Description
Often compared to the epics of Homer, The Kalevala consolidates a rich oral tradition with prehistoric roots. Created only 150 years ago as the tradition was dying out, this Finnish epic presents a rare portrait of an ancient people in both war and peace. The Kalevala played a central role in the process towards Finnish independence and inspired some of the greatest works of the composer Sibelius.
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The Kalevala is the great Finnish epic which, like the Iliad and Odyssey, grew out of a rich oral tradition with prehistoric roots. During the first millennium of our era, speakers of Uralic languages (outside the Indo-European group) who had settled in the Baltic region developed an oral poetry that was to last into the nineteenth century. This poetry provided the basis of the Kalevala, assembled by the Finnish scholar Elias Lonnrot and published in its final form in 1849. It played a central role in the process towards Finnish independence and inspired some of the greatest music of Sibelius.
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