' itself; however, the adoption of the names became commonplace after the release of the ''Kalevala''.<ref name="University Almanac Office">{{cite web|first=Minna|last=Saarelma|url=http://almanakka.helsinki.fi/nimipaivat/NimAll2010.pdf|title=Kalevalan nimet suomalaisessa nimipäiväkalenterissa – pp31-36(58–68)|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010211555/http://almanakka.helsinki.fi/nimipaivat/NimAll2010.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2010}}</ref>

===Art===
[[File:Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Kullervo Cursing - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|150px|The tragedy of [[Kullervo]] has been a source of inspiration for several artists. <small>(''Kullervo's Curse'', Gallen-Kallela, 1899)</small>]]
Several artists have been influenced by the ''Kalevala'', most notably [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=165995&contentlan=2&culture=en|title=Myth, magic and the museum|access-date=15 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328214959/http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=165995&contentlan=2&culture=en|archive-date=28 March 2012}}</ref>

[[Iittala]] group's [[Arabia (brand)|Arabia]] brand kilned a series of ''Kalevala'' commemorative plates, designed by [[Raija Uosikkinen]] (1923–2004). The series ran from 1976 to 1999, and the plates are highly sought-after collectibles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabianmuseo.fi/web/museumarabia.nsf/pagesbyid/AB400AAD6BA255DDC2256F5C004B8944?OpenDocument|title=UOSIKKINEN, RAIJA|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225110401/http://www.arabianmuseo.fi/web/museumarabia.nsf/pagesbyid/AB400AAD6BA255DDC2256F5C004B8944?OpenDocument|archive-date=25 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabia.fi/web/Arabiawww.nsf/file/tietoa_arabiasta_historia_history_longtext_eng/$file/History_longtext_ENG.pdf|title=Arabia history, text in English.|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614155309/http://www.arabia.fi/web/Arabiawww.nsf/file/tietoa_arabiasta_historia_history_longtext_eng/$file/History_longtext_ENG.pdf|archive-date=14 June 2011}}</ref>

One of the earliest artists to depict the ''Kalevala'' was [[Robert Wilhelm Ekman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fng.fi/fng/html4/fi/art/collecti/people/r1/rekman/|title=Ekman, Robert Wilhelm|access-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720183859/http://www.fng.fi/fng/html4/fi/art/collecti/people/r1/rekman/|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>

In 1989, the fourth full translation of the ''Kalevala'' into English was published, illustrated by [[Björn Landström]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/lands.htm |title=Björn Landström |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125093359/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/lands.htm |archive-date=25 January 2010 }}</ref>

===Literature===
The ''Kalevala'' has been translated over 150 times, into over 60 different languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folklorefellows.fi/netw/ffn16/translation.html |title=The Kalevala in translation |access-date=18 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111005554/http://www.folklorefellows.fi/netw/ffn16/translation.html |archive-date=11 January 2010 }}</ref> (See [[#Translations|§ translations]].)

====Re-tellings====
Finnish cartoonist Kristian Huitula illustrated a comic book adaptation of the ''Kalevala''. The ''Kalevala Graphic Novel'' contains the storyline of all the 50 chapters in original text form.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huitula.com/kalevala2|title=The Art of Huitula – The Kalevala Comic Book (The Kalevala Graphic Novel)|access-date=31 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712230826/http://www.huitula.com/kalevala2|archive-date=12 July 2011}}</ref>

Finnish cartoonist and children's writer [[Mauri Kunnas]] wrote and illustrated {{langnf|fi|Koirien Kalevala|The Canine Kalevala|links=no}}. The story is that of the ''Kalevala'', with the characters presented as [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphised]] dogs, wolves and cats. The story deviates from the full ''Kalevala'' to make the story more appropriate for children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maurikunnas.net/mauri_kunnas/teokset/translations/en_GB/the_canine_kalevala/|title=Mauri Kunnas, The Canine Kalevala – (Koirien Kalevala)|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107193303/http://www.maurikunnas.net/mauri_kunnas/teokset/translations/en_GB/the_canine_kalevala/|archive-date=7 November 2010}}</ref>

In the late 1950s, students from the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama performed excerpts from the Kalevala in a presentation to the poet laureate John Masefield at Oxford. Some images from this presentation can be viewed [https://catalogue.bruford.ac.uk/kalevala online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702171227/https://catalogue.bruford.ac.uk/kalevala |date=2 July 2023 }}.

The ''Kalevala'' inspired the American [[Disney]] cartoonist [[Don Rosa]] to draw a [[Donald Duck]] (who is himself a popular character in Finland) story based on the ''Kalevala'', called ''[[The Quest for Kalevala]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=265&ai=47103&ssd=9/25/2004&arch=y|title=Don Rosa and The Quest for Kalevala|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012041920/http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=265&ai=47103&ssd=9%2F25%2F2004&arch=y|archive-date=12 October 2010}}</ref> The comic was released on the 150th anniversary of the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yle.fi/elavaarkisto/?s=s&a=2128|title=Don Rosan Kalevala-ankat|access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref>

====Works inspired by====
{{see also|
Finnish influences on Tolkien}}
Franz Anton Schiefner's translation of the ''Kalevala'' was one inspiration for [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]]'s 1855 poem ''[[The Song of Hiawatha]]'', which is written in a similar [[trochaic tetrameter]].<ref>Calhoun, Charles C. ''Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life''. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004: 108. {{ISBN|0-8070-7026-2}}.</ref><ref name=Irmscher108>Irmscher, Christoph. ''Longfellow Redux''. University of Illinois, 2006: 108. {{ISBN|978-0-252-03063-5}}.</ref>

[[Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald]]'s Estonian national epic ''Kalevipoeg'' was inspired by the ''Kalevala''. Both Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen are mentioned in the work, and the overall story of Kalevipoeg, Kalev's son, bears similarities to the Kullervo story.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elm.einst.ee/issue/17/finnish-kalevala-and-estonian-kalevipoeg/|title=Finnish Kalevala and Estonian Kalevipoeg|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120135744/http://elm.einst.ee/issue/17/finnish-kalevala-and-estonian-kalevipoeg/|archive-date=20 November 2009}}</ref>

[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] claimed the ''Kalevala'' as one of his sources for ''[[The Silmarillion]]''. For example, the tale of Kullervo is the basis of [[Túrin Turambar]] in ''[[Narn i Chîn Húrin]]'', including the sword that speaks when the [[anti-hero]] uses it to commit suicide.<ref name="sanders-bbc"/> [[Aulë]], the Lord of Matter and the Master of All Crafts, was influenced by Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer.<ref name="mankkinen-yle"/> Echoes of the ''Kalevala''{{'}}s characters, Väinämöinen in particular, can be found in [[Tom Bombadil]] of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref name="mankkinen-yle">{{cite web|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12622887|title=Taru sormusten herrasta on juuriltaan suomalaisempi kuin aiemmin on tiedetty – Tolkienilta löytyy vastineet Kullervolle, Sammolle ja Väinämöiselle|trans-title=''The Lord of the Rings'' has more Finnish roots than previously known – Tolkien has equivalents for Kullervo, Sampo and Väinämöinen|first=Jussi|last=Mankkinen|work=[[Yle]]|date=16 September 2022|access-date=16 September 2022|language=fi|archive-date=16 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220916063211/https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12622887|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/tolkien_studies/v001/1.1petty.pdf|title=Identifying England's Lönnrot|journal = Tolkien Studies | volume =1 |year = 2004 | first = Anne C.| last = Petty |doi = 10.1353/tks.2004.0014 |pages = 78–81 |s2cid=51680664|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120011441/http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/tolkien_studies/v001/1.1petty.pdf| archive-date=20 November 2015|doi-access =free }}</ref><ref>{{citation | first = Jonathan B. | last = Himes | title = What Tolkien Really Did with the Sampo | journal = Mythlore | volume = 22.4 | issue = 86 | date = Spring 2000 | pages = 69–85 | url = https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1342&context=mythlore | access-date = 13 August 2018 | archive-date = 13 August 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180813210242/https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1342&context=mythlore | url-status = live }}</ref>

Poet and playwright [[Paavo Haavikko]] took influence from the ''Kalevala'', including in his poem ''Kaksikymmentä ja yksi'' (1974), and the TV drama ''Rauta-aika'' (1982).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/haavikko.htm |title=Paavo Haavikko |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129041605/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/haavikko.htm |archive-date=29 November 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://artikkelihaku.kansallisbiografia.fi/artikkeli/4828/|title=Haavikko, Paavo (1931–2008)|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715062247/http://artikkelihaku.kansallisbiografia.fi/artikkeli/4828/|archive-date=15 July 2009}}</ref>

American science fiction and fantasy authors [[L. Sprague de Camp]] and [[Fletcher Pratt]] used the ''Kalevala'' as source materials for their 1953 fantasy novella "[[The Wall of Serpents]]". This is the fourth story in the authors' [[Harold Shea]] series, in which the hero and his companions visit various mythic and fictional worlds. In this story, the characters visit the world of the Kalevala, where they encounter characters from the epic, drawn with a skeptical eye.

[[Emil Petaja]] was an American science fiction and fantasy author of Finnish descent. His best known works, known as the ''Otava Series'', were a series of novels based on the ''Kalevala''. The series brought Petaja readers from around the world, while his mythological approach to science fiction was discussed in scholarly papers presented at academic conferences.<ref>Kailo, Kaarina. "Spanning the Iron and Space Ages: Emil Petaja's Kalevala-based fantasy tales" ''Kanadan Suomalainen, Toronto, Canada: Spring, 1985.''.</ref> He has a further ''Kalevala'' based work which is not part of the series, entitled ''The Time Twister''.

British fantasy author [[Michael Moorcock]]'s sword and sorcery anti-hero, [[Elric of Melniboné]] was influenced by the character Kullervo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showpost.php?s=cd0e5b39fac54cb1ac8a400c60a700fd&p=15991&postcount=17|title=Elric of Melniboné Archive – Moorcock's website forum archive|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221023636/http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showpost.php?s=cd0e5b39fac54cb1ac8a400c60a700fd&p=15991&postcount=17|archive-date=21 December 2013}}</ref>

British fantasy author [[Michael Scott Rohan]]'s ''Winter of the World'' series feature Louhi as a major antagonist and include many narrative threads from the ''Kalevela''.

The web comic "A Redtail's Dream", written and illustrated by [[Minna Sundberg]], cites the ''Kalevala'' as an influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minnasundberg.fi/|title=A Redtail's Dream (minnasundberg.fi)|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906155842/http://www.minnasundberg.fi/|archive-date=6 September 2013}}</ref> (Physical edition 2014.<ref>Minna Sundberg, A Redtails dream, {{ISBN|978-91-637-4627-7}}</ref>)

The British science fiction writer [[Ian Watson (author)|Ian Watson]]'s ''Books of Mana'' duology, ''Lucky's Harvest'' and ''The Fallen Moon'', both contain references to places and names from the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aikakone.org/arkisto/sampo.htm|title=Kuinka ryöstin Sammon|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721235604/http://www.aikakone.org/arkisto/sampo.htm|archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2008, Vietnamese author and translator Bùi Viêt Hoa<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kalevalaseura.fi/en/the-kalevala-society/awards/epic-award/bui-viet-hoa/|title=Bui Viet Hoa|work=The Kalevala Society (Kalevalaseura)|access-date=April 9, 2021|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411053042/https://kalevalaseura.fi/en/the-kalevala-society/awards/epic-award/bui-viet-hoa/}}</ref> published a piece of epic poetry ''[[The Children of Mon and Man]]'' ({{langx|vi|Con cháu Mon Mân}}),<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.juminkeko.fi/vietnam/content/etusivu_kuvat/monman.pdf | title = The Children of Mon and Man | publisher = Juminkeko | access-date = April 9, 2021 | language = vi | archive-date = 25 September 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210925034203/http://www.juminkeko.fi/vietnam/content/etusivu_kuvat/monman.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> which delves into Vietnamese folk poetry and mythology, but was partially influenced by the ''Kalevala''.<ref name="yle"/> The work was written mainly in Finland<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.juminkeko.fi/vietnam/index.php?site=tausta&lang=fi | title = Vietnamin eepos: Tausta | publisher = Juminkeko | access-date = April 9, 2021 | language = fi | archive-date = 23 February 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200223192702/http://www.juminkeko.fi/vietnam/index.php?site=tausta&lang=fi | url-status = live }}</ref> and the [[Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland)|Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs]] co-financed it.<ref name="yle">{{cite web | url = https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5728354 | title = Vietnam sai oman Kalevalansa Suomen avulla | work = [[YLE]] | date = March 1, 2009 | access-date = April 9, 2021 | language = fi | archive-date = 22 January 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210122004546/https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5728354 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.juminkeko.fi/vietnam/index.php?site=sisalto&lang=fi | title = Vietnamin eepos: Monin ja Manin lapset | publisher = Juminkeko | access-date = April 9, 2021 | language = fi | archive-date = 23 February 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200223233953/http://www.juminkeko.fi/vietnam/index.php?site=sisalto&lang=fi | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Music===
[[Image:Sibelius with notes.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Jean Sibelius]] in the 1950s. Sibelius is Finland's most famous composer. Many of his works were influenced by the ''Kalevala''.]]

Finnish music has been greatly influenced by the ''Kalevala'', following in the tradition of the original song-poems.<ref name="Kalevalan Kultuurihistoria - Kalevala taiteessa – Musiikissa">{{cite web|url=http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1&s=p1&h=hp1&f=fp1|title=Kalevalan Kultuurihistoria – Kalevala taiteessa – Musiikissa|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302001600/http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1&s=p1&h=hp1&f=fp1|archive-date=2 March 2010}}</ref>

====Classical music====
The first recorded example of a musician influenced by the ''Kalevala'' is [[Filip von Schantz]]. In 1860, he composed the Kullervo Overture. The piece premièred at the opening of a new theatre in Helsinki on November of the same year. Von Schantz's work was followed by [[Robert Kajanus]]' ''Kullervo's Funeral March'' and the symphonic poem ''[[Aino (Kajanus)|Aino]]'' in 1880 and 1885, respectively. ''Aino'' is credited with inspiring Jean Sibelius to investigate the richness of the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1a1&s=p1a1s1&h=hp1a1&f=fp1s|title=Ensimmäiset Kalevala-aiheiset sävellykset|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720190340/http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1a1&s=p1a1s1&h=hp1a1&f=fp1s|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref> ''[[Die Kalewainen in Pochjola]]'', the first opera freely based upon the ''Kalevala'', was composed by [[Karl Müller-Berghaus]] in 1890.<ref name="city">[http://www.turku.fi/uutinen/2016-02-29_die-kalewainen-pochjola-127-vuotta-kadoksissa-ollut-ooppera-ensi-iltaan-turussa Die Kalewainen in Pochjola: 127 vuotta kadoksissa ollut ooppera ensi-iltaan Turussa Suomi 100 -juhlavuonna.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306114702/http://www.turku.fi/uutinen/2016-02-29_die-kalewainen-pochjola-127-vuotta-kadoksissa-ollut-ooppera-ensi-iltaan-turussa |date=6 March 2016 }} City of Turku, 29 February 2016. {{in lang|fi}}</ref>

[[Jean Sibelius]] is the best-known ''Kalevala''-influenced classical composer. Twelve of Sibelius' best-known works are based upon or influenced by the ''Kalevala'', including his ''[[Kullervo (Sibelius)|Kullervo]]'', a tone poem for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra composed in 1892.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1a1&s=p1a1s2&h=hp1a1&f=fp1s|title=Jean Sibelius ja Kalevala|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720190352/http://www.kalevalaseura.fi/kaku/sivu.php?n=p1a1&s=p1a1s2&h=hp1a1&f=fp1s|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref> Sibelius also composed the music of {{langnf|fi|Jääkärimarssi|The Jäger March|links=no}} to words written by Finnish soldier and writer [[Heikki Nurmio]]. The march features the line {{langnf|fi|Me nousemme kostona Kullervon|We shall rise in vengeance like that of Kullervo's|links=no}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polyteknikkojenkuoro.fi/levyt/suomelle/#jaakarimarssi|title=Suomelle – isänmaallisia lauluja|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104124150/http://www.polyteknikkojenkuoro.fi/levyt/suomelle/#jaakarimarssi|archive-date=4 November 2009}}</ref>

Other classical composers influenced by the ''Kalevala'':
* [[Einojuhani Rautavaara]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tampere.fi/kirjasto/musiikki/21msuom.htm|title=SUOMALAISTA KALEVALA-AIHEISTA MUSIIKKIA|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207110633/http://www.tampere.fi/kirjasto/musiikki/21msuom.htm|archive-date=7 December 2008}}</ref>
* [[Leevi Madetoja]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fennicagehrman.fi/comp_madetoja.htm|title=Leevi Madetoja|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231233112/http://www.fennicagehrman.fi/comp_madetoja.htm|archive-date=31 December 2005}}</ref>
* [[Uuno Klami]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fennicagehrman.fi/comp_klami.htm|title=Uuno Klami|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727015255/http://www.fennicagehrman.fi/comp_klami.htm|archive-date=27 July 2011}}</ref>
* [[Tauno Marttinen]]<ref name="Kalevalan Kultuurihistoria - Kalevala taiteessa – Musiikissa"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://opera.stanford.edu/Marttinen/main.html|title=Tauno Marttinen - stanford.edu|access-date=22 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715063243/http://opera.stanford.edu/Marttinen/main.html|archive-date=15 July 2010}}</ref>
* [[Aulis Sallinen]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/index.php?m=145&s=274&l=2|title=The Kalevala in modern art|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524100707/http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/index.php?m=145&s=274&l=2|archive-date=24 May 2011}}</ref>
* [[Veljo Tormis]]<ref name="tormis">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tormis.ee/VTindex.html|title=Veljo Tormis data bank|access-date=26 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329232114/http://www.tormis.ee/VTindex.html|archive-date=29 March 2010}}</ref>

====Folk metal====
A number of [[folk metal]] bands have drawn on the ''Kalevala'' heavily for inspiration. In 1993, the Finnish bands [[Amorphis]] and [[Sentenced]] released two [[concept album]]s, ''[[Tales from the Thousand Lakes]]'' and ''[[North from Here]]'' respectively, which were the first of many ''Kalevala''-inspired albums that have followed since. Amorphis's 2009 album ''[[Skyforger (album)|Skyforger]]'' also draws heavily on the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://metal-invader.com/interviews/Amorphis-2007-08-20/interview.php|title=Metal Invader – Amorphis interview|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203102038/http://metal-invader.com/interviews/Amorphis-2007-08-20/interview.php|archive-date=3 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://amorphis.net|title=Amorphis official site|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821081621/http://amorphis.net/|archive-date=21 August 2010}}</ref> The Finnish folk metal band [[Ensiferum]] have released songs such as "Old Man" and "Little Dreamer", which are influenced by the ''Kalevala''. The third track of their ''[[Dragonheads]]'' EP, entitled "Kalevala Melody", is an instrumental piece following the rhythm of the Kalevala metre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ensiferum.com/e_html/e_news.htm |title=Ensiferum – News |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418054431/http://www.ensiferum.com/e_html/e_news.htm |archive-date=18 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ensiferum.com/e_html/e_history.htm |title=Ensiferum – History |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113121556/http://www.ensiferum.com/e_html/e_history.htm |archive-date=13 January 2008 }}</ref> Another Finnish folk metal band, [[Turisas]], have adapted several verses from song nine of the ''Kalevala'', "The Origin of Iron", for the lyrics of their song "Cursed Be Iron", which is the third track of the album ''[[The Varangian Way]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.turisas.fi/tvw.html|title=Turisas official site – The Varangian Way|access-date=22 August 2010}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Finnish metal band [[Amberian Dawn]] use lyrics inspired by the ''Kalevala'' on their album ''[[River of Tuoni]]'', as well as on its successor, ''[[The Clouds of Northland Thunder]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.powerofmetal.dk/interviews09/amberian_dawn_interview.htm|title=Amberian Dawn interview – powerofmetal.dk|access-date=22 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719130848/http://www.powerofmetal.dk/interviews09/amberian_dawn_interview.htm|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> On 3 August 2012, Finnish folk metal band [[Korpiklaani]] released a new album entitled ''[[Manala (album)|Manala]]''. Jonne Järvelä from the band said, "{{lang|fi|Manala|italic=no}} is the realm of the dead – the underworld in Finnish mythology. {{lang|fi|Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala|italic=no}} and {{lang|fi|Mana|italic=no}} are used synonymously. This place is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic ''Kalevala'', on which many of our new songs are based."{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

====Other musical genres====
In the mid-1960s, the [[progressive rock]] band Kalevala was active within Finland and in 1974, the now prolific singer-songwriter [[Jukka Kuoppamäki]] released the song "Väinämöinen". These were some of the first pieces of modern popular music inspired by the ''Kalevala''.

In 1998, [[Ruth MacKenzie]] recorded the album ''Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden'', a song cycle covering the story of [[Aino (mythology)|Aino]] and her choice to refuse the hand of the sorcerer Väinämöinen, instead transforming herself into a salmon. MacKenzie has continued to perform the piece live.

The Karelian Finnish folk music group [[Värttinä]] has based some of its lyrics on motifs from the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.varttina.com/main.site?action=siteupdate/view&id=10|title=Värttinä – Members|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811061044/http://www.varttina.com/main.site?action=siteupdate%2Fview&id=10|archive-date=11 August 2010}}</ref> The [[Vantaa Chamber Choir]] have songs influenced by the ''Kalevala''. Their ''Kalevala''-themed third album, ''Marian virsi'' (2005), combines contemporary folk with traditionally performed folk poetry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kamarikuoro.com/marian_virsi.php|title=Vantaa Chamber Choir – Marian virsi.|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713133651/http://www.kamarikuoro.com/marian_virsi.php|archive-date=13 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2003, the Finnish progressive rock quarterly Colossus and French [[Musea Records]] commissioned 30 progressive rock groups from around the world to compose songs based on parts of the ''Kalevala''. The publication assigned each band with a particular song from the ''Kalevala'', which the band was free to interpret as they saw fit. The result, titled ''Kalevala'', is a three-disc, multilingual, four-hour epic telling.

In the beginning of 2009, in celebration of the 160th anniversary of the ''Kalevala''{{'}}s first published edition, the Finnish Literature Society and the [[Kalevala Society]] premièred ten new and original works inspired by the ''Kalevala''. The works included poems, classical and contemporary music and artwork. A book was published by the Finnish Literature Society in conjunction with the event and a large exhibition of ''Kalevala''-themed artwork and cultural artefacts was put on display at the [[Ateneum]] museum in Helsinki.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kirjat.finlit.fi/index.php?showitem=2164|title=Taiteilijoiden Kalevala|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720181140/http://kirjat.finlit.fi/index.php?showitem=2164|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2017, a New York-based production ''Kalevala the Musical'' premiered in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Finland. The production featured original pop, folk and world music score written by Johanna Telander. The concert version was performed across the United States and Finland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Maija-Anttila-With-Soulgaze-Films-Presents-KALEVALA-The-Musical-In-Concert-20180105|title=Maija Anttila With Soulgaze Films Presents KALEVALA The Musical in Concert|author=BWW News Desk|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en|access-date=7 February 2019|archive-date=9 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209123838/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Maija-Anttila-With-Soulgaze-Films-Presents-KALEVALA-The-Musical-In-Concert-20180105|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Film and television===
In 1959, a joint Finnish-Soviet production entitled ''[[Sampo (film)|Sampo]]'', also known as ''The Day the Earth Froze'', was released, inspired by the story of the ''Sampo'' from the ''Kalevala'', which is also featured in a 1993 episode of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053240/|title=IMDB page for "The day the earth froze"|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date=22 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825044653/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053240/|archive-date=25 August 2010}}</ref>

In 1982, the Finnish Broadcasting Company ([[YLE]]) produced a television [[mini-series]] called {{langnf|fi|Rauta-aika|The Age of Iron|links=no}}, with music composed by [[Aulis Sallinen]] and book by Paavo Haavikko. The series was set "during the Kalevala times" and based upon events which take place in the ''Kalevala''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yle.fi/tv2draama/rautaaika/|title=RAUTA-AIKA Neljä vuotta, neljä osaa.|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413130653/http://www.yle.fi/tv2draama/rautaaika/|archive-date=13 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0190919/|title=IMDB page for "Rauta-Aika"|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611003611/http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0190919/|archive-date=11 June 2011}}</ref> The series' part 3/4 won [[Prix Italia]] in 1983.

The martial arts film ''[[Jadesoturi]]'', also known as ''Jade Warrior'', released in Finland on 13 October 2006, was based upon the ''Kalevala'' and set in Finland and China.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416871/|title=IMDB page for "Jadesoturi"|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date=22 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808113316/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416871/|archive-date=8 August 2010}}</ref> Also, the 2013 film ''[[Kalevala: The New Era]]'', directed by [[Jari Halonen]], takes place both in the ancient land of the Kalevala and also in modern Finland. The film, made with a budget of €250,000, turned out to be a [[box-office bomb]] and received a mostly negative reception from critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://yle.fi/a/3-6956386|title=Jari Halosen Kalevala floppasi|work=[[Yle]]|date=27 November 2013|access-date=26 September 2023|language=fi|archive-date=26 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926151030/https://yle.fi/a/3-6956386|url-status=live}}</ref>

In "Chapter 17: The Apostate", the [[The Mandalorian (season 3)#Episodes|first episode of the third season]] of ''[[The Mandalorian]]'' series, [[The Mandalorian (character)|Din Djarin]] meets with [[Bo-Katan Kryze|Bo-Katan]] in an old Mandalorian castle, which is located in the Mandalore system planet called Kalevala.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/mandalorian-season-3-what-happened-to-bo-katan|title=Mandalorian Season 3's Biggest Twist Has Sidelined Its Greatest Character|first=Ryan|last=Britt|website=Inverse|date=1 March 2023|access-date=3 March 2023|archive-date=3 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303064522/https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/mandalorian-season-3-what-happened-to-bo-katan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="slash">{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1214465/the-mandalorian-season-3-premiere-introduces-kalevala-from-star-wars-the-clone-wars/|title=The Mandalorian Season 3 Premiere Brings A Star Wars Planet You've Heard About Into Live-Action|first=Ryan|last=Scott|website=Slash Film|date=1 March 2023|access-date=3 March 2023|archive-date=2 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302164855/https://www.slashfilm.com/1214465/the-mandalorian-season-3-premiere-introduces-kalevala-from-star-wars-the-clone-wars/|url-status=live}}</ref> The same planet has also previously been mentioned in ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)|The Clone Wars]]'' series.<ref name="slash"/>

In August 2024, it was announced that [[Antti Jokinen]] has been attached to direct the upcoming film ''{{ill|Kalevala: The Story of Kullervo|fi|Kalevala: Kullervon tarina}}'', and {{ill|Elias Salonen|fi}} has been cast as the title character in the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://yle.fi/a/74-20103890|title=Yli 20 vuotta odotettu kotimainen suurelokuva toteutuu – Nurmekseen nousee iso Kalevala-kylä|first1=Helmi|last1=Nykänen|first2=Karina|last2=Huttunen|work=[[Yle]]|date=9 August 2024|access-date=9 August 2024|language=fi}}</ref> The film will be premiered at the beginning of 2026.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.is.fi/viihde/art-2000011064156.html|title=Tältä näyttää odotettu Kalevala-elokuva – ensimmäinen traileri julki|first=Iiro|last=Myllymäki|work=[[Ilta-Sanomat]]|date=28 February 2025|access-date=1 March 2025|language=fi}}</ref>

===Military===
[[Heinrich Himmler]] had designated the 41th Waffen SS Division as [[Finnish volunteers in the Waffen-SS#Finnish SS-Company|Grenadier Division Kalevala]].<ref>Vaarallisilla teillä : viimeiset suomalaiset SS-miehet - Lappalainen, Niilo, 1927-2001 ; Werner Söderström osakeyhtiö 1998 ISBN 9510226653</ref><ref>Bruce Quarrie, Hitler's Samurai: The Waffen-SS in Action, 2ª ed., Patrick Stephens Limited, 1984, pp. 33-34, ISBN 0-85059-723-4.</ref>

==Interpretations==
[[File:Erik Cainberg - Väinämöinen Plays Kantele.jpg|thumb|''Väinämöinen Plays Kantele'', a 1814 relief by {{ill|Erik Cainberg|fi}} made before the publication of the Kalevala and considered to be the first depiction of Väinämöinen<ref name="viholainen">{{cite journal |last1=Viholainen |first1=Aila |title=Vellamon kanssa ongelle – eli kuinka merenneitoa kansalliseksi kuvitellaan |journal=Elore |publisher=Suomen Kansantietouden Tutkijain Seura ry. |date=2009 |volume=16 |issue=2 |doi=10.30666/elore.78806 |doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
The ''Kalevala'' has attracted many scholars and enthusiasts to interpret its contents in a historical context. Many interpretations of the themes have been tabled. Some parts of the epic have been perceived as ancient conflicts between the early [[Finns]] and the [[Sami people|Sami]]. In this context, the country of "Kalevala" could be understood as Southern Finland and ''Pohjola'' as [[Sápmi (area)|Lapland]].<ref name="Kalevala mythology">Juha Pentikäinen, Ritva Poom, ''Kalevala mythology'', 1888.</ref>

[[File:Coat of Arms of Kalevalsky District.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|The coat of arms of the [[Kalevalsky District]] in the [[Republic of Karelia]]]]
However, the place names in ''Kalevala'' seem to transfer the ''Kalevala'' further south, which has been interpreted as reflecting the Finnic expansion from the South that came to push the Sami further to the north.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}{{refn|It may be noted that place-names and other evidence show that in the medieval period, the Sami lived much further south than in the modern age, well south of [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]], and place-names of Sami origin are not only found all over [[White Karelia]], but as far as the [[Svir River]] basin and [[Uusimaa|Nyland]]. [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finnic peoples]], on the other hand, were in [[Ancient history|antiquity]], in the [[Iron Age]], probably originally limited to the coasts south of the [[Gulf of Finland]], in what is now Estonia, and no further north than the [[Karelian Isthmus]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Aikio|first1=Ante|title=An Essay on Saami Ethnolinguistic Prehistory|journal=Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne|date=2012|volume=266|pages=63–117|isbn=978-952-5667-42-4|url=https://www.academia.edu/4811760|access-date=23 January 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830234420/http://www.academia.edu/4811760/An_Essay_on_Saami_Ethnolinguistic_Prehistory|archive-date=30 August 2017}}</ref> In view of this, the possibility of identifying Pohjola with Finland/Karelia and ''Kalevala'' with Estonia (see further below on the location of the ''Saari'') suggests itself.|group="Note"}} Some scholars locate the lands of ''Kalevala'' in East Karelia, where most of the ''Kalevala'' stories were written down. In 1963, the small town of ''Uhtua'' in the then Soviet Republic of Karelia was renamed Kalevala,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visitkalevala.ru/o-rajone/|title=О районе - Калевальский национальный район|publisher=[[Kalevalsky District]]|language=russian|access-date=20 June 2025}}</ref> perhaps to promote that theory.

Finnish politician and linguist [[Eemil Nestor Setälä]] rejected the idea that the heroes of ''Kalevala'' are historical in nature and suggested they are personifications of natural phenomena. He interprets Pohjola as the northern heavens and the Sampo as the pillar of the world. Setälä suggests that the journey to regain the Sampo is a purely imaginary one with the heroes riding a mythological boat or magical steed to the heavens.<ref name="Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr."/><ref name="Emil Nestor Setälä (1864 - 1935)">{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ensetala.htm |title=Emil Nestor Setälä |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224054208/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ensetala.htm |archive-date=24 December 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Sammon arvoitus">Eemil Nestor Setälä. "Sammon arvoitus: Isien runous ja usko: 1. "Suomen suku" laitoksen julkaisuja. 1." ''Helsinki: Otava, 1932.''.</ref>

The practice of [[bear worship]] was once very common in Finland and there are strong echoes of this in the ''Kalevala''.<ref name="Crawford Kalevala"/>

The old Finnish word {{lang|fi|väinä}} (a strait of deep water with a slow current) appears to be the origin of the name Väinämöinen; one of Väinämöinen's other names is Suvantolainen, {{lang|fi|suvanto}} being the modern word for {{lang|fi|väinä}}. Consequently, it is possible that the {{langnf|fi|Saari|island|links=no}} might be the island of [[Saaremaa]] in Estonia and ''Kalevala'' the Estonian mainland.<ref name="Kalevala Lipas"/>

Finnish folklorists Matti Kuusi and Pertti Anttonen state that terms such as ''the people of Kalevala'' or ''the tribe of Kalevala'' were fabricated by Elias Lönnrot. Moreover, they contend that the word ''Kalevala'' is very rare in traditional poetry and that by emphasizing dualism (Kalevala vs. Pohjola) Elias Lönnrot created the required tension that made the ''Kalevala'' dramatically successful and thus fit for a national epic of the time.<ref name="Kalevala Lipas"/>

There are similarities with mythology and folklore from other cultures, for example, the Kullervo character and his story bearing some likeness to the Greek [[Oedipus]]. The similarity of the virginal maiden Marjatta to the Christian [[Virgin Mary]] is striking. The arrival of Marjatta's son in the final song spelling the end of Väinämöinen's reign over Kalevala is similar to the arrival of Christianity bringing about the end of Paganism in Finland and Europe at large.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Part 14 By James Hastings (Pg 642)">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x21RM5GuRLAC&pg=PA642 |title=The Finnish Virgin Mary myth. |access-date=17 August 2010 |isbn=978-0-7661-3690-8 |last1=Hastings |first1=James |date=1 January 2003 |publisher=Kessinger }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Finland|Myths|Poetry}}
* [[Finnish mythology]]
* [[Finnish national symbols]]
* [[Kalevi (mythology)]]
* ''[[Kalevipoeg]]'', an Estonian epic poetry inspired by the ''Kalevala''
* ''[[Kanteletar]]'', a sister collection of the ''Kalevala''
* ''[[Kojiki]]'', a mythological text similarly compiled and edited from oral transmission
* [[List of Kalevala translations]]
* ''[[Mythologia Fennica]]'', a non-fiction book covering Finnish mythology and folk poetry

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="Note"}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
=== Translations ===
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation | title = The Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | editor-first = John Martin | editor-last = Crawford | editor-link = John Martin Crawford (scholar) | year = 1888 | isbn = 978-0-7661-8938-6 | url = http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5186 | access-date = 15 October 2015 | archive-date = 6 September 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150906020206/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5186 | url-status = live }}. Text at [[Project Gutenberg]]: Volume 1, Volume 2, and Complete work.
*{{citation | title = The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People | editor-first = Eino | editor-last = Friberg | editor-link = Eino Friberg | editor2-first = Björn | editor2-last = Landström | editor2-link = Björn Landström | editor3-first = George C. | editor3-last = Schoolfield | editor3-link = George C. Schoolfield | isbn = 978-951-1-10137-6 | year = 1988 | publisher = University of Illinois Press }}
*{{citation | title = The Kalevala: Or the Land of Heroes | editor-first = William Forsell | editor-last = Kirby | editor-link = William Forsell Kirby | isbn = 978-1-85810-198-9 | year = 1907 | publisher = Society of Metaphysicians Limited }}. Text at [[Project Gutenberg]]: Volume 1 and Volume 2.
*{{cite book |last= Lönnrot |first= Elias |author-link= Elias Lönnrot |translator-last= Bosley |translator-first= Keith |translator-link= Keith Bosley |title= The Kalevala |year= 1989 |location= Oxford / New York |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0-19-953886-7}}
*{{citation | title = The Kalevala: Or Poems of the Kaleva District | editor-first = Francis Peabody | editor-last = Magoun | editor-link = Francis Peabody Magoun | isbn = 978-0-674-50010-5 | url = https://archive.org/details/kalevalaorpoemso00elia | year = 1963 | publisher = Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press }}
*{{citation | title = The Old Kalevala and Certain Antecedents | editor-first = Francis Peabody | editor-last = Magoun | editor-link = Francis Peabody Magoun | isbn = 978-0-674-63235-6 | year = 1969 | publisher = Harvard University Press }} , translation of the 1835 ''Old Kalevala''
*{{cite book |translator-last= Rosenfeld |translator-first= Hersh |title= קאַלעװאַלאַ: פֿאָלקס עפּאָס פֿון די פֿינען |year= 1954 |location= New York |publisher= Marstin Press |url= https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc209739/rozenfeld-h-kalevala-folks-epos-fun-di-finen |access-date= 3 December 2021 |archive-date= 3 December 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211203185537/https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc209739/rozenfeld-h-kalevala-folks-epos-fun-di-finen |url-status= live }}
{{refend}}

=== Retellings ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation | title = The Harp Under the Hammer | number = | first1 = Giorgio | last1 = Cavazzano | first2 = Kari | last2 = Korhonen | author-link1 = Giorgio Cavazzano | author-link2 = Kari Korhonen | year = 2022 }}, a sequel for Don Rosa's ''The Quest for Kalevala'' featuring Scrooge McDuck and some characters from the ''Kalevala''
*{{citation | title = Finnish Legends for English Children | url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24948/24948-h/24948-h.htm | year = 1893 | first = R. | last = Eivind | access-date = 13 August 2018 | archive-date = 26 May 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180526142902/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24948/24948-h/24948-h.htm | url-status = live }}, near complete prose translation based on Crawford
*{{citation | title = The Wizard of the North: A Tale From the Land of Heroes | first = Parker Hoysted | last = Fillmore | author-link = Parker Hoysted Fillmore | year = 1923 }}
*{{citation | title = The Kalevala Graphic Novel | first = Kristian | last = Huitula | author-link = Kristian Huitula | editor-first = Eino | editor-last = Friberg | editor-link = Eino Friberg | isbn = 978-952-99022-1-7 | year = 2005| publisher = Fantacore }}
*{{citation | title = Epic of the North | first = John Ilmari | last = Kolehmainen | year = 1973 }}
*{{citation | title = The Magic Storysinger: A Tale from the Finnish Epic Kalevala | first = M.E.A | last = McNeil | author-link = M. E. A. McNeil | isbn = 978-0-88045-128-4 | year = 1994 | publisher = Stemmer House | url = https://archive.org/details/magicstorysinger00mcne }} , a retelling in a style friendly to children
* {{citation | title = [[The Quest for Kalevala]] | work = Uncle Scrooge | number = 334 | first = Don | last = Rosa | author-link = Don Rosa | isbn = 978-0-911903-55-3 | year = 1999 }} , a story in tribute to the ''Kalevala'' featuring Scrooge McDuck and some characters from the ''Kalevala''
*{{citation | title = The Canine Kalevala | editor-first = Tim | editor-last = Steffa | editor-link = Tim Steffa | editor2-first = Mauri | editor2-last = Kunnas | editor2-link = Mauri Kunnas | isbn = 978-951-1-12442-9 | year = 1997| publisher = Otava }}
{{refend}}

=== Analysis ===
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation | title = Finland: a cultural encyclopedia | editor-first = Olli | editor-last = Alho | year = 1997 | publisher = Finnish Literature Society | isbn = 978-951-717-885-3}}
*{{citation | title = The Uses of Tradition: a Comparative Enquiry into the Nature, Uses and Functions of Oral Poetry in the Balkans, the Baltic and Africa | editor-first = Michael | editor-last = Branch | editor2-first = Celia | editor2-last = Hawkesworth | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-903425-38-4}}
*{{citation | title = An Epic Gave Finns A Lot to Sing About | first = Cori | last = Ellison | date = 7 January 2005 | work = [[The New York Times]] | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/07/books/an-epic-gave-finns-a-lot-to-sing-about.html | access-date = 16 November 2022 | archive-date = 16 November 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221116154035/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/07/books/an-epic-gave-finns-a-lot-to-sing-about.html | url-status = live }}
*{{citation | title = The Key to The Kalevala | last1 = Ervast | first1 = Pekka | author-link = Pekka Ervast | last2 = Jenkins | first2 = John Major | author-link2 = John Major Jenkins | last3 = Tapio | first3 = Joensuu | author-link3 = Tapio Joensuu | isbn = 978-1-57733-021-9 | year = 1916 | publisher = Blue Dolphin Pub. }}
*{{citation | title = Väinämöinen, Eternal Sage | last = Haavio | first = Martti Henrikki | year = 1952 }}
* {{citation | last = Hämäläinen | first = Niina | title = "Do Not, Folk of the Future, Bring up a Child Crookedly!": Moral Intervention and Other Textual Practices by Elias Lönnrot | journal = [[RMN Newsletter]] | date = December 2013 | volume = 7 | pages = 43–56 }}
*{{citation | title = Religion, Myth, and Folklore in the World's Epics | editor-first = Lauri | editor-last = Honko | year = 1990 | publisher = Mouton de Gruyter | isbn = 978-0-89925-625-2}}
*{{citation | title = The Kalevala and the World's Traditional Epics | editor-first = Lauri | editor-last = Honko | editor-link = Lauri Honko | year = 2002 | publisher = Finnish Literature Society | isbn = 978-951-746-422-2}}
*{{citation | title = Finland: A Cultural Outline | last = Kallio | first = Veikko | year = 1994 | publisher = Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö | isbn = 978-951-0-19421-8}}
*{{citation | title = Lönnrot ja Kalevala | trans-title = Lönnrot and The Kalevala | last = Kaukonen | first = Väinö | year = 1978 }}
*{{citation | title = Finnish Folk Poetry | editor-first = Matti | editor-last = Kuusi | year = 1977 | publisher = Finnish literature society | isbn = 978-951-717-087-1 | url = https://archive.org/details/finnishfolkpoetr00kuus }}
*{{citation | title = Studies in Finnish Folklore | last = Oinas | first = Felix J. | year = 1985 | publisher = Finnish Anthropological Society | isbn = 978-951-717-315-5}}
*{{citation | title = Kalevala Mythology | last = Pentikäinen | first = Juha Y. | year = 1999 | publisher = Indiana University Press | isbn = 978-0-253-33661-3}}
*{{citation | title = A History of Finland's Literature | editor-first = George C. | editor-last = Schoolfield | year = 1998 | publisher = U of Nebraska Press | isbn = 978-0-8032-4189-3 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyoffinland00geor }}
*{{citation | title = Sammon Arvoitus | trans-title = The Riddle of the Sampo | last = Setälä | first = E.N. | year = 1932 }}
* Siikala, Anna-Leena. "The Kalevalaic Tradition as Finnish Mythology". In: ''Ethnographica et Folkloristica Carpathica'', 12–13 (2002). Megjelent: Mental Spaces and Ritual Traditions pp.&nbsp;107–122
* Tolley, Clive. "The Kalevala as a Model for our Understanding of the Composition of the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda." The Retrospective Methods Network (2014).
*{{citation | title = Folklore and Nationalism in Modern Finland | last = Wilson | first = William A. | year = 1976 | publisher = Indiana University Press | isbn = 978-0-253-32327-9}}
{{refend}}

=== Encyclopedia ===
{{refbegin}}

* {{Cite EB1911 | wstitle = Kalewala | volume= 15 |last= Gosse |first= Edmund William |author-link= Edmund William Gosse|page= 640| short = x}}
* {{Cite Americana | last = Wiener | first = Leo | author-link = Leo Wiener | wstitle = Kalevala | short = x}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Wikisource-inline|single=true}} (in English)
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/elias-lonnrot/the-kalevala/john-martin-crawford}}
{{Gutenberg|no=5186|name=Kalevala: the Epic Poem of Finland}}
* {{librivox book | title=Kalevala | author=Elias Lönnrot}}

{{Kalevala}}
{{National epic poems}}
{{Finland topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kalevala| ]]
[[Category:1835 poems]]
[[Category:1849 poems]]
[[Category:Culture of Finland]]
[[Category:National symbols of Finland]]
[[Category:Influences on J. R. R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Epic poems]]