Kalevala | Compare and Contrast
Kalevala Period (c. 500 B.C.-c. 1200 C.E.): The Finns lived in a largely classless society organized by tribe. Tribes (like the Kaleva and Pohjola tribes depicted in the epic) consisted of people united by geography, culture, kinship bonds, and often a patronymic ancestor. There was frequent contact among tribes.
1800s: In Lonnrot's day, Finland was ruled by a foreign power: the Swedes. Finnish society was split into two groups: an urban, educated class of people who spoke Swedish as their first language, and the rural majority, who still spoke Finnish.
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