Kitzbergi A. (August Kitzberg, 1855-1927)

Author and playwright. Romantic to realist writer of short stories and, by which he’s better known, plays such as Libahunt (Werewolf. Liba looks suspiciously like a modification of libe, meaning slippery, slick, unreliable, etc., with negative connotations: e.g. libedad sõnad translates to weasel words; and mysogynist cognates: lita, libu, [related to Ger. Leib, body?], lits, bitch, prostitute, slut, etc. Not surprisingly, werewolves in Estonian folklore tended to be women (while English werewolf is from old English wer [man, male person, from the PIE root *wi-ro-, man] + wulf), but see Viru tänav), and Kauka jumal (God/Lord of the Purse [but see Börsi]). Knowing Kitzberg to be a committed anti-drinker, playwright Oskar Luts (see Kevade) kept a bottle of whisky in a sculpture of his head. In 2005, the post office gave him a sesquicentennial first-day cover. Kitzberg lived at Posti 23, Viljandi, in 1893-1894, so they probably owed him one.