Finnish influences on Tolkien include both the Finnish language, which he especially liked, and the epic poem Kalevala, a 19th century compilation of Finnish mythology by Elias Lönnrot, which Tolkien stated had powerfully affected him. He further stated that his invented Elvish language of Quenya was influenced by the phonology and structure of Finnish.
Scholars have identified both multiple surface-level parallels between elements and characters in the Kalevala and Tolkien's legendarium, and deeper resemblances. These began with his unfinished 1914 The Story of Kullervo, his adaptation of a section of the Kalevala. The story already displays numerous features characteristic of his Middle-earth writings. Another work from this period, "The Voyage of Éarendel the Evening Star", resembles the Kalevala's closing scene. Among the specific parallels between the Kalevala and Tolkien's writings is a magical object of great power, the Sampo, reflected in Tolkien's Silmarils and the One Ring, and perhaps also the Two Trees of Valinor. The central character of the Kalevala, Väinämöinen, too, is a wise immortal, like Tolkien's Gandalf.
Deeper matches include the process of compiling and editing: Lönnrot gathered folk stories to create his work, while Tolkien wrote frame stories to give the impression that he was an editor of ancient texts describing the mythology of England. Scholars have noted that Christopher Tolkien's subsequent redaction of his father's legendarium made this fiction into a reality, so that both men could be called England's Lönnrot. Further, Tolkien imitated the Kalevala's use of intentionally high-sounding language, stylized poetry, and the magical power of song.
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FinnishinfluencesonTolkien include both the Finnish language, which he especially liked, and the epic poem Kalevala, a 19th century compilation of Finnish...
constructed languages. Tolkien took an interest in the Finnish mythology of the Kalevala, then became acquainted with Finnish, which he found to provide...
the difference between the use of partitive and accusative: Finnishinfluenced J.R.R. Tolkien in inventing his fictional language Quenya, being present...
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the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit, but eventually...
in 1981. The FinnishTolkien Society Kontu (Suomen Tolkien-seura Kontu ry in Finnish) is a registered society based in Helsinki, Finland. The society...
partially influenced by the Kalevala. The work was written mainly in Finland and the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs co-financed it. Finnish music has...
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