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The Magic Songs of the Finns
The largest collection of Finnish folk magic ever assembled.
Since the time immemorial the Finns have used incantations, or Magic Songs. It’s unknown when or how this tradition of magic first came to be, but already in pre-historical times they were widely used in all areas of life.
The 639 spells and charms contained in this book were collected in the 19th century from the rural areas of Finland and Karelia, shortly after which this old esoteric tradition became extinct.
They were first published in year 1880, and translated into English in 1896 as a part of larger folkloristic study, but have never before been published as an independent work.
♣ The book has a hundred woodcuts designed by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, a turn-of-the-century artist famous for his illustrations of Finnish folklore.
♣ I have also used typefaces and ornaments designed by William Morris for the book.
♣ The book is bound in quality artificial leather and decorated with foil stamping and blind embossing.
♣ This is the first book of the Pagan Archive series, which will contain books on paganism, witchcraft, folklore and esoteric traditions.
FINNISH:
Salakirjojen kauan valmisteltu englanninkielinen kustannusprojekti alkaa Muinaisten Loitsurunojen käännöksen julkaisulla.
Kirjan sisältämät 639 loitsua kattavat valtaosan alkuteoksen aineistosta, ja ne ovat käännetyt vuonna 1896 osana laajempaa suomensukuisten kansojen kansatieteellistä tutkimusta.
Kirja on sidottu kokotekonahkakansiin ja koristeltu kulta- ja sokeapainatuksella. Kirja on kuvitettu Akseli Gallen-Kallelan puupiirroksin, ja siinä on käytetty William Morriksen suunnittelemia koriste- ja kirjasinmalleja.
Pagan Archive -sarjassa tullaan julkaisemaan keskeisten vanhojen kansanperinteen ja muinaisuskon teosten kuvitettuja painoksia. Myöhemmässä vaiheessa kustannamme myös käännösteoksia osaksi sarjaa.
Salakirjat / Pagan Archive, 2011
Since the time immemorial the Finns have used incantations, or Magic Songs. It’s unknown when or how this tradition of magic first came to be, but already in pre-historical times they were widely used in all areas of life.
The 639 spells and charms contained in this book were collected in the 19th century from the rural areas of Finland and Karelia, shortly after which this old esoteric tradition became extinct.
They were first published in year 1880, and translated into English in 1896 as a part of larger folkloristic study, but have never before been published as an independent work.
♣ The book has a hundred woodcuts designed by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, a turn-of-the-century artist famous for his illustrations of Finnish folklore.
♣ I have also used typefaces and ornaments designed by William Morris for the book.
♣ The book is bound in quality artificial leather and decorated with foil stamping and blind embossing.
♣ This is the first book of the Pagan Archive series, which will contain books on paganism, witchcraft, folklore and esoteric traditions.
FINNISH:
Salakirjojen kauan valmisteltu englanninkielinen kustannusprojekti alkaa Muinaisten Loitsurunojen käännöksen julkaisulla.
Kirjan sisältämät 639 loitsua kattavat valtaosan alkuteoksen aineistosta, ja ne ovat käännetyt vuonna 1896 osana laajempaa suomensukuisten kansojen kansatieteellistä tutkimusta.
Kirja on sidottu kokotekonahkakansiin ja koristeltu kulta- ja sokeapainatuksella. Kirja on kuvitettu Akseli Gallen-Kallelan puupiirroksin, ja siinä on käytetty William Morriksen suunnittelemia koriste- ja kirjasinmalleja.
Pagan Archive -sarjassa tullaan julkaisemaan keskeisten vanhojen kansanperinteen ja muinaisuskon teosten kuvitettuja painoksia. Myöhemmässä vaiheessa kustannamme myös käännösteoksia osaksi sarjaa.
Salakirjat / Pagan Archive, 2011
232 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1880
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About the author
Elias Lönnrot
91 books70 followersElias Lönnrot was a Finnish philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for composing the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic compiled from national folklore.
Lönnrot was born in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa in Finland. He studied medicine at the Academy of Turku. To his misfortune the year he joined was the year of the Great Fire of Turku, burning down half the town – and the University. Lönnrot (and many of the rest of the University) moved to Helsinki, where he graduated in 1832.
He got a job as district doctor of Kajaani in Northern Finland during a time of famine in the district. The famine had prompted the previous doctor to resign, making it possible for a very young doctor to get such a position. Several consecutive years of crop failure resulted in enormous losses of population and livestock; Lönnrot wrote letters to the State departments, asking for food, not medicines. He was the sole doctor for the 4,000 or so people of his district, at a time where doctors were rare and very expensive, and where people did not buy medicines from equally rare and expensive pharmacies, but rather trusted to their village healers and locally available remedies.
His true passion lay in his native Finnish language. He began writing about the early Finnish language in 1827 and began collecting folk tales from the rural people about that time.
Lönnrot went on extended leaves of absence from his doctor's office; he toured the countryside of Finland, Sapmi (Lapland), and nearby portions of Russian Karelia to support his collecting efforts. This led to a series of books: Kantele, 1829–1831 (the kantele is a Finnish traditional instrument); Kalevala, 1835–1836 (possibly Land of Heroes; better known as the "old" Kalevala); Kanteletar, 1840 (the Kantele Maiden); Sananlaskuja, 1842 (Proverbs); an expanded second edition of Kalevala, 1849 (the "new" Kalevala); and Finsk-Svenskt lexikon, 1866–1880 (Finnish-Swedish Dictionary).
Lönnrot was recognised for his part in preserving Finland's oral traditions by appointment to the Chair of Finnish Literature at the University of Helsinki. He died on March 19, 1884 in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa.
Lönnrot was born in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa in Finland. He studied medicine at the Academy of Turku. To his misfortune the year he joined was the year of the Great Fire of Turku, burning down half the town – and the University. Lönnrot (and many of the rest of the University) moved to Helsinki, where he graduated in 1832.
He got a job as district doctor of Kajaani in Northern Finland during a time of famine in the district. The famine had prompted the previous doctor to resign, making it possible for a very young doctor to get such a position. Several consecutive years of crop failure resulted in enormous losses of population and livestock; Lönnrot wrote letters to the State departments, asking for food, not medicines. He was the sole doctor for the 4,000 or so people of his district, at a time where doctors were rare and very expensive, and where people did not buy medicines from equally rare and expensive pharmacies, but rather trusted to their village healers and locally available remedies.
His true passion lay in his native Finnish language. He began writing about the early Finnish language in 1827 and began collecting folk tales from the rural people about that time.
Lönnrot went on extended leaves of absence from his doctor's office; he toured the countryside of Finland, Sapmi (Lapland), and nearby portions of Russian Karelia to support his collecting efforts. This led to a series of books: Kantele, 1829–1831 (the kantele is a Finnish traditional instrument); Kalevala, 1835–1836 (possibly Land of Heroes; better known as the "old" Kalevala); Kanteletar, 1840 (the Kantele Maiden); Sananlaskuja, 1842 (Proverbs); an expanded second edition of Kalevala, 1849 (the "new" Kalevala); and Finsk-Svenskt lexikon, 1866–1880 (Finnish-Swedish Dictionary).
Lönnrot was recognised for his part in preserving Finland's oral traditions by appointment to the Chair of Finnish Literature at the University of Helsinki. He died on March 19, 1884 in Sammatti, in the province of Uusimaa.
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February 23, 2022Impossible to give this a star rating. Not knowing the original Finnish songs (never mind not knowing Finnish well enough to understand those old folk songs), I'm not sure how good the translation is or the veracity of the interpretations here.
I absolutely appreciate the attempt made to preserve an ancient pagan tradition, however, this tome is not untouched by Christianity. I struggle to believe original pagan magic songs mentioned Jesus and the Virgin Mary, so these are definitely the result of later influences or perhaps a result of fallible human interpretation.
This book does, however, provide greater insight into the various deities and creatures of Finnish mythology, adding snippets of detail and providing some contrasting interpretations of the various characters.
What I appreciated the most, perhaps, was the presentation and analysis of the similes and metaphors used in the original text (I say text, but these songs were largely shared in the oral tradition until outsiders tried to collect and collate them) - better to say in the original language. There are some truly astounding turns of phrase here that provide insight into Finnish thinking and world-views. Again, some of this is tainted by Christianity with the literal demonization of certain creatures :(
Despite knowing quite a bit about Finnish mythology and folklore (or so I thought) I definitely learned a lot here, not least of all about the culture of magic songs and how indelibly music was/is tied to Finnish traditions.
I absolutely appreciate the attempt made to preserve an ancient pagan tradition, however, this tome is not untouched by Christianity. I struggle to believe original pagan magic songs mentioned Jesus and the Virgin Mary, so these are definitely the result of later influences or perhaps a result of fallible human interpretation.
This book does, however, provide greater insight into the various deities and creatures of Finnish mythology, adding snippets of detail and providing some contrasting interpretations of the various characters.
What I appreciated the most, perhaps, was the presentation and analysis of the similes and metaphors used in the original text (I say text, but these songs were largely shared in the oral tradition until outsiders tried to collect and collate them) - better to say in the original language. There are some truly astounding turns of phrase here that provide insight into Finnish thinking and world-views. Again, some of this is tainted by Christianity with the literal demonization of certain creatures :(
Despite knowing quite a bit about Finnish mythology and folklore (or so I thought) I definitely learned a lot here, not least of all about the culture of magic songs and how indelibly music was/is tied to Finnish traditions.
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July 28, 2012Yleisestä mielenkiinnosta varmaan lukaisen englanninnoksen... Jos ei muuta, niin ainakin voi ihailla Gallen-Kallelan upeita kuvia!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews