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For a veelage in Estonie, see Kalevi, Estonie.
Son o Kalevi. Illustration tae "Kalevipoeg" bi Oskar Kallis

Kaleva - kent as Kalevi or Kalev an aw- is an ancient Finnish ruler, kent frae the Finnish epic Kalevala. Kaleva an his sons are important heroic figurs in Estonie, Finnish an Karelie meethologie.

History[eedit | eedit soorce]

Some historians hae suggestit that the auldest kent written reference tae Kaleva (Kalev / Kalevi) can be found frae the 6t or 7t century Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith, which became copiet in the Exeter Book, a manuscript o Auld Inglis poetry compiled in the late 10t century. Widsith states:

"Caesar ruled the Greeks, Caelic the Finns ... I was with the Greeks and Finns and also with Caesar ..."

Some historians hae interpretit the term "Caelic" in Widsith tae refer tae the auncient Finnish ruler Kaleva, discussed in the Finnish epic Kalevala.

The first clear written mentionin o Kaleva appears in 1641 in the Leyen Spiegel bi Heinrich Stahl. [1]

The name o Estonie's naitional epic Kalevipoeg means "son o Kalevi" (or "son o Kalev") an the name o Finnish naitional epic Kalevala means "Laund o Kaleva". Some hae suggestit that Kalevala micht be the Estonie mainlaund. [2] Some historians believe Kalevala refers tae the auncient Finnish naition cried Kvenland.

Accordin tae the 18t century Finnish fowklear-collector Kristfrid Ganander, Kaleva haed 12 sons in total, which includit e.g. such renoun heroes as Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen an Hiisi.

Myths[eedit | eedit soorce]

In Estonie stories, sons o Kaleva wur oreeginally considered ryalty. In Finnish stories tho, they are mair aften referred tae as giants who built several castles an livit in various regions o Finland. In either case, they are aften blamit for oddities in natur, such as strangely lairge or weird stanes for instance.

Meeths tell that as mair an mair o the ceetizens became Christianisit, their inhabitants began tae hate Kaleva's sons for remaining pagans. Suin, Kaleva's sons wur forcit tae leave their kintra, Kalevala. As time passed, Christians invadit mair an mair laund, pushin Kaleva's sons further awa. Eventually, Kaleva's sons foond an island whaur they stayed an frae whaur refused tae leave. Christian priests then came an cursed thaim, till they teuk a big stane an sailed awa wi it. They hae no been seen syne then, but the legend haes it that they aften appear in the nicht time an destroy crops on the ferm launds or cut doun forests. Accordin tae the legend, almost the same teep o visitations are done bi the Hiisi people, who resembles trolls. They wur forcit tae flee bi the Christians an aw.

Derivit[eedit | eedit soorce]

Finnish fowk cried the starn Sirius Kalevantähti which means "Starn o Kaleva". The belt o Orion wis cried "Kaleva's sword".

In paintins[eedit | eedit soorce]

Oskar Kallis, an Estonie painter frae the 1900s, producit the Kalevipoeg series o paintins portrayin the epic heroic figur Kaleva/Kalevi/Kalev. These paintins are viewable at a museum in Estonie. In 1918, Oskar Kallis dee'd o illness at a young age in Yalta, Ukraine.

See an aw[eedit | eedit soorce]

References[eedit | eedit soorce]

  2. Matti Kuusi and Pertti Anttonen. "Kalevala Lipas" (Finnish Literary Society, 1985).