The preparation and publication of the Kalevala in 1835 and 1849
After his collection trip in 1834, the possibility of a unified epic seemed to Lönnrot to be within reach. He now considered the relationships among the different poems and how best to arrange them. Later he told of having generally adhered to the order in which the best singers sang their songs. The Kalevala was ready for publication in 1835. Lönnrot dated his preface the 28th of February, which is now celebrated as Kalevala Day.
A manuscript, Elias Lönnrot's collection in SKS. (Photo: Timo Setälä 1998)
SKS The publication of the Kalevala did not dampen his enthusiasm for collecting, however. He continued his work and travelled to Archangel Karelia in April and October of the same year. In 1836-37 he undertook a major expedition, travelling through the villages of Archangel Karelia to Lapland. After having returned from there to Kajaani, he continued south to Finnish Karelia.
Lönnrot's example inspired many others to undertake collection journeys. The most important of these young collectors was D.E.D. Europaeus, who let Lönnrot use the folk poems he recorded. Thus an ever-increasing amount of new folk poetry material became available to Lönnrot.
Lönnrot began work on a new, expanded version of the Kalevala, which appeared in 1849. To this New Kalevala Lönnrot added entire new eisodes and made changes to much of the text. While the Old Kalevala had been nearer to the original performances of the actual folk poets, Lönnrot moved further and further away from his source texts in compiling the New Kalevala. With regard to his method, Lönnrot explained: "I felt myself to have the same right which, according to their conviction, most singers bestow on themselves, namely, to be able to order the runes as they are best suited to be joined together, or, in the words of a rune: “I conjured myself into a conjurer, a singer came of me. That is, I considered myself as good a singer as they.”
