Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland

The Kalevala has been translated over one-hundred and fifty times into over sixty different languages. For more details about the translations into English please see the translations section. Franz Anton Schiefner's translation of The Kalevala was one inspiration for Longfellow's 1855 poem, The S [...]
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The Kalevala has been translated over one-hundred and fifty times into over sixty different languages. For more details about the translations into English please see the translations section. Franz Anton Schiefner's translation of The Kalevala was one inspiration for Longfellow's 1855 poem, The Song of Hiawatha, which is written in a similar trochaic tetrameter. Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg was inspired by The Kalevala. Both Vinminen and Ilmarinen are mentioned in the work and the overall story of Kalevipoeg (Kalev's son) bears similarities with the Kullervo story. J.R.R. Tolkien claimed The Kalevala as one of his sources for The Silmarillion. For example, Kullervo's story is the basis of Trin Turambar in Narn i Chn Hrin, including the sword that speaks when the anti-hero uses it to commit suicide. Echoes of The Kalevala's characters, Vinminen in particular, can be found in Tom Bombadil of The Lord of the Rings.