The monograph consists of two parts, as it deals with two older regional literatures written in the regional languages of the time. Each chapter provides an overview of secular and religious poetry according to the authors of the texts and their confessional and local affiliations. The overview is followed by case studies focussing on those hymnbooks with the greatest reception in the wider Slovenian region. Firstly, the oldest Styrian manuscript hymnal - the Foglar hymnal - is discussed, followed by a study of the reception of two extensive Carniolan hymnals from the 18th century, which are the work of Jožef Ambrožič and Maksimilijan Redeskini. The next two chapters deal with the poetry of two well-known Styrian priests - Peter Dajnko and Štefan Modrinjak. This is followed by an analysis of the hitherto overlooked hymnal of the teacher Ivan Šef. The second part of the monograph, dedicated to the poetry of Prekmurje, deals with the oldest Prekmurje hymnal, the so-called Martjanska pesmarica I. This is followed by a survey of the poetry of the most famous Prekmurje priest of the 19th century, Jožef Borovnjak. The last chapter deals with the reception of Kajkavian and Burgenland poetry in texts from the Prekmurje region.