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Kullervo, a MythSource painting
Finnic

Kullervo

01Identity

Kullervo in Finnic tradition

Crawford's Kalevala tells of Kullervo's journey from a violent encounter to a final return home. He seizes a maiden for his sledge despite her plea to be released; her account of berry-gathering reveals that she is Kalervo's lost daughter. She runs to the river and dies there, and Kullervo later tells his mother that he did not know she was his sister. He calls the deed a fatal sin. In a later episode, he vows not to die from sickness, takes up arms against Untamo's people and burns their villages. At the family homestead he finds no one, a cold hearth, no boats and torn nets. He believes his kin are gone, returns to his sister's death-place, speaks to his sword, and falls upon its blade.

SourceThe Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891): Kullervo’s Evil Deeds, pp. 545–547, 549· The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891): Kullerwoinen’s Victory and Death (Rune XXXVI), pp. 553, 556, 559–561

Top questions

The quick answers

02Family

Kullervo’s family, at a glance

Kalervo
Kullervo
03The myths

The myths of Kullervo

2 myths, with sources recorded for each.

Kullervo takes the maiden and learns she is his sister

Kullervo draws a maiden into his sledge as she travels, ignoring her plea to be freed. He covers her in furs and asks about her people. She tells him that she is Kalervo's long-missing daughter. As a child, she lived with her mother; a trip to pick berries in the hills ended with her disappearance. She speaks of the hardship that followed and says an earlier death would have spared her years of suffering. Kullervo now understands that the woman he seized is his sister.

The maiden leaps away and runs towards the torrent. She dies amid the cataract's violence, in fire and water. Tuonela is her resting place. Later Kullervo speaks to his mother about the meeting. He says he encountered her daughter without knowing who she was, and admits he did not recognise his own sister. He confesses that he committed a terrible wrong and brought her to grief.

Kullervo takes the maiden and learns she is his sister, a MythSource painting of the scene

4 sources· checked 2026-09-28

  1. 1The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  2. 2The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  3. 3The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  4. 4The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1

Kullervo returns from battle and dies at the site of his sister's death

Kullervo declares that sickness will not be the cause of his death; he expects to fall in battle. He gathers his strength and advances against Untamo's people. The fight ends with Kullervo's victory, and the villages are burned. He then turns towards the place where his family once lived. The cabin stands empty, while the surrounding fields and woods have no one in them. At the hearth he finds only cold stones. At the landing there are no boats, and the nets lie torn. From these signs he concludes that his mother, sister, brother and father are dead.

Kullervo grieves and leaves the deserted home. He travels through the forest to the spot where his sister died. There he asks his sword whether it will take the life of someone guilty, as it has taken the lives of the innocent. He raises the blade, plants its hilt in the heather and turns its point towards his heart. Kullervo throws himself upon the sword and dies.

Kullervo returns from battle and dies at the site of his sister's death, a MythSource painting of the scene

5 sources· checked 2026-09-28

  1. 1The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  2. 2The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  3. 3The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  4. 4The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1
  5. 5The Kalevala, Volume II (John Martin Crawford translation, 1891)T1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Kullervo, each on that figure’s page.