Tarto maa rahwa Näddali Leht (Estonian for Tartu Peasant's Weekly) was one of the first regular Estonian language publications, published in 1807. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Year 1807 ( MDCCCVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Estophilia (from Greek: φίλος, 'dear, loving' ) refers to the ideas and activities of people not of Estonian descent, sympathetic to or interested in Estonian language, Estonian literature or Estonian culture, History of Estonia and Estonia in general. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Estonian literature refers to literature written in the Estonian language (c The culture of Estonia incorporates indigenous heritage as represented by the country's rare Finno-Ugric national language Estonian and the Sauna, with Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Such people are known as Estophiles.

The term particularly refers to the activities of the Estophile Movement of the late 1700s to early 1800s, when Baltic German scholars began documenting and promoting Estonian culture and language. The Baltic Germans (Deutschbalten or Baltendeutsche) were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 This movement played a crucial role triggering the Estonian Age of Awakening almost 100 years later that eventually led to the Estonian Declaration of Independence in 1918, the Estonian War of Independence and the foundation of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Age of Awakening (Ärkamisaeg is a period in history where Estonians came to acknowledge themselves as a Nation deserving the right to govern themselves The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia (Manifest Eestimaa rahwastele is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia The Estonian War of Independence (Vabadussõda literally "freedom war" which occurred in 1918-1920 took place during the Russian Civil War, was the Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region

Background

Since the Northern Crusades, Estonian culture had been rather suppressed in society, and the ruling culture — the one that governed cities, partook in the Hanseatic league, and organised trade — was Germanic, with the occasional influx of new memes when the rulers changed. The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Crusades undertaken by the Catholic kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian The culture of Estonia incorporates indigenous heritage as represented by the country's rare Finno-Ugric national language Estonian and the Sauna, with Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic The Hanseatic League (also known as the Hansa) was an alliance of trading cities and their Guilds that established and maintained trade Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic A meme (miːm consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation Indigenous Estonian culture was largely restricted to the peasants. A peasant is an agricultural worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground While vertical mobility was not impossible, the ethnic Estonians that became citizens or landlords tended to Germanise voluntarily. Vertical mobility refers to a person or group's movement up or down a status hierarchy

However, while this suppression largely isolated the Germanic administrators from Estonian lower classes, it did not destroy the native culture. The relatively long time of peace from Swedish rule onwards gave the upper classes an opportunity to take up hobbies, and some of them ended up learning about the native Estonian culture, in the process, contributing to systematic understanding of it. A hobby is a spare-time Recreational pursuit Etymology A Hobby horse is a wooden or Wickerwork toy made to be

The Enlightenment era brought with it greater tolerance and spread the desire to educate the uneducated. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century ^[1] For example, the very first Estonian language periodical publication, the Lühhike öppetus (Estonian for Brief Instruction), concerned medical techniques. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Lühhike öppetus, ( Estonian for Brief Instruction) by modern orthography 'Lühike õpetus' was the first Periodical publication in the Estonian Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 ^[2]

History

Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750-1840)

Educated German immigrants and local Baltic Germans in Estonia, educated at German universities introduced Enlightenment ideas of rational thinking, ideas that propagated freedom of thinking and brotherhood and equality. The Baltic Germans (Deutschbalten or Baltendeutsche) were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century The French Revolution provided a powerful motive for the enlightened local upper class to create literature for the peasantry. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an ^[3] The freeing of the peasantry from serfdom on the nobles estates in 1816 in Southern Estonia:Governorate of Livonia (Russian: Лифляндская губерния) and 1819 in Northern Estonia: Governorate of Estonia (Russian: Эстляндская губерния) by Alexander I of Russia gave rise to a debate as to the future fate of the former enslaved peoples. The Governorate of Livonia (Vidzemes guberņa Liivimaa kubermang Лифляндская губерния Livländisches Gouvernement or Livland, also known as the The Governorate of Est(honia (Эстляндская губерния or Estlyandskaya guberniya) or Estland, also known as the Government of Estonia Alexander I of Russia ( Russian: Александр I Павлович / Aleksandr I Pavlovich (23 December 1777 – November 19 1825 served as Emperor of Although Baltic Germans at large 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 13 century. ^[4] The Estophile Enlightenment Period formed the transition from religious Estonian literature to newspapers written in Estonian for the mass public.

The ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder greatly influenced the Baltic German intelligentsia to see the value in the indigenous culture. Johann Gottfried von Herder ( August 25, 1744 December 18, 1803) was a German philosopher, Poet, and Literary For the coffee shop company often called Intelligentsia for short see Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea. The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical ^[5] Inspired by Herder's collection of European and Estonian folk songs, they came to view native folklore as natural expressions of truth and spontaneity. History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological As a result they founded several scientific societies, published textbooks for schools, newspapers and literary works of considerable merit, such as the construction of the epic Kalevipoeg from folk sources. A learned society is an Organization that exists to promote an Academic discipline or group of disciplines A school (from Greek σχολεῖον - scholeion) is an Institution designed to allow and encourage Students (or "pupils" A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Kalevipoeg is an epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald held to be the Estonian National epic. ^[6]

Otto Wilhelm Masing and Garlieb Merkel were prominent Estophiles. Otto Wilhelm Masing ( 1763 – 1832) was a prominent early Estophile and a major advocate of Peasant rights especially peasant Education Garlieb Helwig Merkel ( 31 October 1769, Lēdurga, Latvia &ndash 9 May 1850, Riga) was a Baltic German Masing was one of the main advocates of peasant education and published a weekly newspaper in the Estonian language called "Maa rahva Näddali Leht" (Peasants’ Weekly) from 1821. Year 1821 ( MDCCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year 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. The Learned Estonian Society (Õpetatud Eesti Selts or ÕES was Estonia's first scholarly organisation formed in Tartu in 1838 Tartu is the second largest City of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Friedrich Robert Faehlmann ( Fählmann) ( December 20, 1798 &mdash April 22 ( April 10 ( O Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( at the Jõepere Manor in Kadrina, Virumaa &mdash in Tartu) was an Estonian Writer and Physician Kalevipoeg is an epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald held to be the Estonian National epic. The Kalevala is a book and epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian Folklore in the nineteenth

Folklore recording

Main article: Estonian folklore

Folklore being a relatively easily identifiable collectible, a number of Estophiles have undertaken recording various folktales and folk songs. Estonian folklore. The earliest mentioning of Estonian singing dates back to Saxo Grammaticus Gesta Danorum (c History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological For the record label see Collectables Records For the Ashanti album see Collectables by Ashanti A collectable On one hand, this led to development of Estonian literary tradition; on another, growing amounts of written Estonian language texts necessitated development of (relatively) unified rules of orthography, and thus, led to analysis of Estonian grammar and phonetics. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. Phonetics (from the Greek φωνή ( phonê) "sound" or "voice" is the study of the physical sounds of human speech

See also: Kalevipoeg

Linguistic analyses

An Estonian grammar was printed in German in 1637. Kalevipoeg is an epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald held to be the Estonian National epic. ^[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. Johann Heinrich Rosenplänter was a Baltic German linguist and Estophile. An academic journal is a peer-reviewed Periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular Academic discipline is published Year 1813 ( MDCCCXIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Beiträge zur genauern Kenntniß der ehstnischen Sprache, commonly referred to as Beiträge, was the first Scientific journal on Estonian language, edited 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. Year 1843 ( MDCCCXLIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside

See also: Estonian language

Opposition

While Swedish religious authorities, under the post-Reformation policies, had favoured publishing Estonian editions of Bible and other works, and literacy among the natives, a number of Baltic Germans, influenced by the still-developing ideas of racial inequality, believed that Estonians belonged to a lower race, incapable and/or undeserving of harbouring an independent culture. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The Baltic Germans (Deutschbalten or Baltendeutsche) were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that

Modern Estophiles

While the significance of Estophiles has waned over the centuries, a number of people (Astrīde Ivask, Seppo Kuusisto, Kazuto Matsumura and others) are still widely regarded as such. Since World War II, many of the Estophiles around the world have been in close connection with various Estonian exile communities. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including One of the most active Estophile organizations is the Tuglas Society [1] (Finnish: Tuglas-seura) in Finland, named after the Estonian writer Friedebert Tuglas. Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside Friedebert Tuglas ( March 2, 1886 Ahja – April 15, 1971 Tallinn) was an Estonian writer and critic who introduced

Scholarship Estophilus

In order to promote the study of Estonian language and culture, the Estonian Institute offers an annual scholarship. The Estonian Institute is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation aiming to promote Estonian culture abroad 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

• Fennophile
• Anglophile
• Russophilia

References

Further reading

• Johann Gottfried (University of California): 'Georg Julius von Schultz (Dr. Estonica is a comprehensive Encyclopædia on topics relating to Estonia, particularly the culture and History of Estonia. The University of California ( UC) is a Public university system in the state of California. Bertram), 1808–1875. Possibilities and Limitations of Estophilia among the Baltic Germans in the 19th Century'. Printed in Zeitschrift für Ostforschung. (Google Books preview)
• Ea Jansen (Estonian Institute): How Estonian literary culture was born