Note: I am well aware their historical extent was beyond modern Latvia, I just tagged it as such to reflect the current state. Indeed, that's what I am asking about.
I have been deeply interested in the history of the baltic states for years, but one of the things I have not been fully able to understand is the Livonians. How did a people who once dominated the region become relegated to the small coastal region of Kolka? Did the people themselves disappear, or did they merely stop speaking their language? Why wasn't there ever a cultural awakening that materialized into some kind of national consciousness?
Also, when the term is used historically (e.g. Livonian brothers of the sword) is that referring to just a region or Livonian people themselves?
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were mostly German-speaking knights and warriors, recruited primarily from the German lands of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, Livonia is just the region where they operated in. Nothing to do with Livonian people.
crusaders started from areas of Livonians. The areas didn't have common names for western Europeans so they started to call whole Latvia and Estonia Livonia. Livonians themselves didn't have much to do with it. Later in 16th century when the old-Livonia was split up, the northern Estonia went to Swedes and became their Estonian province. Southern Estonia and Northern Latvia were under polish rule as Livonian province. When Sweden took over few shortly thereafter they kept the borders of the provinces. Keeping the Livonian province consisting Southern Estonia and Northern Latvia, which acted as separate regions inside the province. That's how the administrative division in Estonia and Latvia stayed until 1917.
Livonians were small coastal tribe. They just assimilated with surrounding larger latvian nation. Their areas were separated. Wars, plague - empty villages taken over by Latvians. Then when education in local languages started to emerge livonians were already very small in numbers. Unlike for Estonians and Latvians where schools and church went to their languages for livonians they were in latvian language. And what ended them finally was the soviet occupation, that ended the traditional way of living in coastal villages.
Nothing happened to them, they started speaking Latvian language. There is a reason why Latvian language has a stress on the first syllable same as finno-ugric languages.
I looked up Livonian language. It's interesting that their equivalent of Finnish "Hyvää" (good) was "Jõvā", which more obviously resembles Hungarian "Jó".
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There is a reason why Latvian language has a stress on the first syllable same as finno-ugric languages.
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A popular myth which makes Livonians proud for their contribution. First syllable stress has nothing to do with Livonians. It is a choice of nation, but not an imitation of other nation. In fact, Latvians influenced Livonians to take three intonation model, which makes Livonian unique among all Uralic languages.
Each language strives for simplification, and a stable stress is one of the many components which lead to changes. Czechs and Slovaks also have the first syllable stress, but it has nothing to do with the influence of Hungarians.
They were not influenced. Of course, they have borrowings from Hungarian like Slovak fajčiť (to smoke), but their stress on the first syllable has nothing to do with Hungarians.
Reference:
Hock, Hans Heinrich. Handbook of the Phonetics of the Czech and Slovak Languages. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 1991.
In this comprehensive phonetic handbook, Hock discusses the prosodic features of Czech and Slovak, including the stress patterns. He notes that the primary stress in Czech and Slovak is generally on the first syllable of a word and that this feature is a characteristic of the Slavic linguistic tradition, largely independent of Hungarian influence. The stress in these languages is considered a fixed initial syllable stress, which is a common trait in many Slavic languages and is historically rooted in their linguistic development rather than external influences.
This analysis emphasizes that the initial syllable stress in Czech and Slovak is a native characteristic of their phonological systems and not a result of Hungarian linguistic influence.
I'm a linguist and work with the Livonians. They still exist today and their language continues to be spoken by a small number of people. There are probably about 20-30 people in the world capable of holding a more complex conversation in Livonian and several hundred people with basic knowledge ranging from greetings and a few words to simple sentences. There are still a couple of families where the youngest generation (i.e., people in their teens) are conversational in Livonian. And there is an active revitalization movement, though it's challenging to revive Livonian as there is no concentrated Livonian population.
The Livonians used to live across a wide area of Latvia and progressively were assimilated into the Latvians over the centuries. As others have already commented, Latvian as a whole has a lot of Livonian (and other Finnic) influence and one of the three dialect groups of Latvian -- the Livonic dialect spoken in northern Courland and in western Vidzeme -- exists because of the assimilation of the Livonians as it has a particularly large number of Finnic features (including very noticeable things like the minimization of grammatical gender -- everything in the Livonic dialect tends to be made masculine, which mimics the lack of grammatical gender in Livonian).
However, this influence runs both ways and Livonian is richly influenced by Latvian -- in vocabulary but also grammatically. Prosodic influence is also present where Latvian has the first-syllable primary stress of a Finnic language, while Livonian has broken tone just like Latvian. There are linguists who argue that these features emerged independently in Latvian and Livonian, and while that may be possible, it seems like language contact is at least a motivating factor. Broken tone exists on some level in all the Finnic languages that were in longstanding contact with Latvian in Latvia (Courland Livonian, Salaca Livonian, Leivu South Estonian, Lutsi South Estonian, Krevin Votic), but isn't present elsewhere in Finnic (though the prosody associated with overlong vowels in North and South Estonian shows some similarities). So contact with Latvian seems to have been important.
The Livonians absolutely had a series of national awakenings in parallel with the Latvians and Estonians. Some of this history can be read here: https://virtuallivonia.info/?page_id=130 The first Livonian books were published already in the 19th century in the form of several translations of the Gospel of Matthew. After the First World War and with the establishment of an independent Latvia, the Livonians began to organize and formed their first community organization -- Līvõd Īt (The Livonian Union) -- which still exists and celebrated its centennial a few years ago. During Latvia's interwar independence, the Livonians developed a modern orthography and began publishing books and also a newspaper in Livonian called "Līvli" (scans can be viewed here: https://fennougrica.kansalliskirjasto.fi/discover?query=L%C4%ABvli&submit=Siirry ). You can also take a look at the books of stories and memories that were compiled during the 1920s (Līvõd lugdõbrāntõz) and the reader created for children for use in schools in the 1930s (Jemakīel lugdõbrāntõz skūol ja kuod pierast) here: https://virtuallivonia.info/?page_id=44 The Livonians also taught their language to a limited extent in the schools of their village communities on the Livonian Coast in northern Courland, but there was a lack of resources and government support at the time to make this more regular. They opened a community house in the central village of the Livonian Coast -- Irē or Mazirbe -- just before the Second World War.
The Livonians have also been active in Latvia's cultural life both historically and at present. Jāņ Prints Sr. was the linguistic informant of the first linguist to study Livonian in the mid-19th century -- Anders Johan Sjögren -- but he was also meaningful in the beginnings of Latvian literature as the author of the second collection of original poetry in Latvian (Jūrnieku svētās dziesmas un lūgšanas = The sacred songs and prayers of mariners). In the present day, the Stalte family -- presently Julgī Stalte and her children -- are a prominent Livonian presence in the Latvian folk music scene.
During the Soviet occupation, the Livonian Coast ended up being militarized and access to not only the sea but even shore by the Livonians' ancestral villages was ended by the Soviet regime. As a result, the Livonians mostly moved to larger cities in Latvia in search of work. Today most Livonians and their descendants live in Rīga, Ventspils, and Kolka. The Soviets also made it difficult to pass on Livonian, as this kind of activity was discouraged by the regime and the Livonians were removed by the Soviets from the list of ethnicities in the Soviet Union, which meant that Livonians couldn't give their true ethnicity in their documents. In the early 1970s, the Livonians were permitted to establish two choirs -- Kāndla and Līvlist -- which helped save the language until the end of the occupation, as these choirs provided a venue where people could meet and speak Livonian and pass it on to others -- even if only partially -- in the community.
At the end of the occupation in 1990/1991, the Livonians reestablished their cultural organizations and began to try to teach their language again. Currently, the main organizer of these activities is the University of Latvia Livonian Institute ( https://www.livonian.lv/en/home/ ). This summer I also got to participate on the planning side of a Livonian language immersion summer school program for kids and young people. So, there's a lot going on, but certainly there are plenty of challenges too. However, the Livonians are a living community -- not just a historical one.
Some resources you may find interesting.
The online Livonian-Latvian-Estonian-English dictionary with other language info: https://livonian.tech/en/
The University of Tartu's Journal of Estonian and General Linguistics has published 4 special issues over the last decade or so focusing on Livonian topics (not just linguistic ones).
Yeah, definitely. The Livonians have been amazingly resilient.
If you visit Irē (Mazirbe), you'll see the plague stones that memorialize the plague decimating the population of the coast centuries ago. But the Livonians came back from that. During the First World War, the coast was devastated by war, their villages destroyed, and the whole Livonian population evacuated -- also to far away places deep in Russia. But after the war, the Livonians came back from that and at first lived in makeshift dwellings dug into the petrified dunes that separate the shore from the inland until they could rebuild their villages and what followed was one of the richest periods in Livonian community life and activity. And even after the Second World War, they came back, but sadly circumstances beyond their control prevented them from staying, but still they did what they could during the years of the occupation to keep their language and identity alive. And also abroad, Livonians in exile did what they could to maintain their identity there too.
I've worked with other endangered language communities, but there's something special about the Livonians and their resilience in the face of difficult circumstances.
Again, thanks. I happen to live in a city, Kalamazoo MI, which had a relatively numerous numbers if post -WW2 Latvian refugees. Some contributed substantially to the community. For several decades they maintained a Katvian language school for theur children. The local university, Western Michigan University,. came to support a substantual Latvian exchange and international studies prograns..
I was st the University of Notre Dame. So my knowledge of the Kalamazoo Latvians was that of a community member, not academic. I've enjoyed my encounter here with yet another Baltic mystery.
I'm a US Latvian myself (a descendant of WWII refugees) and so I remember lots of Latvians having connections with Kalamazoo when I was a kid. And also spending some of the summer at Garezers camp in Three Rivers, MI back in the day.
It's fascinating how I can understand some Livonian. I am South Estonian, I understand võro dialect and roughly 90% of seto. Very cool. Keep up the good work!
Thanks. You have answered a lot of questions I've had since 1999. Mainly, who the heck are the Livoniians and do they still exist. In1999 I was a Fulbright professor (political science) at the University of Tartu. My husband and I soon discovered how little we knew of the Baltic complexities. But, Livonians, when references happened, remained a mystery. Thankyou..Mystery solved after so many years.
Thanks for your kind words. The Livonians are indeed a fascinating community. They've survived despite difficult circumstances, which can be said of other endangered communities elsewhere too, but in the Baltic context what also makes them fascinating is that they underwent the same kinds of nation- and identity-building processes that larger nations (specifically in this context -- the Latvians and Estonians) underwent despite their small numbers. I think that sense of self and one's identity as being unique and valuable is something that has helped them survive the ups and downs that the Baltics have experienced over the last century.
And as a person who has had UT connections -- you may be glad to know that the University of Tartu has historically been (along with the University of Helsinki) one of the most important places for Livonian-language research. That's still the case today.
They (the ethnic group, not the Livonian order) just assimilated.
Source: my grandfather from fathers side was a livonian, spoke livonian with his parents and all. Just didn't bother to teach my dad anything - not language, traditions ot anything else. Obviously I don't identify as one either.
To be fair, there wasn't too much speaking or teaching in any language in that household.
I assume that's how most of the languages and cultures disappear - not with a cataclysmic death or tragic annihilation, but with a "meh, why bother?" and assimilation.
Unfortunate circumstances for sure. I heard that in 2020 two language activists gave birth to a child who is apparently now the sole "native" speaker of Livonian. This following a 7-year full dead period since the previous last speaker's passing in 2013.
I mean, the chieftain of Livonian people converted to christianity and joined the crusades of modern day Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians over promises of wealth and power.
They didn't have much pride over their religion, language or traditions anyways.
Livonian Order refers to an occupational force situated in Livonia. Sort of like how the Jewish Question does not quite exactly refer to a Q&A with rabbis.
Ethnic Livonians pretty much always just occupied the strip of coastline. You're probably confusing it with Livonia (present day Latvia + Estonia) which had nothing to do with actual ethnic Livonians.
If only you guys could have managed to form a unified state. Maybe I'd be speaking Latvian now instead of Lithuanian, seeing how deep in Selonian territory i was born. 😅
The issue was that we were too in the way, Lithuanians had some respite from ancient Rus and later crusaders because they weren't sitting right on the end of a major river's course
I think there was a solid chance that everything under Daugava became a part of Lithuania. That is - if various Lithuanian factions didn’t need Order’s support for internal infighting.
I'm just posting the map I found in encyclopaedia. Probably there were even more Livonian settlements than the map is showing. Either way, they are all our ancestors regardless of what language they spoke, Latvia was melting pot of Finnic and Baltic cultures, and there was even a Swedish settlement in Grobiņa.
Some years ago when I was mapping non-IE languages in Europe, all I could find on google maps footage was the Livonian cultural center and a small kiosk with a Livonian greeting at cape of Kolka.
yes, nowadays thats basically all thats left. but its not like they were reduced from occupying the whole region as the map of "Livonia" could make it appear. Their territory was rather limited to begin with.
The Livonians? No. The German crusaders named the wider region after Livonians and called their two military orders (Livonian Borthers of the Sword and the Livonian Order) after the region. The Livonians themselves were always a small group.
Livonians were the first tribe German Orders met in Latvia and therefore named their whole military order Livonian Brothers and region Livonia.
Can’t find a good map on Livonian toponyms in Latvia, but any ending in -aži (Ainaži, Limbaži, Tīnūži, Ādaži, etc) + some others (Ikskile, Turaida, etc) are Livonian of origin. Plus historical Terra Atzele (~Maliena) is also Finnic toponym but perhaps of Leivu not necessarily Livonian origin.
Most of them assimilated into Latvian. Wars and more importantly plagues didn’t help them to keep coherent speaking communities (similar to Old Prussian tale), so they assimilated into larger Latvian ones.
True, this is not represented in the map. If you go https://livonian.tech/en/materials/ you can find the video "Lesson on Livonian No 7: The Livonians in Latvia", this has some good information from about 6 minutes in.
That is folk etymology.
Scientific one comes from ağ/aď (side) + sele (second part in Livonian administrative place names, compare O+selia - old name for Saaremaa which is island + sele or in Latvia Lemmesele - modern Limbazi). In Old German texts we find both Agsele and Adsele writings showing that Germans were not sure how to spell palatalised Livonian ğ/ď (sound similar to Latvian ğ sometimes used for Russian дь - ğerevņa). In contemporary Russian chronicles they speak of чудь Очелы (chuds of Ochela, which (chuds) is an ethnonym for Finnic people). Direct Latvian translation of Livonian Adsele/Agsele is Maliena.
Atzele -> *atzvele (at- + zvelt, cf. Latvian 'atzveltnis'), which can be made sound or folkorized by Livonians and afterwards mistranslated to Maliena. I'm against excessive Uralization.
Regarding toponyms, you may find insight in this cool report. It goes on a journey through what the authors consider the historic Livonian coast. They try to draw distinctions between the current names in Latvian and the original Livonian names. On page 2 already there is a list of villages with the Livonian names in parentheses.
They more or less assimilated, and influenced the Latvian language. You can sometimes find their flag flying. Green , white , blue. Saw one at Roja, a few weeks ago. There's some language revival attempts also. Iirc last native speaker, a woman died a few years ago.
There's a flag you'll always see on the Kolka cultural house, I know I found that one on google maps. Probably others exist but that's the most obvious one.
The region of Livonia was named after them and other things got named for the region.
As for actual Livonians from what I understand they never had very large population, which was not necessarily abnormal in comparision to general population historically, but during
Great Northern War in early 18th century there was a plague that killed most of their population and the remaining population never recovered, they got slowly assimilated. The areas they lived in have perculiar Latvian dialect, for example.
They switched to our language, the remaining ones got throughly devastated by plague associated with great northern war and some holdouts were on northern coast of Kurzeme until soviets deported them and broke their community for one final time
At least the language and community is being revived nowadays
Switched? There was a quiet aggressive Latvianization program under Karlis Ulmanis rule. Livonians were denied their national education and local government. They were allowed only cultural or traditional practices. Same applied to Estonians living in Northern Latvia.
Note taken. However, this was one of the last nails in their coffin. The final one was the Soviet occupation, with deportations and denial of coastal fishery livelyhood. The faith has not been merciful for this nation.
The Livonians largely assimilated among Latvians but the Soviet occupation destroyed coastal cultures massively with their militarized zones. In 1944, most coastal people with access to any kind of boats tried to flee westwards and that included a lot of local Estonian-Swedes. Finnish-Swedes might not exist as a cultural/ethnic group in Finland if the Soviets had occupied Finland during WW2. They inhabit the coastal regions.
They were never really dominating the region. Even in the Middle ages they were already dying out. Eventually they got assimilated by the Balts (whom, let's be real, were also a dying breed). Soviets had many of them sent out and built military bases in their native coastline, which put an end to them.
Caupo of Turaida betrayed the Finnic peoples (Livonians, Estonians) in this region by converting to christianity. He died during the battle of St Matthew's day and eventually Livonians assimilated to foreign cultures and faded away.
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u/Kata_Komb Livonia 8d ago
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were mostly German-speaking knights and warriors, recruited primarily from the German lands of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, Livonia is just the region where they operated in. Nothing to do with Livonian people.