Synopsis on the history of Russia

Simultaneously with the Tatar invasion, the Russian people in the 13th century had to wage a fierce struggle against German and Swedish invaders. The lands of Northern Russia and, in particular, Novgorod attracted invaders. They were not ruined by Batu, and Novgorod was famous for its wealth, since the most important trade route connecting Northern Europe with the countries of the East passed through it.

At the very beginning of the XIII century. in the Baltics have intensified German spiritual and chivalric orders: The Order of the Swordsmen (created in 1202) and the Teutonic Order (founded at the end of the 12th century). The military actions of these orders, aimed at capturing the Baltic states, met with the resistance of the local population, which found effective support from Novgorod, Polotsk and Pskov. However, the disconnected and uncoordinated actions of individual tribes did not allow stopping the onslaught to the East. By the end of 1220, the German knights reached the Russian borders. Their forces multiplied with the unification in 1237 of the Order of the Sword and the Teutonic Order into the Livonian Order.

Armed confrontation with the Germans was due to a number of reasons. The conquest of the Baltic states posed a threat to the sovereignty of the Russian states in the western part of Russia. In addition, the Russian princes lost control over a number of lands and costly tribute from the Baltic tribes. Finally, the actions of the Order destroyed trade, established political and economic ties in the region.

Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and his son Alexander actively participated in this cruel and bloody war.

In agreement with the Order, they made an attempt to capture Novgorod Swedes. The pope himself became the coordinator of this double aggression. In 1238, the Swedish commander Eric Burr received the blessing of the pope for crusade against Russian lands. It was held under the slogan "Turn the Russians into true Christians." However, the goals of the war, in essence, were different. The Swedes sought to seize the Vot, Izhora and Karelian lands in their favor.

In the summer of 1240, a 5,000-strong army led by Duke Birger approached the banks of the Neva on ships. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich of Novgorod, with his retinue and militia, made a lightning-fast transition from Novgorod and suddenly attacked the camp of the Swedes. The enemy camp was in turmoil. Alexander himself flew at the head of the Russian cavalry. Crashing into the thick of the Swedish troops, he struck down their commander with a spear. The success was complete. Alexander received an honorary title Nevsky and later canonized as a saint.

Alexander's victory on the Neva was of great historical significance. She preserved the shores of the Gulf of Finland for Russia, its trade routes to the countries of the West, and thereby facilitated the Russian people's long struggle against the Horde yoke.

But a month later, a new danger approached Novgorod. German crusader knights and Danish knights launched a big offensive against Russia. They captured Izborsk and Pskov, and in 1241 - Tesov and Koporye. An immediate threat hung over Novgorod. Under these conditions, the Novgorod boyars asked Alexander Nevsky to again lead the armed forces of the city. Squads came to the aid of the Novgorodians Vladimir prince militia was called. With these forces, in the winter of 1242, he moved to Pskov and liberated this ancient city. After that, Alexander began to look for a big battle in order to defeat the main forces of the Order.

famous battle" Battle on the Ice"took place on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus. The German army was built in the form of a wedge, with its tip facing the enemy. The tactics of the knights was to dismember the Russian army and then destroy it piece by piece. Anticipating this, Alexander built his army in such a so that the most powerful forces were on the flanks, and not in the center.At the decisive moment of the battle, when the German army wedged into the center of the Russian squads, it was the flank attack that made it possible to defeat the enemy.After the knights could not stand it and retreated, under the weight of their armor cracked ice, they began to sink. The remnants of the knightly army fled, and the Russian troops pursued them for about seven miles. The battle on the ice of Lake Peipsi was of great importance for all of Russia. The German aggressive advance to the east turned out to be stopped, Northern Russia retained its independence.

Livonian war(1558-1583) - a major military conflict of the 16th century, in which the Livonian Confederation, the Russian kingdom, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Swedish and Danish kingdoms participated. The fighting was carried out mainly on the territory of modern Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and North-Western Russia.

The war began with the attack of the Russian kingdom on Livonia in January 1558. At the first stage of the war, Russian troops achieved significant success, having conquered Narva, Dorpat and a number of other cities and castles. In 1561, according to the Vilna treaties, the Livonian Confederation was liquidated, part of its territory was transformed into a vassal in relation to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, while the other directly became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Since that time, the war has acquired mainly the character of confrontation between the Russian kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was fought mainly on the territory of the latter. In 1563, Polotsk was taken by the Russian army, but it was not possible to develop success, since in 1564 the Russian army was defeated in the battle of Chashniki. Shortly thereafter, the oprichnina was introduced (1565-1572). In 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania merged with the Kingdom of Poland into a single Commonwealth.

Following the unsuccessful siege of Reval by Russian troops (1577), the troops of the Commonwealth returned Polotsk and unsuccessfully besieged Pskov. The Swedes took Narva and unsuccessfully besieged Oreshek.

The war ended with the signing of Yam-Zapolsky (1582) and Plyussky (1583) truces. Russia was deprived of all the conquests made as a result of the war, as well as lands on the border with the Commonwealth and coastal Baltic cities (Koporye, Yama, Ivangorod). The territory of the former Livonian Confederation was divided between the Commonwealth, Sweden and Denmark.

In Russian historical science since the 19th century, the concept of the war as a struggle of Russia for access to the Baltic Sea has been established. A number of modern scientists name other causes of the conflict.

The Livonian War had a huge impact on events in Eastern Europe and the internal affairs of the states involved. As a result, the Livonian Order ended its existence, the war contributed to the formation of the Commonwealth, and the Russian kingdom led to economic decline.

C-7. Eastern and Western Christians. The split of the Christian world.

The Christian Church was founded by the disciples and followers of Jesus Christ during the heyday of the Roman Empire. In the middle of the 4th century, when the ideological foundations of Roman statehood were shaken in the era of general crisis, Christianity became the dominant religion in the empire. During the period early medieval The Christian Church, which was previously only a structure that united communities of believers, gradually turned into a significant political and economic force, with which the emperors were looking for an alliance. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire not only did not destroy christian church, but made it the only organized force on a European scale. In the era of constant wars, the decline of morality, the church acted as the guardian of culture, the defender of the values ​​of order and mercy. Christianity was the common thing that united the direct heir of the Roman Empire - Byzantium - and the kingdoms founded in Western Europe by the barbarians.

Until the middle of the XI century. the Christian church was considered one. In Western Europe, the head of the church was the Pope, and in the territory of Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire) - the Patriarch of Constantinople. In the second half of the ninth century Differences between the Western and Eastern Churches were defined in dogma, rites, church organization, dating back to the differences between Latin and Greek cultures. The conflict was aggravated by the linguistic difference - official language churches in the West remained Latin. The Eastern Church allowed services in national languages. In the end, these differences led to the separation of Western Christianity - Catholicism from Eastern - Orthodoxy. This process, which began as early as the 8th century, ended with the division of churches (there was a church schism). In 1054 the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope cursed each other. So in the Middle Ages, two Christian worlds arose. Since then, the Western Church has been called Catholic (i.e., worldwide), and the Eastern Church has been called Orthodox (true).

Catholics sought to comprehend divine truths with reason. Based on the ideas of St. Augustine, who was called the "teacher of the West", they believed that the mind can learn the laws of the world created by God. This explains the interest of the people of the Western world in mechanics and natural sciences. For the Orthodox, a great role in matters of faith was played not so much by reason as by feelings. The Orthodox considered the inner perfection of a person through prayers, turning to God very important.

The Catholic Church had a strict hierarchical structure. Its head was the Pope. On the second step stood the cardinals, the Pope's closest aides. The pope appointed bishops - administrators of church districts (dioceses) and abbots of monasteries - abbots. The lowest rung of the church hierarchy was occupied by parish priests and monks. The rulers of European states needed the support of the pope, who had great influence on believers. Taking advantage of this, the Roman high priest claimed not only spiritual power in the church, but also power over all the monarchs of Europe. The popes also had real secular power, being the rulers of the Papal States.

Unlike the Western Christian Church, which was headed by the Pope, the Eastern Christian Church did not have a single church center. The Patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria were considered independent. However, in fact, the head of the Eastern Church was the Patriarch of Constantinople. Since the 7th century, after the Arabs took away their eastern provinces from the Byzantines, he remained the only patriarch on the territory of the empire.

The head of the Western Church, claiming not only spiritual authority over all Christians, also claimed supremacy over secular rulers - kings, dukes and princes. In the east, secular power in the person of the emperors completely subjugated the church. The emperors shamelessly interfered in church affairs and influenced the appointment of the patriarch.

B-8. Invasion of Batu. North-Eastern Russia and the Golden Horde in the XIII-XIV centuries.

Genigshan divided the occupied lands between his sons. The western lands went to the eldest son of Djuga, who died in the same year as his father - 1227. Now the head of the western ulus was the young energetic Batu, the son of Dzhuga. And in 1235 it was decided to march to Europe.

In the autumn of 1236 the Volga Bulgaria was devastated and scorched. The Mongol-Tatars began their campaign in the fall, in order to approach the Russian lands in winter. They skillfully moved along the frozen rivers, and the Russian steppe swamps and swamps were the most terrible thing for them. So in the winter of 1237, 140,000 Horde troops crossed the Voronezh River and headed for Northeast Russia. The Russian principalities could put up no more than 100 thousand soldiers. Civil strife prevented the formation of a united Russian rati. So, the princes opposed the Tatar-Mongols one by one. In the winter of 1237, Batu's army defeated the Ryazan principality. In January 1238, the Mongols captured the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Moscow, Suzdal, Vladimir were captured. On March 4, 1238, the Battle of the River City took place. The army of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich was defeated, and he himself was killed. The feat of the inhabitants of the small town of Kozelsk is also known. He resisted the Tatar-Mongols for 7 weeks. After the capture, it was wiped off the face of the earth, its inhabitants were destroyed. After the capture of the small town of Torzhok, the Mongols opened the road to the North-West of Russia, but spring came and the Mongols were forced to return.

During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church had unlimited power not only in the sphere of shaping the worldview of people, but also in the state structure of the apologist countries. The secular power of religious leaders was exercised through the orders that led the famous crusades, the purpose of which was not only the conversion of the pagans to the faith of God, but also the actual annexation of the lands of the conquered states. In the second quarter of the 13th century, the Livonian Order became one of these paramilitary forces. Its founder is Bishop Albert of Riga, who had exorbitant predatory ambitions.

Fundamentals of the formation of the order

At the beginning of the 13th century in Riga there was the Order of the Sword - a German Catholic association, which included representatives of the clergy and knights. The uniform of the members of the order was a white cloak with a print of a red cross and a sword. The first master who headed the order was named Winno von Rohrbach, he was replaced by Volkvin von Naumburg, on whom the history of the order ended. The main task of the order was the crusades to the lands of the modern Baltic. The conquest of Lithuania was especially difficult, and attempts were repeatedly made to conquer the Novgorod lands. Together with the Danish troops in 1219, the Revel fortress (modern Tallinn) was founded.

The decline of the order came at the time of the Northern Crusade of 1233-1236, which was suspended by the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. The Swordsmen suffered a complete defeat during the Crusade against Lithuania in 1236, which was organized by Pope Gregory IX. In May of the following year, the head of the Teutonic Order and Pope Gregory agreed on the entry of the remaining swordsmen into the Order. Since the swordsmen were deployed in modern Latvian and Estonian lands, the new association began to bear the name of the Livonian Order - a branch of the Teutonic Order. The knights of the Livonian Order left the same uniform as their predecessors.

Lands of Subjugation

The name of the order was given by the name of the people living in the lower reaches of the Western Dvina River - Livs. Livonia united five principalities of the clergy: the Livonian Order, as well as the bishoprics of Riga, Courland, Derpt and Ezel-Vik. Formally, the power over these lands belonged to the German emperor and the Pope.

Officially, the Livonian branch was called the Order of St. Mary of the German House in Livonia. Historians note that with the organization of the new structure, the balance of power in this territory has changed. The sword-bearers were subordinate to the Bishop of Riga, and the Livonians were subordinate to the head of the Teutonic Order, who was directly subordinate to the Pope. Subsequently, this caused a struggle for power between the bishopric and the order.

First defeat

The newly formed order tried its strength only five years later. Then the Livonian and Teutonic Orders set out on a campaign against Novgorod and Pskov. However, they met fierce resistance from the Russian army, led by the Novgorod prince Alexander, who went down in history as Alexander Nevsky. According to legend, the battle took place on Lake Peipsi on April 5, 1242. The famous battle on the ice ended with the complete defeat of the invaders, of whom about 400-500 knights died.

At the same time, history from the side of Livonia claims that there could not have been such a number of knights. Moreover, the majority consisted of soldiers of the Bishop of Tartu. Be that as it may, this defeat weakened the ardor of the order in relation to Russia for more than twenty years.

Brutal Samogitian Resistance

In the 50s of the 13th century, the Livonian Order brought Prince Mindaugas to power in Lithuania. In return, Samogitia was transferred to their jurisdiction. The alliance with the Lithuanian leadership significantly strengthened the order. At the same time, the inhabitants of the given territory were not going to obey and put up strong resistance to the new masters.

Enlisting the support of the people of Courland, whom the order had enslaved, in 1260 he decided to organize an attack on Samogitia. However, the latter managed to get ahead of them and attack first. The battle took place on the territory of the present city of Durbe, in the western part of Latvia. During the battle, the legionaries of the order from the conquered territories - Estonians, Latgalians, Courlanders - quickly left the battlefield, leaving a few Livonians face to face with the Samogitians, who won an unconditional victory.

The defeat entailed the loss of Samogitia, the liberation of most of Courland, as well as Saaremaa.

The end of the crusade to the Baltic

Resistance in Estonia, which was formally conquered in 1227, did not subside until the end of the 1260s. With enviable regularity, uprisings broke out in Courland and Semgallia. In 1267, Courland fell, where almost all the land went to Bishop Albert, with the exception of one third, which was transferred to the Courland bishop.

This distribution of land significantly increased the influence of the Livonian Order. Memel Castle was built, which facilitated land communication with the Teutonic Order in Prussia. Settling in Courland allowed the crusaders to direct all their forces to the conquest of Semgallia, which was finally defeated only in 1291. Some of the Courlanders then fled to Lithuania, having assimilated with the Lithuanians. Those who remained after many centuries became Latvians.

Civil wars

The Livonian Order first came into open conflict with the Riga bishopric only in 1297, although earlier there were repeated attempts by the clergy to challenge the power of the order. The war with varying success lasted until 1330, when the order won a final victory and completely subjugated Riga. However, even before the middle of the 15th century, the city was alternately subordinate to the master of the order, then the archbishop, until in 1451 they were equalized in the rights of leadership of the city. This situation continued until the disappearance of the order.

Northern Estonia became the property of the Teutonic Order in 1346. The order bought the territory for real money from the Danish king Valdemar IV Atterdag. The ease of this acquisition was due to the successfully suppressed rebellion here in 1343, which went down in history as the St. George's Night uprising. However, a year after the acquisition, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order transferred the actual power over the lands to the Livonian Order. In the 15th century, when trying to separate from the mother order, it was here that the biggest problems arose.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the Livonian Order began to seek independence from its patron, the Teutonic Order. This was especially facilitated by the defeat of the latter in 1410 in the battle with the combined Polish-Lithuanian army. At that time, peace agreements that were disastrous for the Teutonic Order were concluded, as a result of which power over Samogitia was lost. The leadership of the Livonian Order was increasingly reluctant to support its patron in military campaigns, and then began to refuse altogether. The confrontation also intensified due to the internal contradictions of the Livonian Order itself.

Difficult relations with Russia

The history of the Livonian Order included a rather difficult relationship with the Russian state. Basically, all the clashes ended in defeat. Military confrontations, which took place with varying success, ended with peace treaties, which were quickly canceled. Due to the closed Hanseatic trading office in Novgorod in 1501, the Livonian-Muscovite War broke out. As an ally, the Livonian Order chose Lithuania, which was at war with Russia. However, this did not lead to anything, and in 1503 a peace was concluded, an agreement on which was regularly confirmed until the start of the Livonian War.

In 1551, the agreement could not be extended. The Russian side, successfully getting rid of the yoke of the khanates, reoriented its interests to the west. The negotiations dragged on for several years, until Ivan the Terrible delivered as an ultimatum the abolition of the payment of St. George's tribute for the lands of the Tartu bishopric, which, according to the tsar, was originally Russian land. The last negotiations between the parties, which were held in 1558, did not lead to anything. The Livonian War began. By the end of the year, Grozny's troops had captured eastern and southeastern Estonia.

Decline of the Order

It was from the war with the Russians that the defeat of the Livonian Order began. Seeing how rapidly the Russian troops were advancing through the lands of the order, Northern Estonia and Tallinn arbitrarily went into submission to Sweden. The nobles of the remaining lands were forced to join the Polish-Lithuanian state on the terms of complete submission. However, the last head of the order, Master Kettler, was able to defend the Duchy of Courland for himself, which he headed.

The famous Livonian Order, whose official collapse year was 1561, successfully implemented the official policy of the Catholic Church. The Crusades brought fame and fortune. However, internal contradictions and the desire for independence significantly weakened the order and eventually led to its disappearance.

IX. SMOLENSK AND POLOTSK. LITHUANIA AND THE LIVONIAN ORDER

(continuation)

Nature and population of the Baltic region. - German merchants and missionaries. - Meinhard and Berthold. - Albert Buksgevden and the founding of the Livonian Order. – Enslavement of Livs and Latvians. - Prince Vladimir of Polotsk. - Enslavement of Estonians. – Danes in Estonia. - Collision with the Novgorodians. - The capture of Yuryev. – Conquest of Zimgola and Kuron.

Livonia

Map of Livonia (XVI century)

The region, known as the Baltic, or Livonian, has natural boundaries on three sides: the Baltic Sea in the west, the Gulf of Finland in the north, and the Pskov-Peipsi Lake with the Narova River in the east. Only in the south and southeast its limits were outlined by the sword of the German conquerors, on the one hand, and the Russian and Lithuanian defenders of the motherland, on the other. This region, with the islands belonging to it, is a low-lying strip in its northern half and hilly in the southern. Hilly, rugged terrain is especially located in the southeastern part, between the lakes Virtjerve, Chudskoye and Zapadnaya Dvina; here, in the midst of picturesque valleys and elevations, the upper course of the Livonian Aa meanders and beautiful lakes lie. Rather poor sandy-clay soil, in some places dotted with boulders and whole rocks brought from the north, many rivers and small lakes, pine and spruce forests, a humid and rather harsh climate, sea shores covered with for the most part quicksand and shoals, and therefore not representing convenient harbors - these are the distinguishing features of the Livonian region. It is not surprising, therefore, that he remained out of historical life, serving as a stay for semi-savage tribes and representing little attractive for the more developed peoples of neighboring Europe. Among the rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea, there are quite significant in size, which are: Pernava, Salis, two Aa (Livonian and Kuronian) and especially Vindava; but they differ either in shallow water or in rapids, and therefore are not navigable. The only navigable vein is the Dvina; but it is also often dotted with rapids, so that navigation on it was always fraught with difficulties, and merchant ships could only sail during the short spring season, i.e. in flood. From this it is partly clear why Ancient Russia did not show much desire to spread colonization in this direction. Its communication with the sea along the Dvina dates back to very distant times; but she preferred to her another, albeit longer, but more convenient way to the Baltic Sea: along the Volkhov and along the Neva. However, it is generally impossible not to notice that the Russian tribe, gradually spreading from south to north along the main rivers of Eastern Europe, over the course of centuries acquired all the habits of river (and not sea) navigation and developed considerable skill in order to cope with river shoals and rapids. . But, approaching the Baltic Sea, it stopped on one side at Lake Ladoga, and on the other, on the lower reaches of the Dvina, and did not show any desire or desire to secure the ends of these two paths and establish itself on the very shores. Baltic Sea. Which, of course, the peoples of the German root took advantage of. The Baltic region was inhabited by two different tribes, Finnish and Lithuanian. All northern and middle lane it was occupied by the peoples of the Finnish family, known to Ancient Russia generally under the name of Chudi, and among foreign writers under the name of Estiev (Eastern), or Ests. Russian chronicles are distinguished by the special names of some of the foreigners; so, they mention: Chud Neroma or Narova, near the river of the same name, then Chud Ochel after it, then Yereva on the upper Pernava and Torma on the western side of Lake Peipus. The Chud and Estonian peoples who lived in the northern strip of the Baltic region did not say anything special about their existence in history, and our chronicles mention them only about the campaigns that the Russian princes sometimes took in this direction in order to punish some tribe for border robberies and impose tribute on him. Even under Vladimir the Great, Russia was already collecting tribute in that direction; but the first known attempt to establish himself here belonged to his son Yaroslav-Yuri. In Ungania (region of Chudi Torma), on the heights of the left bank of the Embakh, he built a Russian town, which he gave the name Yuryeva in honor of his Christian name. Up to this point, the Embach is quite navigable from its mouth; probably, here before there was a Finnish settlement, bearing the native name of Derpt. The Chud tribe, however, cherished its independence, and Russia had to reconquer the lost Yuryev more than once. When the importance of the Grand Duke of Kiev began to decline and his attention was diverted to the south by the struggle against the Polovtsy, the conquest of the Estonian Chud stopped. Her neighbors, Novgorodians and Pskovians, sometimes made successful trips to her land, seized servants and cattle as booty, and took some of the fortified places of the natives. Between the latter, the city of Odenpe, in Russian Bear's Head, which lay south of Yuryev in one of the most elevated, hilly corners of the Livonian region, gained fame more than others. But, on the one hand, the stubborn defense of the natives, on the other hand, the obvious lack of persistent movement of Novgorod Rus in this direction delayed the spread of Russian domination.

The southern strip of the Baltic region was occupied by the peoples of the Lithuanian family, namely: Latygola and Zimgola.

The Chud peoples, in a collision with the Lithuanian ones, obviously retreated before them as a more gifted Aryan tribe, for in ancient times Chud, no doubt, extended south of the Dvina; but the Latvians gradually pushed her further north and occupied her lands. In this collision, over the centuries, new tribal species were formed, mixed from both families. The people of the Livs belonged to such a mixture, who occupied the lower course of the Dvina and the sea coast almost from Pernava to Mus, or Kuronskaya Aa and beyond. And even further to the west in the seaside lived the Kurons, also mixed from the Lithuanian and Finnish nationalities, apparently with the predominance of the first, while the second prevailed among the Livs. On the banks of the Vindava there lived another people of the Venda, of unknown Slavic or any other family, as they were lost without a trace. The Livonian region of Toreida, located along the river of the same name, better known as Aa, neighbored the Dvina Livs. To the north of Toreida lay other regions of the Livs, Idumea and Metepolis, the latter along the Salis River. Having a significant Latvian admixture, the Livs are slightly larger and more strongly built than the Ests, but closer to them than to the Latvians in language, character and customs. Their clothes also predominate dark color, they are also quick-tempered and stubborn, like the Estonians, and differed in the same disposition towards sea predation. The Ezelian, Livonian and Kuronian pirates did not miss an opportunity to rob merchant ships or take advantage of their shipwreck, and generally caused considerable harm to merchant shipping in the Baltic. About half of the XII century, these pirates even took possession of a part of the island of Olanda, and here, on the very coast of Scandinavia, they made their nest of robbers. King Voldemar I of Denmark was forced to send a strong fleet against them, which only after a desperate battle managed to destroy this nest (1171). However, the audacity of the Chud pirates was so great even after that that seventeen years later they raided the shores of Lake Melara and plundered the trading city of Sigtuna.

Russian influence extended to the country of the Livs more than to Estonia, thanks to the waterway along the Western Dvina. But here, too, the princes of Polotsk did not show greater perseverance than the Novgorodians, and did not seek to secure the mouth of this river or the exit to the sea. The Polotsk fortifications stopped on the Kokenhusen heights of its right bank, and the princes limited themselves to levying a small tribute from the settlements located further down the river. Although Russian domination and Eastern Orthodoxy spread very slowly in this region, but without great upheavals and upheavals, without the extermination and impoverishment of the native tribes. Livs and Latvians maintained their patriarchal way of life under the control of tribal elders and freely offered sacrifices to their gods. The population enjoyed some prosperity, and its peaceful state was disturbed only by petty frontier fights and robberies; moreover, the Lithuanian peoples for the most part offended the Estonian Chud.

Beginning of German penetration into Livonia

Such a vegetation of the Baltic region continued until the German conquerors arrived, for whom German merchants paved the way in this direction.

Almost in the very middle of the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Kuronia, stretches a rather significant mountainous island of Gotland; its elevated shores are indented with bays convenient for sailors. Near one of these bays on the northwestern side of the island, the trading town of Visby flourished, which served as the main intermediary in the trade of Northern Russia with the Varangians, or Scandinavians. Varangian merchants came here with Novgorod, Smolensk and Polotsk merchants and bartered Russian products from them, especially expensive furs, wax and leather. This lucrative barter was not slow to attract German merchants from Northern Germany. In the XII century, an important upheaval took place in the southern Baltic coast. The Slavic peoples who lived there, the Bodrichi, Lutichi and partly the Pomeranians, lost their identity, oppressed by the Germans and Danes. The Slavic coastline was subjected to gradual Germanization, which began with the most significant trading cities, such as Shchetin, Volyn, Rostock and Lubeck. Their maritime trade declined during the time they fought against the German invaders, missionaries and colonists. It was then that merchants from the Saxon and Low German cities that lay beyond the Elbe appeared on the Baltic Sea. The cities of Bremen and Hamburg were ahead of the others, followed by Minster, Dortmund, Seet and others. Their merchants also founded their warehouses and offices in Visby and began to produce exchange with Russian guests. The enterprising Germans, however, did not limit themselves to the mediation of Gotland, but at the same time tried to enter into direct trade relations with the peoples who lived on the eastern coast of the Baltic.

Around the middle of the 12th century, Bremen merchants began to visit the lower reaches of the Western Dvina and trade with the coastal Livs. In the spring their ships sailed with German goods, and in the autumn they left loaded with local products. It was an era of strong religious inspiration in Western Europe. The crusades against the infidels were in full swing. The forced baptism of the Slavs on the Baltic coast in particular strengthened the missionary movement among the Germans. The stories of the merchants about the Livonian pagans were not slow to direct part of this movement in that direction. Among the German preachers here, the first place, if not in time, then in success, belongs to Meingard, a monk of the Augustinian order from the Bremen diocese. In the spring of 1186, he sailed on a merchant ship to the Dvina and landed 35 versts from its mouth on the right bank in the Livonian village of Ikeskol (Ikskul), where German merchants had already managed to build their yard for a warehouse of goods. The inhabitants of that area paid tribute to the prince of Polotsk named Vladimir. The clever monk, in order to ensure his business from this side, first asked the prince for permission to baptize the pagans and even managed to please him so much that he received gifts from him. Then he succeeded in converting some respectable natives, and with their help others, so that in the same winter he built a Christian church at Ixculus. The following winter, the Latvians raided this area. Meinhard took advantage of his knowledge of military affairs, armed the inhabitants of Ikskul and put them in ambush, in the forest, through which the enemies, burdened with prisoners and booty, passed. The Latvians could not withstand the unexpected attack and, having abandoned their booty, they fled. This victory greatly helped the preaching work, and the baptism of the Ikskul natives went even more successfully. Under the pretext of protecting the inhabitants from future attacks, Meinhard, with their consent, next spring called in craftsmen and masons from Gotland and erected a strong castle near the native village. In the same way, with the consent of the inhabitants, he later built a castle a little lower than Ikskul on one of the Dvina islands, Golm, where he had previously built a church (hence the name Kirchholm). These were the first German fortresses in the Livonian land. In view of such successes, the Archbishop of Bremen Hartwig elevated Meingard to the dignity of the Bishop of Livonia, however, with his submission to his see, for which he received a papal bull of September 25, 1188. One of Meingard's companions, the monk Dietrich, labored in the neighboring region of Toreide on the banks of the Aa. Once the pagans, prompted by the priests, seized him and wanted to sacrifice him to their gods. But first it was necessary to know their will through divination. They put a spear and forced the horse to cross over it. The latter stepped over first with the "leg of life". They did it a second time, and the same thing happened again. This not only saved the life of the monk, but also instilled special respect for him; and when he managed to cure several sick people with herbs, not only men, but also women began to be baptized.

Meinhard began to inspire the Livs with obedience to the Archbishop of Bremen and demand tithes for the church; then the new converts began to be suspicious and even hostile towards their apostle. There was a reverse movement, i.e. return to paganism; those who were baptized plunged into the jets of the Dvina to wash it off and send it back to Germany. Meinhard wanted to sail to the fatherland and there collect help by people and by other means; but the natives, with feigned obedience, begged him to stay. Convinced of their pretense, he sent his comrade Dietrich to the pope, and the pope ordered the remission of sins to be announced to all those who would accept the cross, in order to support the emerging Livonian Church by force of arms. The aged Meinhard, however, did not wait for this help and died in 1196. Before his death, he gathered baptized elders around him and exhorted them to remain faithful to the new religion and accept a new bishop in his place.

Hartwig sent the Cistercian monk Berthold from Bremen to succeed him. Met with hostility by the Livs, he returned to Germany, with the help of a papal bull, gathered a detachment of armed people and with them again landed at the bishop's castle of Holm in 1198. Then an open war began between the Germans and the natives. Berthold retreated to the mouth of the Dvina and settled down on the Riga hill. Here there was a fight with the Livs. Although the latter were already defeated, Berthold was carried by his horse into the midst of the fleeing enemies and struck in the back with a spear. The victors avenged his death by brutally devastating the surrounding country, so that the vanquished humbled themselves, accepted the priests and agreed to pay the established taxes. But as soon as the German warriors sailed back, a new washing away of baptism in the waves of the Dvina and the beating of priests began.

Foundation of the Livonian Order

In place of the murdered Berthold, the Bremen Archbishop appointed one of his canons, Albert, who came from a rather noble family of Apeldern or Buksgevden. This choice turned out to be very successful. Albert was a quirky, energetic and enterprising person. He least of all dreamed of the glory of an apostle-martyr, and laid the further spread of Christianity in the Livonian region mainly on the power of the sword. Therefore, before going there, he prepared all the means for future success. He visited Gotland, where he managed to recruit five hundred crusaders, then Denmark, where he received a large financial assistance. Then Albert traveled through part of Northern Germany and in Magdeburg obtained a decree from King Philip that the property of the crusaders who went to Livonia enjoyed the same privileges as the crusaders who went to Palestine.

In the spring of 1200, Albert, with soldiers and merchants on twenty-three ships, sailed to the mouth of the Dvina. Leaving the main fleet here, the bishop went up to Golm and Ikskul in small ships. The Livs armed themselves, started a new war with the Germans and forced them to endure a stubborn siege in Golm. But the bishop did not hesitate to resort to treachery: he managed, under the guise of negotiations, to lure the Livonian elders to him; then, under the threat of sending them as captives to Germany, he forced them to extradite as hostages up to thirty of his sons. These boys were sent to Bremen and brought up there in Christian religion. Albert decided to found the episcopal capital closer to the sea and chose for this, on the right low bank of the Dvina, the very somewhat elevated place on which his predecessor Berthold fell and which was called Riga after a small river flowing here, fourteen miles from the sea. In 1201, the construction of the walls began and the foundation of the cathedral in the name of St. Mary. The pope, the famous Innocent III, not only gave his consent to the foundation of the episcopal city, but also granted him certain privileges; for example, he imposed a ban on German merchants from visiting the mouth of the Musa River, adjacent to the Dvina, or Kuronskaya Aa, where trade was carried out with the native Zimgols. As a result of this prohibition, all German merchants who visited this region involuntarily had to stick at the mouth of the Dvina. The latter is fortified by a special castle, which received the name Dinaminde (ie the Dvina mouth) from the very position of its position. Albert tried to attract many merchants and artisans from Bremen, Gotland and other places to the episcopal capital, generously clothing them. various privileges, and the city, thanks to its favorable position, soon became one of the most significant intermediaries in trade between Germany and Scandinavia, on the one hand, and Eastern Europe, on the other. Every autumn, Albert went to Germany and every spring, i.e. with the opening of navigation, he returned to Riga, bringing with him new detachments of armed pilgrims. But these crusaders remained in Livonia for only one summer and then sailed back, confident that they had earned enough papal absolution for their sins. Such pilgrimage, of course, could not satisfy Albert, who wished to have at his disposal a real military force. To this end, he began to distribute castles and possessions to the German knights on fiefdom. The first of these fief barons appeared at Ixkull and Lennewarden; the last castle was also built on the right bank of the Dvina, above Ikskul. The intensified wars with the natives forced the bishop to think of a more effective measure. Together with his main associate Dietrich (the very one to whom divination by a horse saved his life), Albert made a plan to establish a monastic church in Livonia. knightly order, following the example of the orders that at that time existed in Palestine. Innocent III in 1202 approved this plan with a special bull and gave the Livonian Order the status of Templars, and appointed the image of a red cross and a sword on a white cloak as its distinguishing mark. Hence this order became known under the name of the Sword-bearers (its name approved by the pope was Fratres militiae Christi). Along with vows of celibacy, obedience to the pope and their bishop, the order knights vowed to fight the native pagans all their lives.

Captures of the Livonian Knights

Albert appointed Winno von Rohrbach as the first master of the Livonian Order. Now the conquest of Livonia and forced conversion to Christianity went even more successfully. Not only by the power of the sword did Albert extend his dominion, but by a still more cunning policy and the ability to take advantage of circumstances. In particular, he tried to attract the Livonian foremen. One of them, named Kaupo, having been baptized, went even to Rome, where he received an honorary reception and gifts from the pope himself; Of course, on his return, he was the most zealous servant of the Roman Church and helped the bishop a lot with his influence on fellow tribesmen and zealous participation in wars with the pagans. Albert skillfully supported the enmity of the native tribes, being with his help one against the other, exterminating the pagans with their own hands. The chronicler of his deeds, Heinrich the Latvian, gives, by the way, the following example of such an extermination. Lithuania, as usual, robbed and offended the neighboring Chud peoples. One winter, the Lithuanians, through the lands of the Livs, raided the Estonians under the command of their prince Svelgat and returned from there with a large number of captives, cattle and other booty. Having learned about this, the Germans, together with their allied Semigallians, settled down somewhere along the road and waited for Lithuania. The latter, due to the deep snow, moved in a long line, following each other, but, noticing the enemies, hastened to gather in a crowd. Seeing a large number in front of them, the Semigallians did not dare to attack. But a handful of German knights considered the retreat shameful and moved forward. Here it was fully revealed what an advantage over the natives their weapons and combat experience gave them. The iron helmets, armor and naked swords of the German horsemen, shining in the sun, inspired such fear in the discordant crowd of Litvins armed with primitive tools and arrows, that they, not waiting for the blow, rushed to flee. Then the Semigallians also joined the Germans, a cruel massacre took place, since deep snow prevented the flight of the Litvins. According to the Lettish chronicler, they scattered and were beaten like sheep. The heads of Svelgat and other killed enemies were collected and taken away by the Semigallians as trophies. Then the Germans also beat the Estonians captured by Lithuania without mercy, seeing them only as pagans. Many wives of the fallen Litvins, having learned about the defeat, took their own lives in order to immediately unite with their husbands behind the coffin. So, in one village alone, up to fifty women were strangled.

The forcibly converted Livs often fell away from Christianity and rebelled against their enslavers, and the Germans captured by them were sometimes sacrificed to their gods. The Germans enslaved them again; in revenge, they beat the prisoners in droves and burned their villages. Thus, in a few hundred years the land of the Livs was completely conquered; but as a result of the cruel nature of the struggle, this rather prosperous region was subjected to terrible devastation and impoverishment. Famine and pestilence finished the work of devastation begun by the Germans. In subsequent centuries, the impoverished, rare population of Livs merged with the Latvian tribe, so that in our time you can only find scattered here and there, insignificant remnants of this once significant people, which gave its name to almost the entire Baltic region.

When the conquest of the Livs took place, the Order of the Sword-bearers demanded a third of the conquered land and the same part of all future conquests. Hence a dispute arose between him and the bishop. The order turned to the pope, who decided the dispute in his favor. This was the first step towards his future dominance in the country. The bishop could soon be convinced that he was mistaken in his calculation to create for himself an independent position as a spiritual imperial prince and to have a knightly order as an obedient tool in his hands. The latter received land along the river Aa, or Goive. Here, on the hills of its left bank, a large, strong Wenden castle was built, which became the seat of the masters and the center of the order lands. Other castles sprang up in the neighborhood; of these, the order brethren ruled over the surrounding population, which she turned into a serf. Knights, bound by celibacy and other monastic vows, paid very little attention to these vows. With the hasty establishment of the order, the bishop could not be picky in the choice of his brethren, and he was filled with all sorts of natives, seekers of prey and adventure, rude and cruel people who, at the opportunity, gave full rein to their animal passions and carried out all kinds of violence on the subjects of the order; and also started quarrels and fights among themselves. In vain the offended complained to the bishop; he had no means of curbing the violent knights. One of these desperate brothers attacked Master Vinno von Rohrbach himself and killed him, for which, however, he was publicly executed in Riga (1209). Albert appointed the knight Volkvin to replace the murdered Vinno.

After the Livs, it was the turn of the Latvians. The conquest and conversion to Christianity of the latter took place with less effort. Part of the Latvians, who paid tribute to the princes of Polotsk and submitted to Russian influence, were inclined to accept Orthodoxy, and some villages were already baptized according to the Eastern rite. Thus, in this region, German preaching met Russian, and the Livonian chronicle conveys a curious way by which a dispute between two rites was resolved in one district. The Latvians resorted to divination to find out the will of their gods, and the lot fell in favor of the Latin rite. Then the German missionaries freely baptized several villages. Latin churches were immediately built in them, and among the priests appointed here was the author of the Livonian chronicle, Heinrich the Latysh himself, baptized in childhood and raised by Bishop Albert, to whom he forever retained deep devotion.

The first wars of Russia with the Livonian Order

The spread of German conquests into the interior of the country could not fail to provoke hostile clashes with Russia. The first clashes took place on the banks of the Dvina and ended in favor of the Germans, due, on the one hand, to the weakness of the Polotsk principality in general, as well as the personal inability and carelessness of Prince Vladimir of Polotsk, and on the other hand, to the pressure of Lithuania that had begun, diverting the attention of Polotsk Russia in a different direction. One day, Bishop Albert sailed, as usual, to Germany to collect crusaders and all kinds of benefits. Part of the Livs thought to take advantage of his absence and the small number of Germans remaining on the Dvina to overthrow their yoke; they sent Vladimir Polotsky to call for help; he really sailed on ships along the Dvina with a significant militia. At first he tried to take Ixkul; but, beaten off by ballistas, or stone-throwing guns, he went down the river and proceeded to Holm, in which there were several dozen Germans and a crowd of Livs called to help, whose loyalty, however, was difficult to rely on. However, the siege went unsuccessfully, the attempt to overlay the castle with firewood and burn it failed, because the besieged with their ballistae accurately hit those who came too close to the walls. According to Heinrich the Latvian, the Polotsk people allegedly were not familiar with the use of these tools, but fought from a distance with arrows. They tried to arrange small stone-throwing tools on the model of the Germans; but they acted so clumsily that their stones flew back and wounded their own warriors. Meanwhile, Riga itself was in fear of the Russian invasion, since it had a weak garrison and its very fortifications were not yet completed. In order to impede the roads to the city, the inhabitants of Riga threw iron nails with three bent ends over the neighboring fields; these ends pierced the hooves of the cavalry and the legs of the infantry. Meanwhile, some Livs informed the prince that some ships appeared on the sea. Then Vladimir, after an eleven-day siege of Holm, who was already barely holding on, retreated from him, boarded ships and sailed back, proving again his short-sightedness and spinelessness (1206). And the following year, Prince Vyachko, the henchman of the town of Kukeynos, who was pressed by the Germans, whose possessions already covered him from all sides, called in vain for his help Vladimir Polotsky. Finally, despairing of the success of the defense, Vyachko burned Kukeynos and withdrew with his family to Russia. The bishop ordered a strong stone castle to be built on the site of the burned-out town and gave it to a knight as a fief. The same fate soon befell another specific prince, Vsevolod, who owned the next Podvinsk town of Gersike.

In 1210, the existence of the emerging German state was almost in great danger. Neighboring Curons, who suffered interference from the Germans and Frisians in their piracy, decided to take advantage of the usual departure of Bishop Albert to Germany and the weakness of the Riga garrison: they sent to ask the Livs, Lithuania and Russians to unite and expel the hated newcomers with common forces. They promised. Numerous ships of the Curons at the appointed time appeared at the mouth of the Dvina and hurried to Riga with such speed that some fishing boats barely had time to notify of their approach. The authorities immediately struck the alarm bell and called on the entire population to defend the city; even church ministers and women took up arms. Messengers immediately jumped in all directions demanding help, the Curons bravely went on the attack, hiding behind their shields, made up of two boards. Which of them fell wounded, his closest comrade chopped off his head. The inhabitants of Riga defended themselves with difficulty all day; however, they held out until nightfall. And the next day, help from nearby castles began to approach them; a part of the baptized Livs also came under the command of the faithful Kaupo. Meanwhile, none of the Curonian allies showed up. After standing for a few more days on the left bank of the Dvina, the Kurons burned the bodies of their fallen soldiers and sailed back. The young German state this time, as in general, was saved by the lack of unity in the actions of its enemies. He was especially helped by the remarkable inability of Prince Vladimir of Polotsk. Bishop Albert in the same year managed to persuade this prince to a trade agreement beneficial for Riga, which opened up free navigation for German merchants along the Dvina to Polotsk and Smolensk. At the same time, the dodgy bishop not only recognized the rights of Vladimir to the tribute paid earlier by the inhabitants, but also pledged himself to annually pay this tribute to the prince for them. Thus, becoming, as it were, a tributary of the Polotsk prince, he deftly removed him from direct relations with the natives. The prince of Polotsk looked at the growing strength of the Germans so short-sightedly that, following this treaty, he sent military assistance to the bishop in his war with the Estonians.

An even worse Russian patriot turned out to be the prince of neighboring Pskov, also named Vladimir, the brother of Mstislav the Udaly. He entered into a great friendship with the Germans and gave his daughter to Riga for the bishop's brother Dietrich. The Pskovites were indignant at this friendship and drove him away from them. The exile retired to Riga; the bishop received him with honor and made him governor of the Livonian region of Idumea.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Polotsky invited Albert to a personal meeting near Gersike, which had not yet been captured by the Germans. He invited the bishop to agree on the Livs, the renewal of the trade agreement and common actions against the Lithuanians. On the appointed day, the bishop sailed along the Dvina, accompanied by a number of order knights, Livonian and Lettish foremen, and, in addition, German merchants, who were also fully armed in the boats. Vladimir demanded from the bishop that he stop the baptism of the Livs, since they are tributaries of him, the prince of Polotsk, and it is in his power to baptize them or leave them unbaptized. Describing this meeting, Heinrich the Latvian notes that the Russian princes usually conquer some people not in order to convert them to Christianity, but in order to collect tribute from them. The bishop very deftly replied that he was obliged to honor the divine command more than human and referred to the gospel commandment: "Go and teach all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

He said that he could not stop preaching, entrusted to him by the Roman high priest, but that he did not interfere with paying tribute to the prince, following the covenant of the same Gospel of Matthew: "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, but God's to God." He recalled that he himself had paid the prince tribute for the Livs, but that these latter did not want to serve two masters and asked to be forever freed from the Russian yoke. From affectionate, friendly exhortations, Vladimir finally turned to threats: he threatened to burn the Livonian cities, including Riga itself. He ordered his retinue to leave the city and stood in battle formation, showing his intention to attack the Germans. Albert also prepared his retinue for battle. Then John, Provost of the Riga Cathedral of St. Mary, and the former Pskov prince Vladimir, who in this case was a zealous servant of the Germans. They managed to persuade the prince of Polotsk not only to reconcile with the bishop, but also to renounce the Livonian tribute and confirm the free navigation of merchant ships along the Dvina. Both leaders pledged to work together against Lithuania and other pagans and then each went their separate ways.

The conquest of the Estonian Chud by the Germans and Danes

After the enslavement of the Livs and Latvians, it was the turn of the Estonian Chud. The first blows of the Germans fell on the neighboring regions of the Estonians, Sokkala and Unganiya, one of which lay on the western side of Lake Wirtz-Jerve, and the other on the eastern side. The Estonians in general offered more stubborn resistance to the Germans than other tribes; and therefore the struggle against them assumed the most fierce character. The Germans mercilessly burned villages and slaughtered the male population, taking women and children prisoner; and the Estonians, in turn, subjected the enemies who fell into their hands to a painful death; sometimes they burned German prisoners alive or strangled them, after carving a cross on their backs. Using the superiority of their weapons and military art, the separation of the tribes and the help of the devoted part of the Livs and Letts, the Germans gradually advanced the enslavement of the Estonians and their forced baptism. One third of the conquered lands, according to the established custom, came into the possession of the order, and the other two - into the possession of the bishop and the Church of Riga. During this struggle with the Estonians, the unsuccessful Prince Vladimir of Polotsk once again appears on the stage of action. Estes, like the Curons, tried to make an alliance with Vladimir and with their fellow tribesmen, the inhabitants of the island of Ezel; It was decided to attack the Germans from three sides. While the Ezelians in their boats promised to lock up Dinaminda from the sea, the Polotsk prince agreed to personally go along the Dvina directly to Riga. He really gathered a large militia from Russia and Latvians. The army was already ready for the campaign; but, sitting in the boat, the prince suddenly fell and died a sudden death (1216). And the whole enterprise, of course, was upset.

The first Chud region conquered by the Germans was Sokkala, the center of which is the strong castle of Fellin. Sokkala was followed by Unganiya. But here the Germans met with another Rus, Novgorod, which, although it did not fully appreciate the importance of the German conquest and did not show perseverance in this matter, however, showed more energy and firmness than Polotsk Rus. Owning the Yuryev and the lower reaches of the Embakh, the Novgorodians collected tribute from the neighboring Estonians and Latvians. Their movement in this direction was especially livened up with the appearance on the Novgorod table of Mstislav the Udaly. In 1212, he undertook a successful campaign against Chud Torma (Unganiya) and reached its city of Odenpe, or Bear's Head. Two years later, he made the same trip to Chud Yereva (Ervia), reached the sea (Gulf of Finland) and stood under its city of Vorobin. Here Chud bowed to him and paid tribute.

The same Heinrich the Latvian, who said above that the Russians cared only about tribute, and did not convert the pagans to the Christian faith, admits, however, that the Letts and Estonians of the Ungans already had the beginnings of Orthodoxy and that it was precisely his meeting here with Latinism that led to a military clash between the Novgorodians and the Germans. The main battle between them took place near the aforementioned Odenpe, which both of them tried to capture. Vladimir Mstislavich, the former prince of Pskov, again appears in this war, but no longer an ally, but an opponent of the Germans and the leader of the Russian army, together with the Novgorod posadnik Tverdislav. In alliance with them were also many Estonians from the regions of Sokkala, Ezel and Garria, who were bitter against the Germans by the forced baptism and devastation of their land. During the siege of Odenpe, occupied by the Germans and partly by the Estonians, Russia acts not only with arrows, but also with projectiles. In vain did the master of the order Volkvin himself come to the aid of the besieged with his knights, as well as with crowds of Livs and Letts. The city was forced to surrender to the Russians. After that, under the pretext of peace negotiations, Vladimir Mstislavich called his son-in-law Dietrich to the Russian camp; then the Novgorodians seized him and took him captive to their land (1217).

The defeat of the Germans at the Bear's Head encouraged the Estonians, and the first had to exert all their strength to suppress their uprising. The Novgorodians the next year inflicted several defeats on the Germans, moved deep into Livonia and laid siege to the very capital of the order, Wenden. But, on the one hand, the lack of food supplies, on the other hand, the news of the Lithuanian attack on their own borders forced them to lift the siege and go back. The embarrassed situation in which the Germans found themselves during this struggle with the Chud and the Novgorodians forced Albert to seek help not only in Germany, but also in Denmark. He went to King Valdemar II, who was then at the height of his power, and begged him to protect the Livonian possession of the Virgin Mary. In the next 1219, Valdemar really landed on the shores of Livonia with a strong fleet and army. After a brave defense, he took the seaside town of Chudi Revel and laid a strong stone castle in its place, and then returned home, leaving part of the army, which continued to conquer northern Estonia. However, the Germans made a mistake in counting on Danish help. Valdemar soon announced that the part of Estonia he had conquered belonged to the Danish kingdom, and appointed a Dane bishop to replace the bishop of Estonian Dietrich, who was killed during the siege of Reval. The Livonian Order protested; but did not have the strength to support his claims with weapons. Then a curious competition took place between the German and Danish missionaries; each of them hurried to christen the still pagan northern part of the Estonians in order to secure them to their nationality. At the same time, German missionaries, for the sake of speed, usually performed the rite of baptism on the inhabitants of an entire village at once and hurried to another village. And the Danes, having a shortage of priests, simply sent servants with sacred water to many villages, with which they sprinkled the inhabitants. It sometimes happened that those and other baptists clashed in some locality, and a dispute arose between them. Or German priests appeared, for example, in some village, gathered the inhabitants and prepared to perform a shadow of the rite over them, as a foreman stepped out of the crowd and announced to them that the Danes had already sprinkled them the day before. Albert Buxhoeveden went to Rome and brought a complaint against King Valdemar to Pope Honorius III. But he met the Danish embassy there: the king recognized the pope as his supreme fief lord. Having failed here, Albert remembered that he had once declared Livonia a fief of the German Empire, and therefore turned to Emperor Frederick II. But the latter, busy with other things, did not want to quarrel with a strong neighbor. Then Albert resigned himself to circumstances: he went again to Voldemar and, in turn, recognized him as the supreme ruler of Estonia and Livonia.

Unexpected events came to the aid of the Livonian Germans. In 1223, King Voldemar was treacherously captured on a hunt by his vassal Henry, Count of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which was used by some conquered lands to overthrow the Danish yoke. Including liberated and Livonia; only in northern Estonia did the Danes still hold out. At the same time, the first Tatar invasion of Eastern Europe took place; it somewhat diverted the attention of Russia from the Baltic Sea. The Novgorodians, called by the Estonians against their enslavers, although they continued the war and reached Revel, or Kolyvan, acted without consistency, with temporary impulses, and often left the Germans alone, busy with internal turmoil and frequent changes of their princes, as well as relations with Suzdal.

The capture of Yuriev (Derpt) by the Livonian knights

The Germans took advantage of favorable circumstances to take away from Russia its possessions on Embakh, that is, the city of Yuryev, or Derpt. In August 1224, Bishop Albert and Master of the Order Volkvin, with German knights and pilgrims, also with Livs and Letts, surrounded Yuryev. Shortly before that, this city with the surrounding region was given to the inheritance of Prince Vyachka, the same one from whom the Germans took Kokenhusen. The garrison consisted of a small number of two hundred Russians and several hundred Estonians. But it was the best fortified city in the Baltic region, and the Germans were forced to make great efforts to capture it. Settling in tents around the city, they built a large wooden tower, pushed it up to the walls, and under its cover began to dig. At the same time, throwing weapons were operating, which threw arrows, stones, red-hot iron into the castle and tried to set it on fire. The besieged bravely defended themselves, responding from their side also with arrows and throwing weapons. In vain did the bishop suggest that Prince Vyachka surrender the city and retire with people, weapons and all property. The prince rejected all proposals, hoping that the people of Novgorod would not leave him without help. The siege work continued not only during the day, but also at night with the glow of fires, songs, the sound of trumpets and timpani. A handful of Russians had to spend sleepless nights on the walls, also encouraging themselves with clicks and playing their instruments (including, according to Heinrich the Latvian, some kind of "rams", probably pipes). Driven out of patience by the courageous defense and the slowness of the siege, the Germans finally decided to take the city by attack, precisely at the moment when the besieged managed to set fire to the aforementioned siege tower with flaming wheels and bundles of firewood. Put up ladders; John Appeldern, brother of Bishop Albert, was the first to climb the wall; the knights rushed after him, the Latvians followed the knights. There was a brutal massacre. After a desperate defense, all Russians and almost all Estonians were beaten. Among the fallen was the valiant Vyachko. The Germans spared only one Suzdal boyar, who was sent to Novgorod with the news of what had happened. Having taken horses and all booty along with the surviving women and children, the Germans set fire to the castle from all sides and withdrew; for the news came that a large Novgorod army was approaching. But this belated help, having reached Pskov, found out about the fall of Dorpat and returned back. Following then, Novgorod and Pskov concluded peace with Riga. The cunning Albert used the same policy here as against the prince of Polotsk: he paid part of the tribute to the Novgorodians from his own treasury, which they received from some native tribes, and thereby, as it were, recognized their supreme rights. But at the same time, all the lands west of Lake Peipsi came into the direct possession of the Livonian Germans. However, in addition to internal troubles, Novgorod was forced into compliance by the same external circumstances as Polotsk, i.e. the growing danger from Lithuania: it was in the same 1224 that Lithuania raided the Novgorod possessions, penetrated to the city of Rusa and under this city defeated the Novgorodians.

Conquest of Ezel, Semigallians and Curons by the Livonian Order

After reconciliation with the neighboring Russian regions, the conquest of the Baltic region went even more successfully and soon reached its natural limits. In 1227, taking advantage of the cold winter, which imposed ice shackles on the coastal strip of the sea, the German army marched across the ice to the island of Ezel, the last refuge of Estonian independence. The Germans, led by Bishop Albert himself and the Master of the Order Volkvin, reinforced by auxiliary detachments of Livs and Letts, brutally devastated the island and took the main fortification of the natives of Monet, and destroyed the sanctuary of their deity Tarapilla, which represented the image of a fantastic bird or dragon. The conquered island, according to custom, was divided into three parts between the bishop, the city of Riga and the Livonian Order. After that, Volkvin again gathered a strong militia and undertook a campaign in Northern Estonia against the Danes. The Estonians themselves helped him during the siege of Revel, which was taken by the Germans; after which the weak Danish garrisons were expelled from the whole country. The Order took for itself the province of Harria, Ervia and Verria; and Bishop Albert gave only Vic, i.e. the westernmost edge of Estonia.

Around the same time, the conquest of the left bank of the Dvina and the country of the Zemgals was completed. It is accomplished with greater ease than the subjugation of other native tribes. Following a simple policy of disengagement, the Germans were allies of this tribe against their neighbors, especially against their Lithuanian compatriots, and meanwhile managed to capture several important points and fortify themselves in them. German missionaries also did not meet such stubborn resistance from local paganism as in other areas. The last fighter for this paganism and waning independence was Westgard, the most important and brave of the native princes. Seeing how Christianity invaded his country from all sides and the sacred oaks fell under the ax of the German missionaries without any revenge from Perkun, Westgard at the end of his life realized the impotence of the household gods. He died almost at the same time as his great adversary, Bishop Albert, and after him Zimgola finally submitted to German rule and Christianity. Behind her came the turn of her western neighbors, the Curons. German preaching and German politics were already at work there. Preachers in particular stressed the fact that only those who voluntarily converted to Christianity retain the freedom of property, while stubborn pagans face the fate of the Estonians. By the way, the Livonian Germans managed to attract one of the influential Kuronian princes Lamekhin to their side, with his help they were in 1230-31. concluded a number of agreements with the foremen of the Kuronian volosts (called Killegunde in the local language). The Curons undertook to receive Christian priests, to receive baptism from them, to pay taxes to the clergy and to put up auxiliary detachments against other pagans; for this they retained their personal freedom for the time being.

But already in the previous 1229, the famous Bishop Albert Buxgevden died after thirty years of ruling the young Livonian state, which was his creation. His death happened during the conclusion of a well-known trade agreement between Riga and Gotland on the one hand, Smolensk and Polotsk on the other. The ashes of Albert with great ceremony were placed in the Riga Cathedral Church of Our Lady. The chapter of this church, together with the bishops of Derpt and Esel, chose for him the successor of the Premonstratensian canon Nicholas from Magdeburg. The Archbishop of Bremen declared his claims to the former dependence of the Livonian Church on him and appointed another person; but Pope Gregory IX decided the dispute in favor of Nicholas.

Sources and manuals for the history and ethnography of the Livonian region represent an extensive literature, thanks in particular to the local German science, which carefully collected, published and explained the historical monuments of the region. Among the collections of sources, the main place is occupied by: Monumenta Livoniae antiquae. 5 bde. Riga, Dorpat und Leipzig 1835-1847, performed mainly by the works of Napersky. Scriptores rerum Livonicarum. 2 bde. Riga and Leipzig. 1847–1853 For the initial history, the first volume is important, where the Latin chronicle of Heinrich the Latvian is reprinted, embracing the period from 1184 to 1226, with a German translation and with comments by prof. Hansen; and rhymes, the German chronicle of Dietlieb von Alnpeke (written at the end of the 13th century) with a translation into the new German language, revised by Kalmeyer. Then extracts from various chronicles from Bunge in his Archiv fur die Geschichte Liv-Estn und Kurlands. His Liv-Estn und Kurlandicher Urkundenbuch; 4 Bde. R. 1852 - 59. Peter of Duisburg Chronicon Prussiae. Hartknoch edition. Jena, 1679 (also in Scriptores rer. Prussic.) and Luke David Preussische Urkunden, collected by Napersky and published by the Archaeographic Commission with the participation of Academician Kunik. SPb. 1868. "Letters relating to the relations of northwestern Russia with Riga and the Hanseatic cities". Found by Napersky, published by Archeographer. Commission. (St. Petersburg, 1857).

Essential aids. Urgeschichte des Esthnischen Volkstammes und der Ostseeprovinzen bis zur Eintuhrung der christlichen Religion. Von Fr. kruse. Moscow. 1840. Necrolivonica oder Alterhumer Liv-Ectn und Kurlands. Von Dr. kruse. Dorpat. 1842. Russisch-Livlandische Chronographfe. Von Bonnell. Petersburg edition. Academy of Sciences. 1862. "Chronological research in the field of Russian and Livonian history in the XIII and XIV centuries." A. Engelman. SPb. 1858. Geschichte der Ostseeprovinzen Liv-Estn und Kurland. Von Otto von Rutenberg. 2 bde. Leipzig. 1859 - 1860. Geschichte der deutschen Ostsee-prozinven. Von Richter. 2Th. Riga. 1857 - 1858. (Indicating the literature of the subject.) For information on literature (specifically 1836 - 1848), see Pauker Die Literatur der Geschichte Liv-Estn und Kurlands. Dorpat. 1848. Another "Index of writings about the indigenous inhabitants of the Baltic region". X. Baorona. (Zap. Geogr. General. according to the department of ethnography. I. 1869), as well as Bibliotheca Livoniae Historica. Von Winkelman. Zweite Ausgabe. Berlin. 1878. "Materials on the ethnography of the Latvian tribe". Under the editorship of Treiland (Izvestiya Mosk. Ob. Lovers of natural science and ethnography. XL. 1881). And finally Ernest Seraphim's tendentious German compilation Geschichte von Livland. First volume (until 1582). Gotha. 1906.

Regarding the almost disappeared tribe of Livs, the study of Academician Wiedemann "Review of the former fate and current state of the Livs" is curious. SPb. 1870. (Appendix to the XVIII vol. Zap. Acad. N.). Of the latest works, I will also point out Bunge Die Stadt Riga im Dreizehnten und Vierzehnten Jahrhundert. Leipzig. 1878; Voigt's well-known work Geschichte Preussens serves as the main aid for the establishment of the Teutonic Order in Prussia. "Trade and peaceful relations of the Russian principalities with Livonia in the XIII century." I. Tikhomirova. (J. M. N. Pr. 1876. May).

The "Chronicle" of Heinrich the Latysh, which serves as the main source for the history of the settlement of the Germans in Livonia, is distinguished by a great predilection for them, and especially for Bishop Albert. In his innocence, he sometimes frankly conveys their unseemly features; but it obviously gives a different light to many things. By the way, about Yuryev, Tatishchev writes that the Germans took him with the help of treachery: they concluded a truce with the besieged; and when the vigilance of the city guards weakened as a result, at night, sneaking up to the city, they lit it and, taking advantage of the fire, made an attack (III. 431). It is not known where he got this news from; but it does not contradict the general mode of action of the Germans. According to Mr. Sapunov (see note 41 above), Vyachko was the elder half-brother of Vladimir Polotsky, and the latter was brought up by his mother, Svyatokhna, a secret Catholic. See also Kharuzin "On the history of the city of Gertsik". (Archaeologist, news and notes. M. 1895. No. 2 - 3). In addition, in the "Moskityanin" of 1843, No. 7, there is a sensible article "Where did the native inhabitants of Livonia originally receive Christianity from, from the east or the west?" Decides that from the east.

VL / Articles / Interesting

12-02-2016, 09:36

It should be noted that in 1240, at the same time as the Swedish invasion, the invasion of the Novgorod-Pskov lands by the knights of the Teutonic Order began. Taking advantage of the diversion of the Russian army to fight the Swedes, in 1240 they captured the cities of Izborsk and Pskov and began to move towards Novgorod.

In 1240, the Livonian knights, at the head of military detachments from the Russian cities of Yuryev and Bear Head, previously subordinate to them, launched an attack on Pskov land. The Russian prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, once expelled from Pskov, acted as an ally of the crusaders. First, the knights took the Pskov border fortress of Izborsk. The Pskov militia hastily moved towards the enemy. However, it was broken. The Pskov governor Gavrila Borislavich was killed, many Pskovians fell, others were taken prisoner, and still others fled. In the footsteps of the retreating Pskovians, the German knights broke into the settlement of Pskov, but they could not take the strong stone fortress, which more than once stopped the enemy. Then traitors from among the boyars, headed by the mayor Tverdila Ivankovich, came to the aid of the conquerors. They let the Germans into the Pskov Krom (Kremlin) in September 1240. Part of the Pskov boyars, dissatisfied with this decision, fled with their families to Novgorod.

Thus, the quarrel with Prince Alexander Yaroslavich had a negative impact on the defense capability of Veliky Novgorod. Having made Pskov and Izborsk their bases, the Livonian knights in the winter of 1240-1241. invaded the Novgorod possessions of Chud and Vod, devastated them, imposed tribute on the inhabitants. After the capture of the Pskov lands, the crusader knights began to systematically fortify themselves in the occupied territory. This was their usual tactic: on the territory seized from the hostile people, the western knights immediately stood outposts, fortifications, castles and fortresses, in order to continue the offensive based on them. On a steep and rocky mountain in the churchyard of Koporye, they built an order castle with high and strong walls, which became the base for further advancement to the east. Shortly thereafter, the crusaders captured Tesovo, an important trading post in the Novgorod land, and from there it was already a stone's throw to Novgorod itself. In the north, the knights reached Luga and became insolent to the point that they robbed on the roads 30 miles from Novgorod. Simultaneously with the knights, although completely independently of them, the Lithuanians began to raid the Novgorod volosts. They took advantage of the weakening of Novgorod Rus and plundered Russian lands.

It is clear that the Novgorodians were alarmed. The order was a powerful and formidable force that inexorably devoured the eastern lands, converting the local population to the western version of Christianity with fire and sword. In the face of an impending threat, ordinary Novgorodians forced the boyar "lord" to call for help from Prince Alexander. The Novgorod lord Spiridon himself went to him in Pereslavl, who asked the prince to forget his previous grievances and lead the Novgorod troops against the German knights. Alexander returned to Novgorod, where he was greeted with national rejoicing.

In 1241, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky of Novgorod, with a princely retinue and a militia of Novgorodians, Ladoga, Izhora and Karelians, stormed the fortress of Koporye and freed the Vodsky land of Veliky Novgorod from the influence of the order on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. The fortress was demolished, the captured knights were sent hostage to Novgorod, and the traitors who served with them were hanged. Now the task of liberating Pskov has arisen. However, in order to further combat strong enemy the capabilities of the formed army were not enough, and Prince Alexander called on the brother of Prince Andrei Yaroslavich with his squad, Vladimir and Suzdal.

The Novgorod-Vladimir army set out on a campaign to liberate Pskov in the winter of 1241-1242. Alexander Yaroslavich acted swiftly as always. The Russian army advanced on a forced march to the near approaches to the city and cut off all roads to Livonia. There was no long siege, followed by an assault on a strong fortress. The knightly garrison could not withstand the furious onslaught of Russian soldiers and was defeated, those who survived laid down their arms. Pskov boyars-traitors were executed. Then Izborsk was also liberated. Thus, the united Russian army liberated the cities of Pskov and Izborsk from the crusaders.

The fall of a powerful fortress with a strong garrison came as a big surprise to the leadership of the Livonian Order. Meanwhile, Alexander Nevsky moved fighting to the land of the Estonian tribe, conquered by the order brothers. The Russian commander pursued one goal - to force the enemy to go beyond the walls of knight's castles in open field for the decisive battle. And even before the arrival of reinforcements from the German states. This calculation was justified.

Thus, Alexander recaptured the territories captured by the crusaders. However, the struggle was not yet over, as the Order retained manpower. A decisive battle was ahead, which was to determine the outcome of the war. Both belligerents began to prepare for a decisive battle and announced a new collection of troops. The Russian army gathered in the liberated Pskov, and the Teutonic and Livonian knights - in Derpt-Yuriev. Victory in the war decided the fate of Northwestern Russia.

Battle on the Ice

The Master of the Order, the bishops of Dorpat, Riga and Ezelsk united all the military forces they had for the war with Veliky Novgorod. Under their command stood the Livonian knights and their vassals, the knights of the bishoprics and the personal detachments of the Catholic bishops of the Baltic states, the Danish knights. Knights-adventurers, mercenaries have arrived. Ests, Livs and foot soldiers from other peoples enslaved by the German conquerors were forcibly recruited as auxiliary troops. In the spring of 1242, an army of knights-crusaders, consisting of knightly cavalry and infantry (bollards) from Livs, conquered by the Order of Chud, etc., moved to Russia. 12 thousand knightly troops were led by Vice-Master of the Teutonic Order A. von Velven. The Russian army numbered 15-17 thousand people.

It is worth remembering that the knights themselves were relatively few. But each knight led the so-called. spear "- a tactical unit, a small detachment, which consisted of the knight himself, his squires, bodyguards, swordsmen, spearmen, archers and servants. As a rule, the richer the knight was, the more soldiers his “spear” had.

Prince Alexander Yaroslavich led the Russian army along the coast of Lake Pskov "with care". A large guard detachment of light cavalry was sent forward under the command of Domash Tverdislavich and the Tver governor Kerbet. It was necessary to find out where the main forces of the Livonian Order were located and what route they would take to Novgorod. Near the Estonian village of Hammast (Mooste), the Russian "watchman" collided with the main forces of the Livonian knights. A stubborn battle took place, in which the Russian detachment was defeated and retreated to its own. Now the prince could say with confidence that the enemy would launch an invasion through the ice-bound Lake Peipsi. Alexander decided to take the battle there.

Alexander Yaroslavich decided to give a general battle in the most favorable conditions for himself. Prince Novgorodsky occupied with his regiments a narrow strait between Lake Peipus and Pskov. This position was very successful. Crusaders, passing on the ice of the frozen river. Emajygi to the lake, could then go to Novgorod bypassing Lake Peipus to the north, or Pskov - along the western coast of Lake Pskov to the south. In each of these cases, the Russian prince could intercept the enemy, moving along the eastern coast of the lakes. If the knights decided to act directly and tried to overcome the strait in the narrowest place, which is the Warm Lake, then they would directly collide with the Novgorod-Vladimir troops.

According to the classical version, the decisive battle between the Russian troops and the crusaders took place near the Voronye Stone, adjacent to the eastern shore of the narrow southern part of Lake Peipus. The chosen position to the maximum extent took into account all the favorable geographical features of the area and put them at the service of the Russian commander. Behind the backs of our troops was a bank overgrown with dense forests with steep slopes, which excluded the possibility of bypassing the enemy cavalry. The right flank was protected by a zone of water called Sigovica. Here, due to some features of the current and a large number of springs, the ice was very fragile. locals they knew about it and, no doubt, told Alexander. Finally, the left flank was protected by a high coastal cape, from where a wide panorama opened up to the opposite coast.

Taking into account the peculiarity of the tactics of the order troops, when the knights, counting on the invincibility of their equestrian "armored fist", usually led a frontal attack with a wedge, called in Russia a "pig", Alexander Nevsky deployed his army on the eastern shore of Lake Peipus. The location of the troops was traditional for Russia: "chelo" (middle regiment) and regiments of the left and right hands. Ahead were the archers (advanced regiment), who were supposed to upset the enemy’s battle order at the beginning of the battle as much as possible and weaken the very first terrible onslaught of the knights. The peculiarity was that Alexander decided to weaken the center of the battle formation of the Russian army and strengthen the regiments of the right and left hands, the prince divided the cavalry into two detachments and placed them on the flanks behind the infantry. Behind the "brow" (regiment of the center of battle order) was a reserve, the prince's squad. Thus, Alexander planned to tie up the enemy with a fight in the center, and when the knights got bogged down, deliver sweeping blows from the flanks and bypass from the rear.

On April 5, 1242, at sunrise, the knightly wedge went on the offensive. Russian archers met the enemy with a shower of arrows. Russian heavy bows were terrible weapons and caused serious damage to the enemy. However, the knight's wedge continued the attack. Gradually, the archers backed up to the ranks of the infantry and, finally, merged with it in a single formation. The knights cut into the location of the Novgorod foot rati. A fierce and bloody slaughter began. After the first ram blow with spears, swords, axes, maces, picks, war hammers, etc. were used. The knights broke through the weakened Russian center. About this episode, critical for the Russian troops, the chronicler says: "Both the Germans and the people made their way through the regiments like a pig."

The crusaders were already ready to celebrate the victory, but the Germans rejoiced early. They saw in front of them, instead of room for maneuver, an insurmountable coast for the cavalry. And the remnants of a large regiment were dying, but continued a fierce battle, weakening the enemy. At this time, both wings of the Russian army collapsed on the left and right of the knight's wedge, and from the rear, having made a roundabout maneuver, the elite squad of Prince Alexander struck. “And there was that slash of evil and great by the Germans and people, and the betruk from the spears of breaking, and the sound from the sword section, and you can’t see the ice, covered with blood.”

The fierce battle continued. But in the battle there was a turning point in favor of the Russian rati. The knightly army was surrounded, crowded and began to break its order. The Novgorodians dragged the surrounded, huddled together knights from their horses with hooks. They broke the legs of the horses, cut the veins. The dismounted crusader, clad in heavy armor, could not resist the foot Russian soldiers. The work was completed by axes and other chopping and crushing weapons.

As a result, the battle ended with the complete victory of the Russian troops. Mercenary infantry (bollards) and the surviving knights fled. Part of the knightly army was driven by Russian combatants to Sigovitsa. The fragile ice could not stand it and broke under the weight of the crusaders and their horses clad in armor. The knights went under the ice, and there was no salvation for them.

Results of the battle

So he suffered a severe defeat and the second campaign against Russia of the crusaders. The Livonian "Rhymed Chronicle" claims that 20 knight brothers died in the Battle of the Ice and 6 were captured. The chronicle of the Teutonic Order "Die jungere Hochmeisterchronik" reports the death of 70 knight brothers. These losses do not take into account the fallen secular knights and other order warriors. In the First Novgorod Chronicle, the losses of the Russian opponents are presented as follows: “and ... fell the people beschisla, and Nemets 400, and 50 with the hands of a yash and brought to Novgorod.” At the grand entrance of the prince to Pskov (according to other sources, to Novgorod), 50 German "deliberate governors" walked behind the horse of Prince Alexander Nevsky. It is clear that the losses of ordinary warriors, knechts, dependent militias from the Finnish tribes were much higher. Russian losses are unknown.

The defeat in the battle on Lake Peipsi forced the Livonian Order to ask for peace: “What we entered with a sword ... we retreat from that; how many of your people have been taken prisoner, we will exchange them: we will let yours go, and you will let ours go. For the city of Yuryev (Derpt), the Order was obliged to pay "tribute to Yuryev" to Novgorod. Under a peace treaty concluded a few months later, the Order renounced all claims to Russian lands and returned the territories captured earlier. Thanks to decisive military victories, the Crusaders suffered heavy losses, and the Order lost its striking power. For some time, the combat potential of the Order was weakened. Only 10 years later, the knights tried to recapture Pskov.

Thus, Alexander Yaroslavich stopped the broad crusader aggression on the western borders of Russia. The Russian prince successively defeated the Swedes and German knights. I must say that although the war of 1240-1242. did not become the last between Novgorod and the Order, but their borders in the Baltic did not undergo noticeable changes for three centuries - until the end of the 15th century.

As the historian V.P. Pashuto noted: “... The victory on Lake Peipus - the Battle on the Ice - was of great importance for all of Russia and the peoples associated with it; she saved them from a cruel foreign yoke. For the first time, a limit was placed on the predatory "onslaught on the East" of the German rulers, which had been going on for more than one century.

IN Russian Federation the date of the victory in the Battle of the Ice is immortalized as the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the victory of Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German knights on Lake Peipus. IN federal law dated March 13, 1995 No. 32-FZ "On the days of military glory (victory days) of Russia" 13 days were added to the real day of the battle on April 5 and the date April 18, 1242 was indicated. That is, the day of victory on Lake Peipsi - April 5 according to the old style, celebrated on April 18, corresponding to it in the new style at the present time (XX-XXI centuries). Although the difference between the old (Julian) and new (Gregorian) style in the XIII century would be 7 days.

In 1992, on the territory of the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, Gdov District, in a place as close as possible to the alleged site of the Battle on the Ice, near the Church of the Archangel Michael, a bronze monument to Alexander Nevsky was erected. The monument to the squads of Alexander Nevsky was erected in 1993 on Mount Sokolikha in Pskov.

Alexander defeats Lithuania

In subsequent years, peace and calm reigned in Swedish-Novgorod and Novgorod-Order relations. Swedish and German knights licked their wounds. On the other hand, the Lithuanian tribes, still scattered, but realizing their strength after 1236, when on September 22 in the battle of Saul (Shauliai) the swordsmen were defeated by the Lithuanians (in this battle master Volguin von Namburg (Volkvin von Winterstatten) and most of the knight brothers fell) , intensified raids on all adjacent lands, including Novgorod limits. These raids pursued purely predatory goals and aroused natural hatred. The Russian princes responded with retaliatory punitive campaigns.

Soon after the Battle of the Ice, the winner of the western knighthood again had to go on a campaign. Equestrian detachments of Lithuanians began to "fight" the Novgorod volosts, ruining the border countryside. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich immediately gathered an army and with swift blows defeated seven Lithuanian detachments at the border. The fight against the raiders was carried out with great skill - "many Lithuanian princes were beaten or taken prisoner."

At the end of 1245, the army, led by eight Lithuanian princes, marched to Bezhetsk and Torzhok. The inhabitants of Torzhok, led by Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, opposed Lithuania, but were defeated. The Lithuanians, having captured a large full and other booty, turned back home. However, the militias of the northwestern regions of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality - the Tverichi and Dmitrovites defeated the Lithuanians near Toropets. The Lithuanians shut themselves up in the city. Prince Alexander Nevsky came here with the Novgorodians. Toropets was taken by storm, and all Lithuanians, including the princes, were exterminated. All Russian captives were released.

Under the walls of Toropets, Alexander again parted ways with the Novgorodians in assessing further actions. He offered to continue the campaign and punish the finders. The Novgorod militia with the posadnik and the thousand, the lords' regiment, led by the archbishop, went home. At the beginning of 1246, Alexander with his retinue entered the Lithuanian borders through the Smolensk land, attacked the Lithuanian detachments near Zhizhich and defeated them.

As a result, the Lithuanian princes calmed down for a while. For the next few years, the Lithuanians did not dare to attack Alexander's possessions. Thus, Alexander Yaroslavich victoriously won the "small defensive war" with neighboring Lithuania, without waging aggressive wars. Calm has come on the borders of Novgorod and Pskov lands.

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