The Arrival of Humanism in Finland

Research plan

Research team: Professor Simo Heininen, Kalle Korhonen, Dr. Hab., Docent Esko M. Laine, Docent Tuija Laine, Professor Outi Merisalo (principal investigator), Mikko Piippo, Ph.D. and Raija Sarasti-Wilenius, Dr. Hab.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. The arrival of humanism in Finland: direct influence of Italy and the Curia on Finland from the middle of the fifteenth until the middle of the sixteenth century (K. Korhonen

3. Humanist works in Finnish libraries from the beginning of the 16th century until the beginning of the 18th century (O. Merisalo)

4. Erasmus of Rotterdam and Michael Agricola (S. Heininen)

5. Humanism, tradition and historiography in Finland from 1640 until 1713 (M. Piippo)

6. The letter collection of the Gyldenstolpe family (R. Sarasti-Wilenius)

7. The clergy as promoter and interpreter of humanism (E.M. Laine)

8. The Classical ideal in Finnish seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literature (T. Laine)

1. Introduction

The Italian humanism of the 14th and 15th centuries changed the European culture in a considerable way. In spite of the fact Ancient authors had been read throughout the Middle Ages, the innovation of the humanists was to examine them in their historical context in order to establish the factual reality of the past. Because of this, the knowledge of Ancient Latin became a central element in the reconstruction of the past: knowing the original meaning of the words was the way to the original truth. The humanists adopted the Latin of Antiquity as their linguistic model. From c. 1400 onwards, Ancient authors and contemporary humanists were copied in the eminently legible antiqua script modelled on the Carolingian minuscule of the 11th-12th centuries and erected into the "trademark" of the new view on culture. Ancient rhetoric was applied in speeches and texts of a public nature, not only in literature but also in diplomatic correspondence and public oratory. Ancient literature offered a model for modern people to compete with (aemulatio).

Italian humanism starts spreading north of the Alps in the middle of the 15th century mainly through foreign students studying at the legal universities of Northern Italy. Englishmen and Germans, among others, studying at Bologna and Padua, were introduced to the new type of culture and learnt humanist Latin. At the end of the century humanist ideals had already become established in the Empire and France. The Transalpine humanism was combined in the 16th century with Reformation, which may be seen as one of the manifestations of the search for original truth, essential to the humanists. Lutheranism adopts humanist education through the work of Philip Melanchthon, praeceptor Germaniae.

Traditionally, humanist influences are considered to have reached Finland as late as the 16th century and later: Peter Särkilahti studied at the Collegium trilingue at Louvain, and Michael Agricola, the Finnish reformer, attended the lectures of Luther and Melanchthon, no less, at Wittenberg. Finns had, however, attended Italian universities even earlier, in the 15th century. Among them, we may quote the bishops-to-be Konrad Bitz and Magnus Särkilahti. It is the aim of this project to elucidate the ways Italian humanism, by the second half of the 15th century already an established cultural model, would influence such Finns (Kalle Korhonen, chapter 2) by charting and examining the relevant documentary material in the archives of Rome and mainly Bologna and Padua. Early influences are also concentrated on in the research on Finnish book collections starting with the 16th century (Outi Merisalo, chapter 3) and e.g. in the research on the reception of Erasmus of Rotterdam, a central author for Michael Agricola (Simo Heininen, chapter 4).

The monastic schools of Finland were abolished by the reformation of 1527. Throughout the turbulent 16th century, no substitute system was created, and it was only the School Law of 1649 that established an articulate school system. This School Law was eminently humanistic in spirit: Latin was an essential subject, and the school children learnt the language and rhetoric by means of Ancient authors. The Trivial School and Gymnasium of Turku and Viipuri were the highest institutions of learning before the founding of the Academy of Turku (Academia Aboensis, Academia Auraica) in 1640. The Academy consolidated, rather late in the day, 15th-16th-century humanism as part of the Magnus Ducatus Finlandiae, as Iiro Kajanto has shown in his research. Through examining the concept of historia in the dissertations of the Academy of Turku, an interpretation of this essential humanist concept (historia magistra vitae) within the learned culture of the Grand Duchy of Finland and in the wider European context (Mikko Piippo, chapter 5). The unedited correspondence of the learned noble family of Wexionius-Gyldenstolpe shows the forms that humanism took in the communication of private people of different generations at the end of the 17th century (Raija Sarasti-Wilenius, chapter 6). The Classical and humanist works of Finnish libraries reflect the infiltration of humanist culture in the lives of different social classes (Outi Merisalo, chapter 2). 17th-century predication bears the mark of the Classical education of the clergy: the principles of rhetoric were adapted to Lutheran Orthodoxy (Esko Laine, chapter 7). 17th-18th-century vernacular and Latin literature in Finland shows numerous Classical elements, the study of which will make it possible to examine the ideological compatibility of Classical humanism and the Age of Reason (Tuija Laine, chapter 8).

The project sets forth, both from the point of view of contents and that of scholarly contacts, the Nordic Neo-Latin project (see below, R. Sarasti-Wilenius, chapter 6) and the Mare Balticum - Mare Nostrum network (ibid.). It represents Nordic research on book history, history of learning and European protestantism (see e.g. S. Heininen, chapter 4). The project has established contacts with Nordic departments of Classics engaged in Neo-Latin studies, the section of book and library history at the department of Cultural History at the university of Lund, the institute of research on Pietism in Halle and the Fédération internationale d'instituts d'études médiévales (FIDEM). The project represents philology, history, book history and church history.

The timetable is as follows:

2002-2005 prof. Simo Heininen, prof. Outi Merisalo, Dr. Hab. Raija Sarasti-Wilenius,

2004-2005 Dr. Hab. Kalle Korhonen (starting in January 2004), Docent Tuija Laine (starting in August 2004).

The results will be published as scholarly monographs and articles.

2. The arrival of humanism in Finland: direct influence of Italy and the Curia on Finland from the middle of the fifteenth until the middle of the sixteenth century

(Kalle Korhonen, Department of Classical Philology, University of Helsinki)

Background

The source material for early Renaissance and humanist influences on Finland is scarce and the whole problem has been characterised by controversy between scholars. The question of the spreading of humanism is, however, of central importance from the point of view of Finnish late medieval culture versus international cultural tendencies. Among specialists of the subject, Jalmari Jaakkola dated the first humanist influences to the time of bishop Magnus Särkilahti (end of the 15th century), whereas Kauko Pirinen would opt for the early years of the 16th century. Jussi Nuorteva, in his work on Finnish students at foreign universities in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, cautiously dates the first signs of humanist influence to the second half of the 15th century.

The research problem and the goals of the research

When studying the arrival of humanism in Finland, Finns visiting Italy for study and other purposes are of essential importance. Apart from studies, matters regarding diocese administration would bring inhabitants of Finland to direct contact with Italian humanist culture in the 15th century. Members of the clergy would travel to Rome and other Italian cities for these purposes, thus becoming directly exposed to new influences. Furthermore, they would be the key promoters of these ideas on returning home, both by means of correspondence, conversations and priestly activities.

It is the purpose of my research to identify the influence of Italy, specifically the Papal curia, in spreading humanism to Finland. The main period considered will cover the middle of the 15th century until the middle of the 16th century. In addition, it will be necessary to examine the first half of the 15th century for possible material.

Italian universities are considered to have been touched by humanist influences by the middle of the 15th century, somewhat earlier than the period of most intense presence in Italy of clergymen from the diocese of Turku. The majority of Finnish students would opt for Rome, thus taking care of administrative affairs on behalf of their home diocese while pursuing their studies at one of the Roman institutions of higher learning, which is why research on the history of ideas cannot ignore university history and the history of the Papal curia.

In Rome Finns would attend either the studium curiae/studium sacri palatii or the municipal studium generale. At least four members of Turku clergy are known to have studied in Rome in the 15th century: the bishop-to-be Magnus Särkilahti (enrolled at the university in 1465), Henricus Nicolai Wenne (1494), Laurentius Pölse (1496) and Johannes Petri (Fleming), later provost of Turku (1513). Their studies seem to have focused on both Roman and Canon law, essential in church administration. For the latter discipline, the most important institution was traditionally the university of Bologna, instrumental in spreading humanist influences to the Empire throughout the 15th century. There was at least one Finn studying at Bologna in this period, Konrad Bitz, later bishop of Turku. His Italian period included, however, also a stay in Rome and at the Papal curia. A potential intermediary for humanist influences from an even earlier period is Johannes Hundebek de Dulmen, who disposed of several prebends in Finland at the beginning of the 15th century. He, too, had studied at several Italian universities. All of the clergymen mentioned had already attended universities on their arrival to Italy. It is conceivable that at least some of them were motivated in changing universities by the new curricula offered by Italian institutions of learning.

The Papal curia, main goal of the travels of Finnish clergymen, had been one of the most important centres of humanism from the beginning of the 15th century. Among Papal secretaries and abbreviators figure such humanists as Antonio Loschi, Poggio Bracciolini, Leonardo Bruni, Bartolomeo Aragazzi as well as many others. The first humanist pope, Nicholas V (1447-1455), founded the Vatican library. Soon after him, humanism had another important representative in the person of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, pope Pius II (1458-1464). The pontificate of his successor, Paul II (1464-1471), saw the heyday of the Academia Romana, the humanist club of Pomponio Leto (1428-1497). On the whole, the learned world of Rome and the Papal curia were essentially humanist in character in the second half of the 15th century, probably making it impossible for a foreign clergyman to remain impervious to the new influences. Many important humanists were involved in handling supplications presented to the Pope and would thus enter in direct contact with Finnish clergymen.

The periods of most intense contacts between Finnish clergy - including non-Finns holding prebends in Finland - and the Papal curia seem to occur in the 1450s-1460s as well as the 1490s. It is to be expected that the documentation of the Sacra Romana Rota, the Papal court of justice, hitherto almost totally ignored, will deliver material indicating that the contacts were even closer. It is interesting that these periods also show up the highest proportion of Finnish students in Rome. It is my impression that the second half of the 15th century is the most interesting period for the study of direct humanist influences.

Many of the clergymen with studies in Italy reached relatively high positions in church administration. It is conceivable that their role in promoting humanist influences in Finland is not to be neglected. Despite differences among scholars, pointed out above, there is a consensus on the fact that clergymen who had attended higher institutions of learning in Rome and other centres of humanism or sojourned in Italy for other purposes, were essential in the introduction of humanism to Finland. It is also to be noted that their contribution was earlier and more direct than the influence of North-German universities on the church province of Uppsala at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century.

The sources

Geographically speaking, Italy holds a key position in this subproject. The archives and libraries of the Vatican, Rome, Bologna and Padua are of primary importance, the first two cities being essential. At the Vatican, the Archivio Segreto Vaticano houses e.g. the Papal registers (Registra Lateranensia, Registra Vaticana, Registra Supplicationum) and the archives of the Sacra Romana Rota. In Bologna, the material of the university library and the Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio, in Padua the Civica biblioteca and the university library, hold material essential for this research project. The excellent collections of the Herzog-August-Bibliothek of Wolfenbüttel will make it possible to place the results in the general framework of the history of European culture (1-month stay).

The significance of the present research

This subproject will elucidate the definitive consolidation of the Western European character of the Finnish culture by examining, in the light of material hitherto ignored, the influence of Italian humanism in the 15th century. The overall educational and professional context of Finns travelling to Italy suggests the presence of direct contacts even before the 16th century. The results will be published in the form of a monograph.

Schedule

The subproject will cover a period of approximately 1,5 years (17 months) according to the following plan:

2003 charting the material of the Archivio Segreto Vaticano during a one-month stay in Rome; examination of the material by means of microfilms in Finland.

2004 charting the material of the libraries of Bologna and Padua during a one-month stay in these cities. During a one-month stay at the Herzog-August-Bibliothek at Wolfenbüttel the results will be placed in the general context of the history of European culture and the text of the monograph will be finalised.

3. Humanist works in Finnish libraries from the beginning of the 16th century until the beginning of the 18th century.

(O. Merisalo, Institute for Romance and Classical Languages, University of Jyväskylä)

The research problem and the goals of the research

This subproject aims at charting the the texts of humanist nature - both those by Ancient authors and those by contemporary writers - in the libraries of Finland between the beginning of the 16th and the beginning of the 18th century. The chronological limits are justified by the fact that the Russian invasion (the so-called Great Hate) of 1713 caused the closing down of the Academy of Turku and the exceptional situation brought to an end the relatively well-established cultural structures of the 17th century. From the 1720s onwards, after the invasion, the ideals of "Utilitarianism" make themselves felt in Finland, together with quite a different attitude towards Classical education.

The project is linked with the my earlier research on French and Italian literature in 17th-18th-century Finland.

The humanist book was one of the central elements of Renaissance culture. The "trade marks" of the new cultural approach were, on one hand, the antiqua writing developed c. 1400 by Florentine humanists, especially Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459), on the basis of the Carolingian minuscule, and on the other, the slightly later humanist curisve, both of which scripts were used to copy Ancient and well as contemporary humanist texts. These scripts were adopted in the second half of the 15th century by printers for texts in Latin and in non-Germanic languages. The art of printing contributed to spreading new thoughts at an unprecedented speed.

In this project, the subproject of K. Korhonen covers the humanist influences encountered and possibly adopted by Finns travelling in Italy in the 15th century. In the 16th century, these influences came from the centres of Northern humanism, such as the Collegium trilingue of Louvain, which put into practice the Erasmian ideal of a scholar well-versed in both Greek, Hebrew and Latin literature. In 1517 Peter Särkilahti was enrolled at the Collegium trilingue. From the 1520s onwards, most Finns went to study at Wittenberg, the centre of Lutheranism par excellence. Thus, Michael Agricola, the reformer of Finland, was taught by both Luther and the praeceptor Germaniae himself, Philip Melanchthon, who integrated humanist education into Protestantism. Humanist influence reached Finland also through the Baltic countries and via e.g. the Finnish city of Viipuri, which had an important German-speaking merchant class with close ties to the German-speaking world of the Hanseatic cities of the Baltic Sea and the Empire. It was at the Latin school of Viipuri that e.g. Michael Agricola first got acquainted with the new ideas. The Baltic countries transmitted Protestant ideas as well: only four years after the theses of Wittenberg, 1521, there were Protestant preachers in Riga, and they hade reached Tallinn (Reval) by 1524.

The sources

There is scanty documentation from the 16th century. Works having belonged to the libraries of Michael Agricola and other spiritual luminaries have been identified (see e.g. S. Heininen's research on Agricola). For this subproject, the documentary material of the National Archives of Finland, that of Finnish provincial archives and Helsinki University Library will be charted in order to extract all mentions of books. Humanist works owned by residents of Finland in the 16th century and conserved at Helsinki University Library will be identified. The relevant material present at the Swedish National Archives, the Royal Library and Uppsala University Library will be examined.

Due to continuous warfare, 16th-century Finland had no well-established school system. It is only at the beginning of the 17th century that the conditions become more stable. The Trivial school and Gymnasium of Viipuri and Turku have humanist curricula in accordance with the School Law of 1649. With the founding of the Academy of Turku (Academia Aboensis) in 1640, established European humanism was definitively introduced into Finland. The regular school system consolidated the role of humanist culture, controlled by Lutheran Orthodoxy, as a standard element of Finnish culture. Both noblemen, who very often did not finish their studies at the university, and the majority of the alumni of the Academy, i.e. Lutheran ministers, got a solid grammatical education at the Latin school and became well-versed in the central Classical and humanist authors. The Academy of Turku was part of the network of European protestant universities, its members maintaining contacts with their counterparts elsewhere on the continent.

It is considerably easier to study 17th-18th-century book collections due to much more abundant material. The key documentation is provided by

1. The catalogues of the Academy Library and the history of the Library by H.G. Porthan;

2. The catalogues of manor libraries (edited by Björkenheim);

3. Information on private libraries present in estate inventory deeds (catalogues printed by Grönroos, the Grönroos collection at Helsinki University Library)

Furthermore, works owned by residents of Finland in the 17th century and preserved at Helsinki University Library as well as the relevant material of the Swedish National Archives, the Royal Library and Uppsala University Library will be charted. The results will be placed in a European context by means of the excellent 17th-century collections and secondary bibliography of the Herzog-August-Bibliothek at Wolfenbüttel.

The significance of the present research

Research on book collections is of vital importance for the history of Finnish culture, especially since it has been conspicuously neglected until recent years. The transmission of the essential cultural heritage of Europe, i.e. Classical and humanist texts, within book culture, will elucidate the definitive consolidation of the Western European, more specifically protestant, nature of Finnish culture during the first centuries of the Modern era. The results of the research will be published as a monograph.

Schedule

The research plan will proceed as follows:

2002 charting works owned by residents of Finland in the 16th-18th centuries preserved at Helsinki University Library; examining the material preserved at the Swedish National Archives, the Royal Library and Uppsala University Library (1-month stay in Sweden); reconstructing the European context of the findings (1-month stay at Wolfenbüttel);

2003 finalising the charting of the material preserved at the Swedish National Archives, the Royal Library and Uppsala University Library (1-month stay in Sweden); continuing the work on the European context of the findings (2-week stay at Wolfenbüttel);

2004 writing of the monograph; finalising the text (2-week stay at Wolfenbüttel).

4. Erasmus of Rotterdam and Michael Agricola

(Simo Heininen, Department of Church History, University of Helsinki)

The research problem and the goals of the research

Michael Agricola was disciple to both Luther and Erasmus. For his Finnish translation of the New Testament, he used both Luther's German Bible, the Greek New Testament edited by Erasmus and his Latin translation. The marginal comments in the hand of the young scribe of the bishop of Turku entered in his copy of Luther's postilla, bought in 1531, betray the influence of Erasmus. In his Prayer Book (1544) Agricola included 38 prayers from Erasmus' 1535 Latin prayer book, subsequently re-printed a number of times; this despite the fall-out between Luther and Erasmus.

The Erasmian influence on the marginal comments to the postilla have already been investigated. Marja Itkonen-Kaila, for her part, has identified the role of Erasmus in the Finnish translation of the New Testament by Agricola.

In this subproject, I shall concentrate on Erasmus' prayers as translated into Finnish by Agricola. Jaakko Gummerus was able to identify the sources of all but four of them. Unfortunately, he could not always specify the edition of Erasmus' texts used by Agricola. Gummerus gave out the prayers in a bilingual edition without a closer analysis.

It is my intention to give an integral bilingual edition of the prayers and their translations together with a presentation of the respective prayer books. I shall also analyse Agricola's translation techniques: omissions, additions, respect for and deviation from the structure of the original, following Erasmus or changing his text.

I shall also compare Agricola's translation techniques to those observed in his Finnish translation of the New Testament and that of the summaries and marginal notes to the books of the Bible. In earlier research, the Finnish translation of the prayers has hardly been touched upon.

The results will be published in a monograph of approximately 100 pages which will be of interest both for studies on the humanism of the Reformation period and those on old literary Finnish.

Schedule

The subproject will be carried out in 2002-2003 during 1-month stays at the Herzog-August-Bibliothek at Wolfenbüttel, which offers all necessary instruments for the research.

5. Humanism, tradition and historiography in Finland from 1640 until 1713

(M. Piippo, Renvall Institute, University of Helsinki)

Background

Knowledge of history, next to grammar, rhetoric, poetry and moral philosophy, was a key element in humanist culture. However, neither humanist influences detectable in Finnish historiography of the early Modern period nor in the history of the concept historia have not yet been researched on. Historiography has not been dwelt upon in earlier research on Finnish humanism (e.g. Latina, kreikka ja klassinen humanismi Suomessa keskiajalta vuoteen 1828, by Iiro Kajanto). Professor Simo Heininen, who has studied early Finnish historiography, has not touched on the 17th century, either. It is thus justified that this subproject should concentrate on the subject.

The research problem

One of the main characteristics of humanist historiography was a new periodisation of history. In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages the past would be divided into periods based upon the Bible. The two most important divisions were the theory on the four world empires, based on the Book of Daniel (Orosius), and the theory on the six eras of the world (St. Augustine). The humanists suppressed these historical schemes connected with the history of the redemption of mankind in favour of the secular tripartite division Antiquity - Middle Ages - Modern times (Modern period / Renaissance). One of the main questions to be answered in this subproject is the introduction into Finnish historiography of the concepts of Antiquity and the Middle Ages as distinct historical periods. Apparently this occurred rather late in actual historiography; there are, however, signs of this periodisation in an embryonic state in the dissertations of the Academy of Turku. It will also be of interest to investigate the value assigned to different periods in accounts of the past as well as the political and social objectives promoted through accounts of Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Even the structure of historiography changed in the works of early Modern humanists. Most of late Medieval historiography consisted of individual unconnected episodes chronologically arranged, exempla and single items of information. The scope of the historiographers was not to create a work characterised by internal unity and long chronological lines. Humanist historiography was inspired by Ancient Roman historians, specially Livy, Sallust and Tacitus. Consequently, the works would observe the division into books, would be written in elegant Classical Latin, would contain dramatic speeches and have the People, instead of the Prince, as the subject of history.

It is important to investigate the point up to which the historiography of the Stormaktstiden followed the Medieval tradition as opposed to humanist historiography modelled on Ancient authors. The material will not only consist of historiography produced by the Academy of Turku but of dissertations concerning rhetoric and poetics and containing comments on the ideals of historiography. Are there differences between these ideas and the views exposed in Medieval historiography (especially prologues to such works) produced elsewhere in Europe? How were the speeches used in historical narrative? Was the agent of history the Prince or the People?

The sources

The sources for the research consist of historiography produced in Finland in the period considered, the subject being the history of the Nordic countries, the Antiquity, Ancient peoples and the Medieval and Modern history of the rest of Europe. Most of these works were published as dissertations at the Academy of Turku. Another important group is constituted by dissertations elucidating the history of the concept of historia or the ideals of historiography. Commentaries on Ancient texts are of particular interest in this respect. Chronologically, the material covers the careers of the first five professors of history (Wexionius, Kempe, Gyldenstolpe, Wanochius and Munster). Not only the production of these scholars will be considered, but that of other important contemporaries as well, e.g. Flachsenius, Bång, Juslenius.

The significance of the present research

The accounts of early Modern Finnish historiography have traditionally followed the scheme of the development of historiography from stories of the greatness of Finns and fantastic prehistory of Northern peoples through early source criticism towards modern scientific historiography. Consequently, the material has been treated from a rather narrow point of view. This limited approach has been combined with limited material, the scholars concentrating on such works produced by the professors of history and politics as clearly represent the genre of historiography, especially descriptions of the Nordic countries. The accounts of the past representing general history and, partly, church history or history of law, have rather been neglected, together with works not "purely" historical. As regards the later periods of the history of this country, scholars have only been interested in the birth of source criticism. Concentrating on humanist influences will offer a new approach to materials already known and easily accessible. It is to be expected that analysing historiography in a European, not strictly Nordic, context will bring considerable changed to traditional views. In addition, the European point of view will link the subproject to international research on humanism.

Schedule

The subproject will start in April 2003 by charting the relevant secondary bibliography and main sources. This part will mainly be carried out in Helsinki, together will shorter stays in Uppsala for comparison of Finnish material to Uppsala University dissertations, more easily accessible in situ.

2004: articles on the subject, to be published in Nordic refereed scholarly journals and European journals specialised in the history of historiography. Due to the short duration of the present project (22 months) the relevant monograph, to be published in English, will only be finished in 2005.

6. The letter collection of the Gyldenstolpe family

(Raija Sarasti-Wilenius, Department of Classics, University of Helsinki)

The research problem

An analysis of the letter collection of the Gyldenstolpe family (1650s until the first decade of the 18th century) from the point of view of form and content.

Background

The first professor of history and politics of the Academy of Turku, Michael Wexionius (1608-1670), also professor of jurisprudence from 1647 onwards, was ennobled for his merits in 1650, taking on the name of Gyldenstolpe. He was appointed assessor of the hovrätt at Turku in 1657. Wexionius-Gyldenstolpe was an extremely learned scholar and a productive author, with publications on ethics, politics, economics, geography, history and jurisprudence. Many of his works became authoritative texts in their respective fields and were long used as text books at the university. He often refers to Ancient literature in his writings. Wexionius-Gyldenstolpe was a central figure of authority in the first decades of the Academy of Turku and instrumental in introducing and consolidating Dutch-German humanism at the new university. Among the offspring of Wexionius-Gyldenstolpe, the best-known is Nils Gyldenstolpe (1642-1709) who made an important career at the Royal court. He was first made Baron (1687) and soon after Count (1690). Other sons central to this subproject were Daniel Gyldenstolpe (1645-1691), assessor at the hovrätt of Turku, Samuel Gyldenstolpe (1649-1691), professor of history and politics at the Academy, and Carl Gyldenstolpe (d. 1710) who made himself a career in the Swedish army.

Uppsala University library has a collection of letters from and to Michael Wexionius-Gyldenstolpe and his sons and grandsons (mainly sons to Nils Gyldenstolpe) mainly from the 1660s, 1670s and 1680s; there is some earlier and later correspondence, too. The latest letters are from the first decades of the 18th century. These c. 100 pieces have been microfilmed for the University Library of Helsinki (Mf/Ms 393 and 394), in no distinguishable order. Most of the letters are in Latin, only 20% being in Swedish.

Most of them were sent by Michael Wexionius-Gyldenstolpe, his sons and grandsons to Nils Gyldenstolpe to Stockholm or The Hague during his term as Ambassador of Sweden between 1679 and 1687. A smaller group is formed by letters sent to other members of the family. On the whole, the collection is a unique set of texts for research on 17th-century Finland, which makes it possible to throw light on the life of a cultured family during three generations.

The subproject is closely connected to research cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries that I have been part of ever since the beginning. The first scholarly colloquium with representatives from the Baltic countries was organised in Helsinki in 1992, with subsequent colloquia elsewhere around the Baltic Sea, the latest being the Tartu colloquium of 1999. An active scholarly network is one of the results of this cooperation.

The goals of the research

The subproject has two objectives:

1. Arranging the letter collection in order to gain an overall picture and describe the contents of the letters. A selection of letters will be translated into Finnish.

2. An analysis of Classical influences in the letters, with special consideration of formal aspects in the light of humanist manuals of letter-writing. The letter was a quintessentially humanist genre that contributed to the propagation of the ideas of humanism all over Europe. Works on letter-writing by famous humanists, such as Erasmus and Justus Lipsius, were highly appreciated and their published correspondence were imitated at the Academy of Turku.

The significance of the present research

The Gyldenstolpe collection is a unique set of materials hitherto neglected. Owing to the elevated social positions of the members of the family the letters combine public and private aspects in an intriguing way. They contain academic discussions, debates on day-to-day politics, information on the life around the Academy and interpersonal communication within the family. They offer interesting insights into 17th-18th-century history, moral philosophy, history of ideas, history of manners as well as social and personal history.

The study of the Classical influences in the letters throws additional light on the forms humanism took in a this essentially humanist genre. While there have been several studies on humanism in 17th-century dissertations, Latin poetry and speeches, letters have so far been neglected. A formal analysis of the letters will be a contribution to the history of letter-writing. The results will be published as a monograph.

Schedule

The research plan will be carried out as follows:

2002 arranging the letters in a chronological order and describing the contents of the letters.

2003 analysing the Classical influences present in the letters, with special consideration of references to Ancient philosophy, history and literature. The formal analysis will place the letters within the context of humanist manuals of letter-writing.

2004 continuing the analysis of the form, translating a selection of letters into Finnish and finalising the text of the monograph.

In the first phasis of the project, an examination of the original mss. conserved at Uppsala University Library, together with secondary bibliography, is essential. Further work will mainly be carried out on microfilmed material housed at Helsinki University Library.

7. The clergy as promoter and interpreter of humanism

(Esko M. Laine, Department of Church History, University of Helsinki)

The goals of the research

Lutheran Orthodoxy was the dominant characteristic of Finnish cultural life the 17th century. Despite its firm grip on the university and the scholars, with little significant competition, the combination of Neo-Aritostotelian philosophy and Lutheran Orthodoxy did in fact leave room for Classical tradition. Iiro Kajanto's work on "Humanism in a Christian society" demonstrate the strong position of the Classical heritage in both scholarship and thinking. Earlier research has studied in detail the attitude to the Classical tradition in the dissertations and teaching of the Academy of Turku. The concrete impact of this heritage on the teaching and preaching of the graduates of the Academy who became Lutheran ministers, has been hitherto neglected.

It has been pointed out that e.g. Ericus Erici Sorolainen, bishop of Turku, was well versed in Classical tradition. However, there has been no detailed study of humanist elements in his two-part postilla. In general, the humanist elements or influences discernible in the 17th-century Finnish postilla literature have hardly been examined. This is also the case of the extent and character of Ancient works at the disposal of the clergy.

This subproject has three goals. Firstly, it aims at studying the influence of the humanist tradition on 17th-century Finnish predication. Secondly, it will chart the Ancient literature acquired and owned by Finnish clergy. Thirdly, an analysis of the impact of Ancient rhetorical ideals on the structure, duration and argumentation of the sermons will be made. The influence of Ancient culture on the Finnish clergy of the 17th century will thus be studied from the point of view of the history of learning (the impact of humanism on the contents of the sermons), book history (acquiring, owning and propagating Ancient literature among the clergy) and social and church history (the adaptation of humanist content in printed sermons).

It is the intention of this subproject to extend the scope of earlier research through examining the transmission of the humanist heritage from the learned world to sermons and speeches directed, at least in principle, to the whole parish. Although it is not possible to study the reception of the Classical tradition by common parishioners in detail, the postilla literature will make it possible to form a more accurate and historically more complete view of the impact of this tradition outside the limited group of scholars.

Research projects concerned with the impact of philosophical ideas have often limited themselves to considering the role of this impact on the learned and social elite. Restricting the scope of the research to the learned world would give a limited and one-sided view of the transmission of the Classical heritage. For this reason it is indispensable to consider the phenomenon of the arrival of humanism in Finland in a context both chronologically and socially wide enough. This will permit to understand the intricate process of the consolidation of the humanist tradition in Finland as well as place the 18th-century Neo-Classicism in its proper context.

The sources

The main material is provided by printed postilla, devotional and prayer books from the 17th century. The corpus is both large enough in order to permit generalisation to be made and restricted enough for qualitative analysis. Estate inventory deeds and auction catalogues, increasingly numerous in the 18th century, will give indications on the owners of Ancient literature. E.g. letter collections best preserved in Sweden provide ample material for research. The letters to and from chapters throw light on dominant norms and ideals. This kind of information may also be gauged from the letters sent to the King of Sweden (Skrivelser till Kungliga Majesteten). The fragmentary archives of secondary schools give information on the development of school libraries, the effective impact of Ancient literature on school teaching as well as the views of the teachers in the matter of Ancient authors.

Schedule

The subproject will be carried out in three years according to the following timetable.

2002 examining the printed works catalogued in the Finnish National bibliography and the Libris database of Sweden. The libraries concerned will be Helsinki University Library and other Finnish libraries (the library of Porvoo lyceum, Åbo Akademi Library)

2003 archival research in Finnish archives and the most important Swedish archives and libraries, i.e. the Royal Library, Uppsala University Library and the archives of Västerås gymnasium. This school excelled especially in the teaching of Ancient Greek, even surpassing the University of Uppsala and the Academy of Turku. One of the alumni of Västerås gymnasium was bishop Johannes Gezelius the Elder, himself a scholar well versed in Classical languages, who influenced 17th-century clerical book culture in a decisive way. Further source material will be charted by means of the collections of the Herzog-August-Bibliothek at Wolfenbüttel. The near-by Göttingen University Library as well as the library and archives of the University of Helmstedt, very important as regards European humanist culture, will offer material as well. The theological teaching of Helmstedt was pervaded by humanist elements in the 17th century. Despite its dubious reputation, the university attracted numerous foreign students owing to the excellence of its Classical teaching.

2004 writing out the results of archival and library research. Courses and seminars on the results of the subproject.

8. The Classical ideal in Finnish seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literature

(Tuija Laine, Department of Church History, University of Helsinki)

The research problem

This subproject will study the impact of Ancient culture and literature, admired by humanists, on the literature written in Finland in the 17th and 18th centuries. The research will focus on one hand on quotations from Ancient literature and Ancient motifs, personalities and places occurring in literary texts. On the other hand, the occurrence of humanist ideals, i.e. virtue, fame and individual talents and achievements as well as moral philosophy, in early literature which was mainly written in Swedish in this country. In addition to works of a "high literary" standard texts of a popular nature will be examined in order to gain a view of the propagation of Classical elements among the people. The research will cover early humanism until the heyday of Neo-Classicism. It will not consider Latin texts concerning individuals, i.e. burial sermons, wedding and funeral poems that have recently been the object of extensive scholarly interest. Other types of texts pertaining to individuals will, however, be included, since scholarship has largely ignored them up till now.

The present research will aim at forming a view of the active propagators of Ancient ideals in the literature of Finland both in the period of early humanism and that of Neo-Classicism. The analysis of the biographies, especially by means of correspondence, will elucidate the origin of the Classical influences present in their works, whereas the reception of their works will reflect the propagation of the Classical tradition especially among the middle classes. This approach will be particularly apt for the second half of the 18th century, with a high level of literacy and an increasingly large amount of different texts to be read as opposed to a limited number of works repeatedly pondered upon. This very often favours the Belles lettres. A higher level of literacy also made possible a wider reception of the Classical heritage which would only reach the middle classes and the people in the course of the 18th century.

Classical elements were not present in the texts of the books but also in their decoration and typography. Ancient columns and temples were frequent elements in book illustration and decoration of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Temporarily set aside, these elements were re-adopted in the second half of the 17th century in the heyday of Neo-Classicism. The subproject will examine printed literary works as a whole, i.e. from the points of view of both their external and internal characteristics, not neglecting their interaction.

The research of the propagation of humanism through one type of publication in a long chronological perspective will make it possible to discern slow changes, periods of stagnation and periods of particularly intense growth in its reception. It will show the propagation of humanism from higher social groups to lower ones as well as the changes in the mechanisms of transmission between the 17th and the 18th centuries.

The sources

The main sources for the present research are literary texts from the 17th and 18th centuries as well as e.g. popular poetry. The reception of literary texts is elucidated by estate inventory deeds and auction catalogues. The former have been published in 1996 by Henrik Grönroos and Ann-Charlotte Nyman in their Boken i Finland. Henrik Grönroos' hand-written notes on the book auction catalogues of different Finnish town are preserved both at the archives of the Svenska litteratursällskapet and Helsinki University Library. Other important sources are the collections of individual authors and especially correspondence preserved at Finnish and Swedish (the Royal Library, Uppsala University Library) archives and libraries. In order to place the literature of Finland in a domestic and international context, it is indispensable to use the collections of both Swedish and German research libraries, especially the Herzog-August-Bibliothek at Wolfenbüttel.

Schedule

The research will be carried out in 1,5 years according to the following timetable.

2003 analysis of the humanist elements in literary texts. Most of the material is available at Finnish scholarly libraries.

2004 biographical material at Finnish and Swedish archives; Swedish and German control material. Analysis of the sources of the literature written in Finland. Finalising the text of the monograph.