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]
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 of and assistance from 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.
Myths
Literature
