Julius Leopold Fredrik Krohn (19 April 1835 – 28 August 1888) was a Finnish folk poetry researcher, professor of Finnish literature, poet, hymn writer, translator and journalist. He was born in Viipuri and was of

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 ...

origin. Krohn worked as a lecturer on

Finnish language Finnish (endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish ...

in Helsinki University from the year 1875 and as a supernumerary professor from 1885. He was one of the most notable researchers into Finnish folk poetry in the 19th century. His native language was

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Life

Krohn's mother was Julie Dannenberg, a daughter of the Baltic German family at Kiiskilä manor near Vyborg. The versatile and talented Julie spoke eight languages and played the piano brilliantly. The other half of Julie Dannenberg's family was of Ingrian background.

Works and influence

Krohn mostly preferred not to write under his foreign surname, but either adopted a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

or worked as part of a collective, such as the fennomans, of which he was a leading member. Using pseudonyms, he translated many of Johan Ludvig Runeberg's works into Finnish, and researchers also concluded that he penned the Finnish lyrics for the

Finnish national anthem "" (; sv, Vårt land, ; both meaning "Our Land") is the de facto national anthem of Finland. The music was composed by the German immigrant Fredrik Pacius, with original Swedish words by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, and with this music it was perform ...

. Under his most notable pseudonym Suonio he published poetry; e.g. ''Mansikoita ja mustikoita'' 1856–61 ("Strawberries and blueberries") and ''Kuun tarinoita'' ("Tales of the moon"). As Suonio, he worked as editor of '' Suomen Kuvalehti'' and translated many of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

's novels, such as '' A Legend of Montrose''.

Scientific work

An important contribution to a history of Finnish literature was Krohn's doctoral thesis ''Suomenkielinen runollisuus ruotsinvallan aikana'' (1862). Krohn was also the first to develop a scientific method for the study of

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 Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

, the ''historic-geographic method''. This method, which is connected with nationalist understandings of folk culture, involves careful comparison of variant texts of an item of folklore to the end of identifying the "original" version (as well as its origin) Julius Krohn died by drowning in

Bay of Vyborg Vyborg Bay (, , ) is a deep inlet running northeastward near the eastern end of Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, ...

in a

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called '' yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboat ...

accident at the age of 53. His work with

and the Finnish language was continued by his son Kaarle Krohn, who published much of his scientific work posthumously. This work was further developed by their student Antti Aarne.

Children

Back row from left Ilmari, Kaarle, Helmi with spouse E

Apart from Krohn's son Kaarle, mentioned above, his son Ilmari became a composer of church music. His daughter ''Aino'' married the

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, and t ...

n nationalist Oskar Kallas and was known as a writer by the name Aino Kallas. His daughter Helmi Krohn, also an author, married Eemil Nestor Setälä, later the acting head of state of Finland in November 1917, after the abdication of

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

Publications

*
Etext books on-line
at the

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

site **
Yrjö Aukusti Wallin ja hänen matkansa Arabiassa
' (in Finnish) Non fiction work on the ethnographer and adventurer

Georg August Wallin Georg August Wallin (Yrjö Aukusti Wallin, aka Abd al-Wali; 24 October 1811 – 23 October 1852)Maksimilian Aukusti Myhrberg
' (in Finnish) **
Vanha tarina Montrosesta
' Finnish translation of '' A Legend of Montrose'' by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

References

On the history of comparison in folklore studies
* ttp://www.helsinki.fi/yliopistonhistoria/oivallukset/6_oivallus.htm Maantieteellis-historiallinen metodiat the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

site (in Finnish)

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krohn, Julius 1835 births 1888 deaths Writers from Vyborg People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Baltic-German people Finnish people of German descent Finnish scientists 19th-century Finnish poets Finnish Lutheran hymnwriters Finnish journalists Fennomans Translators from Swedish Translators from German Translators from English Translators from Hungarian Translators to Finnish 19th-century journalists Male journalists 19th-century translators 19th-century male writers Finnish male poets Finnish folklorists 19th-century Lutherans