3 ms·

Kalevala is a weird and amazing work. It is somewhat disjoint since it is assembled from various oral traditional and made into a single "epic" narrative by Eli

by goto11 4y ago

Kalevala is a weird and amazing work. It is somewhat disjoint since it is assembled from various oral traditional and made into a single "epic" narrative by Elias Lönnrot. Scholars are still arguing about how much of the writing is Lönnrot himself and how much is his sources. The Kullervo cycle is a particulary harrowing sequence, which inspired Tolkien to write his own version of the story in English.

euroderf 4y ago
Didn't Lönnrot basically live on skis for a few years, collecting material ?
fmajid 4y ago
And an outstanding symphonic poem by Sibelius. It's also a remarkably nuanced warning about the effects of child abuse.
kergonath 4y ago
> Kalevala is a weird and amazing work. Indeed! It’s a foundation of modern western fantasy. It is not really an easy read, but fascinating nonetheless. > The Kullervo cycle is a particulary harrowing sequence, which inspired Tolkien to write his own version of the story in English. Which in turn was an inspiration for his Túrin saga (Narn i Chîn Húrin). The whole Kalevala had a profound effect on Tolkien, some patterns are also apparent in the Silmarilion.
nabla9 4y ago
Finnish scholars have said that "Kalevala is a prison of folk poetry" because it has become a canon that sidelined everything else. Kalevala contains what was considered great poetry in the 1800s. It has been sanitized to match norms of that time. There is much more more material. Even the Kanteletar, the sister opus for Kalevala compiled by Lönnrot has been ignored.
- vintermann 4y ago
  That's a common complaint about collection work. I've heard it about an epic poem we have in Norway (not on the scope of Kalevala), Draumkvedet, or the song of the dream. Molkte Moe published a "restored" version in the 1890s, which I think is very good. But the purists complained that it supplanted the oral versions, of which there were many. (The final part of Draumkvedet, the "beautitudes" section listing good deeds and their rewards in the afterlife, is conspicuously similar to the Lyke-wake dirge to me.)

by goto11 4y ago

euroderf 4y ago

Didn't Lönnrot basically live on skis for a few years, collecting material ?

fmajid 4y ago

And an outstanding symphonic poem by Sibelius. It's also a remarkably nuanced warning about the effects of child abuse.

kergonath 4y ago

> Kalevala is a weird and amazing work. Indeed! It’s a foundation of modern western fantasy. It is not really an easy read, but fascinating nonetheless. > The Kullervo cycle is a particulary harrowing sequence, which inspired Tolkien to write his own version of the story in English. Which in turn was an inspiration for his Túrin saga (Narn i Chîn Húrin). The whole Kalevala had a profound effect on Tolkien, some patterns are also apparent in the Silmarilion.

nabla9 4y ago

Finnish scholars have said that "Kalevala is a prison of folk poetry" because it has become a canon that sidelined everything else. Kalevala contains what was considered great poetry in the 1800s. It has been sanitized to match norms of that time. There is much more more material. Even the Kanteletar, the sister opus for Kalevala compiled by Lönnrot has been ignored.

vintermann 4y ago
That's a common complaint about collection work. I've heard it about an epic poem we have in Norway (not on the scope of Kalevala), Draumkvedet, or the song of the dream. Molkte Moe published a "restored" version in the 1890s, which I think is very good. But the purists complained that it supplanted the oral versions, of which there were many. (The final part of Draumkvedet, the "beautitudes" section listing good deeds and their rewards in the afterlife, is conspicuously similar to the Lyke-wake dirge to me.)