Latvian Moravian Manuscripts: Historical Overview and Research Perspectives

The article explores Moravian manuscripts as a source of literary and social history, focusing on the Latvian part of Livland with the aim of providing an overview of Latvian manuscript literature and highlighting the most significant research perspectives. Written and rewritten in the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, Moravian manuscripts build a heterogenous body of texts, including religious speeches, hymns, biographical writings, historical treatises, letters, and devotional literature. The development of the tradition of Moravian handwritten literature has been viewed in the article from the point of view of literary history by focusing special attention on historical texts and life stories. The effects of Moravian manuscripts have been analysed within the context of social change and emancipating trends brought about by the Moravian movement.