The historical testimonial value of anonymous letters about the events in Ljubljana during the first French occupation (1797)

Abstract

An anonymous text, published by Ljubljana’s publisher Wilhelm Heinrich Korn in 1797, recounts in German dialect the events of the first French occupation of Carniola—and specifically of its capital—in epistolary form. This paper aims to highlight the value of the letters as historical testimony and to provide an analysis of their content and style, emphasizing above all the perspective embraced by their author. The analysis shows that the lively discourse developed by the anonymous citizen from Ljubljana shifts between empathy for his fellow citizens, who experienced severe hardship, and an ironic attitude towards the occupiers; he avoids, however, celebrating the former and condemning the latter with words that may acquire an explicit political value.