Kalevide

Also known as: Sohni / son of Kalev / the Kalevide / the son of Kalev / the youngest son of Kalev · Family: Kalev's House · Role: hero; youngest son of Kalev and Linda · First appears: Canto II · The Death of Kalev

In Canto II · The Death of Kalev, Kalev named his unborn youngest son as heir shortly before falling dangerously ill. After Kalev’s death, Linda gave birth to the Kalevide with help from Ukko and Rõugutaja and suckled him until he was three. In Canto III · The Fate of Linda, he and his two elder brothers went hunting; later, he dragged demons from the sea while Äike struck them with lightning. At the beach, he found signs that Linda had been carried off by the Finnish sorcerer, and in Canto V · The Kalevide and the Finnish Sorcerer he went to Finland in search of them. He defeated the sorcerer’s conjured army and killed him with his club, but could not find Linda; after a vision of her, he awoke convinced that she was dead.

In Canto VI · The Kalevide and the Sword-smiths, the Kalevide visited a Finnish smith to obtain a sword. An old woman showed him the way, and the old smith gave him a huge blade after he tested it. During a seven-day drinking-bout, he told of the island maiden’s drowning and killed the smith’s eldest son in a quarrel. The smith cursed him and called on the sword to avenge his son. In Canto VII · The Return of the Kalevide, Linda’s spirit at Mount Iru confirmed that she was dead; the Kalevide returned home, where his brothers welcomed him. In Canto VIII · The Contest and Parting of the Brothers, he won the contest for their father’s kingdom, and his elder brothers left.

In Canto X · The Heroes and the Water-demon, the Kalevide defeated the water-demon in a wrestling match and asked Alevide, his cousin, to take goods to Finland to pay his sword debt. He plunged into a well to search for Air-Maiden’s lost ring and offered her a millstone on his finger instead. In Canto XI · The Loss of the Sword, the hideous sorcerer stole the sword and lost it in the brook Käpä. The Kalevide abandoned it, but charged it to cut off the feet of the man who had brought it there—meaning the sorcerer, though his words were ambiguous. In Canto XIV · The Palace of Sarvik · Part 2, he freed three sisters from captivity and fought Sarvik, who escaped by sinking into the ground. In Canto XV · The Marriage of the Sisters, he entrusted the sisters to Alevide, who married the youngest; the son of Sulev married the eldest. The second sister remained unmarried.