Juhan Leinberg
Encyclopedia
Juhan Leinberg also known as prophet
Maltsvet, was a founder of a religious sect named after him (the Maltsvetians) in Estonia
.
Juhan Leinberg was born in Järvamaa, Norra parish. In his youth he was a farmer, miller, barkeeper and seller in Tallinn
. In 1854 he started holding preachings in Northern Estonia
and called on people to give up collecting wealth. A short imprisonment in 1858 increased his popularity, the number of his followers reached 200-300 families. In 1860 Leinberg started to promote re-establishing to the Crimea
, going there himself in February 1861. The most fanatic of the Maltsvetians waited in May and June 1861 at Lasnamäe for the coming of the "White ship" that was to take them to the promised land. The followers of Maltsvet also had an important part in the peasant rebels in Albu and Ahula in November 1861. By the mid-eighteen sixties, Maltsvet's influence had worn off. After his return to Estonia in 1865 he started in business again. Leinberg died in Järvamaa, Pruuna parish.
The movement of the Maltsvetians is treated by Eduard Vilde
(1865-1933) in the novel Prophet Maltsvet. Published in 1908, this was the third book of a trilogy that established Vilde as a writer. Like the others, it mixed fact and fiction, but was based on letters and notes of interviews with Crimea
n Estonians.
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Maltsvet, was a founder of a religious sect named after him (the Maltsvetians) in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
.
Juhan Leinberg was born in Järvamaa, Norra parish. In his youth he was a farmer, miller, barkeeper and seller in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
. In 1854 he started holding preachings in Northern Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and called on people to give up collecting wealth. A short imprisonment in 1858 increased his popularity, the number of his followers reached 200-300 families. In 1860 Leinberg started to promote re-establishing to the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, going there himself in February 1861. The most fanatic of the Maltsvetians waited in May and June 1861 at Lasnamäe for the coming of the "White ship" that was to take them to the promised land. The followers of Maltsvet also had an important part in the peasant rebels in Albu and Ahula in November 1861. By the mid-eighteen sixties, Maltsvet's influence had worn off. After his return to Estonia in 1865 he started in business again. Leinberg died in Järvamaa, Pruuna parish.
The movement of the Maltsvetians is treated by Eduard Vilde
Eduard Vilde
Eduard Vilde was an Estonian writer and a pioneer of critical realism in Estonian literature.-Works:* Musta mantliga mees...
(1865-1933) in the novel Prophet Maltsvet. Published in 1908, this was the third book of a trilogy that established Vilde as a writer. Like the others, it mixed fact and fiction, but was based on letters and notes of interviews with Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
n Estonians.