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Mythologia Fennica

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Title sheet of the 1st edition of Mythologia Fennica

Mythologia Fennica (lit.'Finnish Mythology') is a 1789 book on Finnish mythology written in Swedish by Kristfrid Ganander, a Finnish priest.

Mythologia Fennica contains 430 entries in alphabetical order from "AARNI" to "YRJÄNÄ". Entries cover Finnish mythology, folk poetry, spells, Sámi mythology, and the Norse gods.[1]

The work influenced Elias Lönnrot, compiler of the epic Kalevala; as a result, Ganander has been later perceived as a kind of "Lönnrot before Lönnrot."[2]

Publication and translation

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Mythologia Fennica was intended as an appendix to a Swedish-Finnish dictionary which was left unfinished by Ganander.[3] It was created with the encouragement and assistance of Henrik Gabriel Porthan, the father of Finnish historical research. It was completed in 1789 but only published 4 years later, following Porthan's review.

A German translation was made by the Estonian poet Kristjan Jaak Peterson in 1821.[4]

The book has been reprinted numerous times, especially towards the end of the 20th century.

References

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  1. ^ Ganander 1789.
  2. ^ "Christfrid Ganander: Mythologia Fennica". Jyu.fi. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Handbook of the history of Finnish literature. Butler. 1896. p. 53.
  4. ^ Peterson 1821.

Facsimiles, translations, and editions

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