Anton Thor Bright

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Anton Thor Helle (baptized on October 28 . Jul / 7. November  1683 greg. In Tallinn , † April 13 . Jul / 24. April  1748 . Greg in Jüri, today municipality Rae / Estonia ) was an Estonian theologian. He is the author of the first translation of the Bible into the North Estonian written language .

education

Anton thor Helle was born the son of a businessman. His mother tongue was German , but he learned Estonian at a very high level, which he also taught. He first attended school in Tallinn and then studied theology at Kiel University before returning to Estonia.

theology

In 1713 he became pastor of the parish of Jüri (German: St. Jürgens ). He took office in difficult times. 1695-1697 a famine had led to mass deaths in the parish. The Northern War , which ended in Estonia in 1710, brought destruction and violence against the civilian population. In this environment, Helle founded a church school for the training of sextons in 1721 with great personal commitment .

As early as 1715, Helle was appointed extraordinary assessor of the Consistory of Estonia and in 1721 a full assessor. In 1740 he also took over the management of the community of Kose . In 1742 he became provost of North Harju .

Estonian language

In addition to theology, Anton thor Helle devoted himself primarily to the promotion and further development of the Estonian language. His Estonian grammar ( abbreviated instruction on the Estonian language , 1732) and his comprehensive German-Estonian dictionary are among the foundations of the Estonian written language and the cultural history of Estonia.

From 1728 to 1738 he worked on a translation of the Bible into the North Estonian language, which was published by Jacob Johann Köhler in 1739 in Tallinn under the title Piibli Ramat, se on keik se Jummala Sanna . Anton thor Helle is probably also the author of Viis head jutto ühhe öppetaja ja usklikko Tallopoja wahhel , an introduction to Bible reading, which was published in Tallinn in 1740.

In addition, he edited numerous theological writings linguistically and was co-editor of influential Pietist manuals of his time. The best-known works include the Eesti-Ma Kele Koddo- ning Kirko-Ramat (Halle, 1721) and the Estonian version of Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen's book Jummala Nou Innimesse iggawesse önnistussest (Tallinn, 1727), which he and his friend Heinrich Gutsleff , the Pastor von Kullamaa ( Goldenbeck ), published.

Private life

Anton thor Helle was married twice. In 1713 he married Catharine Helene Knieper from Jõhvi , with whom he had a daughter. In 1725 he married the daughter of the mayor of Tallinn, Maria Elisabeth Oldecop, with whom he had five sons.

In 1989 a memorial was inaugurated next to the church of Jüri in honor of Anton Thor Helle.

literature

  • Winkler, R [udolf]: Anton Thor Helle, pastor to St. Juergens and provost in Ost-Harrien (1713–1748). An Estonian preaching life . Reval: Buchdruckerei August Mickwitz, 1911
  • Rannut, Ülle: Some translation- theoretical questions on the first Estonian translation of the Bible from 1739. In: The translation of the Bible and its influence on Estonian cultural history. Baltic Seminars, Volume I. Lüneburg: Carl-Schirren-Gesellschaft, 1996, pp. 35–44.
  • Carola L. Gottzmann , Petra Hörner: Lexicon of the German-language literature of the Baltic States and St. Petersburg . De Gruyter, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-019338-1 , p. 564 f .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry in the baptismal register of the Nikolaikirche in Reval (Estonian: Tallinna Niguliste kirik)
  2. ↑ EEVA . // utlib.ee. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Thor Helle, Anton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Estonian pastor and translator
DATE OF BIRTH baptized November 7, 1683
PLACE OF BIRTH Tallinn
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 1748
Place of death Jüri, today Rae Municipality , Estonia