The Kalevala
← all texts · Finnic · compiled 1835–1849; oral tradition older
What this is
The national epic of Finland — Elias Lönnrot's weaving of oral runic songs into the saga of the wizard-bard Väinämöinen, the smith Ilmarinen, and the magical mill Sampo. Crawford's complete English verse is on Gutenberg.
Read & download
We don't host the text — these go to the source library.
The gods & things in it
VäinämöinenCompanion reading path
What to read alongside it, and why.
The Poetic & Prose Eddas
Norse & Germanic
The Germanic mythology next door — the two great Northern bodies of myth.