Introduction

About this Edition

This is an electronic edition of the 12 volumes of Latviešu tautas dziesmas, edited by Arveds Švābe, Kārlis Straubergs, and Edīte Hauzenberga-Šturma, published by Imanta, Copenhagen, 1952-1956. The editor of the electronic text is Prof. Maruta Lietiņa Ray. She may be contacted at mlr@virginia.edu. This electronic version was prepared with the permission of Mrs. Eiženija Reitmane, the holder of the copyright. Users agree to adhere to the University of Virginia copyright and our Conditions of Use.

For a description of the contents and the numbering of the dainas, see Piezīme, vol. 2, p. 466. and Piezīme, vol. 6, p. 502

As in the printed books, below each daina there is a number indicating the geographic location where the daina was collected. In the BROWSE mode of the text, both this number and the deciphering of the geographic location appear immediately below each daina. The complete key to the numbering system of geographic locations (topografiskais rādītājs), may be found in vol. I, pp. 403-418

For a description of the orthography used in the Imanta edition, see Paskaidrojumi par Barona dziesmu pārcēlumu jaunajā pareizrakstībā vol. 2, p.463

How to use this edition

The BROWSE select one of the twelve volumes and will also provides a table of contents of the scholarly essays and their authors found in each volume. (The prose texts are available as page images only.) If you click on the volume, you will find its table of contents arranged thematically, following the order established by Krišjānis Barons, the original compiler.

The SEARCH mode will allow you to search for any particular word or phrase occurring in the dainas in all 12 volumes. To maximize the results, enter only the root of the word, omitting the case endings and inserting an asterisk * to indicate an omission. (For example, instead of bāleliņš, enter only bāleliņ* or bālel*). For letters that have Latvian diacritical marks, use the drop down list to find the appropriate letter.

The IMAGES mode, consisting of scanned page images, will allow you to read the volumes as they were printed. The table of contents for all the imaged pages, including essays, may be found in vol. 12, pp. 141 - 164. A table of contents listing only the scholarly essays and their authors (in alphabetical order) may be found on pp. 165-166.