Literacy in the
Baltic
John William Parker
June 2002
The Miracle of Literacy in the Baltic
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are founded on precious land that offers its possessor highways to distant lands such as Russia or even the Orient. This power of transport has lured in missionaries, warring crusaders, businessmen, and mighty rulers with their armies who strove to obtain this militarily and commercially strategic area. The local people of these Baltic countries were pushed aside and sorely oppressed by their unwelcome guests. After centuries of perseverance the people who spoke Estonian, Latvian, or Lithuanian emerged from their hardships as one of the most literate areas in Europe. These people had developed a thirst for reading. In the early twentieth century the rate of Estonians, ten years and older, who could read was over 96 percent. Elsewhere in Europe other countries lagged behind: Spain-44 percent, Austria-hungary-77 percent and France-83 percent (Raun, article #2, 124).
Teutonic Knights Crush the Estonians and Latvians, Lithuanians stand strong.
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Crusading German Knights overcame the defense of the native pagans, now known as Latvians and Estonians. German became the language of commerce and the ruling class (Kirby #1, 24-25). The Natives who spoke different dialects of Estonian and Latvian did not have a standardized universal language in their respective languages. The also lacked a written language that would have been helpful in uniting the local people. These people preserved their language in oral tradition and folklore. The Germans formed the powerful Confederation of Livonia and used their power to take the rights of the natives until finally in the beginning of the sixteenth century they were under the yoke of serfdom (Ranscans, 5-6). Not only was there an absence of written material for the people in their own language, but also the "Non-Germans" did not have any time for reading and education because of the demands of hard labor. They were grieved by heavy taxes and were legally bound to work the land they were born on.
The Lithuanians were able to defend themselves from the attacking Knights. The Lithuanians formed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the thirteenth century with a language similar to Old Russian as the official tongue. In 1385-6 the pagan Lithuanians became a Christian Union with Poland when the ruler of Lithuania (Jogaila) converted to Catholicism and took the Polish throne (Kirby #1, 24). Lithuania, with its independence, could have developed greater literacy if the Lithuanian language would have been written into books. The Catholic Church used Latin in its services and priests used Polish in everyday life. The church and rulers of the territory did not yet promote the "pagan" language of Lithuanian. The nobility hindered the development of a written language by becoming Polonized. In 1697 Polish was legalized as the official written language of the Union. In fact it was very popular at the time to speak Polish in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius. Many of the Lithuanian Barons found it becoming to use Polish (Zinkevicius, 79-80). Even though Polish was a popular language at the time for the elite to speak, the overwhelming majority of Lithuanians were poor illiterate peasants who only spoke Lithuanian. The peasantry’s illiteracy saved Lithuanian from being lost to Polonization.
The Reformation Brings First Books, The Moravian Brethren Preach Writing Skills
In the early sixteenth century the Protestant Movement shook religion in the Baltic and created hope for a written language for the natives. The reformists favored the translation of the Bible into the laity’s vernacular. The goal of the reformists was to make religious literature available to all. This was now more possible than ever with the innovation of the movable type press and inexpensive paper (Raun 1979, 116). Sermons were to be read to the native population in their own language so they could understand the word of the Lord. The Catholic Church began a counter-reformation movement to quell the Reformists’ uprising. The Catholic Church began also printing the native people’s language, which it was not in favor of until after the reformation gained popularity. The two churches competed for membership by publishing texts in the local people’s own language. In Latvia, following Catholics’ printing of the "Cathechismus Catholicorum" in 1585, the Lutheran church printed its own catechism in 1586. A catechism is a religions text that the clergy read to its parishioners. The two churches’ competition for the masses widened the doors to printing in the Baltic. In 1588 a publishing house was opened in Riga for Latvian books (Ruke-Dravina, 23).
The first known book written in Lithuanian was also a Catechism (Lutheran), written by Martynas Mazvydas in 1547 (Zinkevicius, 230). The message in Martynas’ Catechism is a perfect example of the goals of the protestant movement. It starts off:
Brothers, sisters, take me and read me,
And reading, consider this:
Your fathers fervently desired to have this doctrine
But were not able to obtain it in any way.
They wanted to see it with their eyes
And also to hear it with their ears.
Now what your fathers ever saw
Now all this has come to you….And teach the family in your homes.
Your sons and daughters should know this...Brothers and sisters, do not delay to read me
If you wish to live according to the will of God...If anyone wishes to sing a holy song,
He should have me under his eyes…Read it and put it into the hands of every child
Both Low Lithuanian and High Lithuanian…(Mazvydas, 46-49)
The message of the Lutheran Catechism was a radical new doctrine! Peasants were being commanded to read, and to teach in their homes. This was the fundamental change that began to change the reading ability in the Baltic from almost complete illiteracy to one of the highest levels of literacy in all of Europe.
The first book printed in Estonian, and that still exists, was also a Catechism (Lutheran) printed in 1535 (Raun article #2, 116). According to a Swedish church law, clergymen would travel from town to town to evaluate children’s reading abilities. The people were to know the catechism and be able to read it. If one could not read, one was not allowed to be confirmed in the church, and thus could not be married (Lott, Moldre). It was also during this time that spelling books were printed to help the peasants learn to read.
Translations of the Bible were not completed until much later (Latvian in 1685-89, Estonian in 1739 and Lithuanian in 1735). The translation of such a valued and popular text was essential for the standardization of the different dialects that separated the people. The Bible was the most commonly read work among the people for generations. The language of the bible was the unifying standard for the literary language of the people.
In 1736 the Moravian Brethren moved in from German lands to bring the word of God to the common folk. They promoted home schooling and reading. The Brethren also taught the commoners how to write. Previous to their arrival writing had not been taught to the peasantry. Peasants were to hand-copy religious works. They were also encouraged to write letters to one another, to collect and record their folklore from oral tradition, and to keep journals (Munson, Baltic Encyclopedia). Moravian documents show the first correspondence writing in the native languages of the Baltic (Raun 1979, 117-118). The ability to write developed more slowly among the people, but near the end of the eighteenth century clerical records show that about two-thirds of Estonian adults could read, and by 1850 about 90 percent were literate. Literacy in the Protestant regions was much higher than in the Russian Orthodox areas (Raun 2001, 55).
Education in the Baltic Becomes a Part of Home life
The Jesuits in 1576 opened a college in Vilnius (Lithuania) for 700 pupils (Kirby 1990, 92). The language of instruction in this school was Polish. Other schools emerged in Estonia and Latvia during this time, but these were for the upper crust of society who spoke German. There was therefore some literacy in the non-native languages, but for the majority, who only spoke Latvian, Estonian, or Lithuanian, there was no formal education.
Under Swedish rule, in the late seventeenth century, five of the first Latvian-language peasant schools were established in Riga (Ruke-Dravina, 24). The King of Sweden sent B. G. Forselius to train Estonian schoolteachers for peasant schools. 160 young Estonian teachers were trained (Lott, Moldre). A census shows that by 1897 the people in rural areas could read better than those who would have been within the school districts of the city. For example, the rural area of Saaremaa had a literacy rate of 96.7 percent, while Urbanized Kuresaare had a rate of 93.9 percent. Thus we may deduce that teaching in the home was a part of everyday life, and it was baring fruit for the peasantry (Raun 1979, 118).
Printing Gives Birth to Mass Media and the Nation Awakes!
Early printed matter in the native language of the Baltic regions was mostly religious text, because the other types of reading material were not yet in demand. People were still struggling to become literate, and also books had not yet become affordable. In the early eighteenth century Small, colorless, calendars were made available to the people. The calendars contained advice, instruction and an almanac. Later, articles about current events in the world and short stories were printed in the Calendars.
In 1821 Parsen Masing was the first Estonian to publish an Estonian periodical. He printed the "Country People’s Weekly" for four years. The people in the Baltic at that time had not been free from serfdom for very long, and consequently could not afford to buy a weekly paper. During the late nineteenth century the industrial revolution lured the masses to the cities. Factory jobs provided more money and time for leisure. With this new wealth and leisure people become more enlightened with literature.
In 1857 J.W. Jannsen created the newspaper called "Perno Postimees", (the Postman of Perno). He used his paper as a vehicle of mass media and stirred his nation. He wrote about the value of education, the importance of private ownership of farmland, and that Estonians should be proud to be Estonian. The subscribers to his paper were given a picture of Jannsen that read: "Estonian! Be an Estonian in all clothes and under all names, then you are an honest man among your people!" (Lott, Moldre). The people of the Baltic created a national identity though their writings.
Poet Lydia Koidula, the daughter of Jannsen, (1843-1886) wrote popular poetry about her country, its history and a hopeful future. Her most famous work was "The nightingale of Emajogi" (Raun 2001, 78). The writing of poetry was something new for the Baltic languages, for it was a test to see if the languages were capable of communicating emotion and beauty. Lithuanian poet, Kristijonas Donelaitis (1714-1780) was the pioneer in proving Lithuanian as a poetic language when he wrote his most famous work, "Metai" (The Seasons). His poem gained such acclaim that it was later translated into many languages and spread throughout Europe. There were also secular books beginning to appear in Latvia at this time. In 1766 G. Stender published a volume called "Delightful Fairy-Tales and Stories".
The first Estonian Writer to gain notice out side of the country was F.R. Kreutzwald. His most known work was the compilation of the Estonian National Epic "Kalevipoeg". A poetry book by Latvian Author Juris Alunans called "Little Songs" was well known during this time of "Young Latvians" who were pushing the nation to awake. The national movement not only widened the Baltic literature market, but it made it possible for people to make a living as authors and publishers. The quality of Baltic literature increased and became affordable to the people.
The poetic writing of folksongs further developed the standardized literary language of the people in their respective countries. The first of these printed in Latvia was by Fr. Menius in 1635 (Ruke-Dravina, 34). Centuries later, song festivals brought people together to sing nationalistic songs in a standardized form of their language. The first song festival was held in Estonia in 1869, Latvia in 1873 and Lithuania in 1924 (Raun 1994, 242). Lithuania wasn’t able to have a song festival until after its independence due to a 40-year print ban (1864-1904).
The Russian Tsar forbade the use of the Latin alphabet used in the Lithuanian language and replaced it with the Russian Cyrillic Alphabet. This was as an attempt to assimilate Lithuania into Russia. Latvia had its own native newspaper Majas Viesis (The Houseguest) already in 1856. Because of the print ban Lithuania’s first paper Auszra (The Dawn) reached the light of day not until 1883. In a census from 1897 the literacy rate of Latvians (91 percent) and Estonians (96 percent) was twice that of Lithuanians (48 percent) (Raun 1994, 240-1). Despite the print ban, mass media reading material was printed smuggled in from Eastern Prussia and the United States.
Twentieth Century Victories and Struggles
After World War One had ended the Baltic States declared independence and each of their respective native tongues were declared the official language of the country. (Lithuania February 16, 1918, Estonia February 24, 1918, and Latvia November, 1918) This meant that for the first time legal and government documents were written in the vernacular and that the language of instruction in schools and universities was the language of the indigenous people. During the twenty years of independence the Baltic region experienced rapid development. Standard Lithuanian was refined and developed so much that a newspaper printed in 1918 would seem to be in some primitive language only two decades later (Zinkevicius, 310).
The twenty years of prosperity ended with Soviet and German occupations During World War Two. For 50 years the Soviets tried to erase the language and the identity of the Baltic people in order to make them to fit the Soviet model. Universities, printing presses and libraries were taken over and mass amounts of Baltic literature were burned. The Soviets severely censored what could be read and said in public. Huge numbers of people were killed or deported. Thousands more fled to neighboring lands. Many went as far as the Americas. Lithuania lost a third of its population at this time (Zinkevicius, 316). Many intellectuals were among those who fled. They continued the development of their people’s language and culture in their lands of refuge. In an underground market they again smuggled books back to those who remained in the country. The Soviet oppression did not steal the people’s zeal for education and reading. By 1991 the Baltic countries emerged from Soviet ruins to again establish independence and to declare, once again, their own national languages.
The Baltic countries now face the task of accommodating Russian minorities remaining from Soviet rule. They cannot read, write or speak the national language. Another task at hand is the teaching of those who, generations later, are beginning to move back to the lands of their forefathers. For this purpose special schools devote instruction to teach and refine the language skills of those moving back. The pupils are the children and grandchildren of refugees and deportees who want to know the language of their fathers and be apart of their heritage in the Baltic (Paskeviciena, 12-17).
References Cited / Bibliography
Kirby, David. Northern Europe in the Early Modern Period: The Baltic World 1492-1772. London: Longman, 1990.
Kirby’s provides a thorough survey of major events that shaped the Baltic and its relationship to Scandinavia and Europe. His Baltic series is written for those who already have a basic knowledge of Northern Europe and the Baltic. He pays specific detail to the laity and their struggles in the Baltic. I found little information directly about literacy, but there was pertinent information about the crusades, the reformation, schools, printing, wars, and early literature.
Kirby, David. The Baltic World 1772-1993: Europe’s Northern Periphery in an Age of Change. London: Longman, 1995.
In his second book of the Baltic Series he continues to report on the major events of history in the Baltic with little attention to literacy levels. His chapters about industrialization, literature, leisure, mass media, and world wars were helpful in linking developments in literacy to the respective countries major events.
M. Lott, A. Moldre, "A Brief History of the Estonian Book" January 1997, http://www.ciesin.ee/ESTCG/SOURCES/EB.html (22 May 2002).
This was my best source for information about the development of books and literacy in Estonia. In some ways it is a primary source, because of the quotes taken directly from existing historical books. The authors comprehensively reported the development of Estonian literature starting from before the Estonians had a written language. The site contains actual photographs of early books and drawings of authors. M. Lott and A. Moldre originally wrote the book in Estonian for the Estonian Librarians’ Association and the National Library of Estonia. The text was translated and published on the CIESIN web page. It is about twenty pages long (printed out). The CIESIN (Center for International Earth Science Information Network) sight is supported by Columbia University. Their goal is to integrate the study of different physical environments with the regions’ cultural history.
Martynas Mazvydas, "The Little book Itself Speaks to the High Lithuanians and Low Lithuanians," and Rimvydas Silbajoris, "Notes on Mazvydas’ Little Book of Good News," Lituanus 44, 1 (1998): 46-62.
This is a primary source that was published in the Lithuanian journal, Lithuanus. It shows the Reformist attitude about literacy. The original document was printed in 1547 for the Lutheran Church. In 1971 it was translated in to English by Gordon B. Ford Jr.
A. Munson, "The Moravian Brethren in the Baltic and Their Influence on the Rise of Cultural Nationalism" May 17, 2002, http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/moravian.html (22, May 2002)
Anna Munson wrote an essay about the Moravian Brethren for the same Baltic Encyclopedia that this essay is located in. She cited numerous, legitimate sources that made mention of the Moravian Brethren’s contribution to literacy and writing in the Baltic.
Paskeviciena, Jolanta. "They All Speak the Same Language". Lithuania in the World, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2002, 12-17.
This magazine article is about the trials children face when they move back to their forefathers’ land after years of exile. It is an article primarily about a school in Lithuania that helps children learn and refine their Lithuanian reading, writing and speaking skills.
Raun, Toivo U. Estonia and the Estonians. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 2001
Raun is an Estonian historian and an expert in Baltic studies. He has focused much attention on the history of Estonia. His Book about Estonia and Estonians contains the major events of Estonia’s development and even some statistics on literacy in Estonia. His book contains a helpful index that makes finding specific topics easy.
Raun, Toivo U. "Cultural Russification in Lithuania and the Baltic Provinces in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries: Comparative Perspectives," Estonian Acad. Sci. Humanities and Social Sciences, 43 (1994): 238-244.
Raun’s article about Russification in the Baltic and Lithuania embodies theories to explain why literacy in Lithuania was lower than in neighboring Estonia and Latvia. The main purpose of the article is to argue how Russification was an unsuccessful venture.
Raun, Toivo U. "The Development of Estonian Literacy in the 18th and 19th Centuries." Journal of Baltic Studies, 10, No. 2 (1979) 115-125
This article is full of statistics and facts about the development of Estonian literacy. The data was collected primarily church records. There are figures about women’s literacy, men’s literacy and writing abilities. There are also facts about historical factors that have helped literacy rates increase. For example: The Protestant Reformation, Moravian Brethren, home schools, and industrialization.
Ruke-Dravina, Velta. The Standardization Process in Latvian. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1977
Ruke-Dravina wrote this book with the support of The University of Stockholm’s Slavic Studies Department. The purpose of the book is to give a historical outline of the development of Latvian from the earliest text to the present, and to present facts that indicate the language’s future development. There are many facts about how the first written books, hymns, folksongs, poetry, and mass media publications contributed to the standardization of modern Latvian. The author touches upon times of Russian and Soviet oppression that hindered development of standard Latvian. Much of this book contains linguistic jargon with facts about historical events strewn here and there.
Tereze Ranscans, "The History of Early Printing in the Latvian Language, 1585-1700" (Master’s Deg. Report, Graduate Library School of Long Island University, 1969) preface-12.
This is Tereze’s Master’s Report for the partial fulfillment of his Master’s requirement. His report is valuable because he was able to read many Latvian sources about printing in Latvia from 1585 to 1700. He gives a brief historical overview about how book printing eventually made its way to the Baltic. His report contains facts about early print shops and the first publications printed in Latvian. His report is very technical describes how neighboring lands affected the development of printed languages in Latvia. He compares different type set styles, punctuation rules, and loanwords.
Zinkevicius, Zigmas. The History of the Lithuanian Language. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopediju leidykla, 1996
Zinkevicius is a professor Linguistics and Lithuanian at the University of Vilnius and has written over 500 books and articles about his field of expertise. This book is the first ever published in English that deals with the History of the Lithuanian Language. The book contains mostly doctrine about the metamorphosis of ancient Lithuanian to present Standardized Lithuanian. He dabbles in historical context that caused the language to change over time. He tells about the Protestant reformation, early literature, Lithuania’s national movement, the underground literature market, times of Russian and Soviet control and times of independence.