Latin journalism in Europe flourished between 1600 and 1750. However, in the peripheral
regions east of the German-speaking lands, including Hungary, periodicals began to
appear in greater numbers only from the early eighteenth century. By that time, Latin
journalism was losing its popularity in the central regions of Europe due to the widespread
establishment of the vernacular press and the standardization of native languages.
Yet, the editors of the newly established periodicals in Hungary could not follow
this pattern due to several reasons. One solution to their problems was to develop
the Latin-language press. This paper attempts to reconceptualize the role of late
Latin journalism from the perspective of specific peripheral cultural circumstances,
with a special focus on the periodical genre of ‘ephemerides’. The focus of the analysis
is on Ephemerides Statistico-Politicae / Posonienses (1804–38), a popular and significant
nineteenth-century Latin journal, and its supplementary annexes.
