The Battle on the Ice (german: Schlacht auf dem Eise; russian: Ледовое побоище, ''Ledovoye poboishche''; et, Jäälahing), alternatively known as the Battle of Lake Peipus (german: Schlacht auf dem Peipussee), took place on 5 April 1242. It was fought largely on the frozen
Lake Peipus between the united forces of the
Republic of Novgorod and
Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
, led by Prince
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...
, and the forces of the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...
and
Bishopric of Dorpat, led by Bishop
Hermann of Dorpat.
The battle was significant because its outcome determined whether Western Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox Christianity would dominate in the region. In the end, the battle represented a significant defeat for the Catholic forces during the
Northern Crusades
The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianity and colonialism, Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily ...
and brought an end to their campaigns against the Orthodox
Novgorod Republic and other Slavic territories for the next century. The event portrayed in
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...
's historical drama film, ''
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...
'' (1938), later created a popular but inaccurate image of the battle.
Background
In 1221,
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
was again worried about the situation in the
Finnish-Novgorodian Wars after receiving alarming information from the
Archbishop of Uppsala
The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate (bishop), primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward un ...
. He authorized the Bishop of Finland to establish a
trade embargo
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may ...
against the "barbarians" that threatened Christianity in Finland. The nationality of the "barbarians", presumably a citation from Archbishop's earlier letter, remains unknown, and was not necessarily known even by the Pope. However, as the trade embargo was widened eight years later, it was specifically said to be against the Russians. Based on Papal letters from 1229, the
Bishop of Finland
The Archdiocese of Turku ( fi, Turun arkkihiippakunta, sv, Åbo ärkestift), historically known as '' Archdiocese of Åbo'', is the seat of the Archbishop of Turku. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and its see city is ...
requested the Pope enforce a trade embargo against Novgorodians on 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 ...
, at least in
Visby
Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...
,
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 ...
and
Lübeck. A few years later, the Pope also requested the
Livonian Brothers of the Sword send troops to protect Finland. Whether any knights ever arrived remains unknown.
Although the missionaries and Crusaders had attempted to establish peaceful relations with the Novgorod Republic, Livonian missionary and crusade activity in Estonia caused conflicts with Novgorod, who had also attempted to subjugate, raid and convert the pagan Estonians.
The Estonians also sometimes attempted to ally with the Russians against the Crusaders. In 1240 the combined forces of Teutonic Knights, other Germans from Estonia, Danish vassals from Estonia, and the exiled Prince of Pskov
Yaroslav Vladimirovich attacked the
Pskov Republic and
Votia, a tributary of Novgorod. This triggered the counterattack from Novgorod.
Hoping to exploit Novgorod's weakness in the wake of the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
invasions, 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 ...
attacked the neighboring
Novgorod Republic and occupied
Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
,
Izborsk
Izborsk (russian: Избо́рск; et, Irboska; vro, Irbosk, Irbuska, label=Seto) is a rural locality (village) in Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It contains one of the most ancient and impressive fortresses of Western Russia. Th ...
, and
Koporye Koporye (russian: Копорье; Finnish: ''Kaprio''; sv, Koporje) is a historic village ('' selo'') in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located about west of St. Petersburg and south of the Koporye Bay of the Baltic Sea. Its population in 2017 w ...
in autumn 1240.
When they approached Novgorod itself, the local citizens recalled to the city 20-year-old Prince
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...
, whom they had banished to
Pereslavl
Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Yaroslavl ...
earlier that year.
During the campaign of 1241, Alexander managed to retake Pskov and Koporye from the crusaders.
In the spring of 1242, the Teutonic Knights defeated a detachment of Novgorodians about 20 km south of the fortress of Dorpat (
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
). Led by
Prince-Bishop Hermann of Dorpat, the knights and their auxiliary troops of local
Ugaunian Estonians then met with Alexander's forces by the narrow strait (Lake Lämmijärv or Teploe) that connects the north and south parts of Lake Peipus (Lake Peipus proper with Lake Pskovskoye).
Battle
On 5 April 1242 Alexander, intending to fight in a place of his own choosing, retreated in an attempt to draw the often over-confident Crusaders onto the frozen lake.
Estimates on the number of troops in the opposing armies vary widely among scholars. A more conservative estimation has it that the crusader forces likely numbered around 2,600, including 800 Danish and German knights, 100 Teutonic knights, 300 Danes, 400 Germans, and 1,000 Estonian infantry.
The Russians fielded around 5,000 men: Alexander and his brother
Andrei's bodyguards (''
druzhina''), totalling around 1,000, plus 2,000 militia of Novgorod, 1,400 Finno-Ugrian tribesmen, and 600 allied Turkish horse archers.
![Ice-battle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Ice-battle.jpg)
The Teutonic knights and crusaders charged across the lake and reached the enemy, but were held up by the infantry of the Novgorod militia.
This caused the momentum of the crusader attack to slow. The battle was fierce, with the allied Russians fighting the Teutonic and crusader troops on the frozen surface of the lake. After a little more than two hours of close quarters fighting, Alexander ordered the left and right wings of his army (including cavalry) to enter the battle.
The Teutonic and crusader troops by that time were exhausted from the constant struggle on the slippery surface of the frozen lake. The Crusaders started to retreat in disarray deeper onto the ice, and the appearance of the fresh Novgorod cavalry made them retreat in panic.
It is commonly said that "the Teutonic knights and crusaders attempted to rally and regroup at the far side of the lake, however, the thin ice began to give way and cracked under the weight of their heavy armour, and many knights and crusaders drowned"; but Donald Ostrowski writes in his article ''Alexander Nevskii’s "Battle on the Ice": The Creation of a Legend'' that accounts of ice breaking and knights drowning are a relatively recent embellishment to the original historical story.
He cites a large number of scholars who have written about the battle,
Karamzin Karamzin (russian: Карамзин) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Karamzina. It originates from the Tatar surname Kara-Murza, meaning ''black lord'', and may refer to
*Aurora Karamzin (1808–1902), Finnish-Swede phil ...
,
Solovyev, Petrushevskii, Khitrov,
Platonov,
Grekov,
Vernadsky, Razin, Myakotin, Pashuto,
Fennell, and Kirpichnikov, none of whom mention the ice breaking up or anyone drowning when discussing the battle on the ice.
After analysing all the sources Ostrowski concludes that the part about ice breaking and drowning appeared first in the 1938 film
''Alexander Nevsky'' by
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...
.
Casualties
![StampRussia1992CPA5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/StampRussia1992CPA5.jpg)
According to the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...
's ''
Livonian Rhymed Chronicle'', written in the late 1340s,
The ussianshad many archers, and the battle began with their bold assault on the king's men anes
Samartindianes (Spanish: Anes, officially: Anes/Samartindianes) is a parish (administrative division) in Siero, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.
It is in size, with a population of 1, ...
The brothers' banners were soon flying in the midst of the archers, and swords were heard cutting helmets apart. Many from both sides fell dead on the grass. Then the Brothers' army was completely surrounded, for the Russians had so many troops that there were easily sixty men for every one German knight. The Brothers fought well enough, but they were nonetheless cut down. Some of those from Dorpat escaped from the battle, and it was their salvation that they fled. Twenty brothers lay dead and six were captured.[Urban, William. ''The Teutonic Knights: A Military History''. Greenhill Books. London, 2003. ]
According to the
Novgorod First Chronicle,
Prince Alexander and all the men of Novgorod drew up their forces by the lake, at Uzmen, by the Raven's Rock; and the Germans and the Estonians rode at them, driving themselves like a wedge through their army. And there was a great slaughter of Germans and Estonians... they fought with them during the pursuit on the ice seven versts short of the Subol orth-westernshore. And there fell a countless number of Estonians, and 400 of the Germans, and they took fifty with their hands and they took them to Novgorod.[Christiansen, Eric. ''The Northern Crusades''. Penguin Books. London, 1997. ]
Historical legacy
![LakePeipus02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/LakePeipus02.JPG)
The legacy of the battle, and its decisiveness, came because it halted the eastward expansion of the Teutonic Order and established a permanent border line through the Narva River and Lake Peipus dividing Eastern Orthodoxy from Western Catholicism.
[Hosking, Geoffrey A..''Russia and the Russians: a history'', USA, 2001, , p.65.] The knights' defeat at the hands of Alexander's forces prevented the crusaders from retaking Pskov, the linchpin of their eastern crusade. The Novgorodians succeeded in defending Russian territory, and the crusaders never mounted another serious challenge eastward. Alexander was canonised as a saint in the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
in 1574.
The event was glorified in
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...
's patriotic historical drama film ''
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...
'', released in 1938.
The movie, bearing
propagandist
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
allegories of the Teutonic Knights as
Nazi Germans, with the Teutonic infantry wearing modified
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
German
Stahlhelm
The ''Stahlhelm'' () is a German military steel combat helmet intended to provide protection against shrapnel and fragments of grenades. The term ''Stahlhelm'' refers both to a generic steel helmet and more specifically to the distinctive Ger ...
helmets, has created a popular image of the battle often mistaken for the real events.
In particular, the image of knights dying by breaking the ice and drowning originates from the film.
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
turned his score for the film into a concert cantata of the same title, the longest movement of which is "The Battle on the Ice".
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the image of Alexander Nevsky became a national Russian symbol of the struggle against German occupation.
The Order of Alexander Nevsky was re-established in the Soviet Union in 1942 during the
Great Patriotic War
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...
.
Since 2010, the Russian government has given out an
Order of Alexander Nevsky (
originally introduced by
Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I ( rus, Екатери́на I Алексе́евна Миха́йлова, Yekaterína I Alekséyevna Mikháylova; born , ; – ) was the second wife and empress consort of Peter the Great, and Empress Regnant of Russia from 1725 un ...
in 1725) given for outstanding bravery and excellent service to the country.
In 1983, a
revisionist view proposed by historian
John L. I. Fennell argued that the battle was not as important, nor as large, as has often been portrayed. Fennell claimed that most of the Teutonic Knights were by that time engaged elsewhere in the Baltic, and that the apparently low number of knights' casualties according to their own sources indicates the smallness of the encounter.
He also says that neither the
Suzdal
Suzdal ( rus, Суздаль, p=ˈsuzdəlʲ) is a town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located on the Kamenka River, north of the city of Vladimir. Vladimir is the admin ...
ian chronicle (the Lavrent'evskiy), nor any of the Swedish sources mention the occasion, which according to him would mean that the 'great battle' was little more than one of many periodic clashes.
[John Fennell, ''The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200–1304'', (London: Longman, 1983), 106.] Russian historian
Alexander Uzhankov
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
suggested that Fennell distorted the picture by ignoring many historical facts and documents. To stress the importance of the battle, he cites two
papal bulls of
Gregory IX, promulgated in 1233 and 1237, which called for a crusade to protect Christianity in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
against her neighbours. The first bull explicitly mentions Russia. The kingdoms of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
and the Teutonic Order built up an alliance in June 1238, under the auspices of the Danish king
Valdemar II
Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241.
Background
He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...
. They assembled the largest western cavalry force of their time. Another point mentioned by Uzhankov is the 1243 treaty between Novgorod and the Teutonic Order, where the knights abandoned all claims to Russian lands. Uzhankov also emphasizes, with respect to the scale of battle, that for each knight deployed on the field there were eight to 30 combatants, counting squires, archers and servants (though at his stated ratios, that would still make the Teutonic losses number at most a few hundred).
[''Александр Ужанков. Меж двух зол. Исторический выбор Александра Невского''](_blank)
(Alexander Uzhankov. Between two evils. The historical choice of Alexander Nevsky)
References
Further reading
*
Military Heritage
''Military Heritage'' is an American glossy, bi-monthly military history magazine that was first published in August 1999 by Sovereign Media. It was founded by Carl A. Gnam, Jr., who also serves as the editorial director. The current magazine edi ...
did a feature on the Battle of Lake Peipus and the holy Knights Templar and the monastic knighthood Hospitallers (Terry Gore, Military Heritage, August 2005, Volume 7, No. 1, pp. 28–33), .
* Basil Dmytryshyn, ''Medieval Russia 900–1700''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.
* John France, ''Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000–1300''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999.
* Donald Ostrowski, "Alexander Nevskii’s ‘Battle on the Ice’: The Creation of a Legend,” ''Russian History/Histoire Russe'', 33 (2006): 289–312.
* Terrence Wise, ''The Knights of Christ''. London: Osprey Publishing, 1984.
* Dittmar Dahlmann ''Der russische Sieg über die „teutonischen Ritter“ auf dem Peipussee 1242''. In: Gerd Krumeich, Susanne Brandt (ed.): ''Schlachtenmythen. Ereignis–Erzählung–Erinnerung.'' Böhlau, Köln/Wien 2003, , pp. 63–75.
*
Livländische Reimchronik. Mit Anmerkungen, Namenverzeichnis und Glossar. Ed.
Leo Meyer.
Paderborn
Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...
1876 (Reprint:
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
1963).
*
Anti Selart
Anti Selart (born 11 August 1973 in Tallinn) is an Estonian historian and philosopher.
Selart is professor of middle ages in University of Tartu (since 2009). He studies history of medieval Livonia, especially Russo-Livonian relationships.
In 200 ...
. Livland und die Rus' im 13. Jahrhundert.
Böhlau, Köln/Wien 2012, .
*
Anti Selart
Anti Selart (born 11 August 1973 in Tallinn) is an Estonian historian and philosopher.
Selart is professor of middle ages in University of Tartu (since 2009). He studies history of medieval Livonia, especially Russo-Livonian relationships.
In 200 ...
. Livonia, Rus’ and the Baltic Crusades in the Thirteenth Century.
Brill
Brill may refer to:
Places
* Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands
* Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England
* Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK
* Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...
, Leiden/Boston, 2015.
* Kaldalu, Meelis; Toots, Timo, ''Looking for the Border Island''. Tartu: Damtan Publishing, 2005. Contemporary journalistic narrative about an Estonian youth attempting to uncover the secret of the Ice Battle.
* Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo, Mark Teppo, Angus Trim, "Katabasis (The Mongoliad Cycle Book 4)" 47 North, 2013
* David Savignac, The Pskov 3rd Chronicle, entries under the years 1240–1242, Accessible at https://www.academia.edu/28622167/The_Pskov_3rd_Chronicle
External links
{{Authority control
1242 in Europe
Military history of Russia
Ice 1242
Ice 1242
Ice 1242
Ice
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
Ice
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
History of Pskov
13th century in Estonia
13th century in Russia