Kalevala

Japanese: カレワラ（英語表記）Kalevala

Finland's national epic. It is a long epic poem that E. Lönnrot collected and organized ancient folk songs, lyric poems, and spells that were mainly handed down in the Karelia region. It was first published in 1835, and in 1849, new materials were added to create the current Kalevala, which consists of 50 parts and 22,795 lines. "Kalevala" means "the land of heroes (Kalevala)" and is the setting in which the protagonists of the poem take action, and is a poetic representation of Finland. Various stories unfold around the demigod, half-human hero Vainämöinen, the lustful young man Lemminkäinen, the maiden Aino who chooses death over her marriage to an old man, the golden maiden, Ilmarinen, the blacksmith who makes a magic mortar, the tragic hero Kullerbo, who was born for revenge but unfortunately committed the crime of incest with his brother and sister and eventually committed suicide, and Louhi, the mistress of the northern country of Pohjola, who is a symbol of evil. It deeply impressed musician Sibelius, painter Gallen Carrela, and writers Kivi and Aho, and became the mother of the emergence of Finnish Neo-Romanticism.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

フィンランドの民族叙事詩。おもにカレリア地方に伝承されていた古代歌謡，抒情詩，呪文を E.リョンロートが採集整理して長編叙事詩に集大成したもの。 1835年初版，49年，新資料を加えて全 50編2万 2795行の現『カレワラ』が成った。「カレワラ」とは「英雄 (カレワ) の国」の意味で，詩の主人公たちの活躍の舞台であり，フィンランドを詩的に表わしたものである。半神半人の英雄老ワイナモイネン，色好みの若者レンミンカイネン，老人との結婚を悲しみ死を選ぶ乙女アイノ，金の乙女，魔法の臼をつくる鍛冶屋イルマリネン，復讐のために生れ，かつ不運にも兄妹相姦の罪を犯し，ついに自刃する悲劇の英雄クッレルボ，悪の象徴たる北の国ポホヨラの女主人ロウヒなどをめぐってさまざまな物語が繰広げられる。音楽家シベリウス，画家ガレン・カッレラ，作家キビ，アホらに深い感銘を与え，フィンランド新ロマン主義発生の母体となった。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Karen (English spelling)

>>: Carrel, Alexis