Kullervo's Curse by Akseli Gallen-Kallela In the Finnish Kalevala, Kullervo was the ill-fated son of Kalervo. He is the only irredeemably tragic character in Finnish mythology. Kullervos Curse by Akseli Gallen-Kallela This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...
Kullervos Curse by Akseli Gallen-Kallela This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...
From the Kalevala, 1896 Akseli Gallen-Kallela (April 26, 1865 _ March 7, 1931) was a Finnish painter who is most of all known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic (illustration, right). ...
The Kalevala is an epic poem which Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish folk lore in the 19th century. ...
Finnish mythology has many features that it shares with other Finnic mythologies, like the Estonian mythology, and also elements similar with non-Finnic neighbours, especially the the Balts and the Scandinavians. ...
Story
The story of Kullervo is laid out in runes (chapters) 31 through 36 of the Kalevala
Rune 31 - Kullerwoinen, son of Evil Untamo is jealous of his brother Kalervo, and the strife between brothers is fed by numerous petty disputes. Eventually Untamo's resentment boils into open warfare, and he kills all of Kalervo's tribe save for Kalervo's daughter Untamala, who submits to Untamo. Shortly afterwards, Untamala gives virgin birth to a baby boy she names Kullervo (Pearl of Combat).
When Kullervo is three months old, he is heard uttering vows of revenge and destruction on Untamo's tribe. Untamo tries three times to have Kullervo killed (by drowning, fire and crucifixion). Each time, the infant Kullervo is saved by his latent magical powers.
Untamo then allows the child to grow up, then tries three times to find employment for him as a servant in his household, but all three attempts fail as Kullervo's wanton and wild nature makes him unfit for any domestic task. In the end, Untamo decides to rid himself of the problem by selling Kullervo into slavery to Ilmarinen. Slave redirects here. ...
Seppo Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. ...
Rune 32 - Kullervo as a shepherd The boy is raised in isolation because of his status as a slave, his fierce temper, and frightening signs of early magical talent. The only memento that the boy retains from life in a loving family is an old knife that came along with him as an infant.
The wife of Ilmarinen enjoys tormenting the slave boy, now a youth, and sends Kullervo out to tend herd on her livestock with a loaf of bread with stones baked in it, along with a lengthy poem invoking the various deities to grant protection and prosperity to the herd. Seppo Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. ...
Rune 33 - Kullervo and the cheat-cake Kullervo sets down to eat, but the heirloom knife breaks on one of the stones in the bread. Kullervo is overwhelmed with rage, and, being unusually naturally gifted at magic, casts a curse that makes the cows Ilmarinen's wife is milking turn into bears, who kill her. Seppo Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. ...
Rune 34 - Kullervo finds his tribe-folk Kullervo then flees from slavery and finds that his family is actually still alive except for his sister, who has disappeared and is feared dead.
Rune 35 - Kullervo's evil deeds Kullervo's father has no more success than Untamo in finding work suited for his son, and thus sends the young man to collect tributes due to the tribe. On the way back he meets a beggar-girl and seduces her without knowing or caring who she is. Afterward she realizes that she is his sister, and out of shame she commits suicide. The distraught Kullervo returns to his family to break the news.
Rune 36 - Kullerwoinen's victory and death Kullervo vows revenge on Untamo. One by one, his own family tries to dissuade him from the fruitless path of evil and revenge, and eventually rejects him, apart from his mother whose maternal love cannot be swayed even when she knows his course of action is wrong. Kullervo hardens his heart and refuses to reconsider, or even to pause to follow funeral rites when he hears his father, brother, sister and mother die in turns.
Kullervo goes on and obtains from Ukko his magic broadsword, which he uses to exterminate Untamo and his tribe. When he returns home, he finds the dead bodies of his own family littered about the homestead, untended for. His mother's spirit gives him directions to woodland nymphs who can shelter him, but he finds instead the body of his sister, who committed suicide. Simplified drawing of a stone carving type found in Karelia, which is believed to have characteristics of both snake and thunder In Finnish mythology, Ukko (Estonian spelling Uku) is a god of sky, weather, crops (harvest) and other natural things. ...
Kullervo then asks of Ukko's sword if it will have his life. The sword eagerly accepts, noting that as a weapon it doesn't care who it's used to kill. Kullervo commits suicide by throwing himself on his sword. On hearing the news, Väinämöinen comments that children should never be given away or ill-treated in their upbringing, lest like Kullervo they grow evil and bereft of wisdom or honor. Illustration from the Kalevala, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela 1896. ...
Evaluation Kullervo is fairly ordinary in Finnish mythology, in being a naturally talented magician. However, he is the only irredeemably tragic character in Finnish mythology. He showed great potential, but being raised badly, he became an ignorant and vengeful man. Finnish mythology has many features that it shares with other Finnic mythologies, like the Estonian mythology, and also elements similar with non-Finnic neighbours, especially the the Balts and the Scandinavians. ...
In general usage a tragedy is a play, movie or sometimes a real world event with a sad outcome. ...
Finnish mythology has many features that it shares with other Finnic mythologies, like the Estonian mythology, and also elements similar with non-Finnic neighbours, especially the the Balts and the Scandinavians. ...
The death poem of Kullervo in which he, like Macbeth, interrogates his blade, is justly famous. Unlike the dagger in Macbeth, Kullervo's sword replies, bursting into song: it affirms that if it gladly participated in his other foul deeds, it would gladly drink of his blood also. General Akashi Gidayu preparing to commit seppuku after losing a battle for his master in 1582. ...
Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath by Théodore Chassériau. ...
Bold text This article is about the weapon. ...
Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Some literary critics have suggested that Kullevo's character is a bitter metaphorical representation of Finland's frequent struggles for independence. This proposal is contested.
The story of Kullervo is unique among ancient myths in its realistic depiction of the effects of child abuse.
Parallels in Popular Culture The tale of Túrin Turambar in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion (expanded in Unfinished Tales) has similarities with this myth, as it has with Oedipus and with Sigurd the Völsung. In The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, Túrin Turambar was a Man of Middle-earth, who became a tragic hero (or anti-hero) of the First Age in the tale called Narn i Chîn Húrin (The Tale of the Children of Húrin). Unpublished drafts of...
J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ...
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkiens works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who would later become a noted fantasy fiction writer. ...
Unfinished Tales (full title Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth) is a collection of stories by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. ...
Oedipus with the Sphinx, from an Attic red-figure cylix from the Vatican Museum, ca. ...
Sigurd sculpture in Bremen Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr, German: Siegfried) was a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. ...
Poul Anderson wrote a novel The Broken Sword, whose owner converses with a talking sword before committing suicide. Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926–July 31, 2001) was an American science fiction author of the genres Golden Age. ...
The Broken Sword is a fantasy novel written by the American writer Poul Anderson in 1954. ...
Michael Moorcock's tragic hero Elric of Melniboné likewise contains many elements that are inspired by Kullervo; a notable similarity between the two is the near-identical reply of each protagonist's weapon to its master before his suicide. Michael John Moorcock (born December 18, 1939, in London, England) is a prolific English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Elric as depicted in Weird of the White Wolf (Berkeley Books, 1983) Elric of Melniboné (pronounced mel-NIH-boh-nay) is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock. ...
The character of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars movies has some similarities to Kullervo: Anakin is a slave with no father, vents his rage through his potent magical abilities, kills the murderers of his mother, and dies by his own choice (although a self-sacrifice, not a suicide). Anakin Skywalker is the central character in the Star Wars universe. ...
Star Wars is an epic science fantasy saga and fictional universe created by George Lucas during the late 1970s. ...
Anakin Skywalker is the central character in the Star Wars universe. ...
Kullervo in Music and Theater Kullervo is the subject of an 1892 choral symphony in five movements for full orchestra, two vocal soloists, and male choir by Jean Sibelius. It was opus 7 for Sibelius and his first successful work. Kullervo is an early choral symphony written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
This article is about the musical term solo; for other uses, see solo. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Johan Julius Christian Jean/Janne Sibelius ( ; December 8, 1865 – September 20, 1957) was a Finnish composer of classical music and one of the most notable composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...
Kullervo is the subject of a 1988 opera by Aulis Sallinen. The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ...
Aulis Sallinen (born April 9, 1935) is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. ...
Kullervo is also the subject of a brief symphonic poem composed in 1913 by Leevi Madetoja. Leevi Antti Madetoja (February 17, 1887 – October 6, 1947) was a Finnish composer. ...
In 2006 a Finnish metal band Amorphis released it's seventh studio album Eclipse, which tells the story of Kullervo according to a play by Paavo Haavikko. The play has been translated into English by Anselm Hollo. Amorphis is a Finnish metal band started by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen in 1990. ...
Eclipse is the seventh album by Amorphis. ...
Paavo Haavikko (born 1931) is a Finnish poet and playwrite, considered one of the countrys most outstanding writers. ...
Anselm Hollo (born 1934) is a prolific Finnish poet and translator, resident since the late 1960s in the United States. ...
See also Finnish mythology has many features that it shares with other Finnic mythologies, like the Estonian mythology, and also elements similar with non-Finnic neighbours, especially the the Balts and the Scandinavians. ...
Seppo Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. ...
The Kalevala is an epic poem which Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish folk lore in the 19th century. ...
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