Kalevala Mythology, Revised Edition

The Kalevala, created during the 1830s and 1840s, is based on folklore collected and compiled by Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884). It was the Kalevala that initiated the process leading to the foundation of Finnish identity during the nineteenth century, thus influencing the formation of Finland as a nation. The Kalevala sheds light on the general process involved in the formation of other epics, such as the Niebelungenlied, the Edda, and the Homeric epics. --cover.