Estonian folklore
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The earliest mentioning of Estonian singing dates back to
At the beginning of the 19th century during the Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840), increased interest in Estonian folklore occurred among Baltic Germans. J.H. Rosenplänter founded Beiträge zur genauern Kenntniß der ehstnischen Sprache, a journal for studies on Estonian language, literature, and folklore. In Beiträge the German translation of Mythologia Fennica by Kristjan Jaak Peterson was published in 1822. In 1839 The Learned Estonian Society was founded as the central organization for collecting and studying Estonian folklore. A leading figure in the society, Friedrich Robert Faehlmann published a number of Estonian legends and myths in German based on genuine Estonian folklore and on Ganander's Finnish mythology "The Dawn and Dusk" (Koit ja Hämarik[a]), being considered one of the most beautiful Estonian myths having popular origin. In 1842 the Society of the Estonian Literati was founded in Tallinn.
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald started collecting Estonian folklore in 1843 but ended up changing the tales considerably. The materials collected primarily from Virumaa were reworked and published as The Old Tales of the Estonian People in 1866. Alexander H. Neus' anthology Ehstnische Volkslieder[4] (3 vols; 1850–52) is considered the first scholarly publication on Estonian folksongs. In total 1,300 songs are given in Estonian and in German translation. The president of The Society of the Estonian Literati, Pastor Dr.
After the establishment of the
Footnotes
- hdl:10062/38703.
References
- ISBN 0-333-23111-2
- ISBN 0-521-84153-4
- ^ Stimmen der Völker in Liedern at google books
- ^ Ehstnische Volkslieder at google books
- ^ Grundzüge des estnischen Volksglaubens at googe books
- ^ Wolfgang Mieder. 2014. Preface. Proverbium 31: ix-xi.