Matthias Johann Eisen

He is best known for his thorough collection and systematic typology of Estonian folk tales, totaling over 90,000 pages. His work significantly influenced later Estonian literature and his folklore materials have been used by authors such as Andrus Kivirähk. He has also been described as the founder of Estonian science fiction.

Matthias Johann Eisen studied at Imperial University of Dorpat. The recorded working language is Estonian and Finnish. Employment is recorded with University of Tartu. Distinctions recorded are doctor honoris causa of the University of Helsinki and honorary doctor of the University of Tartu.

• Name — Matthias Johann Eisen • Born — 28 September 1857 • Birthplace — Oese village, Vigala Parish, Rapla County, Estonia • Died — 6 August 1934 • Place of death — Tartu, Estonia • Resting Place — Maarja Cemetery, Tartu • Citizenship — Estonia • Occupation — Folklorist, clergyman, ethnologist, university teacher • Education — University of Tartu (1885) • Alma Mater — University of Tartu • Employer — University of Tartu • Known for — Systematic collection of Estonian folklore • Notable Works — Esivanemate varandus [Ancestral Treasure] Eesti mütoloogia [Estonian Mythology] • Awards — * Honorary doctor of the University of Tartu • Honorary doctor of the University of Helsinki • Illustration — Childhood home of Matthias Johann Eisen Oese village, Vigala Parish, Rapla County

• Illustration — Eisen as a young visiting clergyman, c. 1880–1890 Eisen was born in Oese village, in Vigala Parish, Rapla County, Estonia to a schoolteacher. He pursued theological studies in Haapsalu and Pärnu before graduating from the University of Tartu in 1885. He was heavily influenced by his parents' nationalism and by Estonian nationalism that grew during the Estonian national awakening and the preservation of oral heritage. From a young age, he began contributing to the newspaper Perno Postimees as a student and became a dedicated member of the Estonian Students' Society and the Estonian Writers' Society. Eisen's literary and scholarly career began during his years as a student in Pärnu and Tartu. Alongside Jaan Jung, he was a proponent of the Estonian term for history (ajalugu), and he played a key role in promoting it during the 1870s.

• Illustration — Eisen photographed by Heinrich Tiidermann c. 1896–1903 • Illustration — Eisen photographed by Wilhelm Staden c. 1890–1900 He was ordained as a pastor in Lempaala, Ingria, in 1886. He served in Petrozavodsk and Kattila before moving to Kronstadt. There he served as a parish priest for the multi-ethnic St. Nicholas congregation in Kronstadt for over two decades. In 1913, he returned to Tartu. Although offered a position in Finland by the Finnish Literature Society in 1919, he chose to donate his folklore collection to the University of Tartu in exchange for a personal professorship. From 1920 to 1927, he served as a professor of folk poetry at the University of Tartu. In 1925, he helped establish the Academic Folklore Society and served as its long-term chairman. His academic contributions were later recognized with an honorary doctorate in theology from his alma mater in 1932. He was an honorary doctor of philosophy at the University of Helsinki (1927), an honorary doctor of theology at the University of Tartu (1932), and an honorary alumnus of the Estonian Students' Society (1930).

Eisen published six primary collections of poetry between 1876 and 1902, including Lehekuuõied ("The Flowers of May", 1876) and Laulik ("Bard", 1902). His verse was heavily influenced by his background in folkloristics, frequently employing the ethereal tone and structural trends of epic folk poetry rather than dense, content-rich lyrics. This style is most prominent in his narrative poems Kuldja (1923) and Kaks Kuningapoega ("Two Princes", 1925). He also worked extensively on lyric epics and mythological reconstructions. He versified the myths and legends of Friedrich Robert Faehlmann. He also wrote the pseudo-mythological epic Kõu ja Pikker (meaning Thunder and Lightning). His folkloric materials were a primary source for Andrus Kivirähk's novel Rehepapp. Between 1891 and 1898, he produced the first Estonian translation of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.

As a university student, Eisen published his first major collections: the folktales ‘Esivanemate varandus’ ("Ancestral Treasure", 1882) and Endise põlwe pärandus ("The Inheritance of the Former Generation," 1883). He also contributed to the 1881 poetry anthology Eesti luuletused ("Estonian Poems") and played a key role in compiling and publishing Eesti rahva mõistatused ("Riddles of the Estonians", 1889). In 1892, Eisen and his colleagues launched a massive effort to manually document Estonian folklore, a project that continued for the rest of his life. His work occasionally paralleled and supplemented the efforts of Jakob Hurt. By the time of his death, Eisen's archive contained over 17,000 folk songs and 25,000 tales. These were often published as "national books" to make them affordable. These widely circulated editions were designed to make folk heritage accessible to the general public. He published a history of Estonia, Livonia, and Kurland (titled Eesti-, Liiwi- ja Kuramaa ajalugu, in 1913, a work he continued to refine and expand throughout his life. He conducted significant research into the Danish Census Book which resulted in him publishing Daani hindamise raamat [Danish Appraisal Book] in 1920. His scholarly interests also extended to lyric epics.