9. From Tribal Societies to Monarchic Powers: Medieval States and Societies in the Lands to the East and South-East of the Baltic Sea
Between the 11th and 14th centuries the originally fragmented peoples in the areas east and south-east of the Baltic Sea were transformed as a result of external pressures and influences from Western Europe, and, to a lesser extent, from the Orthodox world. As a result of complex military and political processes, the diverse tribes of Livonia, Curonia and Prussia were brought under the rule of sovereign bishoprics and order states, while peripheral areas were annexed by the kingdoms of Denmark and Poland. Lithuania developed from loose regional alliances of kunigas into a grand duchy united in personal union with the Polish crown, while Galician lands wavered in its allegiance between the Orthodox and Catholic worlds. The aim of this Section is to explore the actual processes involved in these momentous events, but also to study potential transformations that were never fully realised, such as the ephemeral Christian kingship of Mindaugas in Lithuania, or plans for a German kingship in Livonia. We hope to gain a better understanding of the transformations which brought the eastern and south-eastern Baltic lands into the wider European political and cultural world.
Christianity introduced to the “New Europe” a clear idea of one God, one faith, one ruler, and one political nation. Alongside Christianity came the concepts of power continuity, dynastic politics and strict feudal hierarchy; the ruler was regarded as a vassal of God (Rex Dei vicarius), tasked with defending the state, the Church etc. In essence, Christianity served both as a unifying religious force and as a political framework for state consolidation.
Lithuania, however, built its statehood under the influence of three new factors: the idea of the Crusades, the belief that the Apostolic See was the sole authority legitimizing royal power, and, finally, the Mongol conquest. The report will analyze how Mindaugas solidified his authority both in Lithuania and abroad. He embraced the political theology shaped by the Pope, adopting the image of rex iustissimus and laying the military foundations for a political nation.
13th century Volhynia was a geographical area neighbouring on the west with Christian Poland and on the north with the Yotvingian region. The death of Roman Mstislavovich in 1205 brought an unstable situation in the Halich-Vladimyrian land. The policy of his sons was in the beginning based on using the Yotvingian-Lithuanian forces to increase their power and position. From the 1240s, being in alliance with Mazovia, they pursued to control and subdue the Yotvingian forces. Evident testimony to their efforts was the collection of tribute from the subjugated territory by Konstantin, which was then divided between the Rus and the Poles. This common policy was negated by the Mongol commander Burunday, who not only crushed Daniel rebellion, but also led to the destruction of the alliances carefully constructed by the King of Rus. The aim of the lecture is to show the stages of the conquest of the Yotvingian lands by the Mazovian- Rus coalition in the context of the Romanovichs' policy.
Chronicon Livoniae is the main source for learning about the history of the peoples of the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. The information contained in the Chronicle allows us to understand the socio-political processes taking place in these lands. Chronicler Henry, while documenting the fate of the peoples Christianized by the Germans, also included mentions of their neighbors living nearby. The information about the principalities of northwestern Ruthenia is interesting, especially about the functioning of the Principality of Polotsk. This is important because the Polotsk chronicle has not survived.
Henry's Chronicle also allows us to verify the information from the so-called Yeropkin chronicle, from which Vasily Tatishchev drew his "Polotsk mentions" for the first edition of his Russian History, written in the first half of the 18th century.
Henry's Chronicle helps reconstruct the last years of the independent Principality of Polotsk.
Thus, during their rule in Samogitia in the years 1400-1401 and 1405-1409, the Teutonic Knights had problems with hostages sent to them from Samogitia. Especially during the years 1406-1408, this was one of the serious problems for the Teutonic Knights in the rule of Samogitia. The poor treatment of the sons of Samogitian boyars held in the territory of the Teutonic state in Prussia (as hostages) caused the Samogitians to refrain from giving up further hostages for exchange. This was one of the important reasons for the escalation of Teutonic-Saudi relations and the outbreak of the Second Samogitian Uprising. As a consequence, the taking of Samogitia from the Teutonic Order led to a sharp deterioration of relations between the Teutonic Order and Poland and Lithuania, and then caused the outbreak of the "Great War" of 1409-1411.
Chronicon Livoniae written by Henry of Livonia is considered by historians to be the most important written source for the history of early Catholic missions and crusades in the lands along the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. The paper will pay particular attention to the events described in Book III, i.e. the Christianization of Livonia in the years 1199-1208, first by the German clergy, and then by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword with the support of German colonists. Both peaceful methods (through the living word, preached directly or through interpreters) and martial methods (attack, deception, taking prisoners and hostages) were used. It is worth mentioning the interesting attempt, recorded by Henry of Livonia, to use theatrical art to strengthen the faith of converted Livonians. The speech will also address terminology issues, the translation of which into Polish was a challenge for the translator.
From the first Catholic mission to the River Daugava around the year 1185 the process of state formation proved complex and difficult. The missionary bishopric at Üxküll and Riga aspired to independent power and authority, but it was dependent (at first) in ecclesiastical terms on the archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen, and for military support, on the Order of the Sword Brothers. These powers competed with the Danish and Swedish monarchies, while the wider political situation was complicated by the papacy giving sometimes conflicting privileges to competing powers. The period up to 1260 saw a bewildering number of shifts of control of different areas until the establishment of a more stable situation in which the entire territory of Livonia was divided between six bishoprics, the kingdom of Denmark and the Teutonic Order. This paper will discuss some of the key turning points in this history and explore some of the potential outcomes that were never realised.
The pilgrimage of Duchess Anna of Lithuania to Kwidzyn before 1404 was mentioned by Jan Reyman, Teutonic prominents and residents of Kwidzyn during the canonization trial of Blessed Dorothy of Montau. The trial proceedings took place in Kwidzyn in 1404-1406, and contain a great deal of information relating to the Teutonic Order's policies and behind-the-scenes activities that influenced later historical events. According to the Files of the Canonization Trial, the witness testified that he “saw the wife of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, namely Vytautas, haunting the said tomb with a large entourage and Vytautas' brother, and with great piety making her offerings, namely silk fabrics. He further testified that he gave her two books about the life of her mother Dorothy, to which the Duchess herself was very eager because of her piety, even though this Duchess was a recent convert to the Christian life.” - The visit of the Lithuanian princes to the Teutonic castles of Kwidzyn and Malbork indicates the intricacies of the relationship between Vytautas and King Wladyslaw Jagiello in the period before the Battle of Grunwald (1410).
In Livonia, a historical region encompassing present-day Latvia and Estonia, approximately 50 relics of ancient hillforts of various chronologies are found along the River Daugava. Some of these fortifications were continuously occupied, while others were abandoned and later reoccupied. A notable example of continuous use is the transition of these hillforts from local populations to the control of bishops' and Teutonic Knights’ armies between the late 12th and 13th centuries, leading to the construction of masonry defense structures.
This study aims to reconstruct the historical landscape of that period and conduct spatial analyses using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. By doing so, it seeks to identify the key factors that influenced the annexation and reoccupation of these hillforts by the German invaders.
Discussion of the early conquest and Christianization efforts in the territory of Finland during the 12th and first half of the 13th centuries, undertaken by Scandinavian rulers and the papacy, with elements of relations with church institutions in Livonia and Estonia.
The Christianization of Livonia and Lithuania was carried out by force of arms. However, we know somefigures who became loyal allies of the crusaders, took part in their battles against the pagans, perhaps sometimes their own relatives, and even died in battles against them. One of them was the Livonian noble Kaupo, who had to give one of his sons as a hostage, but after visiting Pope Innocent III in Rome, he never abandoned his new faith. He died in battle in 1217, and on his deathbed he bequeathed all his property to the Church of Riga. He is the only representative of the Livonian tribe known by name, who appears on the pages of 13th-century chronicles: Henry the Latvian, Caesarius von Heisterbach and the Livonian rhymed chronicle. Suxa is almost forgotten, although he is mentioned in a Livonian rhymed chronicle and a diploma about his baptism in 1268 in the Riga cathedral and becoming a vassal of the Bishop of Riga. He died in a fight against the Lithuanians around 1273.
In the history of studies regarding the beginnings of Lithuania and rule of Mindaugas that have already been extensively conducted for 200 years, the works by Polish historians – J. Latkowski, W. Kamieniecki, H. Łowmiański, and H. Paszkiewicz – hold a significant position. The discussion of international historians around the concept of the genesis of Lithuania and opinions on Mindaugas and his actions shaped the long-term perception of the beginnings of Lithuania and its Christianization. The polemic, disrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, was brought back later on, but with a lower impact and less prominent participation of Polish researchers. In Polish historiography, the neglected issue of the genesis of Lithuania and the beginnings of its Christianization, on a scientific level, was restored by K. Stopka (the 1st attempt of Christianization; 1987) and K. Pietkiewicz (the beginnings of statehood; 2010). At that time, extensive studies were carried out over the said subjects by medieval researcher E. Gudavičius who concluded his work in 1998 with a contemporary monograph titled Mindaugas. However, neither the Lithuanian researcher did refer in any way to the scientifically valuable studies by K. Stopka with regard to the baptism of Mindaugas, nor K. Pietkiewicz made a reference to the monograph by Gudavičius, although he is most certainly familiar with it. Pietkiewicz’s work is not the only example. Thus, it is worthwhile to confront the perception of the genesis of Lithuanian monarchy in the contemporary Polish historiography with the views on the same subject among Lithuanian researchers.
