Mikael Agricola
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Mikael Agricola (pronunciation ) (c. 1510 – April 9, 1557) was a Finnish clergyman who became de facto founder of written Finnish and one of the prominent proponents of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden-Finland. He is often called "The Father of Finnish written language."
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Mikael Olavinpoika ("son of Olavi", Mikko Olavinpoika, Michael Olaui, or as some Swedish documents show, "Mikkel Olafsson") was born in Uusimaa in the village of Torstila in Pernaja, Finland, around the year 1510. He was named after the patron saint of Pernaja's church. The exact date of his birth, like most details of his life, is unknown. His family was a quite wealthy peasant family according to the local bailiff's accounting. He had three sisters, but their names are not known. His teachers apparently recognized his aptitude for languages and his rector Bartholomeus sent him to Vyborg (Fin: Viipuri, Swe: Viborg) for Latin school and some priestly training, where he attended the school of Johannes Erasmi.
[edit] Agricola as a student
When he studied in Viipuri he assumed the surname Agricola ("farmer" gv. "agriculture"); surnames based on father’s status and occupation were common for first-generation scholars at the time. It was probably in Viipuri where he first came in touch with the Reformation and Humanism. Viipuri's castle was ruled by a German count Johann, who had served the king of Sweden, Gustav Vasa. The count was a supporter of the Reformation, and they already held Lutheran services.
In 1528 he followed his teacher to Turku, the practical center of the Finnish side of the Swedish realm and the capital of the bishopric, and became a scribe in bishop Martinus Skytte's office. While in Turku he met Martin Luther's first Finnish student Petrus Särkilahti, who eagerly spread the idea of the Reformation. Särkilahti died in 1529, and it was up to Agricola to continue his work. He was ordained for priesthood presumably in 1531.
In 1536 the bishop of Turku sent him to study in Wittenberg in Germany. He concentrated on lectures of Philipp Melanchthon, who was expert in Greek, the original language of the New Testament. In Wittenberg he also met Luther. He got recommendations to Gustav Vasa from both of the reformists. He sent two letters to Gustav, asking for a confirmation for a stipend. When the confirmation came, he bought books (for example, the complete works of Aristotle). In 1537 he started translating the New Testament into Finnish.
[edit] Agricola as a rector and an ordinarius
In 1539 Agricola returned to Turku and ended up as the rector of Turku (Cathedral) School. He did not like his job, calling his students "untamed animals". At the time Gustav Vasa had confiscated the property of the church when he was consolidating his power but also drove the Reformation. In 1544 Agricola received an order from the crown to send several talented young men to Stockholm's taxing offices. For some reason, Agricola did not obey until the order was sent again the next year, with a more menacing tone. This episode probably affected their relations negatively.
In 1546 Agricola lost his home and school in the Fire of Turku. On February 22, 1548 Gustav Vasa ordered Agricola to retire from his position as a rector. At this time he was already married, but history knows his wife only by her name: Pirjo Olavintytär (Bridget, "daughter of Olavi"; Birgitta Olafsdotter, Brigida Olaui). His only son, Christian Agricola (Christianus Michaelis Agricola), was born December 11, 1550, and became the bishop of Tallinn in 1584.
When an old bishop died in 1554, Gustav Vasa had Agricola consecrated as the ordinarius of Turku parish – for all practical purposes Bishop of Turku and by extension the first Lutheran bishop for all Finland. He was not particularly virulent in reform, although he did remove the Mass.
In 1557 he joined the delegation that was going to Russia and was in Moscow from February 21 to March 24 negotiating a peace treaty. On April 9 he fell ill and died in the Kyrönniemi village on the Karelian Isthmus. This day is also Elias Lönnrot's birthday and it is celebrated in Finland as the day of the Finnish language. He was buried inside Viipuri's church, but the exact location of the grave is not known.
He is commemorated as a bishop by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on April 10.
[edit] Literary achievements
[edit] Abckiria
Agricola had thought about translating the New Testament in his early years of studying. At the time, however, there was no standard written form of Finnish. He started developing it. His first book, "Abckiria" was a primer for reading and a catechism, and it was first time printed in 1543. The catechism was included because only very few people could afford the whole Bible at the time. The first print contained 16 pages. There was a second print released in 1551 with 24 pages.
[edit] Rucouskiria
Agricola's Rucouskiria was printed in March 1544. In the beginning of the book Agricola wrote about many topics concerning all-round education and the Reformation's effects in Finland. The book includes four prefaces and about 700 prayers, and on many topics it has even twelve different prayers instead of the usual two or three. It is the most independent work he authored. It contains approximately 900 pages. His sources include works of Luther, Melanchthon, and Erasmus.
[edit] Se Wsi Testamenti (the New Testament)
Agricola's most prominent book is Se Wsi Testamenti, the first Finnish-language translation of the New Testament. The manuscript was completed in 1543, but it underwent correction for five more years. The whole work took eleven years. The New Testament, printed in Stockholm in 1548, was still based mainly on the dialect of Turku. It contains 718 pages and many illustrations. It has two prefaces, practical and theological. In the practical preface Agricola gives reasons for using the Turku dialect and tells how Christianity came into Finland. In the theological preface Agricola tells that his translation was based on the Greek original text (familiar to him particularly from his time with Melanchthon), a Latin collection by Erasmus of Rotterdam, a German translation by Martin Luther, as well as the Swedish bibles by Olaus Petri. He also explains how he had to create many new words and hoped they would be liked and put into use (which they have, although some of them, particularly of animals never seen in Finland fared less well after encounter with the real animal; such as jalopeura or "noble deer" for lion and kamelikurki or "camel stork" for ostrich).
[edit] Three Liturgical books
While Agricola was in Wittenberg, he translated three smaller liturgical books into Finnish. These books were printed in 1549.
Käsikirja Castesta ia muista Christikunnan Menoista includes forms for christening, marriage and burial and speeches for the sick, mourning and dying people. It is translated from Olaus Petri's corresponding work excluding the christening and marriage parts (which are from Luther). It also contains minor parts translated from Caspar Huberinus' works.
Messu eli Herran echtolinen includes the form for a service. It is also based on Olaus Petri's work and a few Finnish manuscripts. In this book Agricola revealed his next mission: translation of the Old Testament.
Se meiden Herran Jesusen Christusen Pina, ylesnousemus ia tauiaisen Astumus, niste Neliest Euangelisterist coghottuon tells about Jesus Christ's suffering. It is collected from all four gospels. This book was influenced heavily by Johannes Bugenhagen, a teacher in Wittenberg. It was mainly translated from the German version, but some parts are influenced by the Swedish version and of course his own translation of the New Testament.
[edit] External links
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland - Official site
- Agricola 2007 -juhlavuosi
