ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the dialogue between Henry's chronicle and the Baltic-German, Latvian and Estonian national cultural memories from the nineteenth century to the present, arguing that the uses of the chronicle also reflect broader tendencies in the uses of history in the region of present-day Estonia and Latvia. Departing from the idea that Western nationalism is a symptom of the Enlightenment, the chapter discusses the Enlightenment view of the Livonian Middle Ages. The chapter analyses the relationship of the 'young nations' to the chronicler himself. Drawing on Homi Bhabha's remarks on how 'cultural translation' often does not result in comprehension, but rather in conflict and anxiety in the colonial situation, the chapter follows the process and struggles of 'translating' the chronicle for the Latvian and Estonian audience. It focuses on the uses of Henry by the latter, discussing the chronicle's role in the narrative of the young Latvian and, especially, Estonian nations.
