Henrik Florinus
Encyclopedia
Henrik Florinus born Henricus Florinus, was a Finnish
priest, writer and translator. In 1702, he published the first collection of Finnish
proverb
s called Wanhain suomalaisten tawaliset ja suloiset sananlascut ("Customary and Beautiful Proverbs of the Old Finns"). Florinus also proofread the language of the Bible
and compiled a noteworthy Latin-Swedish-Finnish dictionary.
and Elisabet Henriksdotter. He began studying at the Academy of Turku in 1650 and became a Master in 1656. During his studies, he wound up in fights and was even charged with assault. However the charges was dropped.
After graduating, Florinus completed postgraduate studies because he did not get the position he applied for. During this time he married Valborg Larsdotter Tammelinus in 1658. He finally got a temporary position as a stand-in for a preacher in Kemiö in 1660–1661. Two years later, Florinus became a clergyman in Hämeenlinna
and a teacher of pedagogy
.
After his first wife died, he married Beata Davidsdotter Gyllenbögel, with whom he had two children: Henrik Florinus Jr and Samuel. He became a clergyman in his home town of Paimio in 1671 and vigorously began to look out for his parish. He even used his own money for the construction of a new stone church.
In addition to his work, Florinus compiled a Latin-Swedish-Finnish dictionary Nomenclatura rerum brevissima latino-sveco-finnonica. In his writing, Florinus probably used Swedish texts as an aid, to which Finnish words had been added. The dictionary was published in 1678. Having a good command of Finnish, Florinus made his dictionary much more clearer than its predecessor and also came up with new words. The dictionary was reprinted in 1695 and later a third printing which included German
vocabulary.
After the death of his second wife in 1675, Florinus married Katarina Eriksdotter Pihli, widow of the chaplain of Halikko
. They had two sons. All together, with his three wives, Florinus had 18 children.
In 1680, Florinus was elected for parliament from his clergy. The next year, he received another honorable tribute because he was elected to review the language and its form of the Bible in 1642. Florinus completed his review of the Old Testament
in 1682 and two years later did the New Testament
. He had good lingual qualifications for this work because he was able to understand both Finnish and the original languages of the Bible. The new printing, containing 2,200 verses, was a success. In 1688, Florinus translated the Church Code into Finnish.
In 1689, the parish of Paimio was consigned to the subordination of the Academy of Turku whereupon Florinus lost his post. It was a bitter time for him although he got a clergyman's post in Kemiö. The Kemiö period was contentious: he had many disagreements with the parishioners about his wages.
Florinus became inspired to collect proverbs in 1695 after getting the collections of Gabriel Tammelinus in his possession who died that same year. At the encouragement of his friends, he published them and also his own collection of proverbs Wanhain suomalaisten tawaliset ja suloiset sananlascut in 1702.
The corpus was geographically emphasised on proverbs found in Satakunta, Finland Proper
and Häme
. The book contains over 1,500 proverbs, five times more than the German
book of proverbs from 1529. The book received a rather positive reception because it had not been seen that proverbs are pagan in the same was as folk poetry.
In 1699, Florinus succeeded in getting his position back in Paimio as a stand-in for an official and soon became a permanent member of the clergy. His oldest son was appointed clergyman of Kemiö. Florinus spent the rest of his years in Paimio. He published a book in Finnish in 1705 Yxi lyhykäinen opetus oikiasta wanhurscaudesta ("One brief lesson about true righteousness"). However, not one copy of this text, as far as is known, has been salvaged. Florinus died that same year.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
priest, writer and translator. In 1702, he published the first collection of Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
s called Wanhain suomalaisten tawaliset ja suloiset sananlascut ("Customary and Beautiful Proverbs of the Old Finns"). Florinus also proofread the language of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and compiled a noteworthy Latin-Swedish-Finnish dictionary.
History
Florinus' parents were clergyman Matthias Erici Florinus of PaimioPaimio
Paimio is a town and a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...
and Elisabet Henriksdotter. He began studying at the Academy of Turku in 1650 and became a Master in 1656. During his studies, he wound up in fights and was even charged with assault. However the charges was dropped.
After graduating, Florinus completed postgraduate studies because he did not get the position he applied for. During this time he married Valborg Larsdotter Tammelinus in 1658. He finally got a temporary position as a stand-in for a preacher in Kemiö in 1660–1661. Two years later, Florinus became a clergyman in Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...
and a teacher of pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
.
After his first wife died, he married Beata Davidsdotter Gyllenbögel, with whom he had two children: Henrik Florinus Jr and Samuel. He became a clergyman in his home town of Paimio in 1671 and vigorously began to look out for his parish. He even used his own money for the construction of a new stone church.
In addition to his work, Florinus compiled a Latin-Swedish-Finnish dictionary Nomenclatura rerum brevissima latino-sveco-finnonica. In his writing, Florinus probably used Swedish texts as an aid, to which Finnish words had been added. The dictionary was published in 1678. Having a good command of Finnish, Florinus made his dictionary much more clearer than its predecessor and also came up with new words. The dictionary was reprinted in 1695 and later a third printing which included German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
vocabulary.
After the death of his second wife in 1675, Florinus married Katarina Eriksdotter Pihli, widow of the chaplain of Halikko
Halikko
Halikko is a former municipality of Finland that existed until December 31, 2008. On January 1, 2009 the municipality was merged with the larger neighboring Salo. Before the merge Halikko had become a rapidly urbanizing rural area....
. They had two sons. All together, with his three wives, Florinus had 18 children.
In 1680, Florinus was elected for parliament from his clergy. The next year, he received another honorable tribute because he was elected to review the language and its form of the Bible in 1642. Florinus completed his review of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
in 1682 and two years later did the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. He had good lingual qualifications for this work because he was able to understand both Finnish and the original languages of the Bible. The new printing, containing 2,200 verses, was a success. In 1688, Florinus translated the Church Code into Finnish.
In 1689, the parish of Paimio was consigned to the subordination of the Academy of Turku whereupon Florinus lost his post. It was a bitter time for him although he got a clergyman's post in Kemiö. The Kemiö period was contentious: he had many disagreements with the parishioners about his wages.
Florinus became inspired to collect proverbs in 1695 after getting the collections of Gabriel Tammelinus in his possession who died that same year. At the encouragement of his friends, he published them and also his own collection of proverbs Wanhain suomalaisten tawaliset ja suloiset sananlascut in 1702.
The corpus was geographically emphasised on proverbs found in Satakunta, Finland Proper
Finland Proper
Finland Proper or Southwest Finland , is a region in south-western Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Ahvenanmaa and Uusimaa.- Municipalities :...
and Häme
Häme
Häme is the name of a geographical region in Finland. It is an ancient Finnish word, etymologically related to sápmi, the endonym of the Sami people...
. The book contains over 1,500 proverbs, five times more than the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
book of proverbs from 1529. The book received a rather positive reception because it had not been seen that proverbs are pagan in the same was as folk poetry.
In 1699, Florinus succeeded in getting his position back in Paimio as a stand-in for an official and soon became a permanent member of the clergy. His oldest son was appointed clergyman of Kemiö. Florinus spent the rest of his years in Paimio. He published a book in Finnish in 1705 Yxi lyhykäinen opetus oikiasta wanhurscaudesta ("One brief lesson about true righteousness"). However, not one copy of this text, as far as is known, has been salvaged. Florinus died that same year.
Books
- Disputatio ethica de virtute (1654)
- Epitome theologiae e sacris literis (1673)
- Nomenclatura rerum brevissima latino-sveco-finnonica (1678)
- Oratio metrica de poesi (1652)
- Quaestiones theologicae (1672)
- Wanhain suomalaisten tawaliset ja suloiset sananlascut (1702)
- Yxi lyhykäinen opetus oikiasta wanhurscaudesta (1705)
Sources
- Fennica, Suomen kansallisbibliografia
- Laine, Tuija: Henricus Florinus. Kansallisbiografia
- Ylioppilasmatrikkeli 1640–1852.