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Estophilia (from
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: φίλος, ''filos'' - "dear, loving") refers to the ideas and activities of people not of Estonian descent who are sympathetic to or interested in
Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160, ...
,
Estonian literature Estonian literature ( et, eesti kirjandus) is literature written in the Estonian language (c. 1,100,000 speakers) The domination of Estonia after the Northern Crusades, from the 13th century to 1918 by Germany, Sweden, and Russia resulted in few ...
or
Estonian culture The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic national language Estonian, with Nordic and German cultural aspects. The culture of Estonia is considered to be significantly influenced by that of the ...
, the
history of Estonia The history of Estonia forms a part of the history of Europe. Humans settled in the region of Estonia near the end of the last glacial era, beginning from around 8500 BC. Ancient Estonia: pre-history Mesolithic Period The region has been ...
and
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
in general. Such people are known as Estophiles. The opposite of Estophilia is Estophobia. The term particularly refers to the activities of the Estophile Movement of the late 18th to early 19th century, when
Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
scholars began documenting and promoting Estonian culture and
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
. This movement played a crucial role triggering the Estonian Age of Awakening almost 100 years later, which eventually led to the
Estonian Declaration of Independence __NOTOC__ The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia ( et, Manifest Eestimaa rahvastele), is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia from 1918. It is celebrated on 24 February, the Nation ...
in 1918, the
Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...
(1918–1920) and the foundation of the
Republic of Estonia A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
.


Background

Since the
Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around th ...
,
Estonian culture The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic national language Estonian, with Nordic and German cultural aspects. The culture of Estonia is considered to be significantly influenced by that of the ...
had been rather suppressed in society, and the ruling culture – the one that governed cities, partook in the
Hanseatic league The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
, and organised trade – was Germanic, Indigenous Estonian culture was largely restricted to the
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasa ...
s. While vertical mobility was not impossible, the ethnic Estonians that became citizens or landlords tended to Germanise voluntarily. 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 A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...
, and some of them ended up learning about the native Estonian culture, in the process, contributing to systematic understanding of it. The Enlightenment era brought with it greater tolerance and spread the desire to educate the uneducated. For example, the very first
Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160, ...
periodical publication, the '' Lühhike öppetus'' (
Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also * ...
for ''Brief Instruction''), concerned medical techniques.


History


Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840)

Educated German immigrants and local
Baltic Germans Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly decline ...
in Estonia, educated at German universities introduced Enlightenment ideas that propagated freedom of thinking and brotherhood and equality. The
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
provided a powerful motive for the enlightened local upper class to create literature for the peasantry. The freeing of the peasantry from serfdom on the nobles estates in 1816 in Southern Estonia:
Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...
(Russian: Лифляндская губерния) and 1819 in Northern Estonia:
Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Governorate of Esthonia (Pre-reformed rus, Эстля́ндская губе́рнія, r=Estlyandskaya guberniya); et, Eestimaa kubermang was a governorate in the Baltic region, along with the ...
(Russian: Эстляндская губерния) by
Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...
gave rise to a debate as to the future fate of the former enslaved peoples. 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 13th century. 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 Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, '' Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohr ...
greatly influenced the Baltic German
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
to see the value in the
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
culture. Inspired by Herder's collection of European and Estonian folk songs, they came to view native
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...
as natural expressions of truth and spontaneity. As a result, they founded several
scientific societies A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...
, published textbooks for schools, newspapers and literary works of considerable merit, such as the construction of the epic ''
Kalevipoeg ''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th century Epic poetry, epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic. Origins In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition ...
'' from folk sources.
Otto Wilhelm Masing Otto Wilhelm Masing ( in Lohusuu, Kreis Dorpat, Livland Governorate – in Äksi, Livland Governorate) was an early Baltic German Estophile and a major advocate of peasant rights, especially regarding education. Life He received schooling ...
and Garlieb Merkel were prominent Estophiles. 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. The Litterarum Societatis Esthonicae (Estonian: Õpetatud Eesti Selts) (English: Learned Estonian Society) was established in
Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
in 1838, which counted as its members Friedrich Robert Faehlmann and Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, author of the Estonian national epic
Kalevipoeg ''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th century Epic poetry, epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic. Origins In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition ...
which was inspired by the Finnish epic
Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...
.


Folklore recording

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...
being a relatively easily identifiable
collectible A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...
, a number of Estophiles have undertaken recording various folktales and folk songs. On one hand, this led to development of Estonian literary tradition; on another, growing amounts of written
Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160, ...
texts necessitated development of (relatively) unified rules of
orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and ...
, and thus, led to analysis of Estonian
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...
and
phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
.


Linguistic analyses

An Estonian grammar was printed in German in 1637.Dictionary of Languages By Andrew Dalby; p. 182
Johann Heinrich Rosenplänter Johann Heinrich Rosenplänter (12 July/23 July 1782 in Valmiera – 15 April/27 April 1846 in Pärnu) was a Baltic German linguist and Estophile. He edited one of the first scientific journals on the Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finni ...
published the first
academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
in 1813 on an Estonian topic called
Beiträge zur genauern Kenntniß der ehstnischen Sprache ''Beiträge zur genauern Kenntniß der ehstnischen Sprache'', commonly referred to as ''Beiträge'', was the first scientific journal on Estonian language, edited by Johann Heinrich Rosenplänter and published in 1813–1832. The text has become ...
(Towards a more precise Knowledge of the Estonian Language), aimed at developing written Estonian. In 1843, a
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...
of the
Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160, ...
was compiled by pastor
Eduard Ahrens Eduard Ahrens (3 April 1803, Tallinn – 19 February 1863, Kuusalu) was a Baltic German Estonian language linguist and clergyman. Ahrens studied at Tallinn University of Theology from 1811 to 1819, and, from 1820 to 1823, at the Faculty of Theo ...
using the
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
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 ( 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. One of the most active Estophile organizations is the Tuglas Societybr>
( fi, Tuglas-seura) in Finland, named after the Estonian writer
Friedebert Tuglas Friedebert Tuglas, born Friedebert Mihkelson or Michelson (2 March 1886 – 15 April 1971) was an Estonian writer and critic who introduced Impressionism and Symbolism to Estonian literature.Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160, ...
and culture, the
Estonian Institute The Estonian Institute (Estonian: ''Eesti Instituut'') is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation based in Tallinn aiming to promote Estonian culture abroad. The institute was founded in 1988/1989 as a shadow foreign office for the ...
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 An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "fr ...
* Fennophile *
Francophile A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...
*
Russophile Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Cen ...


References


Further reading

*
Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, '' Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohr ...
(
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...
): 'Georg Julius von Schultz (Dr. 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 The Estonian Institute (Estonian: ''Eesti Instituut'') is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation based in Tallinn aiming to promote Estonian culture abroad. The institute was founded in 1988/1989 as a shadow foreign office for the ...
)
How Estonian literary culture was born
{{Cultural appreciation
Estophiles Estophilia (from Greek: φίλος, ''filos'' - "dear, loving") refers to the ideas and activities of people not of Estonian descent who are sympathetic to or interested in Estonian language, Estonian literature or Estonian culture, the history ...
Education in Estonia Admiration of foreign cultures Estonian nationalism