Latvian-Estonian joint conference "500 years of Latvian and Estonian books and written languages"

A joint conference of Estonian and Latvian language researchers will be held in the 8th-floor reading room of the National Library of Latvia (NLL), which will focus on the role of books in the history of the language. The conference is organised by the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Latvia in cooperation with the NLL. The conference will be held in English without translation. Participation is free of charge, and no prior registration is required.

The year 2025 marks a significant milestone in the cultural, literary, and linguistic histories of both Latvia and Estonia. Exactly 500 years ago, in 1525, the Lübeck city council in Germany confiscated a shipment that included Lutheran books written in Latvian and Estonian. Although the actual books have not survived or been discovered, this year is traditionally considered the starting point of Latvian and Estonian book history.

Books are not only significant as objects; they also represent elements of culture, politics, and daily life, while serving as catalysts in the development of linguistic history. The conference will focus on the linguistic aspects of books and their role in shaping the histories of the Latvian and Estonian languages.

The event will explore various aspects of linguistic history, including the development of written languages, language contact, the histories of specific significant texts, and the contribution of digital methods to research in these areas. Alongside the history of Latvian and Estonian written languages, the conference will also address regional Baltic languages such as Latgalian, Livonian, Lutsi Estonian, and South Estonian within the broader framework of 500 years of book history.

Conference program.

At the end of the first day of the conference, on May 23 at 5:00 p.m., it is possible to attend the opening ceremony of the publication “That first book. The most significant publications in Latvian and Estonian. 1525–1918” in the LNB room “World of Rarities” (5th floor). The collection of articles, created in cooperation with the LNB and the National Library of Estonia, was published in parallel in Latvia (in Latvian) and Estonia (in Estonian). The collection of essays is dedicated to the most significant events in Estonian and Latvian literature from 1525 to 1918, including 25 topics, which are written by Latvian and Estonian researchers, looking at the example of each country. The editors of the publication: Toms Ķencis and Piret Lotman. 

The conference will take place as part of the LNB cycle “Latvian Books 500”. The diverse program of events in honour of the first printed text in Latvian (1525) will take place from 2021 to 2025 and highlight the most significant processes that have set in motion and developed the spread of the Latvian written and printed word.