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Kullervo
Kullervo () is an ill-fated character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot. Growing up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe, he comes to realise that the same people who had brought him up, the tribe of Untamo, were also the ones who had slain his family. As a child, he is sold into slavery and mocked and tormented further. When he finally runs away from his masters, he discovers surviving members of his family, only to lose them again. He seduces a girl who turns out to be his own sister, having thought his sister dead. When she finds out it was her own brother who seduced her, she commits suicide. Kullervo becomes mad with rage, returns to Untamo and his tribe, destroys them using his magical powers, and commits suicide. At the end of the poem the old sage Väinämöinen warns all parents against treating their children too harshly. Story The story of Kullervo is laid out in runes (chapters) 31 through 36 of the Kalevala ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kullervo (Sibelius)
''Kullervo'' (sometimes referred to as the ''Kullervo Symphony''), Op. 7, is a five-movement symphonic work for soprano, baritone, male choir, and orchestra written from 1891–1892 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Movements I, II, and IV are instrumental, whereas III and V feature sung text from Runos XXXV–VI of the ''Kalevala'', Finland's national epic. The piece tells the story of the tragic hero Kullervo, with each movement depicting an episode from his ill-fated life: first, an introduction that establishes the psychology of the titular character; second, a haunting "lullaby with variations" that portrays his unhappy childhood; third, a dramatic dialogue between soloists and chorus in which the hero unknowingly seduces his long-lost sister; fourth, a lively scherzo in which Kullervo seeks redemption on the battlefield; and fifth, a funereal choral finale in which he returns to the spot of his incestuous crime and, guilt-ridden, takes his life by fallin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory voyages between the peoples of the land of Kalevala called Väinölä and the land of Pohjola and their various protagonists and antagonists, as well as the construction and robbery of the epic mythical wealth-making machine Sampo. The ''Kalevala'' is regarded as the national epic of Karelia and Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature with J. L. Runeberg's ''The Tales of Ensign Stål'' and Aleksis Kivi's ''The Seven Brothers''. The ''Kalevala'' was instrumental in the development of the Finnish national identity and the intensification of Finland's language strife that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917. The work is also well known internationally and has partly inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a national identity during its Independence of Finland, struggle for independence from Russia. The core of his oeuvre is his Discography of Sibelius symphony cycles, set of seven symphonies, which, like his other major works, are regularly performed and recorded in Finland and countries around the world. His other best-known compositions are ''Finlandia'', the ''Karelia Suite'', ''Valse triste (Sibelius), Valse triste'', the Violin Concerto (Sibelius), Violin Concerto, the choral symphony ''Kullervo (Sibelius), Kullervo'', and ''The Swan of Tuonela'' (from the ''Lemminkäinen Suite''). His other works include pieces inspired by nature, Nordic mythology, and the Finni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Eneas Sjöstrand
Carl Eneas Sjöstrand (11 September 1828 – 14 February 1906) was a Swedish people, Swedish sculptor who worked for over 40 years in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Biography Sjöstrand was born at Stockholm, Sweden. He was the son of painter Carl Johan Sjöstrand (1789-1857) and his wife Johanna Sofia Morberg. He first trained at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts with Carl Gustaf Qvarnström (1810-1867). In the 1850s, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and as a private student with sculptor Herman Wilhelm Bissen (1798–1868). Sjöstrand first arrived in Finland in the autumn of 1856 where he worked on the statue of Henrik Gabriel Porthan (1739–1804) in Turku. After working in Stockholm in 1861–1862, in 1863 Sjöstrand was offered a position as instructor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki by Fredrik Cygnaeus (1807–1881). Sjöstrand was a teacher in Finland for a total of 18 years. Among his students was the Finnish sculptor Walter Ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "''Turambar and the Foalókë''", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. Túrin was a Man of the First Age of Middle-earth, whose family had been cursed by the Dark Lord Morgoth. While trying vainly to defy the curse, Túrin brought ruin across much of Beleriand, and upon himself and his sister Niënor. His title, "Turambar", means master of fate. His epitaph, "Master of fate, yet by fate mastered", showed his inability to escape Morgoth's curse. Tolkien consciously based the story on the tale of Kullervo in the Finnish mythological poem ''Kalevala''. Scholars, and Tolkien himself, have noted parallels with other myths including that of Sigmund and Sigurd in the '' Volsunga saga''; the Greek myth of Oedipus; and structure and style, with Arthurian legend. Excerpts have been published in prose in ''The Silmarillion'', ''Unfinished Tales'', ''The Book of Lost Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Children Of Húrin
''The Children of Húrin'' is an epic fantasy novel which forms the completion of a tale by J. R. R. Tolkien. He wrote the original version of the story in the late 1910s, revised it several times later, but did not complete it before his death in 1973. His son, Christopher Tolkien, edited the manuscripts to form a consistent narrative, and published it in 2007 as an independent work. The book contains 33 illustrations by Alan Lee, eight of which are full-page and in colour. The story is one of three "great tales" set in the First Age of Tolkien's Middle-earth, the other two being ''Beren and Lúthien'' and ''The Fall of Gondolin''. Overview The history and descent of the main characters are given as the leading paragraphs of the book, and the back story is elaborated upon in ''The Silmarillion''. It begins five hundred years before the action of the book, when Morgoth, a Vala and the prime evil power, escapes from the Blessed Realm of Valinor to the north-west of Middle-ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilmarinen
Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He is described as working the known metals of the time, including brass, copper, iron, gold, and silver. The great works of Ilmarinen include the crafting of the dome of the sky and the forging of the Sampo. His usual epithet in the Kalevala is ''seppo'', a poetic word for "smith". and the source of the given name Seppo. Etymology and origin Cognates of the Finnish word ''ilma'' ('air') are attested in almost all the main Finno-Ugric languages apart from the Mari and Mordvinic languages, allowing the reconstruction of proto-Finno-Ugric *''ilma'' meaning something like 'sky'. This noun is also attested as the name of a god in Khanty (''Num-Iləm''), Komi (''Jen''), Udmurt language, Udmurt (''Inmar'') and the Finnic languages, suggesting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aleksis Kivi
Aleksis Kivi (; born Alexis Stenvall; 10 October 1834 – 31 December 1872) was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, ''Seitsemän veljestä'' ("Seven Brothers") in 1870. He is also known for his 1864 play ''Heath Cobblers''. Although Kivi was among the very earliest authors of prose and lyrics in Finnish, he is still considered one of the greatest. Kivi is regarded as a national writer of Finland and his birthday, 10 October, is celebrated as Finnish Literature Day. Life Aleksis Stenvall was born in Palojoki village of Nurmijärvi, Grand Duchy of Finland. His parents were the village tailor Erik Johan Stenvall (1798–1866) and Anna-Kristiina Hamberg (1793–1863). Before Aleksis, the family already had three sons, Johannes, Emanuel, and Albert. Aleksis also had a sister, Agnes, who died in 1851 at the age of only 13. In 1846 he left for school in Helsinki, and in 1859 he was accepted into the University of Helsinki, where he studie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of with a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city, forming a larger metropolitan area with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. Finnish, alongside Swedish, are the official languages. Swedish is the native language of 5.2% of the population. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes. Finland was first inhabited around 9000 BC after the Last Glacial Period. The Stone Age introduced several differ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen () is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical singing voice. In Finnish mythology The first extant mention of Väinämöinen in literature is in a list of Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola in 1551. He and other writers described Väinämöinen as the god of chants, songs and poetry; in many stories Väinämöinen was the central figure at the birth of the world. The Karelian and Finnish national epic, the ''Kalevala'', tells of his birth in the course of a creation story in its opening sections. This myth has elements of creation from chaos and from a cosmic egg, as well as of earth diver creation. At first there were only primal waters and Sky. But Sky also had a daughter named Ilmatar. One day, Ilmatar descended to the waters and became pregnant. She gestated for a very lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnish Mythology
Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, but also shares some similarities with neighbouring Baltic, Slavic and, to a lesser extent, Norse mythologies. Finnish mythology survived within an oral tradition of mythical poem-singing and folklore well into the 19th century. Of the animals, the most sacred was the bear, whose real name was never uttered out loud, lest his kind be unfavorable to the hunting. The bear ("karhu" in Finnish) was seen as the embodiment of the forefathers, and for this reason it was called by many circumlocutions: ''mesikämmen'' ("mead-paw"), ''otso'' ("browed one"), ''kontio'' ("dweller of the land"), ''metsän kultaomena'' ("the golden apple of the forest") but not a god. Study of Finnish mythological and religious history The first historical mention ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurthang
Weapons and armour of Middle-earth are those of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings, such as ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion''. Tolkien modelled his fictional warfare on the Ancient and Early Medieval periods of history. His depiction of weapons and armour particularly reflect Northern European culture as seen in ''Beowulf'' and the Norse sagas. Tolkien established this relationship in ''The Fall of Gondolin'', the first story in '' his legendarium'' to be written. In this story, the Elves of Gondolin use the mail armour, swords, shields, spears, axes and bows of Northern European warfare. In Tolkien's writings, these kinds of weapons and armour are used by his fictional races, including Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, and Orcs. As in his sources, Tolkien's weapons are often named, sometimes with runic inscriptions to show they are magical and have their own history and power. Terminology Tolkien devised several constructed lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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