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How many cantos are in the final version of the Kalevala?
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Finnish literature
Franzén, oil painting by J.G. Sandberg, 1828; in Gripsholm Castle, Sweden
The final version of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot, contains 50 cantos.1
While the first edition published in 1835 consisted of 32 cantos, Lönnrot later expanded the work into its final 50-canto form, which was published in 1849.1