How Finnish Folklore Influenced Tolkien’s World | American Reaction

[@Anttimation]

What an interesting video you found to digest! And now made me think I should read the Silmarillion again 🤔

[@michael.adamyk]

Thank you so much for stopping by! I had a blast diving into your video-so many fascinating connections I hadn’t thought of before. And yes, I think a reread of the Silmarillion is definitely in order for both of us now!

[@petrusinvictus3603]

I should read Silmarillion again. 42yrs. My aunt translatedid The whole Tolkien in Finnish. Kersti Juva, go google. She gave me The Silmarillion, the book, not overseeing sphere...😉

[@petrusinvictus3603]

I kind of have to, because my Godmother translated all Tolkien in Finnish language.😅

[@mantelikukkapenkki2368]

9:06 In the Kalevala, sampo is described as a mythical machine that could make money, grain and salt

[@heikkileivo]

Sampo is not a musical instrument, but a magical device of some sort, which mills money, salt and cereal out of thin air, "to be eaten and to be sold".

[@CPPpotkustartti]

Cereal to be eaten, salt to cure(process that makes food last far longer) and/or flavor food and money to purchase what you don't have.

[@michael.adamyk]

@heikkileivo & @CPPpotkustartti that makes sense, thanks for explaining that! I was going to ask specifically about the salt.

[@Daothes]

grain, not cereal i think

[@chrisd3712]

Kvens/Kvens are not only historical and mythological. They are a Balto-Finnish ethnic group originating in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and parts of Russia. In 1996 the Kvens received minority status in Norway and in 2005 the Kvens language was recognized as a minority language in Norway. So they stay in Norway. But they are also part of the people in the northern parts of Sweden and Finland. But their track does not remain in Sweden or Finland, as it does in Norway.

[@leopartanen8752]

The Story of Kullervo is J. R. R. Tolkien's first work, which he wrote in 1914-1915. Tolkien's 26-page manuscript remained unfinished. He was studying at the time and his first two essays were both also about the Kalevala.

[@michael.adamyk]

@leopartanen8752 wow, that's cool! It must have really impacted him at a young age.

[@wedsjansson]

I appreciate that you are a good reactor because you give credit and ask permission 🎉🎉

[@michael.adamyk]

Thanks @wedsjansson! Honoring the property rights of the original creators is really important to me.

[@janus1958]

As far as the similarity between Elvish and Finnish goes I can only say this: I am of Finnish ancestry, and while I don't speak Finnish myself, both my parents did, and I heard it spoken regularly growing up. When I saw Fellowship in the theater, and the scene where Arwen casts her spell on the river, It definitely sounded familiar to my ear. It had the same feel as when I used to hear my parents talking in Finnish.

[@eti4ite]

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was also inspired by Kalevala poems and created “The Song of Hiawatha” in Kalevala meter.

[@finnishculturalchannel]

A video as an intro: "Bjarmien Maa: Historia Suomi". How world came to be and Väinämöinen was born: "Lore & Legends Eps. 1: Finnish Mythology pt.1; The Creation Myth". This video goes through those similarities in more extent and gives advise to those who want to read Kalevala and get the most out of it: "The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People". Here's a video about that singing: "The Goofy Wizard Duel That Inspired Tolkien's Bombadil - A Glimpse into Lönnrot's Kalevala - PT 10". There are other direct or indirect literary and cinematic connections to Kalevala. Jorge Luis Borges named his fictional detective as Erik Lönnrot in 'Death and the Compass'. Don Rosa has illustrated a novel 'The Quest for Kalevala'. Kalevala has appeared in the Star Wars universe as a planet in the Mandalore system. In Finland those connections are of course plentiful. The Finnish jewelry brand Lapponia is nowadays known as Kalevala. In 1969, Björn Weckström designed a necklace 'Planetoid Valleys' for Lapponia. Princess Leia wore the necklace in the first Star Wars film. It's possible to draw some parallels from Kalevala to Indiana Jones movies even. The Nazis quest to find their Aryan roots led them also to Finnish mythology. Especially Heinrich Himmler was interested in Kalevala and Karelia. Same way as Lönnrot made trips to Karelia to document Karelian rune singing, so did the Nazis. The idea was that the Aryan roots could be found from Karelian runic singing. Himmler also ordered 10 kanteles for SS so that he could listen the kantele's "ancient sound of wisdom". In his wildest vision kantele was to be the instrument for the Nazis the same way as the bagpipes are for the Scotches. A video about that: "Ancient nordic MYSTERIES in Finland". Obviously there has to be something there: "The Lost City of Doggerland (Atlantis) - The Real Origin of Atlantis Mythology". And that's not all: "Carved rock art at Tanum - Sweden", "Saaristo-Suomen jatulintarhat (Vox Turku K1J2)" and "Were Homer's Epics Born in the North? Unraveling the Baltic and Scandinavian Roots of Odysseus".

[@michael.adamyk]

@finnishculturalchannel wow, there's so much great information here!! I'm guessing Tolkien had a similar journey of discovering how deep the Finnish legends go. It sounds like there's been an huge influence in many different areas. Thanks for the detailed write-up!

[@Mojova1]

It's interesting that Sampo and Pohjola are both banks/insurance companies in Finland. 🙂 About the argument that you could just fly with the eagles to destroy the ring. I think Tolkien said that the story would have been really boring.

[@michael.adamyk]

@Mojova1 ah, using mythology as a company name is quite fun! That's a great answer, haha! I think either he or someone else had also mentioned that the eagles had wills of their own and would only intervene when they wanted to. That's what the video was referring to, I think, and it's neat that it may have been inspired from folklore.

[@digitalspecter]

Finnish metal band Avathar has a song called Nan Elmoth that has Lúthien’s Song as a part of it (that's in Sindarin though).

[@Swedishpolymath]

Sir Christopher Lee also fought in the Continuation War. The actor that played Scaramanga and Dracula.

[@pelaajajm5698]

I am not saying you are wrong, but I remember he came to Finland to foght in Winter war and left few weeks later as because lack of sking skills they were not let go to front lines.

[@michael.adamyk]

Christopher Lee had an incredible life! I've heard some of his stories. Wasn't he also in the British Secret Service?

[@Swedishpolymath]

@@michael.adamyk Indeed. I believe so. I know Ian Fleming was and actually I am descendant from minor nobility here in Finland. I wish to emulate Sir Christopher Lee's and Ian Fleming's lives and achievements.

[@pelaajajm5698]

@@michael.adamyk If i remember right he was part of commandos and in deed worked in espionage. There is legendary clip of peter Jacson at filmimg of isengard scene where *Spoilers for LOTR return of the king* where Saruman is killed, Peter wanted sir Christopher to scream but Sir Christopher told peter that he knows how people react when they are stabbed in back and Peter Jackson did not argue this.

[@Kari-qv1wn]

Early versions of quenya at least have a lot of finnish words although he often changed the meanings

[@osemarvin2847]

Couple of answers to your questions: Old Finnish language (Tolkien's inspiration of Elvish) is quite similar to modern Finnish - granted, that there are some words which are very unusual and rare, or same as modern words(but have a different meaning nowadays) - or words which are lost long ago and forgotten. However, those are mostly exceptions. Many of the words, if not the most, still exists today. Sampo was a some sort of large grinding machine (like a coffee bean grinder, but much, much bigger). You didn't need to put anything in. You just turn the crank and it poured out gold, salt and flour from three sides. Nobody knows what it looked like, but there are some paintings and ideas floating around: search for "images of kalevala sampo". kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXfWfYywe6-eY8U&pp=ygURcXVlbnlhIHZzIGZpbm5pc2g%3D

[@michael.adamyk]

Thanks for sharing! I know modern English has changed a LOT from even Middle English, much less Old English, so it's interesting that Finnish hasn't changed quite as much. That video was great, thanks for sharing! It looks like it's from the LOTR movie's appendices? I never watched those, and I keep seeing fascinating info pop up... so I need to do that at some point!

[@Coigreach]

8:50 Calling Sampo an instrument. It was machine, that produced endless amounts of grain, salt and gold.

[@Coigreach]

A mill specifically.

[@michael.adamyk]

That makes more sense, thanks for clarifying!

[@petrusinvictus3603]

It is about not having consonants. Finlands best, in radio, every year: "Alavilla mailla hallan vaara." Meaning: Frost might be on low lands. We love vouels...

[@jonnekallu1627]

It doesn't come up very often so I take this moment to bring up how Finland had an affect on another influential work of fiction that's often compared to Tolkien's works. Frank Herbert's Dune. It's nothing big but it's at the heart of the first book. The sworn enemy of the Artreides, the Harkonen, got it's name from a Finnish surname "Härkönen".

[@michael.adamyk]

Oh wow, neat! I read that a few years back and love the depth of that fantasy world too. It's always fascinating to see how many of the great artists were inspired by older stories.

[@petrusinvictus3603]

Every summer Finlands National Radio: "Alavilla mailla hallaan vaara." Meaning, Frost on low lands. Who knows...

[@michael.adamyk]

Ooh, that flows so nicely! It's very poetic.

[@jadi1049]

@@michael.adamyk Yes, and the second best is: "Kotka Rankki, ohutta yläpilveä". Meaning Kotka (town's name, meaning eagle) Rankki (former military island), thin high level cloud (Cirrosstratus). Finnish radio Sea weather forecast.

[@petrusinvictus3603]

Silarillion. Red it 40 yrs ago. Now re-reading scifi classics. Maybe the Nerd un me is alive 😅.

[@mest6613]

Finnish Band Värttinä to Provide Musical Backdrop to First Stage Musical Adaptation of Lord of the Rings Angel Romero November 3, 2003 New York, USA - The World Premiere of the £8 Million stage version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” Production will open in London in Spring 2005. “Lord of the Rings” and Finland’s influential contemporary folk group Värttinä have always had something in common. Both draw original inspiration from the Kalevala, Finland’s national epic of mythological songs, poems, and stories. Now Tolkien’s Finnish-influenced stories and languages (such as Elvish) will have an explicit connection to Värttinä’s music and lyrics. India’s most popular composer A.R. Rahman and Värttinä are to collaborate in composing the score for the stage version of “Lord of the Rings,” which will have its World Premiere in London’s West End in Spring 2005. The production coincides with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the complete J R R Tolkien trilogy, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers,” and “The Return of the King.” worldmusiccentral.org/2003/11/03/finnish-band-varttina-to-provide-musical-backdrop-to-first-stage-musical-adaptation-of-lord-of-the-rings/

[@michael.adamyk]

Someone else had mentioned Värttinä in previous videos, and while I was investigating them I did read about this. It's pretty neat, because even as an LOTR fan it was news to me! I'll have to see if I can find clips of it online.

[@Samisipi]

Kven language is easy to read as a Finn. It's like an old Finnish dialect with some Norwegian & Swedish words bent in a very Finnish way.

[@LauriKempas-hl4kq]

Tuli mieleen,että Suomen Yleisradio YLE teki 80 luvulla Kalevalaa sivuavan tv-sarjan nimeltään Rauta-Aika. Se sai runsaasti kehuja myös sieltä suuren veden takaa esim. mestariteos. Katso itse miltä teos näyttää.

[@LauriKempas-hl4kq]

PS. Tietysti KZbin.

[@zami8827]

Tried to listen silmarillion as an e-book. Its really hard to follow what happens. Its maybe too poetic of a book for my interest :D

[@michael.adamyk]

It's definitely more chaotic. I'm surprised I was able to finish it in high school!

[@x-wing8785]

I recommend reading it so you can easily go back a page if you need to check something. It's easier to follow by reading. Nevertheless, it was a difficult book for me at first, but when I read it a second time, I started to appreciate it more than Lord of the Rings. It is beautifully written and feels like reading real history. Just buy the book and give it time. At some point it will reward you.

[@disinterested0]

Some basic grammar is from Finnish, phonetic pronounciation, vowels, perhaps a few words loaned or transposed to mean something else - but nothing like Finnish otherwise - Elven languages were a linguistic academic rehearsal to create a language based on rules taken from non-indoeuropean example.

[@michael.adamyk]

Ah, interesting. So more "inspired by" and less "modeled after"?

[@LauriKempas-hl4kq]

Nurmeksessa on Bomba talo se on kopio talosta minkä rakensi pojalleen Jegor Bombin vuonna 1855. Olisko Tolkkien ottanut nimen täältä.;-)

[@michael.adamyk]

Anything is possible! 😉

[@LauriKempas-hl4kq]

;-)

[@LauriKempas-hl4kq]

Wikipediassa on kattava selvitys sammosta .

[@statostheman]

JJ. Tolkien copy largely from Kalevala. Why did he try to learn Finnish for 19 years?

[@aerthyjwersrtgyj]

he basically copied everything and changed the names

[@avari6167]

Damn them pagans 😂 history is cool but Jesus is true 😊 🇫🇮🙏✝️ btw they are making Kalevala movie atm

[@michael.adamyk]

@avari6167 How cool! Is it filmed in Finland?

[@avari6167]

@michael.adamyk yes. They are filming it atm . It should be in cinema start of 2026

[@khatack]

Nobody says "hei ystävät" in Finland though. We say something along the lines of "terve" or "moro" or "mitäs hinttarit" or "me ei osteta mitään" depending on the context. Sometimes we just make disapproving grunts.

[@pinklion2237]

I think it was a fine opening, no reason to nitpick.

[@michael.adamyk]

@khatack Thanks for clarifying! I appreciate the correction. At that point I was going off Google Translate, which is a dangerous thing to do. 😉 I've been doing a bit of Finnish on DuoLingo now, and it does use "Terve." Are the others that you mentioned more formal, less casual, and so on?

[@khatack]

@@michael.adamyk These are highly casual. Formal greetings woul be reliant on the time of day, such as "Hyvää huomenta" - good morning, "Hyvää päivää" - good day or "Hyvää iltaa" - good evening. Sometimes we remove the "Hyvää" part and just say "Iltaa" for example.