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Lönnrot was a physician by profession but his passion for the traditional oral stories of his native Finland led him to travel extensively to acquire new material. He collected most of the poems from the region of Karelia. He believed that the small poems he collected were fragments of a once-continuous epic. He published the first Kalevala, the "old" Kalevala, in two volumes in 1835- 1836. The old Kalevala consisted of thirty-two poems first collected by Lönnrot from about 1829, which he then edited and expanded with connecting material to make a continuous story. Lönnrot continued to collect new material, which he integrated into a second edition of the Kalevala, published in 1849. This "new" Kalevala contained fifty poems, and is the standard text of the Kalevala read today.

The main character of the Kalevala is VäinämöinenVainamoinen in Finnish mythology was the son of the primal goddess Ilmatar. He possessed the wisdom of the ages from birth, for he was in his mother's womb for thirty years. He was the 'eternal sage', who exerts order over chaos and established the land o, a shamanistic hero with the magical power of songs. He is born of the primal Maiden of the Air and contributes to the creation of the world. Many of his travels resemble shamanistic journeys, especially the one where he visits the belly of a ground-giant, Antero Vipunen , to find the words of boat generation. He plays the kanteleA kantele is a traditional Finnish plucked string instrument. The oldest forms of kantele have 5 to 15 strings and a wooden carved body. Modern concert kanteles can have up to 39 strings. The Finnish kantele has diatonic tuning (C major or like the white, a Finnish string instrument that is played like a zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, mainly used in folk music. The strings are stretched across the length of the soundbox, and the instrument does not have a neck. In entertainment, the zither is perhaps most famous for its role in providing the s. One of his kanteles is made of the jawbone of a giant pike. He never finds a wife (one of the women, Aino, drowns herself instead) and steals the SampoSampo plc is also a Finnish company in banking and insurance. In Finnish mythology, the Sampo was a magical artefact that brought good fortune to its holder; nobody knows exactly what it was supposed to be. According to Lonnrot's interpretation in the Kal, a magical mill, from the people of the north.

Other characters, some of whom have their own chapters, are Seppo IlmarinenSeppo Ilmarinen the Eternal Hammerer, is an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. Immortal, he is capable of creating practically anything right down to animated creatures of metal, but is notoriously unlucky in love. He's described as working the, a heroic artificer-smith (comparable to the Germanic WeylandWeyland (also spelled Wayland Weland and Watlende is the mythical smith- god of the Saxon immigrants into Britain. He is synonymous with the North-Germanic/Norse Volund Volundr of the Volundarkvida/volundakvitha, a chapter in the Elder Edda. Weyland had t) who crafted the sky dome, the Sampo and more; the Hag of the North, a shamanistic matriarch of a people rivaling those of Kalevala who at one stage pulls the sun and the moon from the sky; Väinämöinen's young rival, Joukahainen , who promises his sister Aino to him when he loses a singing contest; vengeful, self-destructive KullervoAkseli Gallen-Kallela In the Finnish Kalevala, Kullervo was the ill-fated son of Kalervo. He is the only unredeemably tragic character in Finnish mythology. His father dies in a clash with his own brother Untamo, who sells Kullervo as a slave to Ilmarinen who is born as a slave, goes into berserkBerserkers (or Berserks were ferocious Norse warriors who had sworn allegiance to the Viking god Odin. They worked themselves into murderous fury before a battle. The term berserker comes from Norse "berserkr", meaning literally " bear shirt", but alludin rage and commits suicide; and handsome but arrogant Lemminkäinen, whose mother has to rescue his corpse from the river of Death which runs through Tuonela, and bring him to life, echoing the myth of Osiris.

Some of the chapters describe ancient creation myths, a long wedding ceremony, and the right words for magical spells of healing and craftsmanship.

The effect of the Kalevala upon later art in Finland has been tremendous, inspiring composer Jean Sibelius, modern poet Paavo Haavikko, painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, and many others.

There are two English translations of the Kalevala. The older translation follows the original rhythm of the poems that may sound cumbersome to English ears. Poet Keith Bosley has written another version in a more fluid linguistic style.