Crusade series

First Crusade

People's Crusade

German Crusade, 1096

Crusade of 1101

Second Crusade

Third Crusade

Fourth Crusade

Albigensian Crusade

Children's Crusade

Fifth Crusade

Sixth Crusade

Seventh Crusade

Shepherds' Crusade

Eighth Crusade

Ninth Crusade

Northern Crusades

The Teutonic knights in Pskov in 1240. Screenshot from Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky.

The Northern Crusades, or Baltic Crusades, were undertaken by Western Europeans against the "still heathen" (i.e., non-Christian) people of North Eastern Europe around the Baltic Sea. Depiction of the Siege File links The following pages link to this file: Crusade Northern Crusades Sixth Crusade Albigensian Crusade First Crusade Second Crusade Third Crusade Fourth Crusade Childrens Crusade Eighth Crusade Fifth Crusade Seventh Crusade High Middle Ages Template:Crusade Crusade of 1101 Ninth Crusade Siege of Jerusalem... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II to regain control of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Christian Holy Land from Muslims. ... The Peoples Crusade is part of the First Crusade and lasted roughly six months from April 1096 to October. ... The German Crusade of 1096 is that part of the First Crusade in which peasant crusaders, mostly from Germany, attacked not Muslims but Jews. ... The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade, actually three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. ... The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe, called in 1145 in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year. ... The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin. ... The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem by taking Egypt first, instead, in 1204, conquered and sacked the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... The Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the religion practiced by the Cathars of Languedoc, which the Roman Catholic hierarchy considered heretical. ... The Childrens Crusade is the name given to a variety of fictional and factual events in 1212 that combine some or all of these elements: visions by a boy, children marching to south Italy, an attempt to free the Holy Land, and children being sold into slavery. ... The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was an attempt to take back Jerusalem and the rest of holy Land by first conquering the powerful Muslim state in Egypt. ... The Sixth Crusade began in 1228 as an attempt to reconquer Jerusalem. ... The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. ... The Shepherds Crusade is two separate events from the 13th and 14th century. ... The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX of France, (who was by now in his mid-fifties) in 1270. ... // Summary The Ninth Crusade which is sometimes grouped with the Eighth Crusade, is commonly considered to be the last of the medieval Crusades to defend Christianity from the Muslims in the Holy Land. ... Image File history File links Nevsky2. ... Image File history File links Nevsky2. ... The Trinity Cathedral (1682-99) is a symbol of Pskovs former might and independence. ... Events Batu Khan and the Golden Horde sack the Ruthenian city of Kyiv Births Pope Benedict XI Deaths April 11 - Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, also known as Llywelyn The Great Prince of Gwynedd Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon and count of Barcelona (reigned from 1213 to 1276) Castile... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Alexander Nevsky is a film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Dmitry Vasiliev released in 1938, during the Stalin era, with Nikolai Cherkasov in the title role. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times Western Europe was largely defined by the Cold War, with the Iron Curtain separating it from Eastern Europe (Warsaw Pact countries). ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53 deg. ...

The official starting point for the Northern Crusades was Pope Celestine III's call in 1193, but the already Christian kingdoms of Germany and Scandinavia had started to move to subjugate their pagan neighbors earlier. The non-Christian peoples who were objects of the campaigns at various dates included: Celestine III, né Giacinto Bobone (Rome, ca. ... Events Saladin dies, and the lands of the Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt and Syria are split among his descendants. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ...

• the Wends and Rugians, of Rügen, Pomerania and Mecklenburg (in 1147 by the Danes, later also by Saxons and Poles),
• the peoples of (present-day) Finland in 1154 (Finland Proper; disputed), 1249? (Tavastia) and 1293 (Karelia) (by the Swedes, although christianization from Novgorod had started earlier),
• Estonians, Latgalians and Livonians (by the Germans and Danes, 1193–1227),
• Lithuanians (by the Germans, unsuccessfully), early 13th century-1316),
• Curonians and Semigallians,
• Old Prussians,
• Polabian Wends and Abotrites (between Elbe and Oder).

Armed conflict between the Balts and Slavs who dwelt by the Baltic shores and their Saxon and Danish neighbors to the west and south had been common for several centuries prior to the Crusade. The previous battles had largely been caused by attempts to control land and sea trade routes and gain 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. The first campaigns were launched in parallel with the Second Crusade to the Holy Land in the mid-1100s, and continued irregularly right up until the 16th century. Wends (German: Wenden, Latin: Venedi) is the English name for some Slavic people from north-central Europe particularly the Sorbs living in modern-day Germany. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Rügen Rügen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Rügen Rügen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... Historic Western Pomerania (outlined in yellow) on the background of modern country borders. ... Mecklenburg is a geographical area located in Northern Germany. ... Events King Afonso I of Portugal and the Crusaders capture Lisbon from Muslims First written mention of Moscow. ... The Saxons or Saxon people are part of the German people with its main areas of settlements in the German Federal States of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and the Free State of Saxony. ... Events King Stephen of England dies at Dover, and is succeeded by his adopted son Henry Plantagenet who becomes King Henry II of England, aged 21. ... Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi in Finnish, Egentliga Finland in Swedish) is a region in south-western Finland. ... Events University, the first College at Oxford founded Births Emperor Kameyama of Japan Pope John XXII Frederick I, Margrave of Baden Deaths July 6 - Alexander II of Scotland (b. ... Tavastia, Tavastland or Häme, is a historical province in the south of Finland. ... Events May 20 - King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcala The Minoresses (Franciscan nuns) are first introduced into England Births Deaths Categories: 1293 ... Finnish Karelia, historically also Swedish Karelia or Carelia, is a historical province in eastern Finland. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen Ansgar, the 9th century apostle of the North in an 1830 drawing. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Но́вгород) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the highway (and railway) connecting Moscow and St Petersburg. ... The Latgallians (Latvian: latgaļi) were one of the Baltic tribes that later formed Latvian nation. ... The Livonians were the indigenous Finnics who since ancient times populated the shores of the Gulf of Riga adjacent to the Indo-European Balts. ... Events Saladin dies, and the lands of the Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt and Syria are split among his descendants. ... Events Henry III of England declares himself of age and assumes power Births September 30 - Pope Nicholas IV Deaths March 18 - Pope Honorius III (b. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Events Pope John XXII elected to the papacy. ... The Curonians (also called Kursi, Latvian KurÅ¡i) are one of the extinct Baltic tribes that later formed the Latvian nation. ... The Semigallians (Latvian Zemgaļi, also Zemgalians, Semigalls, Semigalians) are one of the Baltic tribes that lived in the southern middle part of Latvia, Zemgale. ... The Prussian people, or (old) Prussians, were indo-European Balts inhabiting the area around the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons (i. ... Polabians are a Slavic people historically dwelling in the basin of the Elbe and on the Baltic coast of Germany. ... The Abotrites were a Slavic people who lived in the Baltic coastal region of present-day Germany, between Lübeck and Rügen, during the twelfth century C.E. During the Northern Crusades the heathen Abotrites were defeated and forced to convert to Christianity by their German neighbors, and were... The Elbe River (Czech Labe (help· info), Sorbian/Lusatian Łobjo, German Elbe) is one of the major waterways of Central Europe. ... The Oder (or Odra) River (German: Oder, Polish/Czech: Odra, Ancient Latin: Viadua, Viadrus, Medieval Latin: Odera, Oddera) is a river in Central Europe (mostly in Poland). ... The Baltic Sea The Balts or Baltic peoples (Latvian: balti, Lithuanian: baltai), defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between lower Vistula and upper Dvina and Dneper. ... The Slavic peoples are defined by their linguistic attainment of the Slavic languages. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the head of the Catholic Church, which considers him the successor of St. ... The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe, called in 1145 in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year. ... The phrase The Holy Land (Arabic الأرض المقدسة, al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah; Hebrew ארץ הקודש: Standard Hebrew Éreẓ haQodeÅ¡, Tiberian Hebrew ʾÉreá¹£ haqQāḏēš; Latin Terra Sancta) generally refers to Israel, otherwise known as Palestine (sometimes including Jordan, Syria and parts of Egypt). ... Events William II of England dies in a hunting accident - Henry I becomes King of England King Henry I proclaims the Charter of Liberties, one of the first examples of a constitution. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

Subjugation of Livonians and Estonians

By the 12th Century the peoples inhabiting the lands now known as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania formed a pagan wedge between increasingly powerful Christian states. During a period of more than 150 years leading up to the arrival of German crusaders in the region, Estonia was attacked thirteen times by Russian Principalities and by Denmark and Sweden as well. Estonians for their part made viking raids on Denmark and Sweden. There were peaceful attempts by the western Christians to convert the Estonians, starting with missions despatched by Adalbert, Archbishop of Bremen from 1045-72. However these peaceful efforts seem to have had very limited success. Moving in the wake of German merchants who were now following the old trading routes of the Vikings, a monk named Meinhard landed at the mouth of the Daugava river in present-day Latvia in 1180 and was made bishop in 1186.

The Pope proclaimed a crusade against the Baltic heathens in 1193 and a crusading expedition led by Meinhard's successor, Bishop Berthold, landed in Livonia (part of present-day Latvia) in 1198. Although the crusaders won their first battle Bishop Berthold was mortally wounded and the crusaders were repulsed.

In 1199 Albert von Buxhoevden was appointed by the Archbishop of Bremen to christianise the Baltic countries. By the time Bishop Albert died thirty years later, the conquest and formal christianisation of present-day Estonia and northern Latvia was complete. Albert began his task by touring Germany 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 the Crusade to the Holy Land. Though 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 miltary presence the "Fratres Militae Christi" or Order of the Brethren of the Sword (see:Livonian Brothers of the Sword) were founded in 1202. The founding by Bishop Albert of the market at Riga in 1201 attracted citizens from Germany and economic prosperity ensued. At Albert's request Pope Innocent III dedicated the Baltic countries to the Virgin Mary to popularise recruitment to his army and the name "Mary's Land" has survived up to modern times. Livonian Brothers The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Latin Fratres militiae Christi, literally the brothers of the army of Christ), also known as the Christ Knights, Sword Brethren or The Militia of Christ of Livonia, was a military order organized in 1202 by Albert of Buxhoeveden, bishop of Riga (or...

The Livonians, who had been paying tribute to the Russian Principality of Polotsk, at first considered the Germans as useful allies but as the German grip tightened the Livonians under their King Kaupo took up arms against them. The Livonians were defeated, their last stronghold falling in 1206. Then the 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, who were at that time divided into eight major and several smaller counties led by elders with limited co-operation between counties. Between 1208 and 1227 war parties of the different sides rampaged through Livonia, Latgalia and different Estonian counties, with Livonians and Latgalians normally as allies of the Crusaders and Russian Principalities appearing as allies of different sides at different times. Hill forts which were the key centres of Estonian counties were besieged and captured a number of times. A truce between the war-weary sides agreed for three years from 1213 to 1215 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 King Kaupo was killed in battle near Viljandi on 21st 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 became the central figure of the Estonian resistance. Polatsk (Belarusian: По́лацак, По́лацк; Polish: Połock, also spelt as Polacak; Russian: По́лоцк, also transliterated as Polotsk, Polotzk, Polock) is the most historic city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. ... Latgale or Latgalia (Polish: Łatgalia; German: Lettgallen) is one of the four cultural regions of Latvia recognised in the Constitution of the Latvian Republic. ... Caupo of Turaida (year of birth unknown; died on September 21, 1217) Livonian leader in the beginning of the 13th century. ... Lembitu (year of birth unknown; died on September 21, 1217) was one of the best-known Estonian leaders in the fight against the conquest of German Sword Brethren in the beginning of the 13th century. ...

The Christian kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden were also greedy for conquests on the Eastern shores of the Baltic. The Swedes made only one failed foray into Western Estonia in 1220 but Danish King Valdemar II landed near present-day Tallinn in 1219. He established a fortress which was besieged by Estonians in 1220 and 1223 but held out. Eventually the whole of northern Estonia was in Danish hands.

The last Estonian county to hold out against the invaders was the island county of Saaremaa, whose war fleets had raided Denmark and Sweden even 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. Following the defeat of the Estonians the crusade moved against Latvian tribes living to the south and west of the river Daugava, the Curonians and the Semigallians. William of Modena, Bishop of Modena in 1221, was frequently appointed a legate, or papal ambassador by the popes Honorius III and Gregory IX, especially in Livonia in the 1220s and in the Prussian questions of the 1240s. ... The Curonians (also called Kursi, Latvian Kurši) are one of the extinct Baltic tribes that later formed the Latvian nation. ... The Semigallians (Latvian Zemgaļi, also Zemgalians, Semigalls, Semigalians) are one of the Baltic tribes that lived in the southern middle part of Latvia, Zemgale. ...

Teutonic Order

The Northern Crusades provided a rationale for the growth and expansion of the Teutonic Order of German crusading knights which had been founded in Palestine at the end of the 12th Century. Due to Muslim successes in the Holy Land the Order sought new missions in Europe and in (1226) Konrad I, duke of Masovia in west-central Poland, appealed to the Knights to defend his borders and subdue the pagan Baltic Prussians. The Teutonic Order came to exercise political control over large territories in the Baltic region, inheriting the territiories and remaining members of the Order of the Brethren of the Sword in 1237 following the latter's crushing defeat by the Lithuanians in 1236 coinciding with a series of revolts in Estonia. The Teutonic Knights failed to subdue pagan Lithuania, which officially converted to Christianity in 1385 on the marriage of Grand Duke Jogaila to the 11-year-old Queen Jadwiga of Poland. Polish-Lithuanian forces defeated the Teutonic Knights thoroughly at the Battle of Grunwald (also called Tannenberg or Źalgiris) in 1410. Teutonic Knights, charging into battle. ... A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... Events Carmelite Order approved by Pope Honorius III Frederick II calls Imperial Diet of Cremona Births June 21 - King Boleslaus V of Poland (died 1279) Abul-Faraj, Syriac scholar (died 1286) Bar-Hebraeus, Syriac historian and bishop (died 1286) Deaths March 7 - William de Longespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English... Categories: Poland-related stubs | Dukes of Masovia | Polish monarchs | Dukes of Sieradz-Leczyca | Prussian history ... The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Portugal, Spain and France (in Italy... Historical division of Masovia Masovia (Polish: Mazowsze) is a geographical and historical region situated in central Poland with its capital at Warsaw. ... The Prussians kill Adalbert The Prussian people, or (old) Prussians, inhabited the area around the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons, (in what is now northern Poland), in the region roughly occupied by the Mazurian Lakes. ... Combatants Kingdom of Poland Grand Duchy of Lithuania Teutonic Order Commanders WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw JagieÅ‚Å‚o, Vytautas the Great Ulrich von Jungingen Strength 39,000 27,000 Casualties Unknown 8,000 dead 2,000 captured The Battle of Grunwald or Battle of Tannenberg took place on July 15, 1410 between...

The Teutonic attempts to conquer Orthodox Russia (particulary Pskov and Novgorod), an enterprise ordered by the Pope ^{[citation needed]}, can also be considered as a part of the Northern Crusades. Christians of other denominations who were not subordinated to Rome were put on the same level as heathens by the conquerors ^{[citation needed]}. One of the major blows for the idea of the conquest of Russia was the Battle on Lake Peipus in 1242. Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... The Trinity Cathedral (1682-99) is a symbol of Pskovs former might and independence. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Но́вгород) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the highway (and railway) connecting Moscow and St Petersburg. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... The Battle of the Ice also known as the Battle on Lake Peipus (Russian: Ледовое побоище, German: Schlacht auf dem Peipussee, Estonian: Jäälahing), took place in 1242. ...

See also

• History of Estonia
• History of Finland
• History of Lithuania

// Pre-history Human settlement became possible when the ice, from the last glacial era, melted away 11,000–13,000 years ago. ... The area that now is Finland was settled soon after the Ice Age, beginning from around 8500 BC. Finland was part of the Swedish Empire from about 1200 to 1809, when Russia conquered the country from Sweden and a personal union between the two countries was established. ... // Before statehood Baltic tribes The first Lithuanians, or Liths, were a branch of an ancient group known as the Balts, whose tribes also included the original Prussian and Latvian people. ...

Selected bibliography

Christiansen, Eric. The Northern Crusades. New York: Penguin Books, 1997. ISBN 0140266534