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Livonian Crusade
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Livonian Crusade |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Estonian independent elderships in 1214: 1. Virumaa 2. Järvamaa 3. Revala 4. Harjumaa 5. Läänemaa 6. Saaremaa 7. Sakala 8. Ugandi 9. Alempois 10. Nurmekund 11. Mõhu 12. Vaiga White island, left. Hiiumaa |
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| Combatants | |||||||
 Teutonic Knights |
Estonian elderships |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Albrecht von Buxthoeven Andreas Sunonis Caupo of Turaida Theodorich von Treyden Volquin Wenno William of Modena |
Lembitu Vetseke (Principality of Koknese-Principality of Polatsk-Novgorod Republic) |
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| Strength | |||||||
| ? | |||||||
The Livonian Crusade was the war undertaken by the Teutonic Knights and their allies against the pagan peoples of Estonia (Maavald) around the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. Estonia remained one of the last corners of medieval Europe to be Christianized. In 1193 Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against pagans in Northern Europe. The Northern Crusades from northern part of The Holy Roman Empire established the stronghold of Riga (in modern Latvia). The Livonians, who had been paying tribute to the East Slavic Principality of Polotsk, at first considered the Low Germans as useful allies, but as the German grip tightened, the Livonians under their quasi rex Caupo of Turaida took up arms against the crusaders. The Livonians were defeated and their Rurikid leader Vetseke was taken prisoner in 1206. Then Germans turned their attention to the Latvian tribes to the east in Latgalia. By 1208, the Germans were strong enough to begin operations against the Estonians (maarahvas), who were at that time divided into eight major and seven smaller elderships led by elders with limited co-operation between countries. With the help of the newly converted local tribes of Livs and Letts, the crusaders initiated raids into part of what is present-day Estonia, in 1208. The Estonian tribes fiercely resisted the attacks from Riga and occasionally themselves sacked territories controlled by the crusaders. In 1208-27, war parties of the different sides rampaged through Livonia, Latgalia and different Estonian countries, with the Livonians and Latgalians, normally allies of the Crusaders and East Slavic principalities, appearing as allies of different sides at different times. Hill forts, which were the key centres of Estonian countries, were besieged and captured a number of times. By 1209 Koknese had been taken over by the Order, whereupon Albrecht von Buxthoeven (Albert) ordered the construction of a Gothic stone castle where the Daugava and Pērse rivers meet to replace the wooden fortification of the Latvians, and the sovereignty of Polotsk was finally revoked in 1215. A truce between the war-weary sides was established for three years (1213 - 1215) and it proved generally more favourable to the Germans, who consolidated their political position, while the Estonians were unable to develop their system of loose alliances into the centralised state. The Livonian leader Caupo was killed in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day near Viljandi (Fellin) on September 21, 1217, but the battle was a crushing defeat for the Estonians, whose leader Lembitu was also killed. Since 1211, his name had come to the attention of the German chroniclers as a notable Estonian elder and he became the central figure of the Estonian resistance.
In 1217 the German crusading order the Sword Brethren, and their recently converted allies, won the major battle in which the Estonian commander Lembitu of Lehola was killed. Albrecht von Buxthoeven, Bishop of Riga (or Prince-Bishop of Livonia), founded the Brotherhood to aid the Bishopric of Riga in the conversion of the pagan Curonians, Livonians, Semigallians, and Latgalians along the Gulf of Riga. From its foundation the undisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed vassalage to the bishops. In 1218 Albert asked King Valdemar II of Denmark for assistance, but Valdemar Sejr instead arranged a deal with the Brotherhood and conquered Northern Estonia: Revelia, Harrien, and Vironia.
The Brotherhood's headquarters were at Fellin (Viljandi) in Sackalia, where the walls of the Master's castle are still standing. Other strongholds included Wenden (Cēsis), Segewold (Sigulda) and Ascheraden (Aizkraukle). The commanders of Fellin, Goldingen (Kuldīga), Marienburg (Alūksne), Reval (Kesaneeme), and the bailiff of Weißenstein (Paide), belonged to the five-member entourage of the Order's Master. The Christian kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden were also greedy for conquests on the Eastern shores of the Baltic. King Valdemar II of Denmark had landed near Kesaneeme in 1219. Northern Estonia was conquered by Danish crusaders led by king Valdemar II, who arrived in 1219 on the site of Lyndanisse (Battle of Lyndanisse).
He established the fortress, Castrum Danorum, which was besieged by the Estonians in 1220, and again in 1223, but held out. Eventually, the whole of Northern Estonia was in Danish hands, while the Swedes made only one failed foray into Wiek, the Battle of Lihula in 1220. In 1223, the Novgorod Republic sent Vetseke to defend the Ugaunian fortress of Tharbata (Yuryev, modern Tartu) against the Knights. Although his druzhina was small, Vetseke managed to install himself in the fortress with support from local Estonians and to launch several raids against the Knights. Early in 1224 Emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, announced at Catania that Livonia, Prussia with Samland and a number of neighboring provinces were reichsfrei, that is, subordinate directly to the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire only, as opposed to being under the jurisdiction of local rulers. In response, Albert besieged Tharbata in 1224 with a large force and offered a peace settlement. However, Vetseke refused to surrender, choosing to die with all of his supporters when the Knights stormed the fortress. At the end of 1224 Pope Honorius III announced to all Christendom the appointment of Bishop William of Modena as Papal Legate for Livonia, Prussia, and other countries.
The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia (Henricus de Lettis) one of the greatest medieval narratives, was written probably as a report for William of Modena, giving him the history of the Church in Livonia up to his time. It relates how in 1226, in another stronghold, called Tarwanpe, William of Modena successfully mediated peace between the Germans, the Danes and the Vironians. The last Estonian eldership to hold out against the invaders was the island country of Saaremaa, whose war fleets had raided Denmark and Sweden during the years of fighting against the German crusaders. A 20,000 strong army under Papal legate William of Modena crossed the frozen sea while the Saaremaa fleet was icebound, in January, 1227. In 1227 the Sword Brethren conquered the last indigenous stronghold on the small Estonian island of Muhu. After the conquest, all remaining local pagans of Estonia were ostensibly Christianized. Following the defeat of Estonians, the crusade moved against the Curonians, and Semigallians, Latvian tribes living to the south and west of the Daugava river.
Contents |
- Battle of Saaremaa, 1206
- Battle of Otepää, 1208
- Battle of Otepää, 1210
- Battle of the Ümera River, 1210
- Battle of Turaida, 1211
- Battle of Viljandi, 1211
- Battle of Lehola, 1215
- Battle of Riga, 1215
- Battle of Soontagan, 1215
- Battle of Otepää, 1217
- Battle of Soontagan, 1217
- Battle of St. Matthew's Day, 1217
- Battle of Lyndanisse, 1219
- Battle of Lihula, 1220
- Siege of Tallinn, 1221
- Battle of Soela, 1223
- Battle of the Ümera River Bridge, 1223
- Battle of Viljandi, 1223
- Siege of Tallinn, 1223
- Battle of Tharbata, 1224
- Battle of Muhu, 1227
- Battle of Saule, 1236
- Battle of Rakovor, 1268
- Battle of Karuse, 1270
- 1208 Crusaders from Riga allied with Letts and Livs started the war against Sackalia and Ugaunia provinces in Southern Estonia.
- 1217 Battle of St. Matthew's Day. German crusaders, Letts and Livs won a battle against Estonians and killed their leader Lembitu of Lehola, elder of Sackalia.
- 1219 Battle of Lyndanisse. Denmark conquered the eldership of Revelia in Northern Estonia and built castle of Castrum Danorum.
- 1220 Battle of Lihula. Swedes led by king Johan Sverkersson tried to establish themselves in the province of Wiek but were decimated by Oeselians.
- 1224 The Livonian Order conquered the stronghold of Tartu from Ugaunian and Novgorod Republic troops.
- 1227 The last pagan stronghold in the island of Ösel was conquered by crusaders.