The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500 (Men-at-Arms)

The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

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• De finiti o n)> ora crusade • Participants in the Ba iLie C tu ~ades • The Ba il ie at the time olt lw Crmades

DAVID LI NDHOLM MA was born In 1970. He was educated at the University of Lund In Sweden where he studied medieval archaeology, history and ethnology. He Is also a specialist in medieval weaponry and warfare.

CHRONOLOGY

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THE ARMIES

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EQUIPMENT OF THE SCANDINAVIAN CRUSADERS

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• The dilliculties of interpn:ting sources • 1100-1 ~WO: shields - sword.,- helmets- mail atmourthe gambeson- the importance or the bow and crossbowclose comha1 weapons • 1300-1 ~ 00: additional pla te reinforcementsthe coat-of-plates- helmet~: the bascinct, the 'Order helmet' and the 'J...ettlc-hat'- mmual cop,ing of.,ome infantrv and cavah"\ items- ~>hields and hucJ...Ier~. \\'eapom: hand-held guns- crossbows- swords- daggers- pole-arms • 1400- 1500: plate armour - halberds and polcall.e1>Jongswords- crossbows

DAVID NICOLLE was bom In 1944 and worked in the BBC Arable service for a number of years, before gaining an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and a doctorate from Edinburgh University. He has written many books and articles on medieval and Islamic warfare.

ANGUS McBRIDE is one of the world's most respected historical i llustrators, and has contributed to more than 90 Osprey titles in t he past three decades.

MILITARY EQUIPMENT IN THE BALTIC LANDS & NOVGOROD

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• 1100-1300: Armour- shit:lcJ.,- weapons • 1300-1500

STRATEGY & TACTICS • • • • •

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Strongpoint., and raiding Climalt.' and terrain- \\inlet warfare Boats and ships Fortifications Siege warfare

AFTERMATH OF THE CRUSADES

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FURTHER READING

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PLATE COMMENTARIES

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INDEX

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Men-at-Arms • 4 36

The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500

D Lindholm & D Nicolle · Illustrated by A McBride

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THE SCANDINAVIAN BALTIC CRUSADES 1100-1500 INTRODUCTION arc familiar with the Cmsades to the Holy Land during the Middle Ages; others know of the Rcconquista, in what arc now Spain and Portuga l, which was another form of medieval crliSadc. In conu·ast, the crusades that took place around the Baltic Sea during the same period are less well known. Even those studies which have been made have emphasized the role of Gcnnans, and above all the Germanic military orders - the Sword Brethren, and the Teutonic Knights - rather than that of the Scandinavian peoples who played such a vital role. These expeditions were regarded as genuine crusades, both bj the medieval European Church and by Lhose who took pan in them. The Baltic Crusades, as they are now known, were sanctioned by Papal authority; and they had a profound impact upon the subsequent histol) of all the states that surround the Baltic Sea. os·1 PEOPLE

D e fin it i on s of a c ru sa d e

OPPOSITE The Danish knight Henrik Plot in full armour, shown In a 14th century stained glass wi ndow. This Illustrates the transitional styles of body defence - probably with a coat-of-plates worn over a mail hauberk and 'soft' armour as also found In the grave-pits at Vlsby. (In situ Do llefjelde Church, Denmark)

In recent times a 'crusade', in its original religious and warlike sense, has generally been regarded simply as an ugly phenomenon from the Western world's blood-stained past, without much consideration being given to the actual origins of the term. To the Christian peoples of the Middle Ages, however, the word had a very specific meaning: it was an armed expedition or series of expeditions intended to remove a perceived threat to the Christian faith , or to convert non-Ch1istians to Christian iry (by force if necessary) , or to achieve both these ends. Not all such religiously inspired armed confl i ct~ were against Muslims or pagans, however. Those against 1he Albigensians in sou thern France were undertaken to crush a ' heresy'; while those against the Byzami ne Imperial capital of Constantinople, against Bulgars, Hussites and o1her peoples and communities in Europe, pitted Latin or Catholic Christians against Christians who adhered to a different version of the faith. Meanwhile, the so-called ' Italian Crusades' were little more than poli tical wars to maintain or extend Papal power. At the legal core of all such crusades lay the tact that such mi litary efforts had to be sanctioned by the Pope - Christ's represenrative on earth - or, at the least, by a respected bishop who was himselfrepresentiug the Pope. Participating in a crusade offered many material and spiritual benefits for the believing vVestern European Christian, and this was as true of the Baltic Crusaders as it was of I hose who mounted expeditions to Lhe Holy Land in Palestine. These benefits may be sununaJiLecl as follows: While a man was on crusade, all his assets were protected; they could not be seued in payment of taxes or other debts. All his sins were

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forgi\cn. including those committed while on the cntsadc it'>elf. A crusader would not be prosecuted for am crime'> committed before the crmade, and if lw fulfilled hi., oath and completed hi., crusade (and .,UJ"\ived), then these crimes would be forgi\en b\ the worldh authorities; in other words, a man could return horne with a clean slate, both spirituall} and legally. Anr loot that \ .... \ he might take while on crmade could usually be kept, although a tithe was normally expected to be paid to the Church v, / ~~ i·-. out of 1>uch ' profits' of ~ l.l:l 4>/: i..···...~· campaigning. People from all wall-s of life took pan in these ventures, ranging from king-. and prince\ of the MAZOVJA blood through C\er. le\el '\., ··..... ot -;otiet\ dm'n to the verT ··•·..~~····,.....·-·\ poore'>t. Impired b\ their Poznan ' ···· faith and their hope for Lhe GREAT POLAND .,,,Jnnion of their immortal Swedish territory ..,oub. the\ gathered whate\et meam the\ could CJ Danish t~rritory aflord and set off into the ,---""' Swedish Crusades distant unkn0\\11, to rid the world of those they ~ Danish Crusades belic\ed to be 'enemies of the faith'. rn the past, many historiam have made much of the fact that the crusades were a means for ruler:. ami cotnnnmitics in times of local peace to rid themselves - at least temporarily - of landless and burdensome younger sons of the propcrtkcl clas.,cs, and of greedy and troublemaking noblemen whose ambitions threatened the stabilitY of the state. In reality, this docs not usually 'iCt'lll to have been the case. Intead, the vast m~jority of crusaders took part because rhev believed in what they were doing and accepted'' hat their local religious leader\ told them was their du~ to God. Thb wa., a tim, and especialh the campaign direned against the pagan Lithuaniam, also came to be ~een as offering an opportunity for men to gain valuable military cxpet·ience without hm ing to travel all the way to the Middle East, where a feeble cmsading cOon was sti ll under way. It was for these reasons 1hal the Baltic became th e most popular region for cr 11~ading during the 14th cen tury. Thi~ is furtJ1er highlighted by the facr that the Papal autholities offered rhe same re\,ards and conditions to Scandina\;an ~mereigns a.., were offered to the English and French when it came w allocaling the tax revenues collected by the Church for the specific pwvose of financing a crusade. By the mid-14th cen tury I he Church came to realize that a dwindling income from these taxes meant lhaL, if continued pre sure \\eS or othen\ise. Thh. had the impot tant effen of ensudng that the peoples of the Baltic Sea posse!>sed much broader and more accurate knowledge of each other than was the c;tse, for example, amongM the earl) crmarler!. to the Middle Easl. In the Mediterranean the cmL~tal and maritime peoples may have known a lL about t.•ach other. but the ordinat) crusaders from further north and weM wen.· \\Ocfullv ignorant about their Muslim foe~. A.., the people'> of the Scandinm ian Pen imula and of Denntat k began to consolidate inw kingdotm along es. the problem!. posed b\ tribal raiders from elsewhere in the Baltic cea-,ed to be a local is~ue \\hich could be dealt \\itJ1 piecemeal. It now became a matter lor royal authority and became a state responsibility. It also orTcrc·d the new rulers of' what became Denmark, Sweden and, to a l e~sct extent, Norway a means of exerting and demonstrating royal pmn.'r a~ prott'ctor' of their sul~jeCL'>. Although the..,e per.,i>.ten 1 raid~ \\ere not the onh rea\on for \\hat -.ub-.equently beccune Lhe Baltic Cru~ades, Lhe\ certain!~ gaYe added momentum to the movement.

POLAND Union of Kalmar Teutonic Kntghts .,.,. ~

Castles Hanseatic league

hom the -;tart it becanw clear Lhat the geographical dispo'>itiun of the new (andinmian 'tate' t'nabled them to locus on sligluh different region.., at least lO begin \\ith. Dt'nmark lool-.c:d ea,tward to the \\'c:ndbh coast of what is no" non lwrn Germany, and to the southem ot midBaltic region of what are now the Polish coa~t and parL~ of the new independent Baltic ~tate,. Swt'rlen looked towards Finland and the northern pans of the Baltic rmL~tline. To a large extent thi-. di'>pmition also reflected regional politic'>; Denmark "a' alreach much more do~eh connectl'rl bv u·ade and political relatiotv.. hip' to northem Getman}. while Sweden had closer cnnnt'ctions to the: ti'ing Russian prindpalit) of Novgorod and tJ1e tribtt l areas around Fin land. Tn comidering the following chronolog)' of the major cventl>, readers should bear in mind that the earliest campaigns were not ~tricth speaking 'crusades', becaml' the Pope had not \et sanctioned them as w·t~r-. conducted in rlw name of Chri'>tianit\. Pope Ut ban had proclaimed 'the Cntsade' (the First Cruade) in 1096, directed lO\\. It would take: manv years before the idea of a 'northern' or Ba ltic Crusade took root in Scandinavia. However, in 1103 King Eric I 'Ever Good' of Denmark made an armed pilgdmage w Palestine, the flr~t European crowned mler to 'isit the neKly ehop Alben establbhes the see of Riga (now in Lat\ia) and the Order of Sword BroLherl). l 206 Valdemar Seijre lead~ hb £1eet agaimt the Osilian (Estonian-Finn) i..,lancl of Osel, supported by Archbi~hop Andreas Sunesen of Lund.

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1200-09 Con quc~t of the Livs (now central Lania) by crusader~ and

Bishop Albert. 1217 Pope I lonotilh ITl authorizes a crusade against the Prussiam

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(now in north-t•astern Poland and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad). 1219 King \'alclcmar TJ of Denmark goes on a crusade against the Ew,; according to legend the Danish national flag miraculomh fell from the 'k' at the battle of Lmdanise during this expedition. King \aldc•mar founds the cit\' of Reval (now Tallinn) and initiates 1he conquest of northern Esronia. 1226 Gennan Emperor Frederick IT's Bull of Rimini grants Pnt'>-.ia to the Tcuwnic Order in what are now north-eastern Poland, the Rm.sian enclave ofKaliningrad and part of western Lithuania. 1230 Pope Grcgot)' IX authorizes the Teutonic Knights to anack tlw pagan Pru ~siam. 123 1-40 The Te ut on ic Knigh ts and other German crusaders conquer the western Prussian tribes. 1236 The German Order of Sword Brothe rs is virtually wiped out hy th(' pagan Lithuania ns a t Siaulai (Saule). 1240 Fir'it Baltic Crusade against th e Russians of ovgorod; Swedish cntsaders defeated by Prince Alexander Nevski. 1249 Conquest of the central regions of Finland (pagan Sumi and Em i tribe~ ) hv Swedish forces under Birger J arl. 1254-56 ConqueM of the pagan Samogitians in Sam land (no'' the eastern pan of the Ruc;sian enclave ofKaliningracl). 1290 Conque'>l of pagan Semigallia (now coastal Lithuania) bY the fetllonic Knights of Lh·onia (now Lat\ia). 1291 Fall of cnt~ader-held ,\ ere in Palestine; transfer of the headquarter-, of the Temonic Knight ro \'en ice. 1292 Swedi'>h crmadet"> establish an outpost in pagan Korela (Fi nnic) teniLOt') .tt \'iborg (now \ 'yborg in nord1-western Rus~ia). 1300 Swede'> forrif} Land.,krona on the River Neva (now St Peter~bmg in north-western Rmsia) on the frontier bet\,·een the pagan (Finn) Korela and l7hora tribes. 1308 Teutonic Knights occupy Danzig (now Gdansk in northern Poland). 1309 fh e headq uarter of the Teutonic Knights is moved from Venice to Marie nburg in Prussia (now Malbork in Pola nd). 13 18 Novgorod ians raid Swedish-ru led Finland and burn the ca thedral in Abo (now Turku). 1323 Treat} of N6teborg ends the war bet\,•een Swcdt'n and Novgorod; peace is agreed between the Teutonic Knights and Grand Duke Gee! imina'> of Lithuania. 1316 King Valdemar I\' of Denmark sell'> Danishheld territon in what is now northern Estonia to the Teutonic Knights. 1348 King ~lagnus ofS,,·eden invades Russia (King ~l agnus' First Crusade). 1350 King ~lagnus of Sweden\ Second Crusade.

A king and one of his retainers or guards, In a tate 12th century Swedish-Danish relief carving. Note that the helmet, right, Is of the almost flat-topped form but still has a nasal; the mail coif covers almost the whole face and Is shown In a different stylized manner to the mall hauberk. The soldier Is otherwise armed with a tall, almost flat-topped kite shield and a sword. (In situ Lyngsjo Church, SkAne, Sweden)

1362 Christian Prussians and crusaders capture wesLCrn Lithuanian c.ity of Kaunas. 1364 Pope Vrban \'issues a Bull urging a cominuation of the crusade against the Ducl1\ of Lithuania, the la~t 'pagan· '\late in Europe. 1381 Cannon used b) TeuLOnic Knights f01 the fin.t time on the Rj,·er 'emen. 1382 Teutonic Knights seize the l .ithuanian c-apital ot \ 'ilniw•. 1381 JogaJio (Jagiello) become'> ntler of tlw '>tilllt~~gel~ pagan Crand Duchy of Lithuania. 1386 Grand Duke Jagiello of Lithuania is bapti/ed ao., a Chriia sian (~luscm·ite) lot lit''' of Ivangorod on the eastern frontit>r of Estonia. 1302 Wolter von Plettenberg, Ma-.ter of the Teutonic Knight-. in Limnia, defeats Czar Ivan II of ~lusco\'\ at L1kc ~molina. 1361 Livonia divided between Poland and \\eden (0'>el ily based on the charaneristic Viking Age dependence upon ships. It came to be known a!> the INiung, and it enabled a ruler to summon a specified number of ~ighting men from a particular geographical region. By the time of the Baltic Crusades each hundare district should have been able to muMer up one hundred men and four ships, and formed part of a larger region called a svealand. The vel.sel was called a sniirka or 'seashell'. and wa-. technologically a descendant of the Viking age warship. ~1eatl\\hile the nlf(t/and formed the core of the Swedish kingdom. and could mu'>ter as manv a~ 2,200 w own teJTiLOry and, as such, pro,ed 'en u~eful for Ualtic crusading expeditions. This /edung had it.'> roots ill the Viking .\ge, and "-.u. found in all Scandinavian countries at one time 01 another. First formalized in Denmark during the first half of the 1 lth centu~. it prO\ided a legal wa~

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Inlaid silver d ecorations from a 12th century sword blade. Although excavated on the eastern side of the Baltic Sea, the weapon was almost certainly made in Germany or Scandinavia; the decorations show warriors In typica l 12th century European knightly equipment. (after D.A.Drboglav)

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method whereby a king could mmter an arm~ - ot colleCL taxe~ paid as an alternative to attending the mmter. The concept \\ent back to the 9rh and I Oth centuries, when 'Sea King•,' could be elected and ghen prmisional authority oYer men who had a'>'>embled for a limited time or to achieve certain limited and pre-agreed goaltem was cenainh used in Denmark as well ao; in i:':orwav. At it'> mmt ba'>ic Je,el the '>\'>tem relied on each hemman or fam1 ~upplving one armed man, thu-. spreading the burden of prmiding arlequateh equipped foot'>oldier.., throughom the entire community. The 14th cemun 'ia" '>ignificant changes in the socio-political climate and in militan technolog). both of" hkh resulted in a differem military situation. lh now the Scandinavian nobility had also strengtlwned its a hi lin ro muster well-armoured and well-rnonnted cavalr} forces. The evidence shows that a great many, perhaps even a m of tile newl) conquered territories. 1 See MAA 399, Me<Mval Scalldd in usc, as did other forms of wcapom ''hich tdiecl on \\eight. Amongst the other edged weapons would hme been tlw axe, but this did not sec aTI) :.ignificnnt changes. It doc' .'>eem that the earlier type of long-hafted axe wielded \dth two hand') now fell into disuse, perhaps ail a result of th e development of more efficient pole-arms which combined au axe blade with other useful fentures. One of the most significant dcvelopmems during the 14th centut)' was this combining of thrusting and slashing blnde'> into one weapon, of which tlw halberd would e\·en tualh become tlw mo'>t de\'eloped t\ pe. Its basic de.,ign was nevenhele'>s simple: one or more cutting blade-, were added to a sub,tantial spear shaft to create a hugely imprmed weapon. The precise date when these new cut-and-thrust weapons appeared is not known, bul rhey were clearly present in Contincnt.al Europe in the first half of the 14th century and in Scandina\'ia during the second half of that century. :\leanwhile the spear remained an important weapon, but would gradually be replaced by earl\' forms of halberd'> amongst profe.)sional soldicn. if not yet among local militias.

(A) Bronze gun-barrel from Loshult, Skilne, Sweden; length, 11 .81n/30 em; early 14th century. (National Historical Museum, Stockholm) (B) Bronze barrel of a late 14th century hand-gun; length, 7 .51n/19cm. (National His torical Museum, Stockholm) (C) Removeable Iron breech from a cannon, 15th century. Such weapons were probably supplied with multiple breeches; loaded separately and then fixed Into the rear of the barrel by means of a wedge between the breech and part of the carriaee, these allowed rapid fire. (Museum of Estonian History, Tallinn)

ARMOUR & WEAPONS, 1400- 1500

The m~or directions or technological change in 15th century Scandinavian milirar;· equipment were towards more plate armour, and an tncrea.,ed reliance on more complex form~ of pole-arm~. Another feature of this ccntur.· was the fac t that cntsading efforts shifted aw. This remained in use into the Renaissance period, when it evolYed into weapons -.uch as the partisan and the pike. The poleaxe was another chantcteristk deYclopment of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. It ccune to be regarded a'> a di'>tinctheh J..nighlly or chi\'alrous weapon. and found pm ticular fa\ our in Continental Europe, though it wa~ less popular iu Sweden and "\oma~. TaJ..en into widespread LL'ie in Germany, the poleaxe \\ dealing'' ith the uo;e of a sword and dagger were abundant. \\'here crossbow., were concerned, the bowstme became notabh '>trongcr while the manner of spanning the \\Capon changed in consequence, with the adoption of the cranJ..:, goat\-foot or ''indla~~ mechani'>nh.

MILITARY EQUIPMENT IN THE BALTIC LANDS & NOVGOROD The regions along the ea~tern side of the Baltic Sea experienced in(luence'\ from the Eur.:L'\ian steppes that \\ete neH'r felt in Scandinada, although the\ did reach '>l'\t'ral part., of Central Europe. Thi'> had the eflt:ct that, \\hile the ba~ic npes of militan ecptipnwnt U'>ecl along the eastern and '>uth-ea.'>tem ... hores of the Baltic differed \t'f\ little from thme of Scandin.l\i.t and \\'estem Europ, tlwi• clecoratiom and some a'\pects of the it sn ](• or .lppt' from

ABOVE Part of a 13th century wall-painting at Garda on the Swedish Island of Gotland, which seems to have been painted by an artist from the East . The eas1em Influences are seen In the helmets of the horsemen, which still do not have the face-guards which were otherwise normal In Europe at this time. The shields are of the smaller 'heater• type; and note that the spears have crossbars, which is usually a f eature of hunting weapons. (In situ Garda Church, Gotland, Sweden) LEFT Another detail from the 13th century Garda wall· painting; these helmets are significant. The man on the right has a tall , pointed or 'spired ' style of the type commonly seen In Russia or in Byzantine art. The man In the centre wears some form of brimmed 'ket11e· hat'. (In situ Garda Church, Gotland, Sweden)

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a much earlier date. All of the!>e people11 relied to a great e\.tent upon archer) and U!>ed ''uiou~ fonm of composite hm,. Such how~ would hme been '>lllaller in O\erall .,i1e than thmc of simple one-piece wooden construction comrnonh used in Europe. In Ru ...-.ia and sonw other pan~ of the far north of ea-,tern Europe and wcstem A~ia, a form of bow mad(' o f more than o ne piece of wood and sometinws reinforced by bone or antler, was also widespread. In some respects iLo; cons truc t io n had dements in common with the fully com po"i re bow of wood. sinew and hom. and m;w indeed ha\'e been its archaeological predecessor. The most common pole-arm was the spear, as it was in Scandinm ia. and "a' of similar comtnrction, although the spearheads were not 'en large in compar;.,on to some earlier Viking .\ ge spear blade-.. ~ l ost were around 7-8in ( 17-20cm ) long and, when used lor hunting such animab a., boars, would ha\'e incorporated a crossbar. A knife of some son would ha,·c been almost uni\'ersallv carried, in desigm ranging from the carl~ single-edged utility knife to the later lonm of specia lited fighting kni\es. 1300-1500 Armour in the Baltic region initially d eveloped in much the same way as it did in Scandinm ia and the rest of Europe. One major difference, howeve r, seems lObe tha t true pl a te a rmour did not achieve such wide popu larity in th e easte rn Balti c countries, Novgorod and the re~l of Rmsi a as it did elsewh e re in Europe. The reasons for this are unclear, bm may in clude the absence of a 'chivalrous culture· with it11 associated tournamerH11 and other such a ris tocratic acti\ities. which encouraged the drvelopmerH of hea\icr armour within Europe. Another pm~ibilit\ i~ that plate armour simply did not sene am useful purpme in the son of \\arfare that erupted between the re.,urgent nnth e Finn and Bait populations and the crusading annie'> and militan order11. The \CJ\ nature of the dcnseh fore-.ted countn·.,irle and the relmi,·e lack of large face-to-face battle-. on open ground would llO~oldiers who, a\ llw 'ea1., passed, acquired larger mail shin'>. mail co1fs and coats~f-plate, , ''hich offered good protection without h.unpe1ing mm·emem 01 bc:ing too hem,. Il i-. imponam to under-.raud that this was an exarnpll' of an exchange of inlluences between \\'e-.Lc:tn Europe and rhe c.·a,tt•rn regions of the Baltic and even funhcr east. Similarly. there wa' a con 1inuccl u~c of metal reinforccmeJILS to protect the arms, prima1 ih in the fonu of 'splints' or srrips of metal. ' elbow cups' and imprmed hand dclcnccs. \\'hen these changes and developments are ,;ewed a'> a whole. it seems that it was the in\'ading CJU\ading armies Lhat had lO .ICI,IJ}l to local circumstances, rather than local peoples cop\ing the im ,lder.,. On the other hand the use of padded armour of variou' dc,igm became jmt as important for local fighting men as it wa' fm the in\'acling crusader'>. or cour;;e, such garmems also offered imul.llion, and rhe cominued use of leather and furo; against the hiring cold ol the Ba ltic winter remained an i1nponant t~spect of military equipmenl in rhis region.

STRATEGY & TACTICS The 't'\o1 thc1n or Baltic Cn.1\ade.., \\C.''· rhei1 and tactics often being adapted to '>Uit changing cin Ulll'>t.mre' and challenges. In many waV'• the'>e campaigns became a \\,u ol endurance on all sides; it wa'> very dillicult and cost!}. espe made the initial conqueM of large area~ \l'J"\ difficult; this wa,, the main reason why the.• Baltic area saw the building of mam more castles tht~n was the case in Denmark and Sweden them~e l ws. B\ con~tnlcting such a slrongpoint 1hc occupiers could gradual!\ Pxlencl their contml outwards through a poliC\ of combined mili1an .trrion, co-opera1ion, 1radc and politics, 1hm en·ntually taking owt a largct teniwn . ~ew fortifications could rhen be built funhe1 awa\, ,mel the procc-., rt'peated a.'> often a-. nec bt·,iegccl \dthin their ca\Lles, surrounded h\ a 't'a of enemies. Such a 'tratt·g. and its as,ociated tactic~> were to a large cxteut dictated b~ 11w lact that ~he area was almost completd; CO\'cn·cl by dense fore),ts or lakes. This a lso had the effect of making rivers and other waterways ('XI ren1c.·h important a\'enues of mm·enwnr for both sides. As a r('sult, castle~ tend('d robe erccted close for such \ita! lines of communication. SU on '>ending relief to -;uch places when thev were cut off, Ull eatcned or under arrack. If a place fell or sun·cndered, it nonnalh accepted its ne" lords- \d1o could, in thei1 turn. ~ub~equentl~ expect to endure anotiH'l -.iege a~ the pre,iotb proprietor;, auempwd LO reclaim that location HoweYer, this mock of ,,.uf~u e ''a~ not the preYailing pauern in the Baltic Crusadt''>. at leaM not after the initial invasions of1he coa-.tal area~. From the Iron Age onward settlements and wwn;, had i~prung up along these coasts as a result of trade. Some of these tmms were already quite large. but were quick!} besieged anrl conquered by the crusader~. The construction of su·ongpoints, usually in the fo1111 of casLles, became a very important aspect of :.ubsequent warfare, but besieging such places was neithet the onh nor eYen the major method of conducting warl~1re. Instead, the Baltic Cru~ade:. were largeh a matter of skirmishes and raid'>, dut ing \\hich occa'>ional set-piece baules occurred - normall} only when both sides believed thaL they could achie\e tactical acl\'antages in such a conrrontation. Furthermore. the terrain did not aiJm, for 'en imaginati\·e manoeuning; the mmement;, or troops tended ro be relatiYelv predictable, and aYailable routes were stricth· limited b\ gt·ogta fe•;t when it wa carried out relatively close to friendh fort/>, and along the Rivreseen mishaps sometimes resulted in soldier'> having to eat their 0\\ n pack-animals - and even, on more than one occasion, their hot'>e'>. An example of the problenh pre'iented b' the Baltic tenain i'> prO\ided b' a Swedi'>h thrmt towards the lake and wwn of Ladoga from the Swedish ca~tle of \'iborg in 1293. Troops '"ere sent into the Ladoga region and erected a fori known as Keksholm; bm its ganison wa were stacked heavil)' in favour of the defible 10 tt<m'>pon heavy loads deep inland or to t~le of \\adare in "hich fortificatiom pl.t\ed .111 c.:xceptionalh import."\nt role - as We itt the Latin-Cn.ts."\der

\Iiddle East, where terdtory could not be held in thl' fi1ce of powerful imading force~ \\ithout the prc~cnce of castles. The earliest formLICh as hilltops, hluffo; or peninsulas, and they made full use of such terrain. \~1wn the crusaders conquered Lhese regions they often rebui lt in the identical locations for the same tactica l or strategic reasons. The remains of lllOM fortificatiom ill the Baltic lack clll idcnLifiable moat, since man\ of the location., \\ere strong enough \\itlwut this feature, tl1eir nantral advantages suflking to slow dmm .111 advancing enem\. Thi'i was patticularh apparent when the castle wa'> on top of a steep ~>lope. The quality of rhe acLUal foniflcation work tended to be high, c~pt·cially those bui lt by or for the Teutonic Knights. One reason may ha\c been an exchange of personnel with the Order's holdings in the ~Iiddle East and othct places where the 'icience of militat) architecture \\~1'. more advanced. Nc' enheless, the site'> of the Baltic fon ifications \\Cte general smaller than the epic fortre'i'>CS in t11e cnt-;ader ~tates of the eastern \Ieditermncan. Seeking to control a wide region, with a Mrictly limited number of u·oops bur agaimt an enem} lacking any sophisticated tradition of siege warfare, it was better for the crusader occupiers of r.he Baltic states to have nttmerou~ smaller, clisperset'm have been of the simple ancl relatiYely small hand-held type wit·lckd h)' teams

39

The city walls of Tallln , the largest city and capital of Estonia. They mostly date from the late 14th century. There Is a dramatic difference between the crowded Interior of the old city on the left, as seen from the Paks Margareta or 'Fat M argaret' Tower towards the Great Coastal Gate, and the exterior of the medieval city which now consists of a public park. (D. Nicolle photograph).

40

of men, but they pro\'ed eflective l'llough. I lowcver, rhe most effeni\e tactic when dealing with Baltic fortificatiOili> wa~ '-oimplv to .surround 1he place and star\'e ilS defender~ into !>ubmi-. agotill'ol the indigenotL'\ peoples of rhe region can be judged in .1 munbet of "··~"· and ~ome of these de\elopmenlS had long-l~ting nunifkatiom. In general terms, the conflict.\ in the Baltic .,cem to have spnrrerl on rhe emergence there of more clearh defined linJ.,ruisric and cultural regions, and thus e\entually of nation '>tal. It itcc.~ wil h which the face the invading crusader. T he defence or ad\'ance of C:hri-;tianil} against paganism had bt•en the corner-;tone of the Baltic crmading movement, and tlw '·l'>L state of Lithuaniathe ltt'ot pagom -.tate in Europe olli( ialh became Chri~tian in I :~Hii. \\'ithin Sumdinada il\elf. the tlnee natioth of Denmark. \,mwa\ and Sweden were united rrom 1397 in the

lloublesome Union of Kalmar, which had originall) been ~uggcsted b) Queen Marga• eta J. One significant effect of thi~> union was a decline in Scandinavian interest in Baltic crmading. Thi' more or leo;~> left the Jeu10nic Ordet on its o\\ll: the Order became an important po\\er 111 Scandinmian regional politics during the lllmultuous 15th ceutury, b11t this devclopmem fonuibULed to that Order'~ ~eemingly sudden collapse. It is important to recognite that the Bailie region comprised a large number of di\'erse powers, but that all were linked by a common interest in tradt>. The Baltic Crusades were not, in am simple sem.e. dircctc:d against a common 'ea~tern enem\ ·. but re,ulted in a 'ihifting pattern of allegiances and alliances in which the ll'aders of the Crusades a lways had to work pragmatically within the e\i-.ting pattern of economic ties and interest~. The raw 111aterials and pmducL'> extracted from tlw great nonhetn foresL and seas were of continuing ,~rlimrlzriften und Wajfenverzien.mgen des 9.-12Jalmwndnl\ (l lclc;inki, 196-l) Lind, J., The Russian Sources of King C\lagnus Eriksson'. H)

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