Marju Lepajõe

Marju Lepajõe was an Estonian classical philologist, translator and historian of religion.

Early life and education

Lepajõe was born on 28 October 1962 to the scientists Jaan Lepajõe and Leida Lepajõe . She had two brothers and a sister; her brother Madis Lepajõe became Deputy Mayor of Tartu in 2018.
Lepajõe graduated from the Department of Philology at the University of Tartu in 1982. Between 1988-91, she studied classical philology at Leningrad State University. In 1996, Lepajõe defended her master's degree in classical philology at the University of Tartu, her research project was entitled: The Fictitious Element in the Dares Phrygian Trojan Chronicle and Its Links to Contemporary Historiography. In 2018, Lepajõe defended her doctoral dissertation, which was entitled: Pastors and Literary Culture: Variations of Christian Humanism in Estonia and Livonia in the First Half of the 17th Century. She was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree as a result.

Career

Between 1985-8 Lepajõe was Senior Librarian, Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books at the University of Tartu Library. This was the start of a long academic career there:

1992-3 - Assistant chair of classical philology
1993-8 - Latin and Greek lecturer, Department of Theology
1998 - Researcher in Church history
1998-2001 - Chair of historical theology and Latin

Lepajõe's research interests included the influence of neo-Platonic philosophy and patristic theology on later Christian thought, as well as theology in Estonian intellectual culture in the seventeenth century. Her research publications included articles on: demonology in Plotinus, Reiner Brockmann - the first poet writing in Estonian, the Estonian syrologist Arthur Võõbus, as well as including many other areas. She was a visiting researcher at universities such as: Freiburg, Göttingen, Oslo and London.

Selected works

Translator

Lepajõe compiled the Greek-Estonian New Testament Dictionary. She was also a prolific translator, working on texts from ancient, medieval and modern authors, including: Plato, Plotinos, Gregory of Tours, Innocent III, Johannes Scotus Eriugena, Bernard of Clairvaux, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Martin Luther, Johannes Risingh, Heinrich von Kleist, Otto Wilhelm Masing.

Translations

"Fathers: Talmudic Part 4, Treatise 9". Tallinn: Periodicals, 1990
Carl Morgenstern. "On the Purpose and Subject of a Book Called Plato's Politeia". Academy 1/1993
Plotinos. "On Beauty" Enneaadid I. 6. Academy 5/1993
Plotinos. "Spiritual Beauty". Academy 5/1993
A. Hilary Armstrong. "The Teaching of Plotinus." Academy 5/1993
Werner Beierwaltes. "Love of Beauty and Love of God". Academy 6/1993
Christoph Wrembek. "The Star of Bethlehem: November 13, 1993 - 2000 years ago". Academy 11/1993
Heinrich von Kleist Marionette Theater by Heinrich von Kleist. Academy, 12/1993, pp. 2551–2557. Reprint: "In memoriam Claus Sommerhage". Tartu: Tartu University Press, 2005, pp. 138–144
Hans Urs von Balthasar. "The Boundaries of Christian Mystery". Academy, 9/1994
Endre von Ivánka. "From Names to Unnamed". Academy, 10/1994
Pseudo-Dionysios Areopagita. "From Mystical Theology to Timotheos". Academy, 10/1994
René Descartes. "Meditations on the First Philosophy". Academy, 8/1996
Johannes Claudii Risingh, "A Call from the City of Tartu: 1637". Tartu: Tartu University Press, 1996
Plato "Politeia: Book VII 514a-621b". Academy 9/1997, pp. 1819–1828
Jan Szaif, "Plato's Cave Equivalence ". Academy 9/1997, pp. 1829–1842
Simone Weil, "" Ilias "or a poem about power". French tlk. Marju Lepajõe. Rainbow 7-8 / 1997, pp. 82–105
, "Is a New Renaissance Possible," Tuna, 2/2001, pp. 4–9
The Nature and Structure of Gnosis by Kurt Rudolph. Translated from German by Marju Lepajõe. Academy, 10/2001, pp. 2125–2140
Plato, "Works of I. Socrates Apology. Phaidon. Kriton. Dinner. Charmides. Phaidros. Euthyphron." Tartu: Ilmamaa, 2003
Eric R. Dodds, "Gentiles and Christians in an Age of Anxiety." Tallinn: Varrak, 2003
Otto Wilhelm Masing "Welcome speech by OW Masing at the solemn reopening meeting of the University of Tartu, April 22, 1802". Translated from Latin by Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: "200 Years of University Studies in Estonian: 1803 Lectures in Estonian and Finnish at the University of Tartu: Anniversary Collection". Tartu, 2003.. Pp. 10–13
Plotinus "Entheads I.6: Beauty". Interpreter. and comment. Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: "An Anthology of Ancient Greek Literature". Tallinn, 2006. pp. 435–444
Friedrich Robert Faehlmann, "Observations on Hidden Inflammations". Translated from Latin by Kaarina Rein and Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: Fr. "Works III" by R. Faehlmann. Estonian Literary Museum, Estonian Academy of Sciences Under and Tuglas Literature Center, 2011. pp. 90–152
Martin Luther, "From the Prison of the Church of Babel: Foreplay". Translated from Latin by Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: Martin Luther "Selected Jobs". Tartu, 2012. pp. 177–298
John Scotus Eriugena, "On the Nature of God: Periphyseon, II, 28". Academy, 12/2012, pp. 2115–2130
Hieronymus, "The Life of the Blessed Paul, Thebes Monk: The Monk Romance". Translated from Latin and commented by Marju Lepajõe. Rainbow, 1-2 / 2013, pp. 42–51
From Gregorius Tours "Ten History Books: Excerpts". Translated by Tiina Kala, Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: "Anthology of Medieval Literature I. Latin Literature". Tallinn, 2013, pp. 104–113
Anselm Canterbury's "Proslogion, or Talk: an excerpt." Translator and author Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: "Anthology of Medieval Literature I. Latin Literature". Tallinn, 2013. pp. 252–259
Pierre Abélard, Héloïse "Letters of Two Lovers: Excerpts". Translated by Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: "Anthology of Medieval Literature I. Latin Literature". Tallinn, 2013. pp. 287–292
Bernard of Clairvaux, "Speeches on Song of Songs: Snippets". Translated by Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: "Anthology of Medieval Literature I. Latin Literature". Tallinn, 2013. pp. 331–347
Innocentius III, Human Affliction: The Extract. Translator and author Marju Lepajõe. Rmt: "Anthology of Medieval Literature I. Latin Literature". Tallinn, 2013. pp. 463–485
Kurt Rudolph, "Gnosis: The Nature and History of a Late Antique Religion." Translated by Jaan Lahe, Jana Lahe and Marju Lepajõe, foreword by Jaan Lahe. Tallinn: Tallinn University Press, 2014
Innocentius III, Human Misery: Part Two. Translated from Latin and commented by Marju Lepajõe. Rainbow, 1-2 / 2016, pp. 87–105

Awards and honors

Lepajõe received many awards during her career, which include:

1995 Second Prize of the Open Society Fund for English in Social Sciences and Humanities
1999 Presidential Award of the Republic of Estonia
1999 Rector-von-Ewers-Preis from the University of Münster
1999 University of Tartu Raefond Prize for translating 17th century publications
2009 Language and Literature Annual Award for Best Article
2010 Cultural Endowment Literature Endowment Article Award
2015 Order of the White Star, V Class
2016 Estonian Culture Capital Scholarship " Life and Shine "
2017 Cross of Merit of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3rd degree
2017 Academy Award for the best article in the field of socialia
2018 Enn Soosaar Ethical Essay Prize

Legacy

In 2018, Lepajõe was the subject of a documentary by writer and director Vallo Toomla, entitled "Marju Lepajõe: Words of the Day". The film was funded by the Estonian Film Institute and premiered on 27 September 2019.
In 2019, Lepajõe's family, the Postimees newspaper and University of Tartu established the Marju Lepajõe Memorial Fund. This fund aims to recognize and value research and translation. In September 2019 the fund announced its first scholarship competition.