The Kalevala

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 of 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 Finnish scholar Elias Lönnrot and published in its final form in 1849. It played a central role in the process of Finland towards Finnish independence and inspired some of the greatest music Sibelius.