Mitte Koidula, vaid Jakobson. C. R. Jakobsoni näidenditest "Kuuno ja Salme" ning "Arthur ja Anna"
Not Koidula but Jakobson: On C. R. Jakobson's Plays "Kuuno and Salme" and "Arthur and Anna"

Summary/Abstract: It is common knowledge that Estonian theatre was born in Tartu on 24 June 1870 when, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Vanemuine Society L. Koidula's play Saaremaa onupoeg ("The cousin from Saaremaa") was first performed. The fact that the first original Estonian play Kuuno ja Salme ("Kuuno and Salme") was written by C. R. Jakobson is much less known. When working at the Latvian State Historical Archives in the summer of 2005 the author of the article hit upon a manuscript of that play, which was banned by censor. Having begun writing the play in the early 1860s and translated it into Estonian towards the end of the same decade Jakobson presented it to the Censor's Office of St. Petersburg for licence to print. Pruned by the censor, the manuscript was returned to its author, yet with a confidential circular the Censor's office banned its publication. Jakobson revised the manuscript and this time he sent it to Riga for printing permission. Yet in conformity with the resolution of the Censor's Office of St. Petersburg the permission was denied him by the lone censor of Riga as well. The formal reasons presented were a past court case from Torma and the fact that in his play Jakobson ridiculed the local landlord in lampoon form. Thus Jakobson revised the play a third time, changing the title. In 1872 it was published as Arthur ja Anna ("Arthur and Anna"). Considering the above circumstances of writing, banning and publication of the play it is concluded that Jakobson, not Koidula should be called the founder of original Estonian drama.

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