Korunk 2014 (III. folyam 25.)

2014 / 4. szám = Észtek, lettek, litvánok - ABSTRACTS

ABSTRACTS Endre Bojtár ■ Baltic Studies Keywords: Baltic studies, Latvia, Uthuania, comparative linguistics, history, Europe, Crusades, Reformation Why are Baltic nations worth studying? Linguistics, especially comparative Indo- German studies can hardly be conceived without somé knowledge of the most ar­­chaic Indo-German languages, like Latvian and Lithuanian. As Antoine Meillet once stated, anybody interested in the language of our ancestors should listen to the speech of Lithuanian peasants. Similarly, many important historical phenomena like the Crusades or the Reformation cannot be understood without their Baltic ties. Antoine Chalvin ■ Estonia: Home of the Singing People Keywords: Baltic studies, Estonian culture, music, Sängerfest, laulurahvas, Iaulupidu Estonians call themselves a “singing people” (laulurahvas). Since 1869, this love fór singing crystallizes regularly in the form of large outdoor concerts bringing together choirs from across the country. This tradition of “Feasts of Song” (Iaulupidu) has survived, through various compromises, all the changes of political regime, while reflecting the changes in the historical context. It accompanied the formation and evolution of Estonian national feeling and still plays a major role as a medium of identity, due to its popularity (every five years it brings together 250,000 people, about 20% of the population) and to the patriotic songs that occupy an important part in the program. Paradoxically, this major identity building event is not spe­­cifically Estonian: it was modeled on the Sängerfeste organized in German-speaking countries, it gives almost no room for tra­diţional Estonian songs, and it also exists in very similar forms in Latvia and Lithuania. Ferenc Csortán ■ Nations and States between the Vistula and the Narva Keywords: geopolitics, history, freedom, confinement Baltic studies, Vistula, Narva The history of the nations (Prussians, Germans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Danes and Swedes, Estonians, Germans, Belarusians, Jews, Voro, Seto) and States (Poland, Prus­­sia, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Rzeczpospolita, the Terra Mariana/Livonia, Curland, Sweden, Russia, the Soviet Union, the Third Reich) once comprised between the Vistula and the Narva exemplifies the ways in which the geopolitical Situation influences the destiny and the freedom of choice of any society. László Fazakas ■ The Installation of Electricity in Cluj (1894-1906) Keywords: public lighting, installation of electricity, Cluj, modernisation, Urbanisa­tion, political debates “More lighting” - based on this slogan in 1894 a civilian movement launched its activity to improve the conditions of public lighting and to urge the installation of electricity in Cluj. The political debates, assemblies and negotiations regarding this issue could be characterized as a nearly decade long fight with windmills, which fortunately culminated in a success. Howe­­ver, this long process had a major impact on the city, and profound changes were made. The city devoted an enormous amount of money to the introduction of electricity, more than five millión crowns. The eco­nomic development stagnated due to the decade long inerţia and incompetence of the city leaders, but other urbanization processes also accelerated after the intro­duction of electricity, in spiţe of the slow convergence the city of Cluj preserved its central role in Transylvania, and due to its established infrastructure became a truly great city. Ilgvars Misaăns ■ Germans and Their Neighbors in Eas­­tern Baltic Hansa Towns Keywords: Baltic culture, Riga, Reval (Talinn) The paper presents the ethnic aspects of the population of medieval Riga and Reval (since 1917: Tallinn). The ethnic and eco­nomic realities of these Hansa cities also exemplify the Situation of other Hansa towns of historic Livonia: Dorpat/Tartu, Pernau/Pärnu, Wenden/Cesis, Wolmar/Val­­miera etc., as well as in present-day Estonia and Latvia, or Viipuri/Vyborg (Finnish-Swe­­dish town, currently situated in Russia). Founded mostly in the early 13,h Century, these towns had an important German population, mixed with indigenous Esto­nians, Latvians and immigrant Swedes (in Reval and Wyborg), or Russians (in Riga). In time, the Germans became the leaders in international commerce, obtaining stronger influence in local administration and over the guilds. Population in these towns spoke different languages - and experienced mutual cultural influences. 125 m 2014/4

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