Tolkien and the Kalevala

Jyrki Korpua, PhD, is a researcher of literature at the University of Oulu. His books include Alussa oli Sana – Raamattu ja kirjallisuus (“The Bible and Literature”, 2016, in Finnish), New Perspectives to Dystopian Fiction (2020, edited with Saija Isomaa & Jouni Teittinen) and The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien: A Christian Platonic Reading of the Legendarium (2021). His research interests include theological literary history, utopian and dystopian studies, Tolkien studies and mythopoetic game studies.

• PrefaceAcknowledgements1. Introduction2. From folk tradition to fantasyOn J. R. R. TolkienOn role models, ancient heroesThe Kalevalas of LönnrotThe Kalevala Tolkien knewTolkien’s worksWhat did Tolkien think of the Kalevala?The merging of Finnish language and the Kalevala in Tolkien3. The story of the Kalevala and Tolkien’s fantasy worldWorld creation and world orderSong battles and quests before marriageThe Sampo and the SilmarilsInterludesThe end of the tale4 The Kalevalaic parts of Tolkien’s worldThe might of singing, music and wordsNature and the elementsOn VäinämöinenOn LouhiOn IlmarinenOn Kullervo5. ConclusionBibliographyIndex

"Jyrki Korpua brings new depth to Tolkien’s world-building with his delightful introduction to the song-built world of the Kalevala, which both inspired Tolkien’s earliest stories and resonates throughout his legendarium from the music of Creation to the songs of Tom Bombadil."Rachel Fulton Brown, Associate Professor of Medieval History, Fundamentals, and the College, The University of Chicago, USA