The journey of Estonians from objects to subjects of European culture as mirrored in the writings of the Moravian brethren

Beginning in the 1730s, the Moravian Brethren offered Estonians an opportunity for intellectual self-realization at an unprecedented level. The growing involvement in this Lutheran revival movement paved the way for the rise of Estonians on the social ladder, our national awakening, and our development into a cultured nation. Despite the significance of the Brethren in Estonia's cultural history, the history of the Brethren has been little studied. We are making the texts of the Brethren from the 18th and 19th centuries electronically accessible in both image and text form. Special attention will be given to texts written by Estonians. A source publication will be compiled from the first original non-translated texts (life stories and letters). We will analyze these texts from linguistic and literary perspectives to deepen our understanding of how listening to, reading, translating, and composing them helped Estonians evolve from being objects of culture to becoming its creators.