Kalevala’s origins and myths Part 2 Vesa Matteo Piludu, Kalevala Suite Lecture Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Arts Musicology University of Helsinki
Daniel Europaeus ( ) Lönnrot was not satisfied with the Old Kalevala For the edition of the New Kalevala, he was helped by other collectors of folklore and ethnographer The most important was Europaeus, who collected more poems than Lönnrot and travelled more
Old Kalevala 1835, Kanteletar , New Kalevala 1849
Jacob Grimm, 1845 Gave a notable lecture on the epic of the Finns (the Kalevala was translated into Swedish) at the Science Academy of Berlin “Here, if anywhere, there is now a pure epic in simple and thus most moving form, an unprecedented treasure” Kalevala was considered comparable to Omer and the Niebelungenlied After the Kalevala, Finland has been recognized as a “nation” with his own culture, language and literature For Grimm, Kalevala was more mythological than historical
Il Kalevala and Comparetti Domenico Comparetti, Il Kalevala o la poesia tradizionale dei Finni, studio storico critico sulle origini delle grandi epopoee nazionali (Roma, tip. della R. Accademia dei Lincei, 1891). Translated in German and English Relevance of magical charms
Monument of Lönnrot in Helsinki
Kalevala and world epic and literature The (New) Kalevala become a classic of world literature It has been a source of inspiration for the Estonian Kalevipoeg and Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha It has inspired Tolkien: Gandalf (Väinämöinen) Elfish language