Talk:Kullervo

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I removed the reference to Oedipus with reguards to child abuse as the comparison is not apt. Oedipus was not the subject of child abuse. kevin 63.118.215.130 18:47, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Can someone confirm or refute the claim of name Kullervo meaning "Pearl of combat"? I am Finnish and cannot recognize the connection: Unless this is related to some pretty archaic word, I suspect this claim may be incorrect. --91.155.183.16 (talk) 18:53, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

The titular sword of The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson does not talk to the hero (or anyone else, for that matter). However, the novel does bear many similarities to the story of Kullervo (the hero is taken from his parents, falls in love with a woman who turns out to be his sister, comes into the posession of a sword created by the gods and embarks on a quest for revenge that ends in his death by his own sword). 77.103.231.75 (talk) 11:12, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

In the English translation he is sometimes referred to as Kullerwoinen. Is this just the translation, or is this significant? 173.24.181.55 (talk) 18:10, 24 December 2009 (UTC)

It basically depends on the metre whether he's referred to as Kullervo or Kullervoinen. It is the same for many other characters in the poems, and was pretty common. (This variability also occurs in the Roland epic and the Nibelungen saga, etc, though I don't have my books here just now to actually give examples.) Idontcareanymore (talk) 12:19, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Child abuse

I am considering editing the bit on child abuse:

"The story of Kullervo is unique among ancient myths in its realistic depiction of the effects of child abuse [1]. The canto 36 ends in Väinämöinen stating that an abused child will never attain the healthy state of mind even as adult, but will grow up as a very disturbed person."

The link given in this paragraph points to the poem itself, in Finnish; it could therefore constitute original research.

Also, the sequence of the sentences in the quoted paragraph is misleading. It actually insinuates that the "realistic depiction of the effects of child abuse" includes Väinämöinen's purported claims, which the academic literature (as well as a lot of anecdotes I could point to) dispute. Moreover, in the english translation provided on sacred-texts.com, these claims appear to be that children who are not properly raised will never know discretion, honor or wisdom; the claims do not seem to refer specifically to abused children. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anvilsmith (talk • contribs) 22:18, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

File:Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Kullervo Cursing - Google Art Project.jpg to appear as POTD soon

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Kullervo Cursing - Google Art Project.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on February 5, 2018. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2018-02-05. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 06:19, 23 January 2018 (UTC)

Picture of the day

Kullervo is an ill-fated character in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. In this epic, Kullervo grows up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe only to realise that those who raised him were those who had butchered his family. As a child, he is sold into slavery. When he finally runs away from his masters, he discovers surviving members of his family, only to lose them again. He seduces a girl, who turns out to be his sister, and who commits suicide upon discovering their blood ties. Kullervo becomes mad with rage, returns to Untamo and his tribe, destroys them using his magical powers, and commits suicide.

Kullervo has been widely represented in Finnish art, including in this 1899 painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela and an 1892 opera by Jean Sibelius. The character was adapted by J. R. R. Tolkien into Túrin Turambar, a character who appears frequently in Tolkien's legendarium.Painting: Akseli Gallen-Kallela