Copernico-Blog

In the 19th century, the idea of Estonian independence was considered a fantasy. And yet, at around this time, a struggle for cultural self-determination emerged in the unlikeliest of places: in the apparently apolitical field of literary translation. A new reading culture developed, marked both by...

How were Latvian folk songs read and understood in German during the first half of the twentieth century? This article explores how translations by Baltic German women—especially Elly von Fircks— became a medium of cultural dialogue while also operating at the intersection of modernism and...

Literature has played a major role in shaping the image of the Baltic landowner as a ruthless figure who treated his peasants like slaves. But do historical sources documenting conversations between nobles and commoners confirm this impression?

Was Old Livonia “discovered,” settled, and civilized in the 13th century—or rather, conquered and enslaved? Drawing on a postcolonial approach, this article examines how the history of settlement in present-day Estonia and Latvia is portrayed in German-Baltic literature.

How many people actually use Copernico? And for what purposes? Where and how are users engaging with the portal’s content—and with our social media posts? What role do the English-language pages play, and how international is our readership? Behind the scenes, we seek to understand these...

Copernico relies on a wide range of databases to curate its data in a way that is as sustainable, structured, and standards-based as possible. To support this, additional in-house databases and input interfaces have also been developed.

“The Middle Ages are everywhere” – this dictum by Horst Fuhrmann, long-time president of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, coined in 1997, remains as relevant as ever. But what role has Eastern Europe played in shaping modern understandings of the period?

In the Middle Ages, even though no formal education for females existed, we know that there were powerful and educated women.