The Battle of Saule ( lt, Saulės mūšis / Šiaulių mūšis; german: Schlacht von Schaulen; lv, Saules kauja) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword german: Schwertbrüderordenfrench: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive , image= , caption= , dates=1204–1237 , country= Terra Mariana , allegiance= Catholic Church , garrison= Wenden (Cēsis), Fellin (Viljandi), Segewold (Sigulda). Aschera ...

and pagan troops of

Samogitians Samogitians ( Samogitian: ''žemaitē'', lt, žemaičiai, lv, žemaiši) are an ethnographic group of Lithuanians of the Samogitia region, an ethnographic region of Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian language, which in Lithuania is mostly con ...

and

Semigallians Semigallians ( Latvian ''Zemgaļi''; lt, Žiemgaliai, also ''Zemgalians, Semigalls, Semigalians'') were the Baltic tribe that lived in the southcentral part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania. They are noted for their long resistance ...

. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands. The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic

military order Military order may refer to: Orders * Military order (religious society), confraternity of knights originally established as religious societies during the medieval Crusades for protection of Christianity and the Catholic Church Military organi ...

established in the Baltic lands, was soundly defeated and its remnants accepted incorporation into the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

in 1237. The battle inspired rebellions among the

Curonians :''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs ( lv, kurši; lt, kuršiai; german: Kuren; non, Kúrir; orv, кърсь) were a Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in what are now the western p ...

Selonians The Selonians ( lv, sēļi; lt, sėliai, from liv, sälli – "highlanders") were a tribe of Baltic peoples. They lived until the 15th century in Selonia, located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. They eventually merged with ...

Oeselians Oeselians ( la, Oesel, , sv, Ösel, da, Øsel, fi, Saarenmaa) is a term historically applied before the Northern Crusades up to the 13th century to people who were living on the island of Saaremaa or Oesel as it was known back then, an island ...

, tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers. Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of

Daugava , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

were lost. To commemorate the battle, in 2000 the Lithuanian and Latvian parliaments declared 22 September to be the

Baltic Unity Day Baltic Unity day or Day of Baltic Unity ( lt, Baltų vienybės diena, lv, Baltu vienības diena) is a commemorative day celebrated on September 22 in Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Latvian and Lithuanian communities abroad. It was recogn ...

Background

The Sword-Brothers were established in 1202 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

to conquer and convert pagan Baltic tribes to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. By the 1230s under the leadership of Master Volkwin, the Order was coping with strained financial resources, decreasing manpower, and ill reputation. The Order was in conflict with the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

under

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

and the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, two of its biggest supporters, over

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. However, on 19 February 1236, Pope

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

issued a papal bull declaring a crusade against

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. Volkwin was reluctant to launch offensive actions against Lithuanian lands. His reluctance was determined by understanding that the Order lacked strength to wage war against the

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

. The lack of strength was a result of interior conflicts with the

Bishopric of Riga The Archbishopric of Riga ( la, Archiepiscopatus Rigensis, nds, Erzbisdom Riga) was an archbishopric in Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as the bishopric of Livonia at Ikšķile, then after moving to R ...

. Besides that, the Livonian Sword Brothers had still little knowledge of the lands lying south to the Order's territory. Volkwin delayed starting military actions for an entire summer, hoping to escape a risky operation into unexplored lands. However, the insistence of Pope Gregory IX forced him to lead a new campaign. Volkwin targeted

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, planning to conquer the coast of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

and connect with the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. The Sword-Brothers wanted to keep expanding along the

Daugava River , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

and were reluctant to march against Samogitia. In the fall of 1236, a party of crusaders from

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

arrived in Riga and demanded to be led into a battle. Volkwin gathered a large war party, which included troops from

Pskov Republic Pskov ( la, Plescoviae), known at various times as the Principality of Pskov (russian: Псковское княжество, ) or the Pskov Republic (russian: Псковская Республика, ), was a medieval state on the south shore of ...

Livonians The Livonians, or Livs ( Livonian: ''līvlizt''; Estonian: ''liivlased''; Latvian: ''līvi'', ''lībieši''), are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to northern and northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language c ...

Latgallians Latgalians (, nds, Letti, Lethi, modern ; variant translations also include Latgallians, Lettigalls or Lettigallians) were an ancient Baltic tribe. They likely spoke the Latvian language, which probably became the ''lingua franca'' in present-d ...

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to other ...

Events of the battle

Crossing the lands of

, which were not in the Order's control, the crusaders marched southward into Samogitia, raiding and plundering local settlements. The locals had only a few days to gather troops for defense. On the knights' northward return, however, they encountered a determined group of Samogitians at a river crossing. Unwilling to risk losing their horses in the swampland, the Holsteiners refused to fight on foot, forcing the knights to camp for the night. The next morning, on the day of

Saint Maurice Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that Ma ...

, the main pagan forces, possibly led by Duke

Vykintas 200 px, Monument to Duke Vykintas in Tverai Vykintas (died ) was Duke of Samogitia and a rival to the future King of Lithuania, Mindaugas. In 1236 he probably led the Samogitian forces in the Battle of Saule against the Livonian Order. The Order ...

, arrived at the camp. The Lithuanian light cavalry flung javelins at short range, which were highly effective against the unwieldy Livonian heavy cavalry. The swampy terrain was advantageous for the lightly armed pagans. The slaughter of the Christian troops, including Volkwin, sowed the seeds of confusion in the Livonian ranks. The lightly armed native forces under the command of the Brothers soon fled from the battle. Almost all members of the Order, including Volkwin, died in the battle. Those crusaders and knights who tried to flee to Riga were allegedly killed by the

. Only every tenth Crusader reached Riga. The ''

Livonian Rhymed Chronicle The ''Livonian Rhymed Chronicle'' (german: Livländische Reimchronik) is a chronicle written in Middle High German by an anonymous author. It covers the period 1180 – 1343 and contains a wealth of detail about Livonia — modern South Estonia a ...

'' described the pagan's defeat of the Sword-Brothers at the battle of Saule: "More heathens arrived. The next day the Christians thought to ride away early, but they had to fight the pagans though they did not want to. In the swamp, they could offer but weak resistance, and they were cut down like women. I lament the deaths of so many heroes who were so easily slain. The Master and his Brothers put up a heroic defense until their horses were slain and even then fought on foot and felled many men before they were vanquished. Finally, and with great difficulty, the Lithuanians felled them with long spears."

Location

The exact location where the battle took place is unknown. The ''Chronicum Livoniae'' by

Hermann de Wartberge Hermann von Wartberge (died ca. 1380) was a chronicler of the Livonian Order. Born in Westphalia, Wartberge was a Catholic priest and author of the valuable Latin chronicle ''Chronicon Livoniale'' covering the history of the Livonian Crusade from ...

mentioned that the battle was fought in ''terram Sauleorum''. Traditionally, this was identified with

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...

(german: Schaulen, lv, Šauļi) in

or with the small town of Vecsaule near

Bauska Bauska () is a town in Bauska Municipality, in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia. Bauska is located from the Latvian capital Riga, 62 km (38.5 mi) from Jelgava and from the Lithuanian border on the busy European route E67. The to ...

in what is today southern

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. In 1965 the German historian Friedrich Benninghoven proposed Jauniūnai village in Joniškis district, Lithuania as the battle site. The theory gained some academic support and in 2010 the Lithuanian government sponsored construction of the memorial in Jauniūnai – a tall

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

, a pond, and a park of oaks. The village of Pamūšis, situated some east of Janiūnai on the

Mūša River Mūša ( lv, Mūsa; German: Muhsse) is a river in Northern Lithuania and Southern Latvia (Zemgale region). At its confluence with the river Nemunėlis ( lv, Mēmele) in Latvia, near city Bauska Bauska () is a town in Bauska Municipality, in the ...

, also claims to be the location of the battle. ''Saule/Saulė'' means "the Sun" in both Latvian and Lithuanian.

Background

Events of the battle

Location

See also

References

Further reading