THE NORTHERN CRUSADES

Wendish Crusade (1147 CE); Swedish Crusades (1150, 1239 - 1256, & 1293 CE); Danish Crusades (1191, 1202, & 1219 CE);

Livonian Crusade (1193 - 1290 CE); Prussian Crusade (1217 - 1274 CE)

 

BALTIC MILITARY ORDERS

Livonian Brothers of the Sword (1202 - 1237 CE) & Livonian Order (1237 - 1561 CE)

Military Brothers of Christ in Livonia (Latin, Fratres Militiae Christi Livoniae),

a.k.a., Order of the Sword Brethren (German, Schwertbrüderorden)

Prussian Cavaliers of Jesus Christ (1225/1228 - 1235 CE)

Order of Dobrzyn (Polish, Zakon Dobrznski), a.k.a., Brothers of Dobrzyn (Polish, Bracia Dobrznski) or

Order of Dobrin (German, Orden von Dobrin)

Teutonic Order (1190 - 1525/1809 CE)

Teutonic Order (Latin, Ordo Theutonicorum, German, Deutscher Orden),

a.k.a., Order of the Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem

(Latin, Ordo domus Sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum,

German, Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus der Heiligen Maria in Jerusalem)

 

BALTIC CRUSADER STATES

Medieval Livonia (1207 - 1561 CE)

Livonia (German, Livland, Estonian, Liivimaa, Latvian, Livonija), a.k.a., Land of Mary (Latin, Terra Mariana):

Archbishopric of Riga (Latin, Archiepiscopatus Rigensis) (1186 - 1561 CE)

Bishopric of Courland (Latin, Episcopatus Curoniensis) (1234 - 1559 CE)

Bishopric of Dorpat (Latin, Episcopatus Tarbatensis) (1224 - 1558 CE)

Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek (Latin, Ecclesia Osiliensis) (1228 - 1559 CE)

Duchy of Estonia (Danish, Hertugdømmet Estland, Latin, Ducatus Estonie) (1219 - 1346 CE)

State of the Teutonic Order (1230 - 1525 CE)

State of the Teutonic Order (Latin, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici, German, Staat des Deutschen Ordens)

 

This gallery covers the armies of the Northern Crusades (ca. 1147-1290 CE) that were involved in the creation, expansion, and consolidation of the Baltic Crusader States—Medieval Livonia (1207-1561 CE) and the State of the Teutonic Order (1230-1525 CE). Although the Wendish Crusade (ca. 1147 CE) and the subsequent conquest and assimilation of the last of the West Slavs (a.k.a., the Wends) is considered part of the Northern Crusades, I have not included it as part of this gallery because I think it more properly fits into the history of the Ostiedlung (German, "East-settling")—the eastward expansion of the Holy Roman Empire (ca. 1000-1200 CE) into what is today eastern Germany and western Poland—and I think the history and armies involved would best be dealt with in separate Medieval German and Early Slav galleries. Similarly, the Swedish Crusades (ca. 1150, 1239-1256, & 1293 CE) were also part of the Northern Crusades, but they led to the conquest of southern Finland and the incorporation of these lands into the Kingdom of Sweden (ca. 1256-1809 CE). Like the Ostiedlung in relation to Germany, this is best seen as an expansion of the eastern borders of the Kingdom of Sweden that did not result in the foundation of an autonomous state, and therefore the armies involved would best be dealt with elsewhere (e.g., Medieval Sweden and Finns, Balts, & Ugrians). The early Danish Crusades (1191 and 1202 CE) were also directed against southern Finland, but they were little more than raids and did not result in any territorial acquisitions. However, the Danish Crusade of 1219 CE was directed against the Ests (a.k.a., the Estonians), who lived in an area roughly analogous to modern Estonia, and this crusade was carried out in conjunction with the Livonian Crusade against the Livs (a.k.a., the Livonians), who lived to the south of Estonia in what is today northern Latvia. Indeed, the Danish colonial possession that resulted from this crusade—the Duchy of Estonia—was for most of its history treated as a semi-independent viceroyal domain of the Danish crown that acted in closer coordination with Medieval Livonia than it did with its own sovereign. In point of fact, the Duchy of Estonia was briefly annexed by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and temporarily incorporated into the feudal holdings of Medieval Livonia (ca. 1227-1238 CE), and even after it was returned to Denmark it's inhabitants retained a strong relationship with the Livonian Order until the Danish crown sold the duchy to the Teutonic Order (ca. 1346 CE)(which had by that time also absorbed the Livonian Brothers of the Sword). Thereafter, it was officially incorporated into the political structure of Medieval Livonia. Thus, the focus of this gallery will be on the Livonian Crusade (ca. 1193-1290 CE)—carried out mainly by Danish and German crusaders—that saw the conquest of the Finns (Livs and Ests) and Balts (Latgallians, Semigallians, Selonians, and Curonians) of the eastern Baltic littoral (modern Estonia and Latvia) and their incorporation into the crusader-state of Medieval Livonia (1207-1561 CE)(a.k.a., Terra Mariana, Latin, "the Land of Mary"), and on the Prussian Crusade (ca. 1217-1274 CE)—carried out mainly by German crusaders (led by the Teutonic Order) and Polish crusaders (led by Konrad I, Duke of Mazovia, and the Order of Dobrzyn)—that saw the conquest of the Balts of the central Baltic littoral (i.e., the Old Prussians) and their incorporation into the State of the Teutonic Order (1230-1525 CE), as well as the long twilight struggle between the Baltic Crusader States and those groups of  Balts (mainly Aukstaitijans, Zemaitijans, Semigallians, and Yotvingians) that formed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (ca. 1236-1569 CE) in order to counter the Northern Crusades.

 

The Livonian Crusade (1193-1290 CE) was officially declared by Pope Innocent III (1198-1216 CE) in 1198 CE, after several earlier Catholic missions to the pagan Livs of what is today northern Latvia had failed to make substantial gains (although these were retroactively recognized as part of the Crusade by Innocent). Albert von Buxhövden (1165-1229 CE) was named Bishop of Riga—a small Christian enclave that had been established on the Baltic coast of Livonia by an earlier mission—and placed in charge of the crusade. He founded the military order of the Brothers of the Sword (ca. 1202 CE, although Innocent did not confirm the legitimacy of the Order until 1204 CE) by recruiting the most zealous of the knights that had answered Innocent's call to crusade in Livonia. The Brothers of the Sword quickly achieved a reputation for brutality and overweening independence from their erstwhile overlord. The Brothers of the Sword eventually came to control close to half the conquered territories in Medieval Livonia, making the Master of the Order (Herrmeister der Orden) as powerful a feudal lord as the Bishop of Riga. Riga was elevated to an archbishopric in 1255 CE, by which time it controlled most of central Livonia, and three other bishoprics had been established in other parts of the emerging state of Medieval Livonia—the Bishopric of Dorpat (1224-1258 CE) in southeastern Estonia, the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek in western Estonia and the West Estonian Archipelago (1228-1560 CE), and the Bishopric of Courland in southwestern Latvia (1234-1561 CE). As was the custom in Germany at that time, the prelates of these bishoprics ruled both as feudal lords—and often still fought as knights—and acted as ministers of the Catholic Church, and therefore they each held the title of "Prince-Bishop" (German, Hochstift). The initial campaign against the Livs was particularly vicious and resulted in the depopulation of large parts of Livonia. The survivors were, with few exceptions, reduced to the status of serfs, the prosperous towns and the trade associated with them were taken over by German colonists, and after the Livonian Crusade was extended to include the Latgallians and Selonians (ca. 1208-1209 CE) in what is today southern Latvia, and then the Semigallians and Curonians (ca. 1219-1290 CE) in what is today southwestern Latvia, defeated folk from these peoples were also resettled as serfs in the depopulated countryside of Medieval Livonia. Some crusaders settled in Livonia and became vassals of one of the bishoprics or of the Brothers of the Sword (or were recruited into the Order), although many crusading contingents arrived in Livonia intent only on spending a single fighting season there before returning to their places of origin. The campaign against the Ests in what is today Estonia (ca. 1208-1227 CE) was carried out by King Valdemar II of Denmark (1170-1241 CE), with a fleet supplied by Prince Wizlav/Vitslav I of Rügen (1180-1250 CE)—a combined force that landed near the port of Kolyvan (modern Tallinn) and went on to conquer much of northern Estonia. The Brothers of the Sword invaded southern Estonia overland from their holdings in northern Livonia. The Danish conquests in the north were organized as the Duchy of Estonia—a semi-independent viceroyal domain of the Danish crown—while the Brothers of the Sword extended the hegemony of Medieval Livonia into central Estonia. The tribes in a small chunk of territory in southeastern Estonia capitulated to Prince-Bishop Albert of Riga, out of fear of the Brothers of the Sword, and this became the Bishopric of Dorpat. The Brothers of the Sword went on to attack the last stronghold of the Estonians in the western littoral of Estonia and the West Estonian Archipelago (the islands of Saarema, Hiiumaa, and Vormal), and after this was accomplished they briefly annexed the Duchy of Estonia (ca. 1227-1238 CE). However, after the Brothers of the Sword suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of the Zemaitijans (see below) at the Battle of Saule (22 September 1236 CE)—in which the Master of the Order and a large number of the knights of the Order were killed—the Brothers of the Sword appealed to Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241 CE) for aid, and Gregory ordered that the Brothers of the Sword be folded into the Teutonic Order (as a sub-order), which was at that time engaged in the conquest of Old Prussia (see below). The Brothers of the Sword were renamed the Livonian Order, and with access to the greater resources of the Teutonic Order they were able to recover, although the Grand Master (Hochmeister) of the Teutonic Order soon thereafter forced the Livonian Order to cede the Duchy of Estonia back to Denmark (via the Treaty of Stensby, ca. 1238 CE). Thus, by about 1238 CE, the basic contours of Medieval Livonia (often known to its inhabitants as Terra Mariana, "the Land of Mary") were set, with the Bishopric of Riga (an archbishopric from 1255 CE) directly controlling most of the territory in what is today northern Latvia and overseeing the bishoprics of Dorpat (southeastern Estonia), Ösel-Wiek (western Estonia), and Courland (southwestern Livonia); the feudal holdings of the Brothers of the Sword/Livonian Order interspersed with those of the bishoprics in Latvia and Estonia (most of their territory was in southern Latvia and central Estonia); and the Danish Duchy of Estonia in northern Estonia. This situation was further complicated when the city of Riga joined the Hanseatic League in 1282 CE, the city of Kolyvan/Tallinn (capital of the Duchy of Estonia) also joined the Hanseatic League in 1285 CE, and the Duchy of Estonia was sold to the Teutonic Order in 1346 CE. Thus, throughout its history, Medieval Livonia (1207-1561 CE) was often divided between the competing interests of the Catholic Church, the military orders, the secular German and Danish feudal landholders, the German and Danish citizens of the towns, and the remaining populace of Finns and Balts, most of whom were serfs, although there were some notable Finnic and Baltic nobles who had become feudal lords as a result of forming alliances with the crusaders (e.g., Caupo of Turaida, Talivaldis of Talava, and Visvaldis of Jersika).

 

The Prussian Crusade (1217-1274 CE) was officially declared by Pope Honorius III (1216-1227 CE) at the behest of the Polish Duke of Mazovia, Konrad I (1187-1247 CE). The Catholic Poles had been trying to conquer the pagan Prussians, who inhabited the central Baltic littoral to the north of Poland, since the early tenth century CE (with little success), and several Catholic missions to the region during this same period had also failed to gain converts. A Cistercian monk named Christian of Oliva—who had led one of the earlier peaceful missions to Prussia—was named Bishop of Prussia (1216-1228 CE) and founded the military order of the Brothers of Dobryzn (ca. 1225 CE) to aid the Duke of Mazovia. Konrad's troops and the Order of Dobrzyn established control over a small corner of territory in southwestern Prussia known as Chelmnoland (ca. 1219-1222 CE), but when the Prussians launched a devastating counterattack against Chelmnoland, Polish Pomerelia (to the west of Prussia), and Mazovia (to the south of Prussia)(ca. 1223-1235 CE), the Order of Dobrzyn was virtually wiped out and the forces of Konrad of Mazovia were forced into retreat. Christian and Konrad once again appealed to Pope Honorius, and while in Rome Christian made the acquaintance of Grand Master Hermann von Salza of the Teutonic Order (1210-1239 CE). They discussed the possibility of the Teutonic Order joining the Prussian Crusade and subsequently gained the support of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II (1194-1250 CE), and of Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241 CE)(Honorius' successor). The Teutonic Order was able to help Konrad of Mazovia to retake Chelmnoland (ca. 1228-1229 CE), which was made the base-of-operations of the Teutonic Order in Prussia (in German it was called Kulmerland/Culmerland), and they went on to conquer most of western (ca. 1231-1237 CE) and central Prussia (ca. 1238-1241 CE). In 1235 CE, most of the remaining members of the Order of Dobrzyn defected to the Teutonic Order, and the remainder of its knights were transferred by Konrad to a remote outpost on the Polish-Russian frontier (ca. 1237 CE)(they disappear from history altogether by 1240 CE). Mazovian crusaders continued to participate in the Prussian Crusade until Konrad withdrew from the crusade in 1242 CE—there was a dispute regarding the possession of Chelmnoland/Kulmerland and the division of conquered lands in other parts of Prussia (see Medieval Prussia button below). Polish-German relations took another blow when the Polish Duke of Pomerelia, Swietopelk/Zwantopolc/Swantopolk II (1190-1266 CE), supported a revolt among the newly conquered Prussians in western and central Prussia—the First Prussian Uprising (ca. 1242-1249/1253 CE). Swietopelk was forced to abandon this effort in 1248 CE, under pressure from the Pope, and although a treaty was made with those Prussians that agreed to convert to Christianity (the Treaty of Christburg, 2 February 1249 CE), the pagan Prussians in Kulmerland, Pomesania, Pogesania, Warmia, Bartia, Natangia, and Galindia fought on until 1253 CE (these names are the names of the lands of Old Prussian tribal federations). The Teutonic Order continued its conquests by launching an invasion of the eastern Prussian territories of Lubavia (ca. 1243 CE) and Sambia (ca. 1254-1255 CE), but when the Brothers of the Sword were defeated at Saule, the Prussians were inspired to again rise in revolt—the Great Prussian Uprising (1260-1274 CE). As mentioned above, the Brothers of the Sword were made a suborder of the Teutonic Order (ca. 1268 CE), and a large army of German crusaders (as many as 60,000 men) led by Duke Albert I of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1269-1279 CE) and Henry III (1221-1288 CE), Margrave of Meissen and Lusatia and Landgrave of Thuringia, helped the Teutonic Order to turn the tide against the Prussian rebels. The Teutonic Order went back over to the offensive thereafter, conquering the last of the Prussian territories—Nadruvia and Sasna (ca. 1255-1275 CE), Skalovia (ca. 1276-1277 CE), and Yotvingia (1280-1283 CE)—although many Yotvingians escaped the conquest and took refuge with the Lithuanians (see below).

 

It is here that the expansion of the Baltic Crusader States was slowed considerably. The Livonian Order remained fractious even after its merger with the Teutonic Order, insisting on committing resources to campaigns against the Orthodox Christian states of northwestern Russia (the Republic of Novgorod and the Principality of Pskov) and Belarus (the Principality of Polotsk). In 1241 CE, the Livonian Order managed to take the city of Pskov, but following the disastrous Battle of Lake Peipus (5 April 1242 CE)(a.k.a., the Battle on the Ice), the crusaders were forced to abandon Pskov, and the border between Medieval Livonia and the Republic of Novgorod was permanently established at the Narva River and Lake Peipus (Pskov became a satellite of Novgorod). At the time of the initial declaration of the Livonian Crusade, the Russian Principality of Polotsk had established outposts in the territories of the Latgallians, and two Russo-Latgallian principalities had arisen in southeastern Livonia and northern Belarus—the Principality of Jersika (1000-1209 CE) and the Principality of Koknese (1180-1209 CE). These were both conquered by the combined forces of Prince-Bishop Albert of Riga and the Brothers of the Sword (ca. 1205-1209 CE), and soon thereafter Polotsk temporarily fell under the dominion (as a vassal-state) of Medieval Livonia (ca. 1227-1240 CE). However, the Lithuanians wrested Polotsk from its allegiance to the crusaders in 1240 CE, and they annexed the territories of Polotsk altogether in 1307 CE, which effectively ended the expansion of Medieval Livonia into Belarus. The Zemaitijans/Samogitians originally inhabited the lowland plains and western highlands in what is today western Lithuania, in-between Medieval Livonia and the State of the Teutonic Order, and the Aukstaitijans lived in the highlands to the east of Zemaitija in what is today eastern Lithuania. The Zemaitijans faced attacks by both the Livonian Order (from the north) and the Teutonic Order (from the southwest) as these two groups sought to make their respective lands territorially contiguous, but despite annual forays into Zemaitija over a period of almost 200 years (ca. 1229-1410 CE) the crusaders were only able to conquer a narrow strip of territory along the eastern Baltic littoral between the Pregolya/Pregola River and the Curonian Peninsula. It is largely due to the defeat suffered by the Brothers of the Sword at the hands of the Zemaitijans at the Battle of Saule (22 September 1236 CE) that led to its merger with the Teutonic Order, but even with Teutonic support the Livonian crusaders suffered several major defeats fighting the Zemaitijans—the battles of Skuodas (fall 1258 or 1259 CE), Durbe (13 July 1260 CE), Lievarde (1261 CE), and Medininkai (27 July 1320 CE) being prominent examples—and the Lithuanians subsequently (ca. 1263 CE) organized the lands of Zemaitija into a militarized buffer zone that protected central Lithuania from the Baltic Crusader States. The Zemaitijans formed a close union with the Aukstaitijans—the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (ca. 1180-1795 CE)—to resist the expansion of the Baltic Crusader States, and they were joined by large numbers of Yotvingians after 1283 CE and Semigallians after 1290 CE. The Lithuanian state became something of a nemesis for the Teutonic Order as the Lithuanians halted crusader expansion in Zemaitija, while simultaneously expanding the hegemony of Lithuania to the east and south (into western Russia, Belarus, western Ukraine, and eastern Poland), and forming an alliance with Poland that isolated the State of the Teutonic Order and eventually led to the decisive defeat of the Order at the Battle of Grunwald/First Tannenberg/Zalgiris (15 July 1410 CE). While the Lithuanians annexed the Russian principalities of Polotsk (ca. 1240-1504 CE)(northern Belarus), Kiev (ca. 1316-1471 CE)(southern Belarus and western Ukraine), and Smolensk (ca. 1392-1514 CE)(western Russia), and pushed the Mongols out of much of the Ukraine (ca. 1345-1569 CE), the only significant territorial acquisitions of the State of the Teutonic Order during this same period was the annexation of Polish Pomerelia (ca. 1309-1466 CE)(called Danzig-Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania in German sources), the purchase of the Duchy of Estonia from Denmark (ca. 1346-1561 CE), and the occupation of the Baltic island of Gotland (ca. 1398-1409 CE)(Gotland had been the stronghold of a band of Baltic pirates).

 

The army I put together here best represents the armies of the Baltic Crusader States of Prussia and Livonia during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including the Livonian Crusade (ca. 1193-1290 CE), the Prussian Crusade (ca. 1217-1274 CE), the absorption of the orders of Dobrin (ca. 1235 CE) and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (ca. 1237 CE) by the Teutonic Order, and the early campaigns of Medieval Livonia and the State of the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians (ca. 1208-1309 CE), until the Teutonic Order moved its capital to Marienburg in Prussia and it annexed Polish Pomerelia/Eastern Pomerania (ca. 1308-1309 CE). I originally put this army together as part of a Battle of Lake Peipus/Battle on the Ice campaign (ca. 1242 CE), and thus the figures that represent the military orders all have the heraldry of the Teutonic Order (which had been adopted by the Sword Brethren after their merger with the Teutonic Order), although these figures could be used to represent pre-merger Brothers of the Sword with minimal anachronism (i.e., other than heraldry, the general appearance of the soldiers would have been similar). The flags of the "guest" crusader units, and those of the Duchy of Estonia—a white cross on a red field—are identical to that of the modern Dannebrog, the civil flag and ensign of Denmark, but during the time period covered by this gallery this was the battle flag of the Holy Roman Empire, and German crusaders to Livonia and Prussia usually fought under this flag (and since most of the Baltic crusaders were German, I used this flag to further differentiate them from those of the military orders). Traditionally, it is believed that Valdemar II of Denmark adopted this flag as part of the heraldry of the Kingdom of Denmark during the Danish Crusade to Estonia in 1219 CE—contemporary accounts give a supernatural explanation (it dropped out of the sky into the midst of the Danish crusaders during the Battle of Lyndanisse and inspired them to turn the tables on the Estonians), but accounts of the battle also make it clear that the Danish forces were saved by the Wendish Rugians under Witslaw I, and it could be that the Rugians fought under the red-and-white flag typical of German crusaders (although Rügen was at that time a Danish vassal, its allegiance was disputed by the Holy Roman Empire, which eventually succeeded in annexing it), making the story of the flag dropping out of the sky look like a poetic allusion to the way the counterattack of the Rugians swept in to save the Danes. Also due to the Lake Peipus scenario, I used a winter theme to the basing of the units, but the crusaders in Livonia and Prussia quickly learned from the native Finns and Balts to carry out major military operations in winter (as much as possible), due to the unique climatic and topographic conditions that prevailed in the Baltics, so these figures could be used for any number of historical or conjectural winter battle scenarios involving the Baltic Crusader States within the timeframe cited above (e.g., the battles of Muhu, Otepää, Viljandi, Aizkraukle, Garoza, and Wesenberg for the Sword Brethren, and the battles of Streva, Medvegalis, Pilenai, Christmemel, Kaunas, Rudau, Pokarwis, and Krücken for the Teutonic Order). During the winter, rivers and lakes froze over and could be used as roads, while in spring and autumn rain turned the land between the region's many waterways and swamps into impassible morasses, and in summer the thick vegetation of the forests restricted movement and reduced visibility on the march, making ambushes a constant threat. Recognizing this, the Lithuanians intentionally maintained a sparsely populated frontier zone between the Baltic Crusader States and the heartlands of Lithuania (German, grauden, "slow-going"), which consisted of largely uninhabited forest and fen that was between 90 and 100 miles deep. The figures here depicted are all from Mirliton Miniatures, the shield transfers and banners are from Little Big Men Studios (and some few of my own devising). This is one of the first armies I painted, and although I think I do better work now, I am still very pleased with this army. Mirliton's figures are great—well thought-out dynamic poses, realistic sculpts, big enough to form a nice canvas but still able to pass as 15mm. I also love that they are one of only two companies (that I know of) to have figures specifically made to look like early Finnic and/or Baltic warriors (look at the Latvian and Estonian levies).