Meelis Friedenthal

Meelis Friedenthal has studied theology at the universities of Tartu and Heidelberg. His dissertation Tractatus moralis de oculo of the Tallinn City Archive, defended at the University of Tartu in 2008, focuses on a Latin manuscript from the 14th c., a moral-allegorical tract on vision and the eye. Following his doctoral research, Friedenthal’s focus has shifted to the early modern period, with the history of universities as a key focal point. He has done research at the universities of Göttingen, Uppsala and Erfurt. At the University of Tartu he has taught courses on early and medieval church history, Latin patristics, imaginary worlds, book history, history of alchemy, digital humanities, creative writing and religious intellectual history. Friedenthal has translated the Latin texts of Martin Luther, René Descartes and Aldhelm of Malmesbury. Friedenthal’s creative writing includes novellas, several of which have received the Estonian science fiction prize Stalker. His latest longer story,  Abracadabra, received the Tuglas Short Story Award. His first novel Golden Age received the third prize in the 2005 novel competition of the Estonian Writers’ Union. His Willow King received the European Union Prize for Literature in 2013 and has since been translated into several languages. His other published work includes the novel Tongue of the Angels, short story collection Everybody Will Be Wakened and novel Around a Point, which won the annual prose prize of the Estonian Cultural Endowment in 2024. Some years ago, Tiit Palu (Vanemuine Theatre) staged his play Ghost in the Machine. G. F. Parrot in the Old Anatomy Theatre on Toome Hill. 2024 saw the premiere of his play Love’s Clavichord, on the life and legacy of baroque composer David Kellner, under the direction of Lembit Petrson at Theatrum theatre.

Photo: Kairit Leibold, ERR