Maria Guleke

Maria Juliana Anna Guleke (* March 1st ^July / March 13th 1816 ^greg. In Salisburg , Livonia Gouvernement ; † April 15 ^July / April 27, 1892 ^greg. In Riga ) was a German-Baltic pastor's daughter and translator of the first Latvian novel . She is occasionally misquoted as M. Gulecke .

Life

Maria Guleke was the daughter of the pastor Friedrich Ernst Guleke and his wife Anna Catharina, b. v. Riemann. She grew up in the small town of Salisburg on the banks of the Salis (lett. Salaca ).

In later years she lived in the pastorate Alt-Pebalg (Lat. Vecpiebalga ) with her cousin, the pastor Rudolf Karl Eduard Guleke (1831–1901). There she had contact with the writers and artists of the hilly landscape around Pebalg, in particular the brothers Reinis Kaudzīte (1839-1920) and Matīss Kaudzīte (1848-1926). They had written the first novel in Latvian: Mērnieku laiki (1879, Landvermesserzeiten ). Maria Guleke translated this novel into German and published it in an abridged version in the daily newspaper Rigaer Tageblatt in 1883 (No. 26–61). Only the initials 'MG' were given as translators. The German title at the time was Die Auditorenzeit . A novel by Latvian authors was so unusual at the time that the editorial staff of the German newspaper had concerns about the ability of Latvian authors to write a novel according to German standards. For this reason, an epilogue was added to the last episode to familiarize urban readers with the rural and rural milieu and the emerging Latvian national feeling.

Maria Guleke remained unmarried and died in Riga in 1892. She was buried in the Jacobi Cemetery ( Jēkaba kapi ).

Fate of the novel

The Latvian edition of the novel saw many editions, was filmed and adapted for the stage. Translations into Russian, Lithuanian and Estonian broadened the reception. Maria Guleke's work remained the only edition available to German readers into the 21st century. A new German and complete translation was published in 2012 under the title Landvermesserzeiten .

swell

Viljars Tooms: Vidusvidzemnieku biogrāfiskā vārdnīca . Verlag Kultūras biedrība Harmonija, Cēsis 2003. (The entry Johann Heinrich Guleke correctly refers to sister M. Guleke as a translator. However, Rudolf Karl Eduard Guleke is incorrectly mentioned as a brother. In truth, he is a cousin, something from the church book of Salisburg emerges.)

Kaudzītes Reinis un Matīss: Mērnieku Laiki. Stāsts . Liesma Verlag, Rīga 1980. A Latvian edition with the illustrations by Eduards Brencēns. The bibliography for the German edition says: "Tulkojusi Vecpiebalgas mācītāja R. Gulekes māsa". This is a repetition of the error. The pastor's cousin, not the sister, translated the novel.

Friedrich Scholz: The literatures of the Baltic States. Their creation and development . Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1990. ISBN 3-531-05097-4 . Page 296 lists the translations of the novel.

Web links

Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Johann Heinrich Guleke. In: BBLD - Baltic biographical lexicon digital - Here, too, a reference to Johann Heinrich Guleke , Maria Guleke's brother . The mother's title of nobility goes back to this document.
Baltic Historical Commission (Ed.): Entry on Reinhold Ludwig Ernst Guleke. In: BBLD - Baltic biographical lexicon digital - Another brother of Maria Guleke
Wenden library records the life of Rudolf Guleke : from 1895 district provost of Wenden.
Vecpiebalga parish : Among the pastors Rudolf Guleke (with photo portrait), the later provost, cousin of Maria Guleke , who brokered the connection to the Kaudzīte brothers .

Individual evidence

^ Church book Salisburg (Mazsalaca) 1680–1833 Latvian, German, born, married, dead (page 35, 1916 No. 1): d. February 11th was born ad pastorate. ud March 1st, the pastor loci Friedrich Ernst Guleke u. sr. Spouse Anna Catharina, b. Riemann, daughter Maria Juliana Anna.
↑ Līgotņu Jēkabs: Kaudzītes Reinis (PDF; 1.8 MB). The writer and literary scholar Jēkabs Līgotnis (1874–1942) reports on the contacts between the Kaudzīte and Guleke families.
↑ Reinis Kaudzīte wrote the book Garīgs skolas draugs (Geistiger Schulfreund, 1880) based on a model by Rudolf Guleke.
↑ The epilogue closes with the words: "[...] Nevertheless, we hope that many an appealing scene and some loyal or amusing characters will have aroused the participation of readers who are alien to our country folk. May the acquaintance with the amiable sides of the Latvian folk character, which this story conveyed to us, alleviate the not unjustified displeasure about its aberrations in the present and help to initiate a more conciliatory mood! "
↑ Riga church book, St. Jacobi (Rīgas sv. Jēkaba) 1892–1904 Germans, deceased (page 10, no. 72: Marie Guleke, Fräulein, single, died of a heart attack on April 15, 1892 at the age of 76; born in Salisburg, buried on April 18 in the Jacobi cemetery).

personal data
SURNAME	Guleke, Maria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Guleke, Maria Juliana Anna (full name); Gulecke, M.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German-Baltic pastor's daughter and translator of the first Latvian novel
DATE OF BIRTH	March 13, 1816
PLACE OF BIRTH	Salisburg , Livonia Governorate
DATE OF DEATH	April 27, 1892
Place of death	Riga

[1] Church book Salisburg (Mazsalaca) 1680–1833 Latvian, German, born, married, dead (page 35, 1916 No. 1): d. February 11th was born ad pastorate. ud March 1st, the pastor loci Friedrich Ernst Guleke u. sr. Spouse Anna Catharina, b. Riemann, daughter Maria Juliana Anna.

[2] Līgotņu Jēkabs: Kaudzītes Reinis (PDF; 1.8 MB). The writer and literary scholar Jēkabs Līgotnis (1874–1942) reports on the contacts between the Kaudzīte and Guleke families.

[3] Reinis Kaudzīte wrote the book Garīgs skolas draugs (Geistiger Schulfreund, 1880) based on a model by Rudolf Guleke.

[4] The epilogue closes with the words: "[...] Nevertheless, we hope that many an appealing scene and some loyal or amusing characters will have aroused the participation of readers who are alien to our country folk. May the acquaintance with the amiable sides of the Latvian folk character, which this story conveyed to us, alleviate the not unjustified displeasure about its aberrations in the present and help to initiate a more conciliatory mood! "

[5] Riga church book, St. Jacobi (Rīgas sv. Jēkaba) 1892–1904 Germans, deceased (page 10, no. 72: Marie Guleke, Fräulein, single, died of a heart attack on April 15, 1892 at the age of 76; born in Salisburg, buried on April 18 in the Jacobi cemetery).