Kristjan Jaak Peterson

Kristian Jaak Peterson (born 2 Märzjul / March 14 1801greg in Riga, .. .. † 23 Julijul / August 4 1822greg ) was an Estonian poet.

Life and work

He is regarded as one of the founders of the Estonian national literature and of modern Estonian poetry. Since 1996, the Mother Language Day (Estonian emakeelepäev ) is celebrated as a national holiday on his birthday.

Kas siis selle maa keel, laulutuules an või, taevani tõustes ülés, igavust omale otsida? ( Can not seek the language of this country in the winds of song, To Heaven Low to eternity?

These lines from his poem Kuu were understood as the right to reproduce the Estonian language to exist. Tartu University was reopened in 1802, but found the lectures on German instead. Kristian Jaak Peterson was one of the first students who expressed their Estonian origin and contributed to the national revival of Estonia.

Kristian Jaak Peterson's odes and pastorals include two slim volumes, however, were first published in only 100 years after his death. Earlier, in 1823, published three German poems by him. During his lifetime, was the publication of the German edition of Mythologia Fennica of Kristfrid Ganander, a dictionary of Finnish mythology ( the Swedish original appeared in 1789 ). The translation found numerous readers in Estonia and influenced the national identity and literature up to the first decades of the 20th century.

Peterson imitated the lifestyle of the Greek Cynics and dressed striking. He wore several pieces of traditional Estonian clothing, such as a typical long black coat. He was very good at languages ​​, and gained rapidly knowledge of multiple languages ​​, both ancient and modern, to. He wrote philosophical essays and tried his hand at a Swedish grammar.

Peterson died at the age of 21 from tuberculosis.

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