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Northern Crusades

Military campaigns to Christianize the pagan peoples of the Baltic shores.

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Northern Crusades

Bukvoed · CC BY 2.5

These wars targeted territories that now comprise Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia.[1] Catholic kingdoms and military orders launched military campaigns aimed at converting pagan peoples—such as Balts, Finns, and West Slavs—living around the Baltic Sea.[2] Forced baptisms and military occupation were inflicted on the native pagan populations.[1]

Apollonia 34 northern hall
Apollonia 34 northern hall. Image: Bukvoed · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Life and work

Pope Celestine III's call in 1195 is the official starting point for the Northern Crusades, though Catholic kingdoms had begun subjugating pagan neighbors earlier.[3] The Danes made at least three crusades to Finland, with the first mention from 1187 mentioning a major victory over the Finns.[4] The German crusaders enlisted newly baptized Livonian warriors to fight against Latgallians, Selonians, Estonians, Semigallians, Samogitians, and Curonians.[5] The Danish fleet under King Valdemar II landed at the Estonian town of Lindanisse in 1219.[6]

Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam
Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam. Image: Deror_avi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Teutonic Order, which began as a hospital around 1190 and became a military order in 1198, led many of these invasions and gained substantial wealth.[1] Pope Alexander III's 1171 crusade bull, Non parum animus noster, gave authorization for the war against the Estonians.[7]

Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam
Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam. Image: Deror_avi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What the cited sources add

The Salmonsens konversationsleksikon entry "Estland" describes Valdemar Sejr's 1219 landing at Lindanisse and the subsequent establishment of Reval.[8]

Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam
Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam. Image: Deror_avi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam
Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam. Image: Deror_avi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam
Crusader Northern Tower, Tel Yokneam. Image: Deror_avi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Northern Crusades" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pluskowski, Aleksander, "Crusading into the medieval Baltic: Stanford Humanities Center Q&A with Aleks Pluskowski" Stanford Humanities Center Dec 12, 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Northern Crusades" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Christiansen, "The Northern Crusades", Penguin Books, 1997, p. 287; Hunyadi, "The Crusades and the Military Orders: Expanding the Frontiers of Medieval Latin Christianity", Central European University Press, 2001, p. 606; Lock, Peter. The Routledge Companion to the Crusades. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2013, pp. 216-218; Christiansen, "The Northern Crusades", Penguin Books, 1997, p. 287; Christiansen, "The Northern Crusades", Penguin Books, 1997, p. 287 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Northern Crusades" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Christopher Tyerman, God's War: A New History of the Crusades, (University of Harvard Press, 2006), 488.; von Güttner-Sporzyński, "Poland and the papacy before the second crusade" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Northern Crusades" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jensen, "Ristiretket", Turun Historiallinen Yhdistys, 2019, p. 126–127; Haggren, "Muinaisuutemme jäljet", Gaudeamus, 2015, p. 380 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Northern Crusades" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Henricus de Lettis, "The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia", Columbia University Press, 2003 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Northern Crusades" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Estland", Salmonsens konversationsleksikon (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Northern Crusades" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pope Alexander III, "Non Parum Animus Noster", Dalcassian Press, May 2008; Christiansen, Eric. The Northern Crusades. London: Penguin Books. p. 71 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Estland", Salmonsens konversationsleksikon. facts only, no text reused. runeberg.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Northern Crusades (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Named in this entry

SlavsMiddle AgesHoly LandKareliansEastern Orthodox ChurchCatholic ChurchMary, mother of JesusPskov

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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