Heinrich Stahl (circa 1598/1600

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

– 17 April 1657

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

) was a

Baltic-German 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 ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who worked in Estonia. He is mostly known by his first grammar of

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 ...

. In 1617, he entered in

Rostock University The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the List of universities in Germany#Universities by date of establishment, third-oldest university in Germany. It is ...

. In 1621, he continued its studying in

Wittenberg University Wittenberg University (officially Wittenberg College) is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students drawn from 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical ...

and ended it in 1622. In 1620s, he returned to Estonia and started his clerical career in

Järva County Järva County ( or ''Järvamaa''; ; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the central part of the country and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south-east, Viljandi County to the south, Pärnu County t ...

and

Viru County Virumaa (; Low German: ''Wierland''; Old Norse: ''Virland'') is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians built many strongho ...

. In 1638, he was chosen to the senior preacher at the Tallinn Dome Church, rector of the Consistorium and Dean of Harjumaa. He died in 1657 in Narva because of plague.

Language works

* 1630: "Kurtze und einfältige Fragen die Grundstücke des Christenthumbs betreffend" ('Short and simple questions on the Essentials of Christianity') * 1632-1638 "Hand vnd Hauszbuches Für die Pfarherren, vnd Hauszväter Ehstnischen Fürstenthumbs" ('Hand- and Home-book for the clergy and fathers of the Principality of Estonia') * 1637 "Anführung zu der Esthnischen Sprach" ('Introduction to the Estonian Language') * 1641 and 1649 "Leyen Spiegel" ('The Layman’s Mirror', I, 1641; II, 1649)

References

Year of birth unknown 17th-century Christians 1657 deaths Baltic-German people Estonian Christian clergy Estonian Lutheran clergy Year of birth uncertain {{Estonia-bio-stub