During the first millennium of our era, speakers of uralic languages those outside the indoeuropean group who had settled in the baltic region of karelia, that straddles the border of eastern finland and northwest russia, developed an oral poetry that was. The lyrical passages and poetic images, the wry humor, the talltale extravagance, and the homely realism of the kalevala come through with extraordinary effectiveness. The first edition of the kalevala appeared in 1835, compiled and edited by elias lonnrot on the basis of the epic folk poems he had collected in finland and. The kalevala is an epic poem which elias lonnrot compiled from finnish folk. Kalevala is the name of the homeland of the heroes in the book kalevala. The kalevala is the great finnish epic, which like the iliad and the odyssey, grew out of a rich oral tradition with prehistoric roots. The kalevala is a 19thcentury work of epic poetry compiled by elias lonnrot from karelian and. The kalevala, or poems of the kaleva district elias. It was first published in 1835, and is considered to be finlands national epic. On the crops the whitefrost settled,and the cattle died of hunger,even birds grew sick and perished.
Undeniably the most influential work of literature there, its credited with initiating a national awakening that eventually led to finlands independence and preserving the finnish language. An epic poem after oral tradition by elias lonnrot oxford. The kalevala has been translated, in part or whole, into hungarian or dutch six times, and into spanish, japanese and estonian five times. The kalevala is based on epic folk poems, whereas the main sources of kanteletar are lyrical folk poems. The publication suomen kansan vanhat runot ancient poems of the finns published 33 volumes containing. The kalevala played an instrumental role in the development of the finnish national identity, the intensification of finlands. The kalevala is a 19th century collection of epic poetry based on the legends and folklore of finland. Kalewala taikka wanhoja karjalan runoja suomen kansan muinosista ajoista the kalevala or old karelian poems from the ancient days of. Finnish kalevala the most significant piece of finnish. For now, here is an excerpt from the fifteenth poem, which probably dates from around 800 ad. I tried that, but faithfully and artificially keeping it distorted the original content of the lines, words being more often polysyllabic in finnish than they are in english. With the stone of many colorssank poor aino to the bo. In fact, it might not be going too far to say that the kalevala cycle is finland, in so much as a cultures founding stories can be said to make the culture. A brief description of this peculiar people, and of their ethical, linguistic, social, and religious life, seems to be.
In 1989, the fourth full translation of the kalevala into english was published, illustrated by bjorn landstrom. The national folk epic of finland is here presented in an english translation that is both scholarly and eminently. Kalevala definition and meaning collins english dictionary. There are several english translations available of. Eniil eeich, a native hungarian, a close student of the ugrian tongues, who, in a most thorough manner. Although relatively young when compared to the works of homer and so forth, this finnish epic draws deep into finlands shamanic heritage and is indeed based off these old myths and legends. The kalevala, by john martin crawford, 1888, full text etext at. Came the tidings to pohyolato the village of the northlandthat wainola had recovered. The second and final article in the series will consider akseli gallenkallelas paintings of the kalevala. The stories of kalevala are poems that are very old. Magouns reappraisal of this museum piece from finland brushes off some of the dust and helps us to see anew something of its originality and distinction. Audiobook in english translation wf kirby from librivox free. There are over twenty german versions of the kalevala, nearly as many in english, some dozen in swedish, and eight each in italian, french and russian.
John godfrey, christian science monitor the original sense of the kalevala breaks through in a refreshing new way the philologist and folklorist will welcome the new precision of thought and expression. This poem has not been translated into any other language yet. It begins with the earths creation and concludes with the disempowerment of the main god shaman vainamoinen who appears throughout the book and is portrayed in almost all the songs. The kalevala was compiled by elias lonnrot, who published the folk material in two editions 32 cantos, 1835. Ilmatar the virgin of the air descends to the waters. The kalevala is one of the greatest and yet largely unknown epic poems of all times. For english students of kalevalathis is an indispensable book dr. General kalevala cal info and all the links to other parts of the blanket project will be found on the kalevala cal page on the blog of arteeni. The following translation was undertaken from a desire to lay before the english speaking people the full treasury of epical beauty, folklore, and mythology comprised in the kalevala, the national epic of the finns. Feb 01, 2004 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The following translation was undertaken from a desire to lay before the englishspeaking people the full treasury of epical beauty, folklore, and mythology comprised in the kalevala, the national epic of the finns. Pieced together and embellished by elias lonnrot in the late 19th century, from a traditional cycle told by rural storytellers, the tales which constitute the kalevala show signs of great antiquity. General kalevala cal info and all the links to other parts of the blanket project will be found on.
Milla elo my square the inspiration for this square is kalevalas tapio, the spirit of the forest. The kalevala is a book and epic poem which elias lonnrot compiled from finnish and karelian folklore in the 19th century. A list of translations of the finnish national epic kalevala in chronological order by language. After his mother created the land, the sun, and the moon out of sea duck eggs, vainamoinen is born, and with the help of sampsa pellervoinen he makes the barren land fruitful, sowing seeds and. The kalevala is a great body of mythology and folklore that is vital to understanding finland, and finnish national identity. This means it is a book that is very important to finnish people kalevala has many stories in it. Any amazon kindle app that you have access to on either your android phone or tablet, iphone or tablet, or any actual kindle has the complete kalevala poem in english for free. The kalevala provides a compelling insight into the myths and folklore of finland. The list below contains the translations of the kalevala. The following translation does not preserve the kalevala metre.
If you look up love in collins english dictionary, you will find the word defined as an intense emotion of affection, warmth, fondness, and. It is regarded as the national epic of finland and is one of the most significant works of finnish literature. When jean sibelius first read the finnish national epic poem, the kalevala, as a young student. Thus has fire returned to northlandbut the gold moon is not shining,neither gleams the silver sunlightin the chambers of wainola,on the plains of kalevala. In this respect all translations from the finnish into english necessarily must. The kalevala or land of heroes is an epic poem and book based on folk poetry collected by elias lonnrot. Translate kalevala in english online and download now our free translator to use any time at no charge. The kalevala rune xlvi poem by elias lonnrot poem hunter. It is held to be the national epic of finland and is traditionally thought of as one of the most significant works of finnish literature. The national folk epic of finland is here presented in an english translation that is both scholarly and eminently readable. However, the kalevala has little in common with the culture of its nordic neighbors. This poetic song tradition, sung in an unusual, archaic trochaic tetrametre, had been part of the oral tradition among speakers of baltofinnic languages for 2,000 years.
Aug 01, 2018 in this video i will explain the basic information about the finnish kalevala, which is the national epic of finland from karelian and finnish oral folklore and mythology compiled by elias lonnrot. Based partially on the list made by rauni puranen and the article here. I dont really like this one, simply because it was localized into english awkwardly. The kalevala rune xxxix poem by elias lonnrot poem hunter. Kalevala, the the land of heroes finnish epic poem compiled by elias lonnrot from oral traditions in karelia, now part of russia. Men and maidens, faint and famished,perished in the cold and darkness,from. The kalevala quotes showing 15 of 5 once to swim i sought the seaside, there to sport among the billows. What sibelius achieved under the spell of the kalevala. The first edition contained 12,078 lines, the second, 22,795.
The kalevala is an epic poem which elias lonnrot compiled from finnish folk lore in the 19th century. A brief description of this peculiar people, and of their ethical, linguistic, social, and religious life. The name kalevala rarely appears in the original folk poetry of the time. The work was compiled by finnish author, elias lonnrot. Jul 06, 2009 there are over twenty german versions of the kalevala, nearly as many in english, some dozen in swedish, and eight each in italian, french and russian. With the stone of many colors sank poor aino to the bottom of the deep and boundless bluesea, like a pretty sonbird, perished. The text, translated into english by wf kirby from project gutenberg free. It is commonly called the finnish national epic and is traditionally thought of as one of the most significant works of finnishlanguage literature.
What sibelius achieved under the spell of the kalevala published april 2, 2014 authored by phillip huscher. As i like to enjoy the forest, this brought to my mind the mushrooms of an autumn forest and the hanging branches of a spruce. Ipafi is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by elias lonnrot from finnish and karelian oral folklore and mythology. This was first complete translation of the kalevala in english. Compiled by elias lonnrot in the 19th century, this impressive volume follows a tradition of oral storytelling that goes back some 2000 years, and it is often compared to such epic poems as homers odyssey. Download our english dictionary apps available for both ios and android. Jun 20, 2017 the kalevala is an epic poem which elias lonnrot compiled from finnish folk lore in the 19th century. Free audio book that you can download in mp3, ipod and itunes format for your portable audio player. Kalevala, the dwelling place of the poems chief characters, is a poetic name for finland, meaning land of heroes. The first edition of the kalevala appeared in 1835, compiled and edited by elias lonnrot on the basis of the epic folk poems he had collected in finland and karelia. The first is the original english translation by john martin crawford, which can be read online here for free. Jan 22, 2020 the kalevala is a book and epic poem which elias lonnrot compiled from finnish and karelian folklore in the 19th century. Wainamoinen, old and faithful, spake these words to ilmarinen. Within a matter of years, he would leave the world of the symphonic poem behind and find ways to achieve comparable effects within the traditional form of the symphony, but he never surpassed the brilliant drama and color of the music he composed under the spell of the kalevala.
The kalevala, or poems of the kaleva district elias lonnrot. Translations of the kalevala kalevalaseurakalevalaseura. It begins with the earths creation and concludes with the disempowerment of the main god shaman vainamoinen who appears throughout the book and is. Once to swim i sought the seaside,there to sport among the billows. This new kalevala, published in 1849, contains fifty poems, and is the standard text of the kalevala read and translated to this day. It is held to be the national epic of finland and is traditionally thought of as one of the most significant works of finnish language literature. In addition to the verse translations, the kalevala has also been adapted as prose translations, abridged versions and adaptations. The eggs break and the world is formed from their pieces. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The word kalevala is derived from kaleva, a mythical hero. I think it is the first english translation, from 1887, and an amazing attention to detail was paid.
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