Manuscripts of Slovenian Peasant Writers and Readers

摘要: Until recently, numerous Slovenian manuscripts from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have remained unknown. Many of them were written by Slovenian peasant writers or by rural clergymen and intended for peasant readers. These manuscripts represent a current of traditional folk culture that was abolished or suppressed by the authorities of enlightened absolutism in the Habsburg Monarchy. In this context, manuscript culture served as a medium in which Slovenian vernacular literature could exist and survive against the enlightened and rationalistic dominant culture. Based on the examples of three representative manuscripts (a songbook, a translation and adaptation of ascetic prose by Martin of Cochem and a passion play from Bad Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla), this article outlines how manuscript culture allowed writers to adapt and reshape texts in order to meet the interests of their local community and to reaffirm their traditional identity.