Seminar "Latvian Writings and Writings in the Baltics in the 16th – 19th Centuries: Current Research and Challenges"

The 15^th International Seminar “Latvian Writings and Writings in the Baltics in the 16^th - 19^th Centuries: Current Research and Challenges,” dedicated to the study of early writings from various perspectives, will take place again this year. The seminar is organized by the University of Latvia (UL) Faculty of Humanities in collaboration with the National Library of Latvia. It will be held in the the National Library of Latvia premises – on the 8^th floor reading room, starting at 9:45 AM.

The interdisciplinary seminar will feature linguists and literary scholars who will present their latest research and findings. Researchers from universities and research institutions in Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden will present their work.

The presentations will address various aspects of language, writing, and book history: Georg Mancelius's contribution to the development of the Latvian language, the history of writings in the 19^th century, the contributions of 20^th-century Latvian and Lithuanian researchers, the importance of manuscripts in understanding language history, and issues of lexical history. There will also be presentations on 17^th-century Greek texts, early printed collections, and other cultural-historical topics.

The seminar is part of the NLL's program cycle “500 Years of Latvian Books.” This diverse series of events, commemorating the first printed text in Latvian (1525), runs from 2021 to 2025 and highlights significant processes that have initiated and advanced the dissemination of Latvian written and printed word.

The image is illustrative. Source: UL Faculty of Humanities.