''Furst Gabriel or Last Days of the Pirita Monastery'' () is an
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
n historical novelle by
Eduard Bornhöhe.
This historical story, first published in 1893, is the last of
Eduard Bornhöhe's historical novelles, as in 1893, the Russian Empire's
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
prohibited publication of historical novelles, fearing it might cause too strong
patriotic
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
feelings in provincial regions.
The story is set during a
Livonian War
The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...
era peasant uprising. A central plot device is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
nunnery
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...
dedicated to
St. Brigitta (see
Pirita monastery
Pirita Convent () was a Bridgettine convent for both nuns and monks, located in the district of Pirita in Tallinn, Estonia. It functioned from 1407 to 1575. It was the largest convent in Livonia, and with a floor area of 1360 square meters, it ...
). The monastery's medieval buildings are currently in
ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
and considered a
museum
A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
; however, the organisational structure was restored after end of
Soviet occupation
During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...
.
While other major historical novelles by
Eduard Bornhöhe have been included in lists of mandatory reading by Soviet authorities, this book was usually considered too long for that, and thus, it's mostly known through its extremely popular 1969 movie adaptation, ''
Viimne reliikvia'' (
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
for ''The last relic'') directed by
Grigori Kromanov
Grigori Kromanov (; 8 March 1926 in Tallinn – 18 July 1984 in Lahe, Lääne-Viru County, Lahe, Lääne-Virumaa) was an Estonian Theatre director, theatre and film director. He directed some of the best-known Estonian movies, including ''Viimne r ...
and adapted by
Arvo Valton
Arvo Vallikivi (14 December 1935 – 26 July 2024), commonly known under the pen name of Arvo Valton, was an Estonian writer known for a number of books and, among other things, the script for Viimne reliikvia, the highly successful film adaptati ...
.
Estonian novels
1893 novels
Novels set in the 16th century
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