Editing Latvian mythology (section)

===13th–18th century===
[[File:Baltic Tribes c 1200.svg|250 px|thumb|Territories of Baltic tribes at beginning of the 13th century. Early research sought to restore pagan religion practiced at the time.]]

There are few reports of Baltic tribes, the ancestors of modern Latvians, and their mythology until [[Northern Crusades|Christianization]] in the 13th century. Since Christianization, there have been several reports related to local mythology including chronicles, travel reports, visitation records, Jesuit reports and other accounts of pagan practices.<ref name="reshist">{{cite encyclopedia| last =Kursīte |first =Janīna | editor-last =Jones | editor-first =Lindsay | title =Baltic Religion: History of study | encyclopedia =Encyclopedia of Religion | volume =2 | pages =767–771 | publisher =Thomson Gale| year =2005|edition=2nd}}</ref> These reports are considered secondary sources by researchers because since the authors were not Latvian, they did not speak the local languages and often were biased.<ref name="scholar">{{cite journal | last =Ķencis | first =Toms | title =The Latvian Mythological space in scholarly Time | journal =Archaeologia Baltica | issue =15 | pages =144–157 | publisher =Klaipėda University Press | location =Klaipėda | year =2011 | volume =15 | doi =10.15181/ab.v15i1.28 | url =http://www.ku.lt/leidykla/leidiniai/Archaeologia_BALTICA/Archaeologia_BALTICA_15.pdf | access-date =21 August 2012 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120325025627/http://www.ku.lt/leidykla/leidiniai/Archaeologia_BALTICA/Archaeologia_BALTICA_15.pdf | archive-date =25 March 2012 }}</ref> These materials are sometimes imprecise and contain errors, fabrications, and distortions stemming from a Christian world view. Despite this, they can often be verified using information from folklore.<ref name="reshist" />