Linda

Family: Kalev's House · Role: wife of Kalev; mother of the Kalevide · First appears: Canto I · The Marriages of Salme and Linda · Part 1

In Canto I · The Marriages of Salme and Linda · Part 1, a widow reared Linda as a foster-child alongside Salme, her sister. In Canto I · The Marriages of Salme and Linda · Part 2, Linda refused the Moon, the Sun, the Lord of the Waters, the Wind and the Prince of Kungla as suitors, then accepted Kalev despite the widow’s opposition. After Salme’s departure, Linda bade farewell to her foster-mother and left with Kalev.

In Canto II · The Death of Kalev, Kalev named their unborn youngest son, the Kalevide, his heir. As Kalev lay ill, Linda sent for the Wind-Magician and Soothsayer; after Kalev died, she prepared his body for burial and raised a cairn over his tomb. Her tears formed Ülemiste järv. Ukko and Rõugutaja helped her prepare for childbirth, and the Kalevide was born after his father’s death. Linda refused the Finnish sorcerer, who called himself Kalev’s cousin.

In Canto III · The Fate of Linda, the Finnish sorcerer seized Linda and dragged her toward his boat. Pikker struck him senseless, and Linda fled; the gods then transformed her into a rock on Mount Iru. In Canto VII · The Return of the Kalevide, her spirit sang to the Kalevide, who understood that she was dead. In Canto XVIII · The Kalevide's Journey to Põrgu, her shade offered her son the water of strength, which he drank.