Elias Lönnrot (Finnish:[ˈeliɑsˈlønruːt]ⓘ; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish polymath, physician, philosopher, poet, musician, linguist, journalist, philologist and collector of traditional Finnishoral poetry. He is best known for synthesizing the Finnish national epic, Kalevala (1835, enlarged 1849) from short ballads and lyric poems[1] he gathered from Finnish oral tradition during several field expeditions in Finland, Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula and Baltic countries. In botany, he is remembered as the author of the 1860 Flora Fennica, the first scientific text written in Finnish rather than in Latin.
Lönnrot lived in the village of Paltaniemi, when he got a job as district doctor of Kajaani in Eastern Finland during a time of famine and pestilence in the district.[4][5][6]
He began writing about the early Finnish language in 1827 and began collecting folk tales from rural people about that time. In 1831, the Finnish Literature Society was founded, and Lönnrot, being one of the founder members, received financial support from the society for his collecting efforts.[2]
Lönnrot went on extended leaves of absence from his doctor's office; he toured the countryside of Finland, Sapmi (Lapland), and nearby portions of Russian Karelia. This led to a series of books: Kantele, 1829–1831 (the kantele is a Finnish traditional instrument); Kalevala, 1835–1836 (the "old" Kalevala), an edited collection of epic poems collected orally and representing a mythology for Finland; Kanteletar, 1840; Sananlaskuja, 1842 (Proverbs); an expanded second edition of Kalevala, 1849 (the "new" Kalevala). Lönnrot was recognised for his part in preserving Finland's oral traditions by appointment to the Chair of Finnish Literature at the University of Helsinki in 1853.[7][8]
Lexicography
Lönnrot undertook the task of compiling the first Finnish-Swedish dictionary (Finsk-Svenskt lexikon, 1866–1880).[2] The result comprised over 200,000 entries, and many of the Finnish translations were coined by Lönnrot himself.[9] His vast knowledge of traditional Finnish poetry made him a definite authority in Finland and many of his inventions have stuck. Finnish scientific terminology was in particular influenced by Lönnrot's work and therefore many abstract terms that have a Latin or Greek etymology in most other European languages appear as native neologisms in Finnish. Examples from linguistics and medicine include kielioppi (grammar), kirjallisuus (literature), laskimo (vein) and valtimo (artery).[10]
Botany
Botanists remember Lönnrot for writing the first Finnish-language Flora Fennica – Suomen Kasvisto ("Flora of Finland") in 1860; in its day it was famed throughout Scandinavia, as it was among the first common-language scientific texts. The second, expanded version was co-authored by Thomas Saelan and published in 1866.[11][12] The Flora Fennica was the first scientific work published in Finnish (instead of Latin). In addition, it includes many notes on plant uses in between descriptions of flowers and leaves.
Lönnrot was the main motif for the Finnish Elias Lönnrot and folklore commemorative coin, minted in 2002. On the reverse, a feather (as a symbol of an author) and Elias Lönnrot's signature can be seen.[15] The Finnish graphic artist Erik Bruun used Lönnrot as a motif for the 500 markkabanknote in his banknote series.[16]
The Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges used the name Lönnrot, possibly alluding to the Finnish author, for the diligent detective in his story Death and the Compass (La muerte y la brújula).[17]
^"Finland". European Central Bank. 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024. Denomination: 500 FIM Elias Lönnrot
^"Lönnrot, Erik". Borges Center. Retrieved 3 August 2024. detective in Borges story; a possible allusion to Elias Lönnrot