Jöns Budde

Jöns Andersson Budde, also known as Jöns Räk, ( * ca 1437, † 1491 ) was a monk in the monastery of Naantali in Finland today. He is the first known person of the Finnish literary history.

Life

Jöns Budde probably born around 1437. From his language, it is concluded that it came from the Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia. After he had joined in 1461 or 1462 the Birgitt Order, Budde worked in the monasteries Vadstena in Sweden and Naantali in Finland today. There he translated in the years 1469-1491 Latin -speaking spiritual literature into Swedish. These include:

• The Liber specialis gratiae of Mechthild of Hackeborn
• Viridiarium celeste Sancte Birgitte, a shortened version of the visions of Saint Bridget
• The work of an unknown author wrote Claustrum animae
• The Mediationes Bernard of Clairvaux
• The books of Judith, Ester, Ruth and parts of the Maccabees of the Old Testament.

His first translation, the Liber specialis gratiae he added an epilogue, in which he describes a saw of him revelation. This is the oldest known personally held text of a Finnish author. Handwritten texts Budde's are obtained in a written in Naantali 1487-1491 band in which ten translated by him texts are tied together. The book is well-known ( " The Book of Jöns Budde " ) today as Jöns Budde bok and is preserved in the Royal Library in Stockholm.