The Kalevala
I was delighted to discover reference to the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, in an otherwise bland National Geographic special on J.R.R. Tolkein. I am rather surprised that I didn’t stumble across this earlier in my scholarly trips around Medieval Europe, given my penchant for such things.
But I shall not look a gift horse in the mouth. Just three days ago, I was scarely aware of it; today, not only do I have a serviceable online edition, I discovered a shabby Oxford Edition at a nearby bookstore.
Kalevala madness abounds!
I hope to enjoy it over the rapidly approaching Thanksgiving holiday.
Posted at 2:36 pm
December 10th, 2002 at 6:04 pm
I came across your website as I have had the e-mail address Tinctoris for close to 8 years now (I’m a musicologist). Anyway, once you finish reading the Kalevala, check out the music by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius which is based on the work. I wrote my MM thesis on the Kalevala and its musical implications. Quite an excellent work.