Mythologia Fennica

Mythologia Fennica (Finnish mythology) is a book on Finnish mythology written in Swedish by Kristfrid Ganander.

Title sheet of the 1st edition of Mythologia Fennica

Description

The book contains extensive explanations regarding Finnish mythology in alphabetical order from "AARNI" to "YRJÄNÄ" - it was first published 1789 in the Swedish language.[1] A german translation was made by the Estonian poet Kristjan Jaak Peterson in 1821.[2].

It contains a total of 430 entries. The book features a number of folk poetry and stories regarding Finnish folklore. The book has been reprinted numerous times especially towards the end of the 20th Century.

The book was written by an 18th century Finnish priest Kristfrid Ganander and is a collection of folk poems, spells, traditions. In addition to Finnish and Lappish mythology, Ganander talks about the gods of Scandinavia in his work which inspired Kalevala. Mythologia Fennica was intended as an appendix to a Swedish-Finnish dictionary which was left unfinished by the author.[3] This work was created with the encouragement and assistance from the father of Finnish historic research Henrik Gabriel Porthan. It was completed in 1789 but published only 4 years later following Porthan's review. The work has influenced Elias Lönnrot and well known epic Kalevala.

References
  1. Ganander 1789.
  2. Peterson 1821.
  3. Handbook of the history of Finnish literature. Butler. 1896. p. 53.

Facsimiles, translations, and editions
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