Heinrich Göseken

Heinrich Göseken (13 April 1612 Hanover – 4 December 1681) was a Baltic-German Lutheran pastor, language enthusiast, occasional poet and translator. He is credited with writing a grammar of Estonian as well as a Latin-Estonian-German dictionary.

1631-1634 he studied at Rostock University.

In 1637, he came to Tallinn. He quickly learned the Estonian and he worked in Western Estonia as a pastor of Kirbla (1638), Risti and Harju-Madise (1639-1641) and Kullamaa (1641-1681). In 1647 he became a dean of Maa-Lääne deanery, and in 1659 an assessor of the Consistory of Tallinn.

He was buried in Kullamaa Church.

Works
In 1641, he wrote the poem: "Heh sel ke Jumlakartus sees" ('He who is in the fear of God'), one of the first poems in Estonian. In 1656, he published Neu Ehstnisches Gesangbuch (New Estonian Songbook).

In 1660, he published a grammar of the Estonian: Manuductio ad Linguam Oesthicam / Anführung zue Öhstnischen Sprache (Introduction to Estonian). This book also contained a glossary of Estonian words, being the most extensive Estonian lexicon from the 17th century.