Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T20:38:19.411Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A life for an idea: Matthias Alexander Castrén

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2009

Anna Stammler-Gossmann
Anna Stammler-Gossmann*
Affiliation:
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, PL 122, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland ([email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Matthias Alexander Castrén (1813–1852), a great Finnish researcher and fieldworker, the first professor of the Finnish language, undertook a vast range of studies, geographically from Norwegian Lapland to Siberia and in subjects from linguistics to ethnology. His extensive work in the Russian north made him one of the principal figures of Siberian and Finno-Ugrian studies. Castrén's pioneering contributions in Turkology, Mongolian studies and archaeology are also noteworthy. He spent almost ten years on expeditions outside Finland and during his short life, he died at the age of 39, he managed to collect a vast amount of material, which is set out in 32 volumes of his manuscripts. However, his name is less known than are the names of some of his prominent friends. In English there are only few comments on his travels and work and these are in the context of the history of Finnish science in the 19th century. Published materials of Castrén's work include two volumes in Finnish translated from Swedish, six volumes in Swedish, and twelve volumes in German. Castrén was born in a period which is often regarded as a turning point in Finnish history and as a key period in the formation of the Finnish nation. Presenting an overview of different fields of Castrén's research, this article analyses his scientific contribution along two lines: in the context of the rising national awareness in Finland in the 19th century and of the mainstream developments in the scientific scene of this time. Based on Castrén's travel diaries, correspondence and lectures, the article seeks to contribute to understanding the historical aspects that shaped this great researcher situated as he was between three national traditions of his time: his writing was mostly in Swedish, his research activities were mainly carried out on behalf of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and yet he is most prized as a pioneer of Finnish linguistics, ethnography, archaeology and other disciplines.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , July 2009 , pp. 193 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aalto, P. 1971. Oriental studies in Finland 1828–1918. In: The history of learning and science in Finland 1828–1918 vol 10b. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica.Google Scholar
Acerbi, G. 1802. Travels through Sweden, Finland and Lapland to the North Cape in the Years 1798 and 1799. 2 vols. London: T.Gillet.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alboniemi, P. 1990. The perception of the Kalevala and its impact on the arts. In: Honko, L. (editor). Religion, myth and folklore in the world's epics: the ‘Kalevala’ and its predecessors. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: 231–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, G.D. 2004. The languages of Central Siberia: introduction and overview. In: Vajda, E. (editor). Languages and prehistory of central Siberia. Amsterdam: John Benjamins: 1–119.Google Scholar
Apo, S. 2003. A singing scribe or a nationalist author? The making of the Kalevala as described by Elias Lönnrot. FF Network (Folklore Fellows Network) 25 (December): 3–12.Google Scholar
Bogoraz, V.G. (editor). 1927. Pamyati M.A. Kastrena. K 75-letiyu so dnya smerti. (Ocherki po istorii znanii)[In memory of M.A. Castrén. For the 75th anniversary of his death (Essays on the history of science)] Leningrad: AN SSSR.Google Scholar
Bogoraz, V.G. 1927. Kastren – chelovek i uchenyi [Castren person and scholar]. In: Bogoraz, V.G. (editor). Pamyati M.A. Kastrena. K 75-letiyu so dnya smerti. (Ocherki po istorii znanii)[In memory of M.A. Castrén. For the 75th anniversary of his death (Essays on the history of science)]. Leningrad: AN SSSR: 3–35.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1860. Puteshestvie Aleksandra Kastrena po Laplandii, severnoi Rossii i Sibiri (1838–1844, 1845–1849) [Travel of Alexander Castren in Lapland, nothern Russia and Siberia]. Magazin zemledeliya i puteshestvii: geograficheskii sbornik (Sobranie starykh i novykh puteshestvii) 6 (2): 1–230.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1870. Nordiska resor och forskningar. Reseminnen från åren 1838–1844 vol. 1 (editor Schauman, B.O.). Helsingfors: G.W. Edlunds förlag.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1953. Tutkimusmatkoilla pohjolassa [Northern research travels] (translator and introduction Joki, A.J.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1960. Samojedische Sprachmaterialien (editor T.V. Lehtisalo). Mémoires de la Société Finno–Ougrienne 122: 262–316.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1969a. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Reiseerinnerungen aus den Jahren 1838–1844. (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor Schiefner, A.). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR: vol 1.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1969b. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen.Reiseberichte und Briefe aus den Jahren 1845–1849. (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor Schiefner, A.). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR: vol 2.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1969c. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Vorlesungen ueber die Finnische mythology (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor Schiefner, A.). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR: vol 3.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1969d. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Ethnologische Vorlesungen ueber die Altaischen Voelker nebst Samojedischen Maerchen und Tatarischen Heldensagen. (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor Schiefner, A.). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR: vol 4.Google Scholar
Castrén, M.A. 1969e. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Kleinere Schriften. (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor Schiefner, A.). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR: vol 5.Google Scholar
Castrén, M. 2004a. Doktorskaya dissertaciia o sklonenii imen suzsestvitel'nykh v zyryanskom yazyke [Thesis on the declension of Zyryan nouns]. Syktyvkar: Nacional'naya biblioteka Respubliki Komi (CD electronic resource 99.4 Mb).Google Scholar
Castrén, M. 2004b. Pervonachal'nye svedeniya o komi grammatike [Elementa grammatices Syrjanae 1844 [Elements of Zyryan grammar]]. Syktyvkar: Nacional'naya biblioteka Respubliki Komi (CD electronic resource 700 Mb).Google Scholar
Estlander, B. 1929. Mathias Aleksanteri Castrén. Hänen matkansa ja tutkimuksensa [Matthias Alexander Castrén. His travels and research] Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.Google Scholar
Fromm, H. 2005. Nachwort. In: Fromm, H. (editor) Kalevala. Das finnische Epos des Elias Lönnrot. Wiesbaden: Marix Verlag: 341–386.Google Scholar
Gay, D.E. 1997. Creation of the Calevala 1833–1849. Jahrbuch fuer Volksliedforschung 42: 63–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gennadi, G. (editor). 1880. Spravochnyi slovar’ o russkikh pisatelyakh i uchenykh, umershikh v XVIII – XIX stoletiyakh [Encyclopaedia of Russian writers and researchers, who died in 18th–19th centuries]. Berlin: Izdatel'stvo Imperatorskogo Obszestva istorii i drevnostei Rossii. vol 2.Google Scholar
Grimm, J. 1865. Ueber das finnische Epos. (13. Maerz 1845). In: Kleinere Schriften von Jacob Grimm. Berlin: Duemmler Verlag 2: 75–113.Google Scholar
Holmio, A.K. 2001. History of the Finns in Michigan. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.Google Scholar
Honko, L. 1990. The Kalevala: the processual view. In: Honko, L. (editor). Religion, myth and folklore in the world's epics: the ‘Kalevala’ and its predecessors. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: 181–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korhonen, M. 1986. Finno-Ugrian language studies in Finland 1828–1918. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica.Google Scholar
Köppen, P. von. 1969. Des Akademikers P. v. Koeppen Ergaenzungsinstruction. In: Castrén, M.A. 1969b. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Reiseberichte und Briefe aus den Jahren 1845–1849. (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor A. Schiefner). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR vol 2: 515–527.Google Scholar
Lavery, J. 2006. The history of Finland (Histories of modern nations). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Lehtinen, I. 2002. Siberian peoples at the museum of culture. In: Lehtinen, I. (editor). Life on the taiga and tundra. Helsinki: National Board of Antiquities: 23–46.Google Scholar
Murav'ev, V.B. 1961. Vekhi zabytykh putey [Landmarks of forgotten routes]. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel'stvo Geograficheskoy Literatury.Google Scholar
Niiranen, T. 1992. Pioneers of Finnish ethnology. In: Räsänen, M. (editor). Pioneers. The history of Finnish ethnology. Tampere: Studia Fennica: 21–40.Google Scholar
Norman, C.A. 1968. Archaeology in Finland before 1920. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica.Google Scholar
Oldenburg, S. 1927. Predislovie [Preface]. In: In: Bogoraz, V.G. (editor). Pamyati M.A. Kastrena. K 75-letiyu so dnya smerti. (Ocherki po istorii znanii)[In memory of M.A. Castrén. For the 75th anniversary of his death (Essays on the history of science)]. Leningrad: AN SSSR: 1–2.Google Scholar
Omeltschuk, A. 1984. Auf den Spuren von M. A. Castrén. Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran (De la Société Finno-Ougrienne) 79: 236–242 (cronique: 16–27).Google Scholar
Pentikäinen, J. 1999. Kalevala mythology (expanded edition). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Pulkamo, S. 1982. Rovaniemen seurakunta 350 vuotta [350 years of Rovaniemi parish] Rovaniemi: Rovaniemi seurakunta.Google Scholar
Räsänen, M. (editor). 1992. Pioneers. The history of Finnish ethnology. Tampere: Studia Fennica.Google Scholar
Salminen, Ti. 2002. Archaeologists’ Siberia. In: Lehtinen, I. (editor). Siberia. Life on the taiga and tundra. Helsinki: National Board of Antiquities: 47–80.Google Scholar
Salminen, Ta. 2002. Ethnolinguistic diversity in Siberia. In: Lehtinen, I. (editor). Siberia. Life on the taiga and tundra. Helsinki: National Board of Antiquities: 6–22.Google Scholar
Salminen, Ta. 2003. Castrén Matthias Alexander (1813–1852): suomen kielen ja kirjallisuuden professori [Castrén Matthias Alexander (1813–1852); professor of Finnish language and literature]. In: Suomen kansallisbiografia 2. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (Studia biographica 3:2): 156–160.Google Scholar
Salminen, Ta. 2004. Mattias Aleksandr Kastren (1813–1852). Sto zamechatel'nykh finnov. Kaleydoskop biografiy [Matthias Alexander Castrén (1813–1852). 100 faces from Finland. A biographical kaleidoscope]. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. URL: http://www.komi.com/pole/person/ethno/7.aspGoogle Scholar
Setälä, E.N. 1901. Zum andenken Matthias Aleksander Castrén's. Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran (Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen: Zeitschrift für finnisch-ugrische Sprach- und Volkskunde) 1: 1–5.Google Scholar
Schellbach-Kopra, I. 2002. Finnisch. In: Okuka, M. (editor) Lexikon der Sprachen des europäischen Ostens. (Wieser Enzyklopädie des europäischen Ostens 10). Klagenfurt: Wieser-Verlag: 647–664.Google Scholar
Schiefner, A. 1969a. Vorwort. In: Castrén, M.A. 1969a. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Reiseerinnerungen aus den Jahren 1838–1844. (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor A. Schiefner). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR 1: V–X.Google Scholar
Schiefner, A. 1969b. Vorwort. In: Castrén, M.A. 1969c. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Vorlesungen ueber die Finnische mythology (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editorA. Schiefner). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR 3: V–XII.Google Scholar
Schoolfield, G.C. (editor). 1998. A History of Finland's literature. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Schoolfield, G.C. 1999. Kalevala yet again. Scandinavian Review 87 (2): 83–91.Google Scholar
Siikala, A-L. 2003. Elias Lönnrot the ethnographer. FF Network. (Folklore Fellows Network) 25 (December): 12–17.Google Scholar
Siikala, J. 2006. The ethnography of Finland. Annual review of anthropology 35 (October): 153–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sjögren, A. J. 1853. Ocherk zhizni i trudov Kastrena [Short stories of the life and works of Castrén]. Vestnik Russkogo geograficheskogo obzhestva 7 (2): 100–133.Google Scholar
Sjögren, A.J. 1969. Des Akademikers Sjörgen Hauptinsruction fuer M.A. Castrén. In: Castrén, M.A. 1969b. Nordische Reisen und Forschungen. Reiseberichte und Briefe aus den Jahren 1845–1849. (Im Auftrage der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften) (editor A. Schiefner). Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR 2: 506–514.Google Scholar
Stipa, G.J. 1990. Finnisch-ugrische Sprachforschung von der Renaissance bis zum Neupositivismus. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura (Mémoires de la Société Finno-ougrienne 206).Google Scholar
Sokolova, Z.P. 1992. On the role of the Russian Geographical Society and its Department of Anthropology as well as of the Academy of Sciences of Russia in the development of studies in the peoples kindred to Finns. In: Räsänen, M. (editor). Pioneers. The history of Finnish ethnology. Tampere: Studia Fennica: 9–20.Google Scholar
Sternberg, L. 1931. M.A. Castrén als Altaist und Ethnograph. Ethnologische Studien 1: 167–184.Google Scholar
Vento, U. 1992. The role of Kalevala in Finnish culture and politics. Nordic Journal of African Studies 1 (2): 82–93.Google Scholar
Voigt, V. 1990. The Kalevala and the epic traditions of Europe. In: Honko, L. (editor). Religion, myth and folklore in the world's epics: The Kalevala and its predecessors. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: 247–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vuorela, T. 1977. Ethnology in Finland before 1920. Helsinki: Societas Scentiarum Fennica.Google Scholar