Johan Ludvig Runeberg

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Finnish poet

Johan Ludvig Runeberg (Finland Swedish::; 5 February 1804 – 6 May 1877) was a Finnish priest, lyric and epic poet. Writing exclusively in his native Swedish, he is considered a national poet of Finland. He is the author of the lyrics to Vårt land (Our Land, Maamme in Finnish) that became the unofficial Finnish national anthem. Runeberg was also involved in the modernization of the Finnish Lutheran hymnal and produced many texts for the new edition.

Statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg on Esplanadi in Helsinki, Finland

1 Background
- 1.1 Childhood
- 1.2 Education
2 Poetry
3 Selected works
4 Personal life
5 Legacy
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Background

Childhood

Runeberg was born into a Swedish-speaking family in Jakobstad, Finland, on the s*s of the Gulf of Bothnia. His parents were sea captain Lorentz Ulrik Runeberg (1772–1828) and Anna Maria Malm (1782–1834). Paternal grandfather Ludvig had moved to Finland from Sweden, and Anna Maria Malm was born to the merchant family from Jakobstad, which probably also had their roots in Sweden.

As a child, Runeberg suffered from scrofula, which led to glandular swelling. His physical development slowed down due to illness so that he did not learn to walk until he was three or four years old. From his father, Johan inherited a manly and brisk character, and from his mother, he inherited sensitivity and artistic talent.

Education

At the age of eight, Runeberg was sent to live with his uncle and attend school in Oulu. Runeberg studied in the city of Vaasa and later on at the Imperial Academy of Turku, where he befriended Johan Vilhelm Snellman and Zacharias Topelius. His studies concentrated mainly on the cl*ical languages of Latin and Greek. He earned a Master of Philosophy during 1827. He served as a tutor (1822–1826), docent at the Imperial Alexander University (1830) and teacher at the Swedish-language Helsingfors Lyceum (1831–1836). From 1837 he lived in Porvoo, where he served as professor of Latin literature in the Borgå gymnasium. Runeberg was the tutor of Carl Henrik Alopaeus, who would later become the bishop of Porvoo and an educator of the deaf. Runeberg also supported Carl Oscar Malm's school for the deaf in Porvoo (which Alopaeus taught at) as well as serving on its school board. Finnish salon hostess Natalia Castrén (1830–1881) was a member of Runeberg's cultural circle.

Poetry

Many of his poems deal with life in rural Finland. The best known of these is Bonden Paavo, (Farmer Paavo, Saarijärven Paavo in Finnish), about a smallholding peasant farmer in the poor parish of Saarijärvi and his determination, sisu (guts) and unwavering faith in providence in the face of a harsh climate and years of bad harvests. Three times, a frosty night destroys his crops. Every time, he mixes double the amount of bark into his bark bread to stave off starvation and works ever harder to dry off marsh into dryer land that would not be as exposed to the night frost. After the fourth year, Paavo finally gets a rich crop. As his wife exults, thanks God and tells Paavo to enjoy full bread made entirely out of grain, Paavo instructs his wife to mix bark into grain once more, because their neighbour's crop has been lost in a frost and he gives half of his crop to the needy neighbour.

Selected works

Runeberg's main works included the idealist poem "Älgskyttarna" (Elk Hunters, 1832) and the epic Kung Fjalar (King Fjalar, 1844). The heroic poem Fänrik Ståls Sägner (The Tales of Ensign Stål, Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat in Finnish) written between 1848 and 1860 is considered the greatest Finnish epic poem outside the native Kalevala tradition and contains tales of the Finnish War of 1808–09 with Russia. In the war, Sweden ignominiously lost Finland, which became a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire. The epic, which is composed episodically, emphasizes the common humanity of all sides in the conflict, while principally lauding the heroism of the Finns. The first poem Vårt land (Our Land, Maamme in Finnish) became the Finnish National Anthem.

Personal life

He was married to his second cousin Fredrika Runeberg, née Tengström, who wrote poems and novels. They were the parents of eight children, including the sculptor Walter Runeberg, who was their eldest son. He also had several emotional affairs throughout his life, most notably with Maria Prytz and the younger poet Emilie Björkstén.

Legacy

Runeberg torte

Runeberg Day (Finnish: Runebergin päivä) is celebrated annually on 5 February, the day of Runeberg's birth. A pastry flavored with almonds called Runeberg's torte (Finnish: Runebergintorttu; Swedish: Runebergstårta) is generally available in stores from the beginning of January until 5 February.

There is a statue of Johan Ludwig Runeberg by his son Walter Runeberg on Esplanadi in the heart of Helsinki. Runeberg Township in Becker County, Minnesota was also named after Runeberg.

The Runeberginkatu street in central Helsinki is named after him.

Runeberg was selected as the main motif of the Finnish commemorative coin, the €10 Johan Ludvig Runeberg and Finnish Poetry commemorative coin. It was minted in 2004 celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth. The obverse of the coin features a stylized portrait of Runeberg's face. The reverse features an 1831 font sample from the Swedish-language newspaper Helsingfors Tidningar, since Runeberg wrote most of his work in Swedish.

References

External links

Vårt land (Maamme)
Works by Runeberg at Project Runeberg
Johan Ludvig Runeberg at Swedish Wikisource
Works by Johan Ludvig Runeberg at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Johan Ludvig Runeberg at Internet Archive
Works by Johan Ludvig Runeberg at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
Recipe for Runeberg Torte (Finnish: Runebergintorttu; Swedish: Runebergstårta)
Runeberg translations by Charles Wharton Stork, pp.:56–80
Anthology of Swedish lyrics from 1750 to 1915 at the Internet Archive
"Johan Ludvig Runeberg". Biografiskt lexikon för Finland (in Swedish). Helsingfors: Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. urn:NBN:fi:sls-4596-1416928957202.
Works by or about Johan Ludvig Runeberg at Wikisource
Media related to Johan Ludvig Runeberg at Wikimedia Commons

Hymnodists
and
hymnologists

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Albert von Brandenburg
Michael Altenburg
Anna Sophia II
Johann Sebastian Bach
Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen
Martin Behm
Sigmund von Birken
Carl Boberg
Birgitte Cathrine Boye
Hans Adolph Brorson
Johan Nordahl Brun
Joachim a Burck
Dieterich Buxtehude
Christian Cappelen
Elisabeth Cruciger
Johann Crüger
Simon Dach
Wolfgang Dachstein
Nikolaus Decius
Paul Eber
Ludmilla Elisabeth
Princess Eugénie
Jacobus Finno
Paul Fleming
Johann Franck
Michael Franck
Melchior Franck
Salomon Franck
Frans Michael Franzén
Erik Gustaf Geijer
Paul Gerhardt
Bartholomäus Gesius
Johannes Gigas
N. F. S. Grundtvig
Britt G. Hallqvist
Andreas Hammerschmidt
Claus Harms
Fredrik Gabriel Hedberg
Christian Fürchtegott Gellert
Johann Heermann
Ludwig Helmbold
Valerius Herberger
Nikolaus Herman
Johannes Hermann
Sebald Heyden
Anders Hovden
Konrad Hubert
Bernhard Severin Ingemann
Justus Jonas
Sigfrid Karg-Elert
Christian Keymann
Balthasar Kindermann
Thomas Kingo
Børre Knudsen
Johann Kolross
Johann Balthasar König
Julius Krohn
Magnus Brostrup Landstad
Ludvig Mathias Lindeman
Elias Lönnrot
Matthäus Apelles von Löwenstern
Matthias Loy
Sigurd Lunde
Martin Luther
Wilhelmi Malmivaara
Hemminki of Masku
Felix Mendelssohn
Johann Matthäus Meyfart
Georg Neumark
Erdmann Neumeister
Philipp Nicolai
Johann Pachelbel
Hallgrímur Pétursson
Michael Praetorius
Christian Heinrich Postel
Adam Reusner
Bartholomäus Ringwaldt
Martin Rinkart
Johann Rist
Christian Knorr von Rosenroth
Daniel Rumpius
Johan Runeberg
Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer
Lina Sandell
Carl Schalk
Martin Schalling
Heinrich Scheidemann
Johann Hermann Schein
Benjamin Schmolck
Cyriakus Schneeg*
Johann Schop
Johann Balthasar Schupp
Heinrich Schütz
Nikolaus Selnecker
Eyvind Skeie
Haquin Spegel
Lazarus Spengler
Paul Speratus
Philipp Spitta
Paul Stockmann
Jesper Swedberg
Jiří Třanovský
Melchior Teschner
N. Samuel of Tranquebar
Zachris Topelius
Leonard Typpö
Jaroslav Vajda
Gottfried Vopelius
Philipp Wackernagel
Johan Olof Wallin
Johann Walter
Michael Weiße
Georg Weissel
Olle Widestrand
Carl David af Wirsén
Catherine Winkworth
Johannes Zahn

Luther § Hymnodist
Hymns by Luther
Lutheran hymn
In continental Europe
Lutheran chorale
Chorale setting
Chorale cantata