Kalevala epic summary. Kalevala

One of the most famous monuments of the past is the Karelian-Finnish poetic epic “ Kalevala" The epic itself was written by the Finnish linguist Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884). He based his work on Karelian folk songs. Elias Lönnrot collected epic songs and plotted them into one whole, resulting in a full-fledged work in which there is a certain plot and main characters. Despite the fact that the poetic epic is a selection, substitution and adaptation of folk songs, the Kalevala is considered an important source of information about the pre-Christian beliefs and worldview of peoples such as the Finns and Karelians.

The treatment of folk songs was carried out by the author of Kalevala twice. The first edition was published in 1835, and the second in 1849. The translation into Russian was first carried out by Leonid Petrovich Belsky, a translator, literary critic, and poet. Despite the fact that the Kalevala was subsequently translated by other translators, it is under Belsky’s translation that the Kalevala is known to most Russian-speaking readers. For the first time in Russian, the Karelian-Finnish epic was published in 1888 in the magazine “Pantheon of Literature”.

The material for composing the poem was a collection of folk songs of Karelian and Finnish peasants, which were collected by Lönnrot himself and his predecessors. The epic tells about a certain country Kalevala. The name “Kalevala” comes from the name of the ancestor of the heroes - Kaleva. In Karelian-Finnish myths, the children of Kaleva are the legendary heroes - Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen. It is these heroes who become the main characters of Kalevala. The Kalevala describes the moment of the creation of heaven and earth, as well as the various adventures of mythological heroes. Researchers who have been and are still engaged in a detailed study of this work point out that practically no coincidences of historical events and events in Kalevala can be found. Most likely, all the songs from which the epic was composed are part of the mythology of the Karelian-Finns, that is, pagan ideas about gods, spirits, heroes and the structure of the world.

Kalevala has become so famous and so important for the residents of Karelia and Finland that in honor of this epic there is even a national holiday - “Kalevala Folk Epic Day”, which is celebrated on February 28.

Buy the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala” translated by L. P. Belsky in the online store.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela paintings on the theme “Kalevala”

Fratricide

Defense of the Sampo

Ilmarinen plowing a snake field, fresco

The Legend of Aino

Lemminkäinen's mother

Eukahainen's Revenge

Departure of Väinämöinen

Creation of the Sampo, fresco

-Finnish poetic epic. Consists of 50 runes (songs).

The Kalevala is based on Karelian folk epic songs. The processing of the original folklore material was carried out by the Finnish linguist and doctor Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884), who plot-connected individual folk epic songs, made a certain selection of variants of these songs, and smoothed out some irregularities. The processing was carried out by Lönnrot twice: in 1835 the first edition of “Kalevala” was published, in 1849 - the second.

Folk songs (runes)

The name "Kalevala", given to the poem by Lönnrot, is the epic name of the country in which Finnish folk heroes live and act. Suffix la means place of residence, so Kalevala- this is the place of residence of Kalev, the mythological ancestor of the heroes Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen, sometimes called his sons. Lönnrot provided the material for composing an extensive poem of 50 songs (runes) with individual folk songs (runes), partly of an epic, partly lyrical, partly of a magical nature, recorded from the words of Karelian and Finnish peasants by Lönnrot himself and the collectors who preceded him. The ancient runes (songs) were best remembered in Russian Karelia, in Arkhangelsk (Vuokkiniemi - Voknavolok parish) and Olonets provinces - in Repole (Reboly) and Himola (Gimola), as well as in some places in Finnish Karelia and on the western shores of Lake Ladoga, up to Ingria.

In Kalevala there is no main plot that would connect all the songs (as, for example, in the Iliad or Odyssey). Its content is extremely varied. It opens with the legend about the creation of the earth, sky, stars and the birth of the Finnish protagonist, Väinämöinen, by the daughter of air, who arranges the earth and sows barley. The following tells about the various adventures of the hero, who meets, among other things, the beautiful maiden of the North: she agrees to become his bride if he miraculously creates a boat from the fragments of her spindle. Having started work, the hero wounds himself with an ax, cannot stop the bleeding and goes to an old healer, to whom he tells a legend about the origin of iron. Returning home, Väinämöinen raises the wind with spells and transports the blacksmith Ilmarinen to the country of the North, Pohjola, where he, according to the promise made by Väinämöinen, forges for the mistress of the North a mysterious object that gives wealth and happiness - the Sampo mill (runes I-XI).

The following runes (XI-XV) contain an episode about the adventures of the hero Lemminkäinen, a warlike sorcerer and seducer of women. The story then returns to Väinämöinen; his descent into the underworld is described, his stay in the womb of the giant Viipunen, his acquisition from the latter of the three words necessary to create a wonderful boat, the hero’s sailing to Pohjola in order to receive the hand of the northern maiden; however, the latter preferred the blacksmith Ilmarinen to him, whom she marries, and the wedding is described in detail and wedding songs are given, outlining the duties of the wife and husband (XVI-XXV).

Further runes (XXVI-XXXI) are again occupied by the adventures of Lemminkäinen in Pohjola. The episode about the sad fate of the hero Kullervo, who out of ignorance seduced his own sister, as a result of which both brother and sister commit suicide (runes XXXI-XXXVI), belongs in depth of feeling, sometimes reaching true pathos, to the best parts of the entire poem.

Further runes contain a lengthy story about the common enterprise of the three Finnish heroes - obtaining the Sampo treasure from Pohjola, about Väinämöinen's making of the kantele, by playing which he enchants all of nature and lulls the population of Pohjola to sleep, about the taking away of the Sampo by the heroes, about their pursuit by the sorceress-mistress of the North, about the fall Sampo at sea, about the good deeds rendered by Väinämöinen to his native country through the fragments of Sampo, about his struggle with various disasters and monsters sent by the mistress of Pohjola to Kalevala, about the hero’s marvelous playing on a new kantela, created by him when the first one fell into the sea, and about his return to them the sun and moon, hidden by the mistress of Pohjola (XXXVI-XLIX).

The last rune contains a folk apocryphal legend about the birth of a miraculous child by the virgin Maryatta (the birth of the Savior). Väinämöinen gives advice to kill him, since he is destined to surpass the Finnish hero in power, but the two-week-old baby showers Väinämöinen with reproaches of injustice, and the ashamed hero, having sung a wondrous song for the last time, leaves forever in a shuttle from Finland, giving way to the baby of Maryatta, the recognized ruler of Karelia .

Philological and ethnographic analysis

It is difficult to indicate a common thread that would connect the various episodes of the Kalevala into one artistic whole. E. Aspelin believed that its main idea was to glorify the change of summer and winter in the North. Lönnrot himself, denying the unity and organic connection in the runes of Kalevala, admitted, however, that the songs of the epic are aimed at proving and clarifying how the heroes of the country of Kalevala subjugate the population of Pohjola and conquer the latter. Julius Kron claims that Kalevala is imbued with one idea - the creation of Sampo and its acquisition into the ownership of the Finnish people - but admits that the unity of plan and idea is not always noticed with the same clarity. The German scientist von Pettau divides the Kalevala into 12 cycles, completely independent of each other. The Italian scientist Comparetti, in an extensive work on Kalevala, comes to the conclusion that it is not possible to assume unity in the runes, that the combination of runes made by Lönnrot is often arbitrary and still gives the runes only a ghostly unity; finally, that from the same materials it is possible to make other combinations according to some other plan. Lönnrot did not discover the poem, which was hidden in the runes (as Steinthal believed) - he did not open it because such a poem did not exist among the people. Runes in oral transmission, even though they were connected by singers several at a time (for example, several adventures of Väinämöinen or Lemminkäinen), just as little represent an integral epic as Russian epics or Serbian youth songs. Lönnrot himself admitted that when he combined runes into an epic, some arbitrariness was inevitable. Indeed, as shown by checking Lönnrot’s work with versions recorded by himself and other rune collectors, Lönnrot chose such retellings that were most suitable for the plan he had drawn, fused runes from particles of other runes, made additions, for greater coherence of the story he added individual verses, and the last rune (50) can even be called his composition, although based on folk legends. For his poem, he skillfully utilized the entire wealth of Karelian songs, introducing, along with narrative runes, ritual, spell, and family songs, and this gave Kalevala significant interest as a means of studying the worldview, concepts, life and poetic creativity of the Finnish common people.

Characteristic of the Karelian epic is the complete absence of a historical basis: the adventures of the heroes are distinguished by a purely fairy-tale character; no echoes of historical clashes between the Finns and other peoples were preserved in the runes. In Kalevala there is no state, people, society: it knows only the family, and its heroes perform feats not in the name of their people, but to achieve personal goals, like heroes of wonderful fairy tales. The types of heroes are in connection with the ancient pagan views of the Finns: they perform feats not so much with the help of physical strength, but through conspiracies, like shamans. They can take on different forms, turn other people into animals, be miraculously transported from place to place, and cause atmospheric phenomena - frost, fog, etc. The closeness of the heroes to the deities of the pagan period is also felt. It should also be noted that the Finns attach great importance to song words and music. A prophetic person who knows the runes-spells can work miracles, and the sounds extracted from the kantele by the wonderful musician Väinämöinen conquer all of nature.

In addition to ethnographic, Kalevala is also of high artistic interest. Its advantages include: the simplicity and brightness of the images, a deep and vivid sense of nature, high lyrical impulses, especially in the depiction of human grief (for example, the longing of a mother for her son, children for their parents), healthy humor that permeates some episodes, and successful characterization of the characters. If you look at Kalevala as a whole epic (Cronus’s view), then there will be many shortcomings in it, which, however, are characteristic of more or less all oral folk epic works: contradictions, repetitions of the same facts, too large dimensions of some particulars in relation to to the whole. The details of some upcoming action are often set out in extreme detail, and the action itself is told in a few minor verses. This kind of disproportion depends on the memory properties of one or another singer and is often found, for example, in Russian epics.

However, there are also historical facts intertwined with geographical ones that partially confirm the events described in the epic. To the north of the current village of Kalevala there is Lake Topozero - the sea through which the heroes sailed. They settled along the shores of the lake Sami- the people of Pohjola. The Sami were strong sorcerers(Old woman Loukhi). But the Karelians were able to push the Sami far to the north, subjugate the population of Pohjola and conquer the latter.

Kalevala Day

“Day of the Folk Epic Kalevala” is a national holiday celebrated on February 28. Every year in Finland and Karelia the “Kalevala Carnival” takes place, in the form of a street costume procession, as well as theatrical performances based on the plot of the epic.

Kalevala in art

Using the name

In Kostomuksha there is Kalevala Street.
In Petrozavodsk there is a cinema "Kalevala", a chain of bookstores "Kalevala" and street "Kalevala".
In Syktyvkar there is an indoor market "Kalevala".
"Kalevala" is a Russian folk metal band from Moscow.
"Kalevala" is a song by Russian rock bands Mara and Chimera.
In the Republic of Karelia there is the Kalevala national district and the urban village of Kalevala.

Literature

Complete Russian translation by L. P. Belsky (Kalevala: Finnish folk epic / Complete poetic translation, with a preface and notes by L. P. Belsky. St. Petersburg: N. A. Lebedev Printing House, Nevsky Prospect, 8., 1888. 616 p.).
German translations of the Kalevala: Schiffner (Helsingfors, 1852) and Paul (Helsingfors, 1884-1886).
French translation: Leouzon Le Duc (1867).
English translation: I. M. Crawford (New York, 1889).
Small excerpts in Russian translation are given by J. K. Grot (“Sovremennik”, 1840).
Several runes in Russian translation were published by G. Gelgren (“Kullervo” - M., 1880; “Aino” - Helsingfors, 1880; runes 1-3 Helsingfors, 1885).
Yiddish translation of the eighteen runes: H. Rosenfeld, Kalevala, the Folk Epic of the Finns (New York, 1954).
Translation into Hebrew (in prose): trans. Sarah Tovia, “Kalevala, the land of heroes” (Kalevala, Eretz ha-giborim), Tel Aviv, 1964 (subsequently reprinted several times).

Of the numerous studies about Kalevala (not counting Finnish and Swedish), the main ones are:

Jacob Grimm, “Ueber das finnische Epos” (“Kleine Schriften” II).
Moritz Eman, “Main Features from the Ancient Epic of the Kalevala” (Helsingfors, 1847).
V. Tettau, “Ueber die epischen Dichtungen de finnischen Volker, besonders d. Kalewala" (Erfurt, 1873).
Steinthal, "Das Epos" (in "Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie" V., 1867).
Jul. Krohn, "Die Entstehung der einheitlichen Epen im allgemeinen" (in "Zeitschrift far Völkerpsychologie", XVIII, 1888).
His, “Kalewala Studien” (in German translation from Swedish, ibid.).
Eliel Aspelin, “Le Folklore en Finlande” (“Melusine”, 1884, no. 3).
Andrew Lang, "Custom and Myth" (pp. 156-179).
Radloff, in the preface to the 5th volume of “Proben der Volkslitteratur der nurdlichen Turk-Stämme” (St. Petersburg, 1885, p. XXII).
About the wonderful Finnish book by J. Kron “History of Finnish Literature. Part I. Kalevala”, published in Helsingfors (1883), see the article by Mr. Mainov: “A new book about the Finnish folk epic” (in “J. M. N. Pr.” 1884, May).
An independent processing of the extensive materials collected by J. Kron and other Finnish scientists for the criticism of “Kalevala” is represented by the thorough work of the famous Italian scientist Domenico Comparetti, published in a German translation: “Der Kalewala oder die traditionelle Poesie der Finnen” (Halle, 1892).

Notes

Literature

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
"Kalevala" - a monument of world culture: Bibliographic index. Comp. N. Prushinskaya. Sun. Art. E.Karhu. Petrozavodsk, 1993.

Folk songs (runes)

The name "Kalevala", given to the poem by Lönnrot, is the epic name of the country in which Karelian folk heroes live and act. Suffix la means place of residence, so Kalevala- this is the place of residence of Kalev, the mythological ancestor of the heroes Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen, sometimes called his sons.

Lönnrot provided the material for composing an extensive poem of 50 songs (runes) with individual folk songs, partly epic, partly lyrical, partly magical, recorded from the words of Karelian and Finnish peasants by Lönnrot himself and the collectors who preceded him. The ancient runes (songs) were best remembered in Russian Karelia, in Arkhangelsk (Vuokkiniemi-Voknavolok parish) and Olonets provinces - in Repole (Reboly) and Himola (Gimola), as well as in some places in Finnish Karelia and on the western shores of Lake Ladoga, up to Ingria.

In Kalevala there is no main plot that would connect all the songs (as, for example, in the Iliad or Odyssey). Its content is extremely varied. It opens with the legend about the creation of the earth, sky, luminaries and the birth of the Karelian protagonist, Väinämöinen, by the daughter of air, who arranges the earth and sows barley. The following tells about the various adventures of the hero, who meets, among other things, the beautiful maiden of the North: she agrees to become his bride if he miraculously creates a boat from the fragments of her spindle. Having started work, the hero wounds himself with an ax, cannot stop the bleeding and goes to an old healer, to whom he tells a legend about the origin of iron. Returning home, Väinämöinen raises the wind with spells and transports the blacksmith Ilmarinen to the country of the North, Pohjola, where he, according to the promise given by Väinämöinen, forges for the mistress of the North a mysterious object that gives wealth and happiness - the Sampo mill (runes I-XI).

The runes (XXVI-XXXI) again tell about the adventures of Lemminkäinen in Pohjola. The episode about the sad fate of the hero Kullervo, who out of ignorance seduced his own sister, as a result of which both brother and sister commit suicide (runes XXXI-XXXVI), belongs in depth of feeling, sometimes reaching true pathos, to the best parts of the entire poem. The runes about the hero Kullervo were recorded by Lönnrot's assistant folklorist Daniel Europaeus.

Further runes contain a lengthy story about the common enterprise of the three Karelian heroes - about how Sampo’s treasures were obtained from Pohjola (Finland), how Väinämöinen made a kantele and, by playing it, charmed all of nature and put the population of Pohjola to sleep, how Sampo was taken away by the heroes. The story is told about the persecution of the heroes by the sorceress-mistress of the North, about the fall of Sampo into the sea, about the benefits rendered by Väinämöinen to his native country through the fragments of Sampo, about his struggle with various disasters and monsters sent by the mistress of Pohjola to Kalevala, about the hero’s marvelous playing on the new kantele created to them when the first fell into the sea, and about the return to them of the sun and moon hidden by the mistress of Pohjola (XXXVI-XLIX).

The last rune contains a folk apocryphal legend about the birth of a miraculous child by the virgin Maryatta (the birth of the Savior). Väinämöinen gives advice to kill him, since he is destined to surpass the power of the Karelian hero, but the two-week-old baby showers Väinämöinen with reproaches of injustice, and the ashamed hero, having sung a wondrous song for the last time, leaves forever in a shuttle, giving way to the baby of Maryatta, the recognized ruler of Karelia.

Philological and ethnographic analysis

Lönnrot did not discover the poem, which was hidden in the runes (as Steinthal believed) - he did not open it because such a poem did not exist among the people. Runes in oral transmission, even though they were connected by singers several at a time (for example, several adventures of Väinämöinen or Lemminkäinen), just as little represent an integral epic as Russian epics or Serbian youth songs. Lönnrot himself admitted that when he combined runes into an epic, some arbitrariness was inevitable. Indeed, as shown by checking Lönnrot’s work with versions recorded by himself and other rune collectors, Lönnrot chose such retellings that were most suitable for the plan he had drawn, fused runes from particles of other runes, made additions, for greater coherence of the story he added individual verses, and the last rune (50) can even be called his composition, although based on folk legends. For his poem, he skillfully utilized the entire wealth of Karelian songs, introducing, along with narrative runes, ritual, spell, and family songs, and this gave Kalevala significant interest as a means of studying the worldview, concepts, life and poetic creativity of the Finnish common people.

Characteristic of the Karelian epic is the complete absence of a historical basis: the adventures of the heroes are distinguished by a purely fairy-tale character; no echoes of historical clashes between Karelians and other peoples were preserved in the runes. In Kalevala there is no state, people, society: it knows only the family, and its heroes perform feats not in the name of their people, but to achieve personal goals, like heroes of wonderful fairy tales. The types of heroes are in connection with the ancient pagan views of the Karelians: they perform feats not so much with the help of physical strength, but through conspiracies, like shamans. They can take on different forms, turn other people into animals, be miraculously transported from place to place, and cause atmospheric phenomena - frost, fog, etc. The closeness of the heroes to the deities of the pagan period is also felt. It should also be noted the high importance attached by the Karelians, and later by the Finns, to song words and music. A prophetic person who knows the runes-spells can work miracles, and the sounds extracted from the kantele by the wonderful musician Väinämöinen conquer all of nature.

However, there are also historical facts, intertwined with geographical ones, partially confirming the events described in the epic. To the north of the current village of Kalevala there is Lake Topozero - the sea through which the heroes sailed. They settled along the shores of the lake Sami- the people of Pohjola. The Sami were strong sorcerers(Old woman Loukhi). But the Karelians were able to push the Sami far to the north, subjugate the population of Pohjola and conquer the latter [ ] .

Kalevala Day

Every year on February 28, the Day of the Folk Epic Kalevala is celebrated - the official day of Finnish and Karelian culture, the same day is dedicated to the Finnish flag. Every year in Karelia and Finland the “Kalevala Carnival” takes place, in the form of a street costume procession, as well as theatrical performances based on the plot of the epic.

Kalevala in art

The first written mention of the heroes of Kalevala is contained in the books of the Finnish bishop and pioneer printer Mikael Agricola in the 16th century [ ] .
The first monument to the hero of Kalevala was erected in 1831 in Vyborg.
The poem was first translated into Russian in 1888 by the poet and translator Leonid Petrovich Belsky.
In Russian literature, the image of Väinemöinen is found for the first time in the poem “Karelia” by the Decembrist F. N. Glinka
The first pictorial painting on the subject of “Kalevala” was created in 1851 by the Swedish artist Johan Blakstadius.
The first work on the plot of “Kalevala” was the play “Kullervo” (1860) by the Finnish writer Alexis Kivi.
The most significant contribution to the musical embodiment of the Kalevala was made by the classic of Finnish music Jean Sibelius.
The Kalevala was translated into Ukrainian by linguist Evgeniy Timchenko. In Belarus, the first translation was made by the poet and writer Mikhas Mashara. The newest one is by translator Jakub Lapatka.
The Latvian translation is by Linard Leizen.
The Nenets translation was made by Vasily Ledkov.
The subjects of “Kalevala” are present in the works of many artists. The Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Karelia contains a unique collection of works of fine art on the themes of the Kalevala epic. A widely known series of paintings with scenes from “Kalevala” by the Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela.
In 1933, the Academia publishing house published “Kalevala” with illustrations and general artistic design by the students of Pavel Filonov, Masters of Analytical Art T. Glebova, A. Poret, M. Tsybasov and others. Filonov himself was the editor of illustrations and design. (Electronic version of the publication.)
Based on “Kalevala,” the Karelian composer Helmer Sinisalo wrote the ballet “Sampo,” which was first staged in Petrozavodsk on March 27, 1959. This work has been performed many times both in the USSR and abroad.
In 1959, based on “Kalevala,” a joint Soviet-Finnish film “Sampo” was shot (directed by Alexander Ptushko, script by Väinyo Kaukonen, Viktor Vitkovich, Grigory Jagdfeld).
In 1982, Finnish director Kalle Holmberg filmed a 4-episode adaptation of “Kalevala” for television - “The Iron Age. Tales of the Kalevala", awarded prizes from the Finnish and Italian Film Academies. In 2009, the film was released in Russia as a set of two DVDs.
John Tolkien's The Silmarillion was inspired by the Kalevala. [ ] The connection with the Karelian-Finnish epic is also visible in another work of this author - “The Stories of Kullervo”.
Henry Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" was created under the influence of the Kalevala.

Among the first propagandists of Kalevala were Jacob Groth in Russia and Jacob Grimm in Germany.

Maxim Gorky put the Kalevala on a par with the Homeric epic. In 1908 he wrote: “Individual creativity has not created anything equal to the Iliad or the Kalevala.” In 1932, he calls the Finno-Karelian epic “a monument to verbal creativity.” “Kalevala” is mentioned in the second volume of “The Life of Klim Samgin”, in the chapters devoted to the Finnish impressions of the hero: “Samghin remembered that in childhood he read “Kalevala”, a gift from his mother; This book, written in verses that skipped past his memory, seemed boring to him, but his mother still made him read it to the end. And now, through the chaos of everything that he experienced, the epic figures of the heroes of Suomi emerged, fighters against Hiisi and Louhi, the elemental forces of nature, her Orpheus Väinemöinen... the cheerful Lemminkäinen - Baldur of the Finns, Ilmarinen, who shackled Sampo, the treasure of the country. Valery Bryusov, Velimir Khlebnikov, Sergei Gorodetsky, Nikolai Aseev have motives for “Kalevala”. “Kalevala” was in Alexander Blok’s library.

Kalevala was highly valued by the people's poet of Belarus Yakub Kolas; he said about his work on the poem “Symon the Musician”: “Kalevala” gave me a good impetus to work... And its numerous creators and I drank from the same source, only Finns on the seashore, among the rocks, and we are in our forests and swamps. This living water belongs to no one; it is open to many and for many. And in some ways, joy and sorrow are very similar for every nation. This means that the works may be similar... I was ready to bow at Lönnrot’s feet.” (Based on the book by Maxim Luzhanin “Kolas talks about himself”)

V. G. Belinsky was unable to appreciate the global significance of Kalevala. The great critic was familiar with the Finnish epic only in a bad, prosaic retelling. His tense relationship with J. K. Grot, the then main popularizer of Finnish literature in Russia, and his rejection of the Slavophil idealization of folk archaism had an effect (Finland at that time, like the Slavic countries, was cited by Slavophiles, for example Shevyrev, as an example of patriarchal innocence as opposed to “corrupt” Europe ). In a review of M. Eman’s book “The Main Features from the Ancient Finnish Epic of the Kalevala,” Belinsky wrote: “We are the first to be ready to give justice to the wonderful and noble feat of Mr. Lönnrot, but we do not consider it necessary to fall into exaggeration. How! has all the literature of Europe, except Finnish, turned into some kind of ugly market?...". “Furious Vissarion” objected to the comparison of “Kalevala” with the ancient epic, pointing out the underdevelopment of contemporary Finnish culture: “Some national spirit is so small that it can fit in a nutshell, and another is so deep and wide that the whole earth is not enough for it. Such was the national spirit of the ancient Greeks. Homer is far from exhausting it all in his two poems. And whoever wants to get acquainted and get comfortable with the national spirit of ancient Hellas, Homer alone is not enough for him, but for this he will need Hesiod, and the tragedians, and Pindar, and the comedian Aristophanes, and philosophers, and historians, and scientists, and there still remains architecture and sculpture and finally the study of domestic domestic and political life.” (Belinsky V. G. Complete works vol. X, 1956 pp. 277-78, 274 M.)

In 2001, children's writer Igor Vostryakov retold the Kalevala for children in prose, and in 2011 he retold the Kalevala in verse.
In 2006, the Finnish-Chinese fantasy film “Warrior of the North” was shot, the plot of which is based on the interweaving of Chinese folk legends and the Karelian-Finnish epic.

Using the name

In the Republic of Karelia there is the Kalevala national district and the village of Kalevala.
In Petrozavodsk and Kostomuksha there is Kalevala Street.
"Kalevala" - a corvette as part of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Empire in 1858-1872.
Kalevala is a bay in the southern part of Posiet Bay in the Sea of Japan. Surveyed in 1863 by the crew of the corvette Kalevala, it was named after the ship.
In Petrozavodsk there is a cinema "Kalevala", a chain of bookstores "Kalevala".
In Syktyvkar there is an indoor market "Kalevala".
"Kalevala" is a Russian folk metal band from Moscow.
"Kalevala" is a song by Russian rock bands Mara and Chimera.
In the Prionezhsky region of the Republic of Karelia, in the village of Kosalma, the Kalevala Hotel has been operating since the 1970s.
In Finland since 1935 under the brand Kalevala Koru We produce jewelry made using traditional techniques with national Baltic-Finnish ornaments.
In Petrozavodsk, in the Elias Lönnrot park, a fountain was installed in memory of the heroes of the Kalevala epic.

Translations

Translations into Russian and adaptations

1840 - Small excerpts in Russian translation are given by J. K. Grot (“Contemporary”, 1840).
1880-1885 - Several runes in Russian translation were published by G. Gelgren (“Kullervo” - M., 1880; “Aino” - Helsingfors, 1880; runes 1-3 Helsingfors, 1885).
1888 - Kalevala: Finnish folk epic / Complete poetic translation, with a preface and notes by L. P. Belsky. - St. Petersburg: Printing house of N. A. Lebedev, Nevsky Prospekt, 8., 1888. 616 pp.). Reprinted many times in the Russian Empire and the USSR.
1960 - From the poem “Kalevala” (“Birth of the Kantele”, “Golden Maiden”, “Aino”) // S. Marshak: Op. in 4 vols., vol. 4, pp. 753-788.
1981 - Lyubarskaya A. Retelling for children of the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala”. Petrozavodsk: Karelia, 1981. - 191 p. (poetic excerpts from the translation by L.P. Belsky).
1998 - Lönnrot E. Kalevala. Translation by Eino Kiuru and Armas Mishin. Petrozavodsk: Karelia, 1998. (Republished by Vita Nova publishing house in 2010).
2015 - Pavel Krusanov. Kalevala. Prose retelling. St. Petersburg, K. Tublin Publishing House. ISBN 978-5-8370-0713-2

Foreign language translations

German translations of the Kalevala: Schiffner (Helsingfors, 1852) and Paul (Helsingfors, 1884-1886).
French translation: Leouzon Le Duc (1867).
Swedish translations: Castren (1841), Collan (1864-1868), Herzberg (1884)
English translation: I. M. Crawford(New York, 1889).
Yiddish translation of the eighteen runes: H. Rosenfeld, "Kalevala, the Folk Epic of the Finns" (New York, 1954).
Translation into Hebrew (in prose): trans. Sarah Tovia, “Kalevala, the land of heroes” (Kalevala, Eretz ha-giborim), Tel Aviv, 1964 (subsequently reprinted several times).
Translation into Belarusian: Jakub Lapatka Kalevala, Minsk, 2015, simply translated into Belarusian language

A brief summary of "Kalevala" allows you to get acquainted in detail with this famous Karelian-Finnish epic. The book consists of 50 runes (or songs). It is based on epic folk songs. Folklore material was carefully processed in the 19th century by the Finnish linguist Elias Lennort. He was the first to connect separate and disparate epic songs with a plot and eliminated certain irregularities. The first edition was published in 1835.

Runes

The summary of "Kalevala" describes in detail the actions in all the runes of this folk epic. In general, Kalevala is the epic name of the state in which all the heroes and characters of Karelian legends live and act. Lennrot himself gave this title to the poem.

"Kalevala" consists of 50 songs (or runes). These are epic works recorded by the scientist during communication with Finnish and Karelian peasants. The ethnographer managed to collect most of the material on the territory of Russia - in the Arkhangelsk and Olonets provinces, as well as in Karelia. In Finland, he worked on the western shores of Lake Ladoga, all the way to Ingria.

Translating to Russian language

For the first time, a summary of “Kalevala” was translated into Russian by the poet and literary critic Leonid Belsky. It was published in the magazine "Pantheon of Literature" in 1888.

The following year the poem was published in a separate edition. For domestic, Finnish, and European scientists and researchers, “Kalevala” is a key source of information about the pre-Christian religious ideas of the Karelians and Finns.

To describe the summary of “Kalevala,” we must begin with the fact that this poem lacks a coherent main plot that could connect all the songs together. As this, for example, happens in the epic works of Homer - the Odyssey or the Iliad.

"Kalevala" in a very brief summary is an extremely diverse work. The poem begins with the legends and ideas of the Karelians and Finns about how the world was created, how the earth and sky and all kinds of luminaries appeared. At the very beginning, the main character of the Karelian epic named Väinämöinen is born. It is alleged that he was born thanks to the daughter of air. It is Väinämöinen who arranges the whole earth and begins to sow barley.

Adventures of Folk Heroes

The epic "Kalevala" briefly tells about the travels and adventures of various heroes. First of all, Väinämöinen himself.

He meets a beautiful maiden of the North, who agrees to marry him. However, there is one condition. The hero must build a special boat from the fragments of its spindle.

Väinämöinen begins to work, but at the most crucial moment he injures himself with an ax. The bleeding is so severe that it cannot be eliminated on your own. You have to turn to a wise healer for help. He tells him a folk legend about the origin of iron.

The secret of wealth and happiness

The healer helps the hero and saves him from severe bleeding. In the epic "Kalevala" in a brief summary, Väinämöinen returns home. In his native walls, he casts a special spell that raises a strong wind in the area and transports the hero to the country of the North to a blacksmith named Ilmarinen.

At his request, the blacksmith forges a unique and mysterious item. This is the mysterious Sampo mill, which, according to legend, brings happiness, luck and wealth.

Several runes are dedicated to the adventures of Lemminkäinen. He is a warlike and powerful sorcerer, known throughout the area as a conqueror of ladies' hearts, a cheerful hunter who has only one drawback - the hero is greedy for female charms.

The Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala” (you can read the summary in this article) describes in detail his fascinating adventures. For example, one day he learns about a lovely girl who lives in Saari. Moreover, she is known not only for her beauty, but also for her incredibly obstinate character. She categorically refuses all suitors. The hunter decides to win her hand and heart at any cost. The mother tries in every possible way to dissuade her son from this thoughtless undertaking, but to no avail. He doesn’t listen to her and goes on the road.

In Saari, at first everyone makes fun of the loving hunter. But over time, he manages to conquer all the local girls, except one - the impregnable Kyllikki. This is the same beauty for whom he set off on his journey.

Lemminkäinen takes decisive action - he kidnaps the girl, intending to take her to his home as his wife. Finally, he threatens all the women of Saari - if they tell who really took Kyllikki, he will start a war, as a result of which all their brothers and husbands will be exterminated.

At first, Kyllikki is reluctant, but eventually agrees to marry the hunter. In return, she takes an oath from him that he will never go to war on her native lands. The hunter promises this, and also takes an oath from his new wife that she will never go to the village to dance, but will be his faithful wife.

Väinämöinen in the underworld

The plot of the Finnish epic "Kalevala" (a summary is given in this article) returns again to Väinämöinen. This time the story is told about his journey to the underworld.

Along the way, the hero has to visit the womb of the giant Viipunen. From the latter he obtains the secret three words that are necessary in order to build a wonderful boat. On it the hero goes to Pohjela. He hopes to win the favor of the northern maiden and take her as his wife. But it turns out that the girl preferred the blacksmith Ilmarinen to him. They are getting ready to get married.

wedding ceremony

Several separate songs are devoted to the description of the wedding, the rituals corresponding to the celebration, as well as the responsibilities of husband and wife.

The Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala” briefly describes how more experienced mentors tell the young bride how she should behave in marriage. An old beggar woman who comes to the celebration begins to reminisce about the times when she was young, married, but had to get a divorce because her husband turned out to be angry and aggressive.

At this time, instructions are also read to the groom. He is not told to treat his chosen one badly. He is also given advice by a poor old man who remembers admonishing his wife.

At the table, the newlyweds are treated to all sorts of dishes. Väinämöinen recites a drinking song in which he glorifies his native land, all its inhabitants, and separately - the owners of the house, matchmakers, bridesmaids and all the guests who came to the celebration.

The wedding feast is fun and abundant. The newlyweds set off on their return journey in a sleigh. They break down along the way. Then the hero turns to local residents for help - he needs to go down to Tuonela for a gimlet to repair the sleigh. Only a true daredevil can do this. There are no such people in the surrounding villages and villages. Then Väinämäinen has to go to Tuonela himself. He repairs the sleigh and sets off safely on the return journey.

The tragedy of the hero

A tragic episode dedicated to the fate of the hero Kullervo is given separately. His father had a younger brother named Untamo, who did not like him and plotted all sorts of intrigues. As a result, real enmity arose between them. Untamo gathered warriors and killed his brother and his entire family. Only one pregnant woman survived; Untamo took her as a slave. She gave birth to a child, who was named Kullervo. Even in infancy, it became clear that he would grow up to be a hero. As he grew older, he began to think about revenge.

Untamo was very worried about this, he decided to get rid of the boy. He was put in a barrel and thrown into the water. But Kullervo survived. They threw him into the fire, but he didn’t burn there either. They tried to hang him on an oak tree, but three days later they found him sitting on a branch and drawing warriors on the tree bark.

Then Untamo resigned himself and left Kullervo with him as a slave. He nursed children, ground rye, cut down forest. But nothing worked for him. The child turned out to be exhausted, the rye turned to dust, and in the forest he cut down good timber trees. Then Untamo sold the boy into the service of the blacksmith Ilmarinen.

Service at the blacksmith's

At the new place, Kullervo was made a shepherd. The work “Kalevala” (Karelian-Finnish mythological epic, a summary of which is given in this article) describes his service with Ilmarinen.

One day the hostess gave him bread for lunch. When Kullervo began to cut it, the knife crumbled into crumbs, and there was a stone inside. This knife was the boy's last reminder of his father. Therefore, he decided to take revenge on Ilmarinen’s wife. The angry hero drove the herd into a swamp, where wild animals devoured the cattle.

He turned bears into cows and wolves into calves. Under the guise of a herd, he drove them back home. He ordered the mistress to be torn into pieces as soon as she looked at them.

Hiding from the blacksmith's house, Kullervo decided to take revenge on Untamo. On the way, he met an old woman who told him that his father was actually alive. The hero actually found his family on the border of Lapland. His parents accepted him with open arms. They considered him long dead. As well as his eldest daughter, who went into the forest to pick berries and did not return.

Kullervo remained in his parents' house. But even there he could not use his heroic strength. Everything he took on turned out to be spoiled or useless. His father sent him to pay taxes in the city.

Returning home, Kullervo met a girl, lured her into a sleigh and seduced her. Later it turned out that this was his missing older sister. Having learned that they were relatives, the young people decided to commit suicide. The girl threw herself into the river, and Kullervo drove home to tell his mother everything. His mother forbade him to say goodbye to life, urging him instead to find a quiet corner and live there quietly.

Kullervo came to Untamo, destroyed his entire family, and destroyed his houses. Returning home, he did not find any of his relatives alive. Over the years, everyone died, and the house stood empty. Then the hero committed suicide by throwing himself on his sword.

Treasures of Sampo

The final runes of the Kalevala tell how Karelian heroes obtained the treasures of the Sampo from Pohjela. They were pursued by the sorceress-mistress of the North, and as a result Sampo was drowned in the sea. Väinämöinen nevertheless collected the fragments of Sampo, with the help of which he provided many benefits to his country, and also went to fight various monsters and disasters.

The very last rune tells the legend of the birth of a child by the maiden Maryatta. This is analogous to the birth of the Savior. Väinämöinen advises to kill him, since otherwise he will surpass the power of all Karelian heroes.

In response, the baby showers him with reproaches, and the ashamed hero leaves in the shuttle, giving him his place.

Kalevala epic summary. Kalevala

Akseli Gallen-Kallela paintings on the theme “Kalevala”

Folk songs (runes)

Philological and ethnographic analysis

Kalevala Day

Kalevala in art

Using the name

Literature

see also

Notes

Literature

Links

Encyclopedic YouTube

Subtitles

Folk songs (runes)

Philological and ethnographic analysis

Kalevala Day

Kalevala in art

Using the name

Translations

Runes

Translating to Russian language

Adventures of Folk Heroes

The secret of wealth and happiness

Väinämöinen in the underworld

wedding ceremony

The tragedy of the hero

Service at the blacksmith's

Treasures of Sampo

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