Estophilia (from

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: 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 and the official language of Estonia. It is written in the Latin script and is the first language of the majority of the country's population; it is also an official language of the European Union. Estonian is sp ...

Estonian literature Estonian literature () is literature written in the Estonian language (c. 1,100,000 speakers) The oldest records of written Estonian date from the 13th century. ''Originates Livoniae'' in Chronicle of Henry of Livonia contains Estonian place n ...

Estonian culture The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic languages, Finnic national language Estonian language, Estonian, with Nordic countries, Nordic and German culture, German cultural aspects. Over the cen ...

, the

history of Estonia The history of Estonia forms a part of the history of Europe. Human settlement in what is now Estonia became possible 13,000–11,000 years ago, after the ice from the last Ice age, glacial era had melted, and signs of the first permanent popula ...

, and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in general. Such people are known as Estophiles. The term particularly refers to the activities of the Estophile Movement of the late 18th to early 19th century, when local

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

scholars began documenting and promoting Estonian culture and

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

. This movement played a crucial role in triggering the

Estonian Age of Awakening The Estonian Age of Awakening () is a period in history where Estonians came to acknowledge themselves as a nation deserving the right to govern themselves. This period is considered to begin in the 1850s with greater rights being granted to com ...

in the 1850s, which eventually led to the

Estonian Declaration of Independence The Estonian Declaration of Independence, formally titled the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia (), is the founding document which established the independent democratic Estonia, Republic of Estonia in 1918. Issued during a period of intense p ...

and the foundation of the

Republic of Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, as an independent democratic nation, in 1918.

Background

Since the 13th century

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the paganism, pagan Balts, Baltic, Baltic Finns, ...

, the use of Estonian language had been gradually suppressed in the local society, as the

Middle Low German Middle Low German is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented in writing since about 1225–34 (). During the Hanseatic period (from about 1300 to about 1600), Mid ...

, and later

High German The High German languages (, i.e. ''High German dialects''), or simply High German ( ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Ben ...

, became the increasingly dominant language in the cities, in organised trade (

Hanseatic league The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

) and among wealthy rural landowners. Indigenous Estonian language was largely restricted to the everyday life of non-noble urban population and the farmers in the countryside. Native Estonians who became citizens or landlords tended to linguistically Germanise voluntarily, however this process did not destroy the evolution of the Estonian culture. Moreover, in the 18th century, many of the local educated and wealthy German-speakers took interest in, and began learning about, the Estonian language and culture, and in the process, contributing to the systematic understanding of it. The

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

era brought with it greater tolerance and spread the desire to educate the uneducated. For example, the very first

periodical publication, ''

Lühhike öppetus ''Lühhike öppetus'' (Estonian for ''Brief Instruction''), by modern orthography 'Lühike õpetus', was the first periodical publication in Estonian. Edited by Dr. Peter Ernst Wilde and printed for a short while in 1766–1767, it described ...

'' (

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'') (1766–1767), concerned medical techniques.

History

Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840)

Educated German immigrants and local

Baltic Germans Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their resettlement in 1945 after the end of World War II, Baltic Germans have drastically decli ...

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. The abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

in 1816 in Southern Estonia:

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

and 1819 in Northern Estonia:

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estoni ...

by Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", 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 in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

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. The Estophile Enlightenment Period formed the transition from religious Estonian literature to newspapers printed in Estonian for the general public. The ideas of

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( ; ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a Prussian philosopher, theologian, pastor, poet, and literary critic. Herder is associated with the Age of Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. He wa ...

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 Estonian culture. Inspired by Herder's collection of European and Estonian folk songs, they came to view native

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

as natural expressions of truth and spontaneity. As a result, they founded several

scientific societies A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

, published textbooks for schools, newspapers and literary works of considerable merit, such as the construction of the

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

Kalevipoeg ''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th-century 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, known as ...

'' from folk sources.

Otto Wilhelm Masing Otto Wilhelm Masing ( in Lohusuu, Kreis Dorpat – in Äksi, Kreis Dorpat, then Livland Governorate, now Estonia) was a clergyman, writer, journalist, linguist, notable early Estophile and a major advocate of Estonians, Estonian commoners' righ ...

and

Garlieb Merkel Garlieb Helwig Merkel ( in Lēdurga Parish (now Sigulda Municipality), Kreis Riga – in Riga) was a Baltic Germans, Baltic German writer and activist and an early Estophile and Latvians, Lettophile. Merkel was born into the family of a rur ...

were prominent Estophiles. Masing was one of the main advocates of

popular education Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, critical theory and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish or the Portuguese . The term 'popular' in this case means 'of the people'. ...

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 Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

in 1838, which counted as its members

Friedrich Robert Faehlmann Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (Fählmann) (31 December 1798 in Ao Manor, Kreis Jerwen – 22 April 1850 in Tartu) was an Estonian writer, medical doctor and philologist active in Livonia, Russian Empire. He was a co-founder of the Learned Estonia ...

and

Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( – ) was an Estonians, Estonian writer and the author of the national epic ''Kalevipoeg''. Life Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's parents were born at the Jõepere, Jömper estate, Governorate of Estonia, Russia ...

, author of the Estonian national epic

which was inspired by the Finnish epic

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

Folklore recording

Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

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

texts necessitated development of (relatively) unified rules of

orthography An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis. Most national ...

, and thus, led to analysis of Estonian

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

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 published the first

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

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

of the Estonian language was compiled by pastor

Eduard Ahrens Eduard Ahrens (3 April 1803, Tallinn (Reval) – 19 February 1863, Kuusalu, Estonia) was a Baltic German Estonian language linguist and clergyman. Ahrens studied at Tallinn Cathedral School from 1811 to 1819, and, from 1820 to 1823, at the F ...

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 (

Astrīde Ivaska Astrid Ivask (born Astrīde Helēna Hartmane, Latvian Astrīde Ivaska; also; August 7, 1926 – March 24, 2015) was a Latvian-American poet. Biography She was born Astrīde Helēna Hartmane in Riga, the daughter of Mārtiņš Hartmanis, a Latv ...

, 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 Society Tuglas Society (Finnish: ''Tuglas-Seura'', Estonian: ''Tuglase Selts'') is a Finnish non-profit society to strengthen the cultural ties between Finns and Estonians. The society has eight local societies in Oulu, Lappeenranta, Lahti, Kotka, Häm ...

br>
() 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. Persecuted by the authorities in the beginning of 20t ...

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.

Background

History

Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840)

Folklore recording

Linguistic analyses

Modern Estophiles

Scholarship Estophilus

See also

References

Notes

Further reading