There is a barbaric quality to the Baltic crusades. They were fought far out on the northern frontiers of Christendom, against the pagan tribes that lived in Finland, Livonia and Estonia. This trackless landscape was one of thick forests, lakes and bogs: invading armies tended to follow the rivers rather than risk getting swallowed up by the primeval forest.
The native inhabitants were divided into separate tribes. They included Letts, Livs, Prussians, Curonians and Tavastians.
One of the underlying causes for the Baltic Crusades was the rivalry between Roman Catholicism and the Russian Orthodox Church, both eager to stamp their own brands of Christianity upon the tribes east of the Baltic. Other reasons were the abundant natural resources of Finland and Livonia, upon which Scandinavian merchants were anxious to lay their hands.
The Sword Brothers
The Sword Brothers were founded in 1202 by Bishop Albert of Riga. Previously, crusaders had been a motley assortment of professional soldiers and adventurers, drawn by the lure of plunder and papal absolution. The short campaigning season and the temporary nature of the crusades prompted Albert’s founding of the Sword Brothers, to garrison newly conquered territories and bear the brunt of the summer campaigns. The symbol of the Order was a red cross and sword against a white background.
Life in the order was strict. They were sworn to poverty and chastity. Competition with other crusading orders like the Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights meant that the Sword Brothers were not particularly fussy about whom they recruited. It has been estimated that the total number of knights never exceeded 150, the bulk of the order being comprised of priest-brothers, who attended to the spiritual side of things, and serving-brothers, the infantry of the order.
From the start, they proved their worth, building a chain of stone and brick castles along the Dvina river. They exploited old regional rivalries, assisting the Livs and Letts against the Lithuanians and Estonians. Although greatly outnumbered, they had an edge over their foes as far as weaponry, armour and fortifications were concerned.
Campaigns were waged with typical medieval brutality, featuring torture, rape, looting and general wholesale destruction. Those natives that refused conversion were slaughtered or forcibly baptised.
In 1220, an army of Danes helped the Sword Brothers subdue Estonia. In 1223, the Estonians rebelled against their conquerors, assisted by a Russian army from Novgorod. The Sword Brothers struck back in 1224, capturing the town of Dorpat. A peace was forged, with the Danes holding northern Estonia and the Sword Brothers retaining their strongholds in the south.
In 1233, the Sword Brothers were ordered to surrender the fortress of Reval to the Danes. Bishop Albert had died and his successor, Baldwin, laid siege to Reval. The Papal Troops were soundly repulsed but Pope Gregory IX censured the order.
The future existence of the Sword Brothers was now highly uncertain - the order was suffering from lack of finances, a bad reputation and dwindling numbers. Prompted by the arrival of a crusading army from Holstein in 1236, the Sword Brothers invaded Lithuania. They were crushed at the Battle of the River Saule - Lithuanian light cavalry hurled javelins into the ranks of the crusaders, killing the Grand Master of the Order, Folkwin. In the ensuing confusion, the crusaders routed and many were slaughtered as they retreated back to Riga.
Faced with papal and Danish hostility, and their ranks dangerously thinned by the disastrous battle at Saule, the surviving brethren were absorbed by the Teutonic Knights.
Sources:
The Mongol Conquests AD 1200 - 1300 (The Baltic Crusades) The Editors of Time Life Books, Time Life Books, 1989
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
