Kirby’s translation in 1911 when he was at King Edward’s School. Though Kalevala is not the only example of Finnish folklore literature, it is certainly one of the most important, as it appeared in the period that was crucial for the whole nation. It was a very important step in the formation of Finnish culture and the identity of the Finns as people. Apart from collecting the poems, Lönnrot also put them in the form of a consistent narrative, which was not an easy thing to do and thus explains some inconsistencies in the plot.

Kalevala is a set of poems collected, compiled and published by Elias Lönnrot from oral Finnish and Karelian folklore in XIX century.

The language is Finnish and the collection is Kalevala. Those tongues and tales influenced him, all in different ways, but one thing remains: Tolkien realised very well that language and mythology form one inseparable whole, and this interdependence permeates his own mythology of Middle-earth which rose out of his invented language.Īpart from old languages, there is a modern one and a collection of national tales that are often overlooked or their influence on Tolkien is underestimated. During his life he studied many tongues of old: Gothic, Old English, Old Norse, and for Tolkien the languages were closely connected with the tales of the people who spoke them.

Tolkein trainslation of pearl