Kolme katku vahel

Kolme katku vahel (Estonian, literal translation Between three plague epidemics ; title of the German translation: Das Leben des Balthasar Rüssow , 1986) is the title of a four-volume historical novel by the Estonian writer Jaan Kross (1920–2007).

Origin and publication history

To a certain extent, the novel appeared as a “by-product” of a film script inspired by Soviet film officials: on a visit to Tallinn in the mid-1960s, they were amazed that the Estonians had no historical film about their republic. The Estonian literary functionary and translator Lembit Remmelgas then commissioned Jaan Kross to write a script for such a film. This film was never completely shot, there is only a short TV version, but the author had collected so much material that he turned it into a four-volume novel.

As was often the case in what was then Soviet Estonia , the complete novel, on which the author worked for over ten years, was published in advance in the leading Estonian literary magazine Looming . The first part came in issues 5–7 of the 1970 year, the second in issues 1–2 / 1972. Volume three contains two parts that were divided into volumes 9–10 / 1975 and 6–7 / 1976. The fourth and last volume also consists of two parts, which were distributed accordingly between the issues 5–7 / 1979 and 3–4 / 1980. The novel was published as a book in four volumes by the Estonian state publisher Eesti Raamat in 1970, 1972, 1977 and 1980. A one-volume special edition was published on the author's 65th birthday in 1985, followed by a two-volume edition as part of a six-volume work edition only these first two volumes have appeared. Finally, the novel was published again in the first three volumes of the complete edition.

Novel plot

First edition of Rüssow's Chronicle, Rostock 1578

As the subtitle of the original edition and the main title of some translations (see below) indicate, the novel describes the life of Balthasar Rüssow , a chronicler of the 16th century. This authentic person lived from around 1536 to 1600 and is best known today as the author of the Low German Chronicle of the Lyfflandt Provintz , which appeared in three editions and is still an important source for the history of the region in the 16th century. The historian Paul Johansen had put forward the thesis or plausibly demonstrated that Rüssow was probably of Estonian origin, which is why Jaan Kross came up with the idea of ​​writing such a biographical novel.

The first part of the novel covers roughly the period from 1547 to 1558 and begins with the appearance of Italian jugglers who had stretched a rope from the tower of the Olaikirche to the city wall. The Tallinn schoolboy Balthasar admires the breakneck feats of the artists and wonders how they bring them to life. This is how the search for truth is formulated right at the beginning, which the main character will not leave for a lifetime. In the further course, a multi-layered picture of late medieval Tallinn is drawn on the basis of Balthasar's school career. The religious state is on the decline after the tremors of the Reformation , but there is still peace.

The second part covers the period between 1558 and 1562 and thus begins in the year of the outbreak of the Livonian War . For Rüssow this meant the apprenticeship years in Stettin , briefly also in Wittenberg and Bremen , while a troubled time dawned for Tallinn and the city submitted to the Swedish king. At the same time, enemy troops are raging in the country and the farmers are in an uproar. Balthasar even returns incognito for a short time and joins the rebels.

In the third part, which takes place between 1562 and 1578, the country is still at war. Balthasar receives his first position as a deacon and from 1566 is pastor at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tallinn. During a sermon here he got the idea to write a chronicle of the events in his homeland. From then on he collects material from all conceivable sources, which is not without risk in uncertain times of war. Conflict and intrigue are the consequences. He married his first wife, Elsbet Ganander, and survived several plague epidemics that hit the city. At the end of the third volume, the main character knows her manuscript on the way to Rostock.

The fourth part therefore begins with the publication of the book and deals with the period from 1578 to Balthasar's death in 1600. But times are still restless, the plague rages again and takes his wife and children. At the same time, Balthasar is working on a new edition of his book. He married twice more, Margarethe von Geldern in 1582 and Anna Bade in 1593, while he did not enter into a legal relationship with his childhood sweetheart Epp - but did not forget them either. After all, it is she who watches over Balthasar's death bed at the end of the novel.

All in all, the novel provides not only a large-scale historical painting of the 16th century in Estonia, but also a multilayered philosophical consideration of an eternal problem, because its "topic of the search for truth, like the complications connected with it, can be transferred to other epochs." At the same time, he differentiates the various “social, cultural and national worlds” between which Balthasar Russow is located.

rating

The novel is characterized by three characteristics, which together make up its special value. On the one hand, there is the linguistic power that expresses itself not only in a “baroque richness of words”, but also in a complicated and strongly pictorial language, which the Estonian writer Jaan Undusk aptly described in a homage to Jaan Kross as follows: You write almost never just: "She sat on the bed." You also do not write precisely: "She sat on the bed cover." You do not even write: "She sat on the fur cover of the marriage bed." You usually write at least as follows: "She sat down on the moth-eaten dog fur cover on some inaccessible ends of the double bed, which was already creaking slightly under the mattress."

The second is the philosophical dimension, which makes the novel timeless. "I don't know," said Elsbeth indecisively, "but if you say that your work should preserve the truth, well - it will not please everyone who has power ..." This problem is not limited to the 16th century, but of a universal nature. And of course, if one takes into account the publication of the novel in the 1970s, ie at the zenith of Brezhnev's policy of stagnation, one cannot overlook an allegory of the situation in the Soviet Union . The problem area power - loyalty - resistance as one of the main themes of the author is treated in depth here.

Third, the intrigued nested plot is simply exciting, while at the same time a monumental historical panorama of the 16th century is offered. This skillfully illustrates the eventful history of Estonia. The country had to assert itself after the collapse of the religious order and thus not only had to cope with the actual plague epidemics, which verifiably raged in the country in the years 1549, 1553, 1565/1566, 1570/1571 and 1579/1580: the ones that fall can also War powers are referred to as "plague epidemics," and that means Russia, Poland and Sweden. In addition to this global perspective, the complicated social structure of a Hanseatic city at the end of the Middle Ages is masterfully presented.

reception

Reception in Germany

The first German translation was published in the GDR by Verlag Rütten & Loening : Jaan Kross: Das Leben des Balthasar Rüssow. Historical novel. Translated from Estonian by Helga Viira [1. and 2nd book]; Translated from Russian by Barbara Heitkam [3. and 4th book]. 3 volumes in cassette. Berlin: Rütten & Loening 1986. 522 + 448 + 502 S. The edition was 10,000 copies. It has received positive reviews several times.

The new edition that was published by Carl Hanser Verlag in 1995 attracted more attention , after Der Verrückte des Zaren (1990) and Professor Martens' Departure (1992) had already appeared there: Jaan Kross: Das Leben des Balthasar Rüssow. Novel. Translated by Helga Viira and Barbara Heitkam. Munich, Vienna: Hanser 1995. 1465 pp. This edition has been reviewed over two dozen times and has generally been very positive. Karl-Markus Gauß called the novel "a didactic piece on power and resistance" at the time . A year later the novel was published in the same translation by the Gutenberg Book Guild and in 1999 by dtv-Verlag .

Translations into other languages

• 1975–1982: Russian - Между тремя поветриями . (Olga Samma). Moskva: Sov. Pissatel.
• 1979: Polish - Trzy bicze czarnej śmierci czyli Opowieść o Baltazarze Russowie (Wieslawa Karaczewska). Warszawa: Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. 456 p. (Only part 1 and 2)
• 2003: Finnish - Uppiniskaisuuden kronikka (Kaisu Lahikainen, Jouko Vanhanen). Helsinki: WSOY. 1245 pp.
• 2012: Latvian - Stūrgalvības hronika (Maima Grīnberga). Rīga: Jānis Roze. 1104 pp.
• 2016: English - The Ropewalker. Between Three Plagues vol. 1 (Merike Lepasaar Beecher). London: MacLehose Press. 544 p .; A People Without A Past. Between Three Plagues vol. 2 (Merike Lepasaar Beecher). London: MacLehose Press. 2017. 432 pp.
• 2018: Dutch - Tussen drie plagen . Vertaald by Frans van Nes and Jesse Niemeijer. Amsterdam: Prometheus 2018. 1017 pp.

literature

• Nigol Andresen : Inimesed ajaloos. Kroonika ja krooniku romaan , in: Keel ja Kirjandus 8/1981, pp. 499–504.
• Matthias Biskupek : The Balthasar of Jaan Kross , in: Die Weltbühne 13/1987, pp. 407–409.
• Martin Carayol (Ed.): Jaan Kross: bilan et découvertes. Actes de la journée Jaan Kross, November 28, 2008 (Bibliothèque finno-ougrienne, 20). L'Harmattan, Paris 2011, ISBN 978-2296-56073-4 .
• Andrzej Drawicz: "Estonian Morning Dew". On the work of the Soviet Estonian writer Jaan Kross , in: Osteuropa 29 (1979), pp. 37–43.
• Cornelius Hasselblatt : In Search of Truth , in: Estonia 4/1986, pp. 23-29.
• Cornelius Hasselblatt: The Germans in the work of Jaan Kross, in : Estonia 1/1990, pp. 6–13.
• Cornelius Hasselblatt: A guide to the Estonians, in: Estonia 1/1992, pp. 10–16.
• Cornelius Hasselblatt: Kolme katku vahel . In: Kindlers Literature Lexicon . 3rd, completely revised edition. Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-476-04000-8 , Vol. 9: Kes-Len, p. 451.
• Küllike Kaplinski: Veel Balthasar Russowi päritolust, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 2/1988, pp. 74–82.
• Tiina Kirss: History and narrative. An introduction to the fiction on Jaan Kross . In: Cross Currents , Vol. 6 (1987), pp. 397-404, ISSN  0748-0164
• Tiina Ann Kirss: Balthasar Russow at Koluvere. Peasant Rebellion in Jaan Kross' Between Three Plagues, in: Novels, Histories, Novel Nations. Historical Fiction and Cultural Memory in Finland and Estonia . Edited by Linda Kaljundi, Eneken Laanes & Ilona Pikkanen. Helsinki: SKS 2015 (Studia Fennica Historica 19), pp. 257–278.
• Jaan Kross: Balthasar Russow - ajalugu ja romaan, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 3/1987, pp. 145–152.
• Jaan Kross: Paul Johanseni (ja iseenese) päästmiskatseks ühe ülirange ajaloolasmuusa käest, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 5/1988, pp. 276–283.
• Jaan Kross: Balthasar Russowi (ja iseenese) päästmiskatseks teise ülirange ajaloolasmuusa käest, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 7/1988, pp. 412–422; 8/1988, pp. 466-476.
• Hendrik Markgraf: memory and poet of the Estonians. Jaan Kross . In: FAZ Magazin of February 22, 1991 (8th week, no. 573), pp. 13-18.
• Elina Öpik: Ajalootunnetuse tasandist ja Balthasar Russowi kohast Eesti kultuuriloos, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 3/1988, pp. 149–159.
• Juhani Salokannel: Sivistystahto. Jaan Kross, we have teoksensa yes virolaisuus . Söderström, Helsinki 2008, ISBN 978-951-0-33540-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, pp. 684f.
2. ↑ Jaan Kross: Kolme katku vahel I-IV. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1970. 268 p .; 1972. 202 p .; 1977. 368 p .; 1980. 428 pp.
3. ↑ Jaan Kross: Kolme katku vahel. Balthasar Russowi romaan. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1985. 997 pp.
4. ↑ Jaan Kross: Teosed kuues köites. 1-2. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1987, 1989. 534 + 491 pp.
5. ↑ Jaan Kross: Kogutud teosed 1-3. Tallinn: Virgela 1997-1998. 500 + 295 + 459 pp.
6. ↑ For the first time in an essay: Paul Johansen: Kronist Balthasar Rüssowi päritolu ja miljöö, in: Tulimuld 4/1964, pp. 252-260; later in an extensive monograph: Paul Johansen: Balthasar Rüssow as a humanist and historian. Completed from the estate and edited by Heinz von zur Mühlen. Cologne, Weimar, Vienna: Böhlau. 313 p. ( Sources and studies on Baltic history 14)
7. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt: A guide to the Estonians , in: Estonia 1/1992, p. 12.
8. ↑ Kindler's Literature Lexicon . 3rd, completely revised edition. Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, Vol. 9: Kes – Len, p. 451.
9. ↑ Jaan Kross: Balthasar Russow - ajalugu ja romaan, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 3/1987, p. 145.
10. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, p. 687.
11. ↑ Jaan Undusk: Jaan Kross ehk kirja katkematus, in: Postimees February 19, 2000, p. 10; quoted here from: Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, p. 687.
12. ↑ Jaan Kross: The life of Balthasar Rüssow. German by Helga Viira and Barbara Heitkam. Berlin: Rütten & Loening 1986, p. 301.
13. ↑ Cf. Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, p. 686.
14. ↑ See fairy tales and legends of the Estonian people. Translated and annotated by Harry Jannsen . Second delivery. Riga: N. Kymmel / Leipzig: CF Fleischer 1888, p. 201; Seppo Zetterberg: Viron historia. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura 2007, pp. 748-749.
15. ↑ Angela Burmeister: Estonian literature in Germany and in the German Democratic Republic from the beginning of the 20th century [sic] to the end of the eighties. [Unprinted] Dissertation A for obtaining the academic degree of doctor in a branch of science (doctor philosophiae) submitted to the Scientific Council of the Wilhelm-Pieck-Universität Rostock. February 1990, p. 116.
16. ↑ Proof of reviews in: Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian Literature in German Language 1784-2003. Bibliography of primary and secondary literature. Bremen: Hempen Verlag 2004, p. 68.
17. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011, pp. 329–332.
18. ^ Karl-Markus Gauß: Dangerous Chronicles, in: Die Zeit No. 42, October 13, 1995, literature supplement, p. 24.
19. ↑ Jaan Kross: The life of Balthasar Rüssow . Novel. Translated by Helga Viira and Barbara Heitkam. Frankfurt / M., Vienna: Gutenberg Book Guild [1996]. 1465 pp.
20. ↑ Jaan Kross: The life of Balthasar Rüssow . Novel. German by Helga Viira and Barbara Heitkam. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1999. 1465 S. (dtv 12563)