The Finnish epic Kalevala strongly influenced J.R.R. Tolkien’s early mythology.
The Kalevala is a nineteenth-century compilation of Finnish and Karelian oral poetry assembled by Elias Lönnrot. Tolkien studied Finnish while at Oxford and found its structure and sound especially inspiring as he developed his own languages and legendary narratives.
The figure of Kullervo in the Kalevala particularly influenced Tolkien’s story of Túrin Turambar. Tolkien’s interest was not simple retelling: he transformed motifs, character patterns, and linguistic inspiration into original material within the mythology later associated with The Silmarillion.
Beowulf and the Old Norse Eddas were also major influences on Tolkien, but they are different works from the Kalevala. The Finnish epic’s importance is especially visible in Tolkien’s invented language Quenya, whose early development drew substantially on Finnish phonology and grammar.