20. april
Latvijas Pasts Marks the Beginning of Latvia’s Written History with a Postage Stamp
The stamp’s first-day cancellation will take place in the atrium of NLL on April 23 from 10.00 to 15.00. On the same day at 11:00, a presentation of the stamp will take place in the NLL “World of Rarities” room, featuring Marika Selga, Director of the NLL Special Collections Department; Andris Puriņš, Member of the Board of Latvijas Pasts; and Professor Gvido Straube, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia.
Historian, Dr. Hist. Mārtiņš Mintaurs, Leading Researcher at the NLL Research and Interpretation Centre, in his address “From the Black Knight to European Civilisation: The Chronicle of Henry in Latvian perceptions of Livonia,” will discuss the importance of the Chronicle of Henry in shaping the perception of medieval Livonia in Latvian society since the 19th century.
Historian, Ph. D. Kristīne Zaļuma, Head of the NLL Latvian and Baltic Studies Centre, will present publications from the Library’s collection that feature the Chronicle of Henry or explore its significance. The presentation will show who read the Chronicle of Henry and when and will share stories about its readers during the Age of Enlightenment.
The new stamp will be issued in a print run of 10,000 copies, while the envelope will be limited to 500 copies. The nominal value of the stamp is 3.00 euros. It will be available through the Latvijas Pasts e-store (https://veikals.pasts.lv/) and at major customer centres and service points in cities across Latvia. The philatelic issues were designed by artist Lilija Dinere.
The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia is regarded as the starting point of Latvia’s written history. It is the earliest written source on the Late Iron Age in present-day Latvia and Estonia and on the Baltic Crusades in the 12th–13th centuries.
The Chronicle was written around 1224–1227. Its author and eyewitness to the events described was Henry, a Catholic priest from Imera (now Rubene in Kocēni Civil Parish), who is referred to in the text as “Indriķis the Latvian” — a designation suggesting his association with the local indigenous population. The Chronicle was written in Latin and contains the earliest known references to various settlements and events in Latvia. However, the original manuscript has not survived. The modern edition has been compiled from 16 manuscript transcripts of the Chronicle dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries.
The first Latvian edition of the Chronicle of Henry was published in 1883 in a translation by Matīss Siliņš, while the most scientifically authoritative edition appeared in 1993, translated by Ābrams Feldhūns, with an extensive introduction and commentary by Ēvalds Mugurēvičs. This was the first parallel edition presenting the Latin original alongside the Latvian translation.
“The Chronicle of Henry is an indispensable primary source for Latvian history. Without it, our knowledge of this period would be far more fragmentary; therefore, its representation in philately is essential for strengthening the historical memory of our country,”states Andris Puriņš, Member of the Board of Latvijas Pasts VAS.
Editions of the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, published since 1740, are available at the National Library of Latvia — one of the largest memory institutions — which holds an extensive collection of historical sources on Latvia and the Baltic region. Publications and translations of the Chronicle into German, Russian and Latvian have made it part of society’s historical consciousness, shaping perceptions of Livonia’s historical heritage that remain relevant today.
The significance of the Chronicle extends well beyond historical scholarship. In contemporary cultural space, a vivid parallel is drawn between the Christianisation of the Latvian people as depicted in the Chronicle and 20th-century Latvia under Soviet occupation. This interpretation is reflected in Vizma Belševica’s poem “Notes of Indriķis the Latvian on the Margins of the Chronicle of Livonia” (1969), the song collection by Niks Matvejevs that emerged from it — particularly the song “Cry Out, My People!” — as well as the symbol-laden rock opera “The Chronicle of Henry” (2000) by Māra Zālīte and Jānis Lūsēns.
Philatelic issues from Latvijas Pasts are highly valued by customers, collectors and experts alike. International philatelic associations evaluate stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts against strict standards, considering them on par with those from the major countries. These stamps are regularly included in global philatelic catalogues and collections of renowned philatelists.
