Abstract
The article strives to draw parallels between the cultural contexts of the Lutheran clergy in East Prussia, where Kristijonas Donelaitis lived, and in Finland. East Prussia was part of the Prussian and Finland part of the Swedish Kingdom. The Lutheran Protestant church was state-church in both of the realms. The German culture naturally dominated in East Prussia, but its influence in Sweden and Finland was also strong. There also are parallels in the linguistic situation in East Prussia and Finland. There was a Lithuanian-speaking minority in East Prussia and a Finnish-speaking majority in Finland, both of which were shadowed by the dominant language and culture, German and Swedish, respectively. The priest served as a link between the dominant culture and administration and the common people. Two Finnish priests, Matthias Salamnius (1640–1691) and Johan Frosterus (1720–1809) that can be compared to Donelaitis in their literary production, are presented. The existence of non-theological books in the private libraries of Finnish priests is analyzed using the data in estate inventories. Information about forms of cooperation in the distribution of books, such as book circles and professional reading societies are presented in both Finland and East Prussia.
Highlights
What have Finnish Lutheran priests to do with Kristijonas Donelaitis?
My aim in this article is to create a larger picture of the cultural and literary context of Kristijonas Donelaitis. He belonged to the wide German-Protestant cultural sphere that spread far outside the Prussian and German national borders, but he belonged to a linguistic minority and lived outside the urban centres of his time
The Finnish-speaking majority of the population lived in similar conditions as the original Lithuanian peasant population in East Prussia, there was no serfdom in Finland
Summary
He belonged to the wide German-Protestant cultural sphere that spread far outside the Prussian and German national borders, but he belonged to a linguistic minority and lived outside the urban centres of his time. The Finnish-speaking majority of the population lived in similar conditions as the original Lithuanian peasant population in East Prussia, there was no serfdom in Finland. There was, a considerable Swedish-speaking peasant minority group in Finland, as there was a large German peasant population in East Prussia. Some priests took an active role in the literary culture They produced (wrote, translated, published) books even in the vernacular languages, Finnish in Finland and Lithuanian in East Prussia
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