Meelis Friedenthal (born 24 October 1973 in

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu. ...

) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Biography

Meelis Friedenthal graduated from high school in Tartu in 1992 and studied theology at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

from 1992 to 1996. After completing his bachelor's degree, he spent the 1996/1997 academic year at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

. He then took a master's degree in Tartu. After completing his master's degree in 2001, he went on to study for a doctorate, which he completed in 2008. From 2002 to 2008 he held various teaching positions at the University of Tartu. Since 2008 he has been employed as a researcher at the Tartu University Library. In the 2014/2015 academic year he was a postdoc at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg of the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. From 2015 to 2019 he was a Pro Futura Scientia Fellow at the

Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS) is an institute for advanced study in Uppsala, Sweden. It is one of the ten member institutions of the Some Institutes for Advanced Study consortium, which brings together the world's most distinguished ...

. He is currently Associate Professor of Intellectual History at the University of Tartu. Meelis Friedenthal has been a member of the Estonian Writers' Union since 2012. He lives in Tartu.

Works

Friedenthal's debut novel won third prize in the 2004

Estonian Writers' Union The Estonian Writers Union (Eesti Kirjanike Liit, abbreviated EKL), is a professional association of Estonian writers and literary critics.Marje Jõeste, Küllo Arjakas, ''The Baltic States'', Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers, 1991, page 64 Hist ...

novel competition and was published in 2005. This novel, '' Golden Age'' (Kuldne aeg), is a dystopia that is set after an unspecified global catastrophe in which the (remaining) people struggle and try to organize their life again. The fact that all people have to be vaccinated once a year - against a condition what is not disclosed - led one critic to ask the rhetorical question: "Are we not ourselves the ones who need a constant vaccine to maintain our identity and not to sleep with your eyes open? " Another reviewer drew the comparison to George Orwell and found the novel "so depressive that ehad to put it aside a few times." His second novel, ''The Willow King'' (Mesilased), won the 2013

European Union Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

. This is a historical novel set in the 17th century, when Estonia was part of Sweden. It was praised as a work with powerful language that "carries on the best traditions of the Estonian historical novel".Pille-Riin Larm: "Mesilastest ja mittekangelastest" . In: '' Keel ja Kirjandus '', 4/2013, p. 296. The book mainly takes pace in the university city of Tartu. The protagonist Laurentius Hylas, whose nationality is not specified, has completed a medical degree in the Dutch university of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

and is now trying to apply and deepen his knowledge in another university town. Laurentius fights against his own melancholy, which the author aptly calls the "disease of the 17th century". The protagonist hopes to find a cure with the help of his studies, "because if there is any cure for melancholy, it is in art and science." The latter is also used against

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

, which is another topic in the book that takes place at a time when the last witch trials were conducted in Estonia and Sweden. It is no coincidence that the novel has been compared to

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

. Like the novels by

Jaan Kross Jaan Kross (19 February 1920 – 27 December 2007) was an Estonian writer. He won the 1995 International Nonino Prize in Italy. Early life Born in Tallinn, Estonia, son of a skilled metal-worker, Jaan Kross studied at Jakob Westholm Gymnasium ...

, which often deal with a certain period in Estonian history and to which parallels have also been drawn in reviews, Friedenthal's compact novel throws a spotlight on the late 17th century Estonia. On the threshold of the Enlightenment there is still the fight against the dark - embodied by witchcraft and illustrated by a (historically documented)

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

due to poor harvests and constant bad weather. “It was raining all the time,” is the first sentence of the book, which is by no means depressing, especially because of the “beautiful and cultivated language”. The novel has been translated into Albanian (2017), Bulgarian (2018), Danish (2018), English (2017), Dutch (2015), Italian (2015), Croatian (2018), Latvian (2015), Lithuanian (2020), Macedonian (2018), Norwegian (2016), Serbian (2018), Czech (2016) and Hungarian (2016). Meelis Friedenthal's third novel ''The Language of Angels'' (Inglite keel) is a novel about history and the study of history, and describes early modern attempts at the creation of

universal language Universal language may refer to a hypothetical or historical language spoken and understood by all or most of the world's people. In some contexts, it refers to a means of communication said to be understood by all humans. It may be the idea of ...

s and efforts to discover the language of Adam and the languages of angels.

Awards

* 2005: Stalker Literature Prize for Science Fiction * 2012: Author of the Year in Estonia * 2013:

for ''Mesilased''

Books

* '' Kuldne aeg '' ("Golden Age"). Tuum, Tallinn 2005. 190 pp. * '' Mesilased '' ("The Willow King"). Varrak, Tallinn 2012 (2nd edition 2013). 214 pp. * '' Inglite keel '' ("The language of angels"). Varrak, Tallinn 2016. 207 pp. * '' Kõik äratatakse ellu '' ("Everyone will be brought to life"). Kirikiri, Tartu 2020. 255 pp.

Literature

* Jaak Tomberg: '' Mis toimub lahtiste silmadega magava inimese peas ''. In: Looming 3/2006, pp. 470–472. * Marju Lepajõe: '' Võilille surm ''. In: ''

Vikerkaar ''Vikerkaar'' ('rainbow' in Estonian) is an Estonian magazine published in Tallinn, Estonia by Kultuurileht SA. The magazine focuses on Estonian literature Estonian literature ( et, eesti kirjandus) is literature written in the Estonian lan ...

'', 9/2012, pp. 88–93. * Pill-Riin Larm: '' Mesilastest ja mittekangelastest ''. In: ''

Keel ja Kirjandus ''Keel ja Kirjandus'' ('Language and Literature') is journal published in Estonia by Kultuurileht SA. Journal is compiled by Estonian Academy of Sciences and Estonian Writers' Union The Estonian Writers Union (Eesti Kirjanike Liit, abbreviated ...

'', 4/2013, pp. 296–298. * Meelis Friedenthal, Sven Vabar: '' Ajalugu tekitab ängi, segadust. Arusaamatust. Hirmu ''. In: `` Looming '', 1/2007, pp. 77–85. *

Tiit Aleksejev Tiit Aleksejev (born 6 July 1968) is an Estonian novelist and playwright. Aleksejev was born in Kohtla-Järve. He studied history at the University of Tartu, and served as a diplomat in France and Belgium. His debut novel was a thriller calle ...

'' The Bees' '.
In:' 'Estonian Literary Magazine', 38, spring 2014

References

External links

Meelis Friedenthal at Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedenthal, Meelis 1973 births Living people 21st-century Estonian novelists Miina Härma Gymnasium alumni University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Tartu Estonian male novelists Estonian theologians