Livonian Crusade
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| Livonian Crusade |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sword-Brothers Denmark Sweden |
Livonians Curonians Latgalians Estonians |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Albert of Riga Anders Sunesen Caupo of Turaida † Theoderich von Treyden Volquin Wenno William of Modena |
Lembitu of Lehola† Vyachko† |
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The Livonian Crusade[1] refers to the German and Danish conquest and colonization of medieval Livonia, the territory constituting modern Latvia and Estonia, during the Northern Crusades. The lands on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea were the last corners of Europe to be Christianized. After the success of the crusade, the German- and Danish-occupied territory was divided into the Livonian Confederation, which was organized by William of Modena, and Danish Estonia.
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[edit] History of war
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Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against pagans in Northern Europe in 1193. At the beginning of the 13th century, German crusaders from the northern Holy Roman Empire established the stronghold of Riga (in modern Latvia) and formed the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, or Livonian Order. Bishop Albert of Riga founded the Order to aid the Bishopric of Riga in the conversion of the pagan Curonians, Livonians, Semigallians, and Latgalians in Livonia and Courland along the Gulf of Riga. From its foundation the self-righteous Order tended to ignore its supposed vassalage to the bishops.
The indigenous Livonians (Livs), who had been paying tribute to the East Slavic Principality of Polotsk, at first considered the Low Germans as useful allies. The first prominent Livonian to be christened was their leader Caupo of Turaida. As the German grip tightened, the Livonians rebelled against the crusaders and the christened chief but the uprising was put down. Caupo of Turaida remained ally of the crusaders until his death in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day in 1217.
The Germans turned their attention to the Baltic tribes to the east in Latgalia. By 1208, the Germans were strong enough to begin operations against the Estonians, who were at that time divided into eight major and seven smaller elderships, which were led by elders with limited co-operation with each other. With the help of the newly converted local tribes of Livs and Latgalians in 1208, the crusaders initiated raids in Sakala and Ugaunia in Southern Estonia. The Estonian tribes fiercely resisted the attacks from Riga and occasionally sacked territories controlled by the crusaders. In 1208-27, war parties of the different sides rampaged through Livonia, Latgalia, and different Estonian counties, with the Livs and Latgalians as varying allies of the crusaders and Estonians. Hill forts, which were the key centres of Estonian counties, were besieged and captured a number of times.
By 1209 Koknese (Kokenhusen) had been taken over by the Order, whereupon Albert of Riga ordered the construction of a Gothic stone castle where the Daugava and Pērse Rivers meet to replace the wooden fortification of the Latgalians; the sovereignty of Polotsk was finally revoked in 1215. A truce between the war-weary sides was established for three years (1213–1215). 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 a centralised state. They were led by Lembitu of Lehola, the elder of Sackalia, whose name had come to the attention of German chroniclers as a notable Estonian elder and the central figure of the Estonian resistance by 1211. 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.
The Order established their headquarters 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 (Tallinn), 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 eager for expansion on the eastern shores of the Baltic. In 1218 Albert asked King Valdemar II of Denmark for assistance, but Valdemar instead arranged a deal with the Order. The king was victorious in the Battle of Lyndanisse in Revelia in 1219, in which the origin of the Dannebrog is attributed. He subsequently founded the fortress Castrum Danorum, which was unsuccessfully besieged by the Estonians in 1220 and 1223. King John I of Sweden tried to establish a Swedish presence in the province of Wiek, but the Swedish troops were defeated by the Oeselians in the Battle of Lihula in 1220. Revelia, Harrien, and Vironia, the whole of northern Estonia, fell to Danish control.
In 1223, the Novgorod Republic enfeoffed Vyachko with Tharbata stating this as a Russian town (Yuryev) since Yaroslav's conquest in 1030. He assumed the stronghold and launched several raids in Estonia. Early in 1224 Emperor Frederick II announced at Catania that Livonia, Prussia with Sambia 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 of Riga besieged Tharbata in 1224 with a large force and offered a peace settlement. Vyachko refused to surrender, however, choosing to die with all of his supporters when the Livonian Order 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, 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 the stronghold Tarwanpe, William of Modena successfully mediated a 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 (Ösel), whose war fleets had raided Denmark and Sweden during the years of fighting against the German crusaders. A 20,000 strong army under William of Modena crossed the frozen sea while the Saaremaa fleet was icebound, in January 1227, and the Livonian Order conquered the last indigenous stronghold on the nearby small island of Muhu.
After the conquest, all remaining local pagans of Estonia were ostensibly Christianized. William of Modena divided the conquered territory into the Livonian Confederation to appease the bickering Livonian Order and bishops. Denmark controlled the northern part of the country, henceforth known as Danish Estonia. Following the defeat of the Estonians, the crusade moved against the Curonians and Semigallians, Baltic tribes living to the south and west of the Daugava river.
[edit] Battles
- 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
