Northern Crusades

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For the film, see Northern Crusades (film).
Battle on the Ice on Lake Peipus during the Northern Crusades, miniature from the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible (16th century)

The Northern Crusades

Finnic and West Slavic peoples around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, and also against Orthodox Christian East Slavs
.

The most notable campaigns were the Livonian and Prussian crusades. Some of these wars were called crusades during the Middle Ages, but others, including most of the Swedish ones, were first dubbed crusades by 19th-century romantic nationalist historians. However, crusades against Estonians, but also against "other pagans in those parts" were authorized by Pope Alexander III in the bull Non parum animus noster,[3] in 1171 or 1172.[4]

Background

At the outset of the northern crusades, Christian monarchs across northern Europe commissioned forays into territories that comprise modern-day Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. The indigenous populations of Pagans suffered forced baptisms and the ravages of military occupation. Spearheading, but by no means monopolizing these incursions, the ascendant

Sweden
  Denmark
  Conquered by Denmark in 1219 (Pomerania conquered in 1219, lost in 1227. Ösel purchased in 1559, lost in 1645)
  Livonia before 1343

The official starting point for the Northern Crusades was Pope Celestine III's call in 1195,[6] but the Catholic kingdoms of Scandinavia, Poland and the Holy Roman Empire had begun moving to subjugate their pagan neighbors even earlier (see Christianization of Pomerania).[7] The non-Christian people who were objects of the campaigns at various dates included:

Armed conflict between the

Danish neighbors to the north and south had been common for several centuries before the crusade. The previous battles had largely been caused by attempts to destroy castles and sea trade routes to gain an economic advantage in the region, and the crusade basically continued this pattern of conflict, albeit now inspired and prescribed by the Pope
and undertaken by Papal knights and armed monks.

Livonian CrusadeBattle of GrunwaldLithuanian CrusadeLivonian campaign against Rus'Danish Crusade of 1202Danish Crusade of 1191Danish Crusade of c.1187Kalmare ledungThird Swedish CrusadeSecond Swedish CrusadeFirst Swedish CrusadePrussian CrusadeWendish Crusade


Wendish Crusade

Main article: Wendish Crusade

The campaigns started with the 1147 Wendish Crusade against the Polabian Slavs (or "Wends") of what is now northern and eastern Germany. The crusade occurred parallel to the Second Crusade to the Holy Land, and continued irregularly until the 16th century.

Swedish Crusades

Main articles: First Swedish Crusade, Second Swedish Crusade, Third Swedish Crusade, and Swedish–Novgorodian Wars

The Swedish crusades were campaigns by Sweden against Finns, Tavastians and Karelians during period from 1150 to 1293. The wars with the Eastern Orthodox Novgorod Republic also had a religious aspect.

Danish Crusades

See also: Wetheman

The Danes are known to have made at least three crusades to Finland. First mention of these crusades is from 1187 when crusader Esbern Snare mentioned in his Christmas feast speech a major victory over the Finns.[8] Two next known crusades were made in 1191 and in 1202. The latter one was led by the Bishop of Lund, Anders Sunesen, with his brother.[9]

Livonian Crusade

Main article: Livonian Crusade

By the 12th century, the peoples inhabiting the lands now known as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania formed a pagan wedge between increasingly powerful rival Christian states – the

Bremen
in 1045–1072. However, these peaceful efforts seem to have had limited success.

Campaign against the Livonians (1198–1212)

Moving in the wake of German merchants who were now following the old trading routes of the

Innocent III and a crusading expedition led by Meinhard's successor, Bishop Berthold of Hanover, landed in Livonia (part of present-day Latvia, surrounding the Gulf of Riga
) in 1198. Although the crusaders won their first battle, Bishop Berthold was mortally wounded and the crusaders were repelled.

In 1199,

Albert of Buxhoeveden was appointed by the Archbishop Hartwig II of Bremen to Christianise the Baltic countries. By the time Albert died 30 years later, the conquest and formal Christianisation of present-day Estonia and northern Latvia was complete. Albert began his task by touring the Empire, preaching a Crusade against the Baltic countries, and was assisted in this by a papal bull which declared that fighting against the Baltic heathens was of the same rank as participating in a crusade to the Holy Land. Although he landed in the mouth of the Daugava in 1200 with only 23 ships and 500 soldiers, the bishop's efforts ensured that a constant flow of recruits followed. The first crusaders usually arrived to fight during the spring and returned to their homes in the autumn. To ensure a permanent military presence, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were founded in 1202. The founding by Bishop Albert of the market at Riga in 1201 attracted citizens from the Empire and economic prosperity ensued. At Albert's request, Pope Innocent III dedicated the Baltic countries to the Virgin Mary to popularize recruitment to his army and the name "Mary's Land" has survived up to modern times. This is noticeable in one of the names given to Livonia at the time, Terra Mariana
(Land of Mary).

Ruins of the castle in Sigulda

In 1206, the crusaders subdued the Livonian stronghold in

Limbaži district) and the mixed Livonian-Latgallian inhabited county of Idumea (now Straupe) was converted to the Roman Catholic faith. The last battle against the Livonians was the siege of Satezele hillfort near to Sigulda in 1212. The Livonians, who had been paying tribute to the East Slavic Principality of Polotsk, had at first considered the Germans 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 were put down. Caupo of Turaida remained an ally of the crusaders until his death in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day in 1217.[10]

The German crusaders enlisted newly baptised Livonian warriors to participate in their campaigns against

Latgallians and Selonians (1208–1209), Estonians (1208–1227) and against Semigallians, Samogitians and Curonians
(1219–1290).

Campaign against the Latgallians and Selonians (1208–1224)

After the subjugation of the Livonians, the crusaders turned their attention to the Latgallian principalities to the east, along the Gauja and

Selburg was built in its place). Only in 1224, with the division of Tālava and Adzele counties between the Bishop of Riga and the Order of the Swordbearers
, did Latgallian countries finally become the possession of German conquerors. The territory of the former Principality of Jersika was divided between the Bishop of Riga and the Livonian Order in 1239.

Campaign against the Estonians (1208–1224)

Kuressaare Castle, Estonia, constructed by the Teutonic Order

By 1208, the Germans were strong enough to begin operations against the Estonians, who were at that time divided into eight major and several smaller counties led by elders with limited cooperation between them. In 1208–27, war parties of the different sides rampaged through the Livonian, Northern Latgallian, and Estonian counties, with Livonians and Latgallians normally as allies of the Crusaders, and the Principalities of Polotsk and Pskov appearing as allies of different sides at different times. Hillforts, which were the key centres of Estonian counties, were besieged and captured a number of times. A truce between the war-weary sides was established for three years (1213–1215) and 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. The Livonian leader Kaupo was killed in battle near Viljandi (Fellin) on 21 September 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 had become the central figure of the Estonian resistance.

The Christian kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden were also greedy for conquests on the Eastern shores of the Baltic. While the Swedes made only

Danish control
.

Wars against Saaremaa (1206–1261)

The last Estonian county to hold out against the invaders was the island county of Saaremaa (Ösel), whose war fleets had raided Denmark and Sweden during the years of fighting against the German crusaders.

In 1206, a Danish army led by the king

Karl of Linköping conquered Lihula in Rotalia
in Western Estonia. Oeselians attacked the Swedish stronghold the same year, conquered it and killed the entire Swedish garrison including the Bishop of Linköping.

In 1222, the Danish king

Valdemar II attempted the second conquest of Saaremaa, this time establishing a stone fortress housing a strong garrison. The Danish stronghold was besieged and surrendered within five days, the Danish garrison returned to Revel, leaving bishop Albert of Riga's brother Theodoric, and few others, behind as hostages for peace. The castle was razed to the ground by the Oeselians.[12]

A 20,000 strong army under Papal legate William of Modena crossed the frozen sea while the Saaremaa fleet was icebound, in January 1227. After the surrender of two major Oeselian strongholds, Muhu and Valjala, the Oeselians formally accepted Christianity.

In 1236, after the defeat of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the

Danish Estonia, including mainland Estonians and Latvians, defeated the Oeselians by conquering their stronghold at Kaarma. Soon thereafter, the Livonian Order established a stone fort at Pöide
.

Wars against the Curonians and Semigallians (1201–1290)

Although the

Gregory IX
removed Baldouin as his delegate.

After their decisive defeat in the Battle of Saule by the Samogitians and Semigallians, the remnants of the Swordbrothers were reorganized in 1237 as a subdivision of the Teutonic Order, and became known as the Livonian Order. In 1242, under the leadership of the master of the Livonian Order Andrew of Groningen, the crusaders began the military conquest of Courland. They defeated the Curonians as far south as Embūte, near the contemporary border with Lithuania, and founded their main fortress at Kuldīga. In 1245 Pope Innocent IV allotted two-thirds of conquered Courland to the Livonian Order, and one third to the Bishopric of Courland.

At the Battle of Durbe in 1260 a force of Samogitians and Curonians overpowered the united forces of the Livonian and Teutonic Orders; over the following years, however, the Crusaders gradually subjugated the Curonians, and in 1267 concluded the peace treaty stipulating the obligations and the rights of their defeated rivals. The unconquered southern parts of their territories (Ceklis and Megava) were united under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Tērvete castle hill in 2010.

The conquest of Semigallian counties started in 1219 when crusaders from Riga occupied Mežotne, the major port on the Lielupe waterway, and founded the Bishopric of Semigallia. After several unsuccessful campaigns against the pagan Semigallian duke Viestards and his Samogitian kinsfolk, the Roman Curia decided in 1251 to abolish the Bishopric of Semigallia, and divided its territories between the Bishopric of Riga and the Order of Livonia. In 1265 a stone castle was built at Jelgava, on the Lielupe, and became the main military base for crusader attacks against the Semigallians. In 1271 the capital hillfort of Tērvete was conquered, but Semigallians under the Duke Nameisis rebelled in 1279, and the Lithuanians under Traidenis defeated Livonian Order forces in the Battle of Aizkraukle. Duke Nameisis' warriors unsuccessfully attacked Riga in 1280, in response to which around 14,000 crusaders besieged Turaida castle in 1281. To conquer the remaining Semigallian hillforts the Order's master Villekin of Endorpe built a castle called Heiligenberg right next to the Tērvete castle in 1287. The same year the Semigallians made another attempt to conquer Riga, but again failed to take it. On their return home, Livonian knights attacked them, but were defeated at the Battle of Garoza, in which the Orders' master Villekin and at least 35 knights lost their lives. The new master of the Order Konrad von Hattstein organised the last campaigns against the Semigallians in 1289 and 1290; the hillforts of Dobele, Rakte and Sidabre were conquered and most of the Semigallian warriors joined the Samogitian and Lithuanian forces.

Prussia and Lithuania

Main articles: Prussian Crusade and Lithuanian Crusade

Campaigns of Bolesław the Curly and Konrad of Masovia

From 1147 the Polish Duke of Mazovia, Boleslaw the Curly, led many expeditions against pagan Prussia, some of them were successful and the conquest of parts of the Prussian territories.[13]

Teutonic Knights
to come to Prussia and suppress the Old Prussians.

Campaigns of Bolesław the Chaste and Leszek the Black

Campaigns against Yotvingians and Lithuanians were also conducted in the years 1248-1282 by princes Bolesław the Chaste and Leszek the Black. They defeated the forces of pagans invading Mazovia, Kujawy and the Lublin region. They also carried out several expeditions to Yotvingian territories.[15]

Teutonic Order

The Northern Crusades provided a rationale for the growth and expansion of the

knights which had been founded in Palestine at the end of the 12th century. Duke Konrad I of Masovia in west-central Poland appealed to the Knights to defend his borders and subdue the pagan Old Prussians in 1226. Already in 1234, a great expedition began, in which the Polish forces of Konrad of Mazovia and the Teutonic Knights defeated the Baltic Prussians in the battle on the Dzierzgoń river.[16] After the subjugation of the Prussians, the Teutonic Knights fought against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
.

When the Livonian knights were crushed by

First Battle of Tannenberg, when the Lithuanians and Poles, helped by the Tatars, Moldovans and the Czechs
, defeated the Teutonic Knights.

In 1221,

Bishop of Finland requested, the Pope enforce a trade embargo against Novgorodians on the Baltic Sea, at least in Visby, Riga and Lübeck. A few years later, the Pope also requested the Livonian Brothers of the Sword send troops to protect Finland. Whether any knights ever arrived remains unknown.[20]

The Teutonic Order's attempts to conquer

crusades against Orthodox Novgorod
.

Novgorod Republic

Livonian missionary and crusade activity in Estonia caused conflicts with Novgorod, who had also attempted to subjugate, raid and convert the pagan Estonians. The Estonians also sometimes attempted to ally with the Russians against the Crusaders.[21]

Wars between the two sides continued intermittently on several occasions, and halted the eastward expansion of the Teutonic Order, but

Novgorodian
attempt to take Estonia and Livonia also failed, and the area was firmly dominated by the Teutonic Order.

See also

External links

Bibliography

  • Paul Srodecki and Norbert Kersken, eds. The Expansion of the Faith: Crusading on the Frontiers of Latin Christendom in the High Middle Ages. Turnhout: Brepols, 2022. ISBN 978-2-503-58880-3

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-14-026653-4
    .
  2. ISBN 963-9241-42-3
    .
  3. ISBN 9798869282217
    .
  4. ^ Christiansen, Eric. The Northern Crusades. London: Penguin Books. p. 71
  5. ^ Pluskowski, Aleksander, "Crusading into the medieval Baltic: Stanford Humanities Center Q&A with Aleks Pluskowski" Stanford Humanities Center Dec 12, 2016
  6. ^ Christopher Tyerman, God's War: A New History of the Crusades, (University of Harvard Press, 2006), 488.
  7. ^ von Güttner-Sporzyński, Darius. "Poland and the papacy before the second crusade".
  8. ISBN 9789527045091
    .
  9. ^ Georg Haggren, Petri Halinen, Mika Lavento, Sami Raninen ja Anna Wessman (2015). Muinaisuutemme jäljet. Gaudeamus. p. 380.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ISBN 0-231-12889-4
    .
  11. ^ "Estland". Salmonsens konversationsleksikon (in Danish).
  12. ISBN 0-929700-10-4
    .
  13. ^ Magdalena Biniaś-Szkopek: Bolesław IV Kędzierzawy – książę Mazowsza i princeps. Poznan, 2009
  14. ^ Lewinski-Corwin, Edward Henry (1917). A History of Prussia. New York: The Polish Book Importing Company. p. 628.
  15. ^ Kromer Marcin; Kronika polska Marcina Kromera biskupa warmińskiego ksiąg XXX... Sanok, 1857, s.475
  16. ^ Marian Biskup, Gerard Labuda, Dzieje Zakonu Krzyżackiego w Prusach, Gdansk 1986, p. 140
  17. ^ "Letter by Pope Honorius III to the Bishop of Finland". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. in 1221. In Latin.
  18. ^ See papal letters from 1229 to "Riga". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. and "Lübeck". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.. In Latin.
  19. ^ See letters by Pope Gregory IX: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]. All in Latin.
  20. ^ "Letter by Pope Gregory IX". Archived from the original on 2007-08-14.. In Latin.
  21. ISBN 9789004155022
    .
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