Estophilia
Estophilia (from
The term particularly refers to the activities of the Estophile Movement of the late 18th to early 19th century, when local
Background
Since the 13th century
The Enlightenment era brought with it greater tolerance and spread the desire to educate the uneducated.[1] For example, the very first Estonian language periodical publication, Lühhike öppetus (Estonian for Brief Instruction) (1766–1767), concerned medical techniques.[2]
History
Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840)
Educated German immigrants and local Baltic Germans in Estonia, educated at German universities introduced Enlightenment ideas that propagated freedom of thinking and brotherhood and equality. The French Revolution provided a powerful motive for the "enlightened" local upper class to create literature for the peasantry.[3] The abolition of serfdom in 1816 in Southern Estonia: Governorate of Livonia and 1819 in Northern Estonia: Governorate of Estonia by Emperor Alexander I of Russia gave rise to a debate as to the future fate of the rural population. Although many Baltic Germans regarded the future of Estonians as being a fusion with the Baltic Germans, the Estophile educated class admired the ancient culture of the Estonians and their era of freedom before the conquests by Danes and Germans in the 13th century.[4] The Estophile Enlightenment Period formed the transition from religious Estonian literature to newspapers printed in Estonian for the general public.
The ideas of
Otto Wilhelm Masing and Garlieb Merkel were prominent Estophiles. Masing was one of the main advocates of popular education and published a weekly newspaper in the Estonian language called "Marahwa Näddala-Leht" (Land People's Weekly) in 1821–1825. The Litterarum Societatis Esthonicae (Estonian: Õpetatud Eesti Selts) (English: Learned Estonian Society) was established in Tartu in 1838, which counted as its members Friedrich Robert Faehlmann and Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, author of the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg which was inspired by the Finnish epic Kalevala.
Folklore recording
Linguistic analyses
An Estonian grammar was printed in German in 1637.[7] Johann Heinrich Rosenplänter published the first academic journal in 1813 on an Estonian topic called Beiträge zur genauern Kenntniß der ehstnischen Sprache (Towards a more precise Knowledge of the Estonian Language), aimed at developing written Estonian. In 1843, a grammar of the Estonian language was compiled by pastor Eduard Ahrens using the Finnish and popular orthography rather than the German-Latin models used previously.
Modern Estophiles
While the significance of Estophiles has waned over the centuries, a number of people (
Scholarship Estophilus
In order to promote the study of Estonian language and culture, the Estonian Institute offers an annual scholarship. The objective of the scholarship is to fund research and studies conducted in Estonia by academically advanced students interested in Estonian language and culture. The scholarship is financed by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research.
See also
- Anglophile
- Fennophile
- Francophile
- Russophile
References
- ^ Estonica: 1710–1850. The Baltic Landesstaat. Enlightenment and enlightened absolutism Archived 10 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Greif publishing house: Greif and its genealogy Archived 4 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 0-8108-4904-6.
- ISBN 90-420-0890-3
- ^ Estonica: 1710–1850. The Baltic Landesstaat: Emergence of national consciousness and Estophilia Archived 10 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 0-19-816616-8
- ISBN 0-231-11569-5
Notes
- ^ The opposite of 'Estophilia', is an anti-Estonian sentiment, or 'Estophobia'
Further reading
- Zeitschrift für Ostforschung. (Google Books preview)
- Ea Jansen (Estonian Institute): How Estonian literary culture was born