EESTI VARAUUSAJA UURIMINE 21. SAJANDIL. (Estonian)

The early modern period as a separate historical period has been recognised in Estonian historiography only in the last twenty five years or so. Some German and English works on Estonian history talked about the early modern centuries before the 1990s. Broadly speaking, the early modern period spans three centuries (1500-1800), although the RussianLivonian War (1558) has long dominated Estonian historiography as the beginning of modern times. Thus, the early modern period in its many facets still needs a more thorough discussion in the context of Estonian history, although this goes beyond the framework of the present essay. Instead, it discusses the main developments in history writing on the sixteenth eighteenth centuries during the most recent two decades (2000-2020). Thirty years ago historical research, as with the Estonian science and humanities in general, found itself in a situation where ideological pressure had disappeared, borders had opened up and opportunities increased. Initially, it was faced with the need to deal with the socalled blank spaces of history and to reorient. At a time when many historians went into politics, business, or were lost to the profession in other areas, those who remained loyal to history research found themselves in the midst of postcolonial chaos and restructuring. The winds of postmodernism blew through the Western world, and one discipline after another went into a 'turn'. It must be emphasised, however, that the better part of Estonian history writing had also tried to be uptodate and creative during the Soviet period. In the 1970s and 1980s, climate history, history of mentalities and everyday life as well as impulses from the Annales School, sociology, semiotics, interdisciplinarity, longue durée and mathematical methods did not pass the history students of the University of Tartu. The study of the early modern centuries ? especially the Swedish rule period of the seventeenth century ? has a long tradition in Estonian historical writing from the very birth of national historiography. This has provided a strong basis to study early modern history right up to today. The generational change that began in the 1990s can be seen in three multivolume general histories (History of Estonia, Estonian Art History and History of Tallinn); milestones that summarised the research results of the last half century but at the same time offered an opportunity to the new generation to leave their mark in such monumental publications. These volumes also mark the end of the transition period of history writing that started after the collapse of the Soviet system. Over the last twenty years the spectrum of topics covered from the sixteenth?eighteenth centuries has no longer been dominated by political history, agrarian history or historical demography, but by cultural history in the broadest sense. The histories of trade, towns and communication have also been important trends. And perhaps the most revolutionary has been study of the history of art. Since 2000, the number of doctoral dissertations on history has grown exponentially. Researchers of Estonian origin have defended more than 30 theses on early modern centuries, of which as many as two thirds can be classified as cultural history (language, literature, art, theology, education, historiography, history of ideas, etc.). Two thirds of these dissertations were defended at the University of Tartu, four at Tallinn University and two at the Estonian Academy of Arts. These are the three Estonian universities where early modern research is mainly carried out, although a separate professorship of early modern history has not yet been created in Estonia. In the last two decades, in addition to exploratory and innovative research, the source base has developed strongly, and clearcut barriers that once separated disciplines have dissolved. Thus, history has been written and interpreted in more varied ways. The study of the early modern period is so diversified and fragmented that even professional researchers in small Estonia are not able to keep up with all the developments in the field. Publishing both in Estonia and abroad as well as linking Estonian topics to international contexts has grown exponentially, which, of course, characterises not only the study of early modern history, but the whole of history writing in Estonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viimased veerandsada aastat on andnud Eesti ajalookirjutusele „varauusaja" - selline periodiseeriv määratlus eestikeelsetes uurimustes enne 1990. aastaid puudus. Laias laastus hõlmab varauusaja ajalooperiood kolme sajandit (1500-1800). 1990. aastatest alanud põlvkonnavahetuse esimeseks oluliseks tulemuseks võib pidada kolme mitmeköitelise üldkäsitluse ilmumist. Alates millenniumivahetusest on ajalooalaste doktoritööde arv, sh varauusajast (kokku üle 30), plahvatuslikult kasvanud. Käsikäes avastusliku ja uuendusliku uurimistööga on käinud temaatiline avardumine ja jõudsalt laienenud allikaline baas. Lagunenud on distsipliine eraldavad barjäärid ning muutunud ka kirjutusviisid ja vaatlusnurgad. Viimase paarikümne aasta 16.-18. sajandi uurimise teemavalikus ei domineeri enam poliitiline ajalugu, agraarajalugu ega ajalooline demograafia, vaid kultuuriajalugu, seda kõige laiemas tähenduses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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