The Letts were one of the tribal entities to evolve out of the ancient Balts, Baltic-speaking peoples living in north-central Europe. Their homeland was in the eastern part of present-day Latvia along the Western Dvina (Daugava) River and its tributaries, especially in the Latgale upland and the East Latvian Lowland. Along with the Curonians, Selonians, Semi-GALLIANS, and assimilated Finnic-speaking peoples (such as from among the Esths, Livs, and Votes), the Letts are among those peoples considered ancestral to contemporary Latvians (see Latvians: nationality). Before the 19th century Latvia was known variously as Lettland, Lotygola, Leththia, Lothwa, and by similar names, thought to be derived from Latve, an ancient name for a river; Lette is the Germanic version.
ORIGINS
In about 3000 b. c.e. ancestors of various Finnic-speaking peoples had settled the region of Latvia. In about 2000-1500 b. c.e. protoBaltic peoples had arrived in the area. They were pushed farther east and north by the expansion of Slavs in the seventh century c. e. identifiable tribes had coalesed in the region by the ninth century. By the 12th century the Letts had reached the region known as Livonia (part of present-day Latvia and Estonia). This northward movement did not lead to the withdrawal of the Finnic votes. The votes gradually merged with the Baltic-speaking peoples, adopting their culture and language, although vestiges of the votes language were adopted by the Balts. The Letts were mentioned in written sources in the early 12th century under the name Letgola and variations. in a second written source from the same era describing the same location appears the tribal name Neroma. it is thus possible that the Letts were the people the Greek historian Herodotus called Neurida in the fifth century b. c.e.
LANGUAGE
Latvian has three dialect groups: East (or High) Latvian, West Latvian, and Central Latvian. The earliest texts in Latvian, a Roman Catholic catechism and a Lutheran catechism, were recorded in a Gothic script in the 16th century. The modern literary language was developed by the late 19th century, and a modified Latin alphabet was adopted in 1922. Along with Lithuanian Latvian is one of the two surviving Baltic languages.
HISTORY
Since the Letts and the selonians to the south inhabited rugged interior regions, they had minimal encounters with the viKiNGs, unlike their neighbors to the west, the Curonians and to a lesser extent the semigallians. They also suffered comparatively fewer losses against Germans invading the region in the late 12th century, yet they also were under Germanic influence and later in their history Polish and Russian influence as well (see also Germans: nationality; Poles: nationality; Russians: nationality). In 1201 the city of Riga was founded by Germans from Bremen and Hamburg, the beginning of a long period of Germanic influence. The military and reli-
C. E.
Ninth century Identifiable Baltic tribes coalesce.
1201 City of Riga founded in Latvia by Bishop Albert von Buxhoevden.
1202 Bishop Albert establishes military and religious order Brothers of the Sword to Christianize Baltic lands.
1214 Brothers of the Sword defeat Letts.
1270 Germans found state of Livonia.
Gious order the Brothers of the Sword in the north, founded the next year, campaigned against the pagan peoples of the region. The Brothers of the Sword pacified the Letts in 1214.
Unlike in Lithuania, where a confederation of tribes was established in the mid-13th century under the rule of King Mindaugas, there was no unified state in Latvian territory governing ancient tribes, but alliances were formed by various communities and castles. In 1270 the Livonian Order and the Catholic Church founded the state of Livonia, a loose political union of territories in present-day western Latvia and southern Estonia. Livonia, also known as Livland, was probably named after the Finnic-speaking Livs.
CULTURE (see also Balts)
The Western Dvina River was central to the economy of the region. In addition to general transportation, the Letts used it to float wood to Riga in Semigallian territory.
Over history the variations of the name Letts, originally applied to the tribe, became associated with all Latvians.
Further Reading
Andrejs Plakans. The Latvians: A Short History (Stanford, Calif.: Hoover Institution, 1995).
World History
