Elias Lönnrot

Jyrki Korpua (University of Oulu)

Dates

Born 9 Apr 1802
Died 19 Mar 1884
Activity c. 1827-c. 1884

Places

Born in Finland
Active in Finland

Activities

Primary

Folklorist/Ethnographer
Philologist

Other

Hymnist/ Psalmist
Journalist
Physician/ Doctor
Poet

Resources

Lönnrot's Works

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Elias Lönnrot (1802‒1884) was a central figure in Finnish 19th century literary culture. He collected, compiled, edited and published Finnish national epic

The Kalevala

(1835/1849) and its sister work

The Kanteletar

(1840). Multi-talented Lönnrot was a physician, folklorist, poet and hymn-writer, linguistic reformer, journalist, publisher, scientist, and a professor of Finnish language and literature. As a collector and editor of folk poetry, Lönnrot’s significance is crucial for the beginning of literature written in Finnish. Also, Lönnrot is a pivotal character in forming Finnish national romantic culture in the 19th century.

Birth, early life and education

Elias Lönnrot was born in Sammatti on 9th of April 1802. He was the fourth son and eighth

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1305 words

Citation: Korpua, Jyrki. "Elias Lönnrot". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 June 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11916, accessed 25 November 2024.]