Eesti autobiograafilise kirjutuse kujunemisest 18. sajandist Teise maailmas jani. The Development of Estonian Autobiographical Writing from the 18th Century to the Second World War

In this article I examine the development of Estonian autobiographical writing from its first manifestations to published memoirs, and the development of life writing and its diversification. The beginnings of life writing can be traced back to Estonian folk song and Estonian incidental poetry. The Moravian Brethren movement in Estonia in the 18th century promoted the spread of canonical autobiography. The Moravian Brethren offered alternative opportunities for self-realisation for Estonians who were serfs, and were therefore popular with the people. The practice of the Moravian Brethren made use of retelling and writing about the life of the congregation members, which sometimes became suitable biographies in print, especially stories of awakening. Several manuscript biographies have survived from the Brethren times, such as the biographies of M letu Jaan and Mihkel Sarapuu. In addition to the history of the Moravian Brethren movement, these biographies give information about the educational situation and living conditions of the people of the time. The Estonian life writing tradition emerged within the reigning Baltic German cultural space thanks to the Estophiles among the Baltic Germans (J. H. Rosenpl nter) and the first Estonian men of letters; from the early 19th century we have the diary by Rosenpl nter, an estophile pastor from P rnu, and the diary by the Estonian poet, the then-student Kristjan Jaak Peterson, both in the Estonian language. Johann Voldemar Jannsen, the founder of Estonian-language journalism, kept a diary in the German language for a longer period of time; it was usual that the first Estonian intellectuals (Lilli Suburg, and others) in the late 19th century wrote in German. Admittedly, the first Estonian-language life history was written by a forward-looking 19th century peasant named M rt Mitt (1833-1912), who was conscious of himself as a historical subject and gave his memoirs, begun in the 1880s, a memorable title: “M rt Mitt`s life story, told in a manner connected with history”. Other recollections of Estonian peasants appeared at the very end of the 19th century, including Gustav Malts’ stories about Estonian settlers in the Crimea. Autobiographical writing oriented toward documenting somebody’s life was regarded merely as “material” and distinct from literary or fictional writing. With little persuasion, Gustav Malts handed over the first version of his memoirs to a writer; relying heavily on Malts’ manuscript, Eduard Vilde composed his historical novel Prophet Maltsvet in 1905–1908. Among the recollections of the peasant