Ugandi (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Ungannia'' or ''Ugaunia''; lv, Ugaunija;
Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle L ...
: ''Uggn'') was an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
county between the east coast of Lake
Võrtsjärv
Lake Võrtsjärv (; german: Wirzsee) is a lake in southern Estonia with an area of 270 km² (104 mi²).
It is the second largest lake in Estonia (behind Lake Peipus), and the largest lake situated entirely within Estonia. The shallow ...
and west coast of
Lake Pskov, bordered by
Vaiga
Vaiga was a small landlocked ancient Estonian county in the eastern part of the territory of Estonia. It territory now belongs to the eastern part of Jõgeva County.
See also
*Livonian Crusade
The Livonian crusade refers to the various mil ...
,
Mõhu,
Nurmekund
Nurmekund (Low German: ''Nurmegunde'') was a small independent country (ancient Estonian county) on the north coast of Lake Võrtsjärv in Central Estonia, bordered by Sakala, Alempois, Järvamaa, Mõhu, and Ugandi. Nurmekund had an area of ap ...
,
Sakala,
Tālava
Tālava was a Latgalians, Latgalian country in the northern Vidzeme and northern Latgale region of today's Latvia. It was bordered by the Latgalian Principality of Jersika to the south, the Livonian counties of Metsepole and Idumeja to the west, th ...
, and The
Principality of Pskov The Pskov Land (russian: Псковская земля, Pskovskaya zemlya) was a historical region in the north-west of the medieval Russia centred around the city of Pskov. It was a vassal state of various Rus' states and had a measure of independe ...
. Ugandi had an area of approximately 3000
hides. Ugandi corresponded roughly to the present
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 ...
's territory of
Võru County
Võru County ( et, Võru maakond or ''Võrumaa''; vro, Võro maakund) is a county in southern Estonia. It is bordered by Valga County and Põlva County and is the only Estonian county bordering two countries - Latvia (Alūksne Municipality and ...
,
Põlva County
Põlva County ( et, Põlva maakond or ''Põlvamaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-eastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga and Võru counties. 28,507 people live in Põlva County – constituting 2.3% o ...
and half of
Tartu County
Tartu County ( et, Tartu maakond or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia.
It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County.
The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of t ...
and
Valga County
Valga County ( et, Valga maakond or ''Valgamaa'') is a first-level administrative unit and one of 15 counties of Estonia. It comprises the former area of Valga District. The present-day county was created on 1 January 1990. The capital and larg ...
, as well as
Petseri County.
The county was first mentioned in print by
Henry of Livonia
Henry of Latvia ( la, Henricus de Lettis, german: Heinrich von Lettland, lv, Latviešu Indriķis, et, Läti Henrik; 1187 – after 1259), also known in the English-speaking world as Henry of Livonia, was a priest, missionary and historian. He ...
After the Northern crusades it became the
Bishopric of Dorpat
The Bishopric of Dorpat ( et, Tartu piiskopkond; nds, Bisdom Dorpat; la, Ecclesia Tarbatensis) was a medieval prince-bishopric, i.e. both a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and a temporal principality ruled by the bishop of the diocese. It ...
. In
Latvian, ''Igaunija'' (''Ugaunija'' is the Latvian name for the Ugaunia county) is still the modern national name for
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 ...
. The name ''Ugandi'' is derived by associating "Ugaunia" with the name of ''Uandimägi'' Hill near
Otepää
Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer ca ...
. An alternate theory proposes that the name "Ugaunia" could have been derived from the
Slavic language word "Ug", meaning "South" (cf.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
). The power center of Ugandi is believed to have been in the fortified stronghold of
Otepää
Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer ca ...
(
Ugaunian for "bear's head"; la, Caput Ursi, russian: Medvezh'ya Golova) in present-day Linnamägi Hill in the town of Otepää. The hill is indeed shaped like a head of a bear, thought to have been a holy animal for
Ugaunians
Ugaunians or Ugannians ( et, ugalased) ( lv, ugauņi), referred to as Chudes by the earliest Russian chronicles were historical Finnic people inhabiting the ancient southern Estonian Ugandi County (Latin: Ungannia) (also Ugania, Ugaunia) that is ...
. Another important Ugaunian stronghold was
Tarbatu
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 ...
by the river
Emajõgi
Emajõgi (; meaning ''"Mother River"'') is a river in Estonia which flows from Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipsi, crossing the city of Tartu for 10 km. It has a length of 100 km.
The Emajõgi is sometimes called t ...
(literally, "Mother River"). It was erected around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi) in what is today
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 ...
. Due to its location, Ugandi always bore the brunt of
East Slavs
The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert H ...
' attacks against
Chud
Chud or Chude ( orv, чудь, in Finnic languages: tšuudi, čuđit) is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia and Northwestern Russia.
Arguably, the ...
es, as they called
Finnic peoples
The Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly '' Finno-Permic'') language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of ...
around their North-Eastern boundaries.
History
In 1030
Kievan Prince
Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was als ...
organized a military campaign against
Chud
Chud or Chude ( orv, чудь, in Finnic languages: tšuudi, čuđit) is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia and Northwestern Russia.
Arguably, the ...
s, defeated them and established fort Yuryev (literally "Yury's" - Yury being Yaroslav's Christian name) in what is modern day
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 ...
. Kievan rule of Tartu/Tarbatu may have lasted 30 years until 1061, when, according to
Old East Slavic
Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
chronicles, Yuryev was burned down by ''Sosols'' (probably
Sackalians,
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 ...
or
Harionenses).
In modern Estonian literature, the province of Ugaunia is called ''Ugandi'' or ''Ugala''. In
Latvian, the country of Estonia is still called ''Igaunija'' after Ugaunians, their ancient warlike neighbors. In
Estonian folklore
The earliest mentioning of Estonian singing dates back to Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta Danorum'' (c. 1179). Saxo spoke of Estonian warriors who sang at night while waiting for a battle. Henry of Livonia at the beginning of the 13th century describe ...
, Ugaunians (''ugalased'') are enemy warriors and robbers. For example, a folk song from
Viljandi
Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...
calls for speeding up the harvest work because Ugaunians might attack. ''"Ugalane"'' has also been used as a disparaging word for an unsophisticated country person. Rulers of
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of m ...
and
Principality of Pskov The Pskov Land (russian: Псковская земля, Pskovskaya zemlya) was a historical region in the north-west of the medieval Russia centred around the city of Pskov. It was a vassal state of various Rus' states and had a measure of independe ...
made frequent raids against Ugaunians in the 12th century but never succeeded to subjugate them. Fort Bear's Head was conquered in 1116 and 1193, Tarbatu in 1134 and 1192. Ugaunians themselves made several raids against Pskov.
At the beginning of the 13th century, a new powerful enemy appeared. German crusaders had established a foothold at the mouth of 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 started to expand and christen local tribes. The Ugaunians' southern neighbors, the
Latgalians
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 ...
(or
Letts), saw the crusaders as potential allies against their traditional adversaries. The Ugaunians wanted to continue the truce with their new neighbors, but the crusaders had a list of preconditions. They demanded that the Ugaunians pay reparation for an old incident. Many years ago the Ugaunians, upon the advice of the Livonians, had robbed a caravan of German merchants by the Daugava river. In 1207 the crusaders sent a priest called Alabrand to Ugaunia to demand compensation, but did not receive an answer. Next year the Letts and
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 ...
sent a new delegation to Ugaunia and returned with Ugaunian envoys. Ugaunians were offered "eternal peace" if they accept Christianity and return everything they had robbed from Germans and Letts. Ugaunians refused and left, threatening the Letts with "very sharp lances". The crusaders and Letts went to war against Ugaunians. They burned Otepää and returned with captives and booty. Ugaunians and Sackalians retaliated, raided territories of the Letts and burned their worst enemies alive. The Livonians and the Bishop of Riga wanted peace and sent the priest Alabrand to Otepää to negotiate. Alabrand used the gathering of Ugaunians to preach the Christianity to them. Some pagan Ugaunians wanted to kill him because of his preaching, but his status as the messenger of the bishop protected him. Ugaunians made peace with the Bishop of Riga, the leader of the
Livonian Crusade
The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...
.
In 1210 the Novgorodian prince
Mstislav the Bold
Mstislav Mstislavich the Daring (russian: Мстисла́в II Мстисла́вич Удатный, uk, Мстислав Мстиславич Удатний, translit=Mstyslav Mstyslavych Udatnyi; died c. 1228) prince of Tmutarakan and Cherni ...
and his brother, Vladimir the Prince of
Polatsk
Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...
, sent an army against Ugaunians. They besieged Otepää and fought there for eight days. Defenders of the fort suffered a shortage of food and water and were forced to ask for peace. Ugaunians had to accept Orthodox baptism and pay a tribute of 400 "nogata" marks. (''Nogat'' or ''nahad'' is Estonian word for pelts). The same summer Ugaunians of Otepää surrendered to crusader commander Bertold of
Wenden. Ugaunians continued to raid Lettish territories. Wars between Ugaunians and Letts lasted the whole decade. The elders of Ugaunians and Letts had deep personal feuds. When Ugaunians captured
Tālivaldis
Tālivaldis or Tālibalds ( la, Thalibaldus de Tolowa; d. 1215) was a Latgalians, Latgalian Elder (administrative title), elder, the ruler of Tālava, whose support for Albert of Riga and the German crusaders brought about his death at the hands o ...
of
Trikāta in 1215 and burned him alive, his sons burned alive all Ugaunian men they could catch to avenge. They also tortured Ugaunians to force them to show hiding places in the woods. When all Ugaunian provinces were burnt down, the people still alive sent messengers to Riga, asking for peace and promised to receive baptism. They told that all who had been involved in the robbery of German merchants had already been killed. The priests Otto and Peter Kakuwalda were sent to baptize them. Hearing about that, prince Vladimir of Pskov attacked Ugaunians. Ugaunians and German crusaders fortified Otepää and avenged Russians, raiding lands of Pskov and Novgorod. After that Ugaunians went with crusaders, Livonians and Letts against Estonian pagan provinces
Jerwia and
Vironia
Virumaa ( la, Vironia; Low German: ''Wierland''; Old Norse: ''Virland'') is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians built ...
. Prince
Vladimir of Pskov
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukra ...
sent messengers through all of Estonia to besiege Germans and Ugaunians at Otepää. Harrians and Oeselians came and even already baptized Sackalians. While troops of 20000 of
Novgorodians and
Œsel
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...
ians attacked Otepää, Ugaunians along with crusaders made raids against Novgorod, Vironians and
Votians
Votians, also referred to as Votes, Vots and Vods ( vot, Vađđalaizõd, et, vadjalased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to historical Ingria, the part of modern-day northwestern Russia that is roughly southwest of Saint Petersburg and east ...
.
In 1220 Ugaunians rebelled against the Germans. Sackalians sent bloody swords with which they had killed Germans to Ugaunians of Tarbatu and Otepää. In Tarbatu they decided by lot whether to
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
to the gods an ox or their priest Hartwig, who was equally fat. Luckily for the priest, the lot fell upon the
ox. Ugaunians decided to side with Novgorodians. Russian princes of Pskov, Novgorod and Suzdal sent huge troops of 20000 men to Ugaunia. The people of Tarbatu sent them large gifts and Otepää welcomed them too. The Russians left
Vetseke
Vyachko of Koknese, also ''Vetseke of Kokenhusen'' ( la, Rex Vesceka de Kukenois, lv, Vetseke, russian: Вячко) was the ruler of the Principality of Koknese in present-day Latvia, a vassal of Polotsk, who unsuccessfully tried to establish hi ...
as their prince to rule Ugaunians and any other Estonian province around he could gathered tax from. In 1224 crusaders retook all provinces in mainland Estonia. After casting lot, bishop
Hermann of Buxhoeveden
Hermann of Dorpat (or Hermann I, or Hermann von Buxhövden) (1163–1248) was the first Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Dorpat (1224–1248) within the Livonian Confederation.
Biography
Hermann hailed from Bexhövede (now a part of Loxs ...
was given rule over Ugaunia while Sackala was given to the order. Otepää was happy over the rule of bishop Hermann but Tarbatu was still ruled by Vetseke and his
Ruthenians
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...
. Later that year however, Tarbatu was conquered and all its Ugaunian and
Ruthenian defenders killed. Bishop Hermann started to fortify Otepää and Tarbatu. He chose Tarbatu/Dorpat to be his residence. Bishop Hermann and his Ugaunian subjects fought frequently against Novgorod and were defeated 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 ...
in the
Battle on Lake Peipus
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 Apr ...
in 1242. Ugaunia became subsequently known as the
Bishopric of Dorpat
The Bishopric of Dorpat ( et, Tartu piiskopkond; nds, Bisdom Dorpat; la, Ecclesia Tarbatensis) was a medieval prince-bishopric, i.e. both a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and a temporal principality ruled by the bishop of the diocese. It ...
.
See also
*
Bishopric of Dorpat
The Bishopric of Dorpat ( et, Tartu piiskopkond; nds, Bisdom Dorpat; la, Ecclesia Tarbatensis) was a medieval prince-bishopric, i.e. both a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and a temporal principality ruled by the bishop of the diocese. It ...
*
Chronicle of Henry of Livonia
The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' ( la, Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) offers a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland Estonia and the northern part of Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was ...
*
Jogentagana (
:et:Jogentagana)
*
Livonian Crusade
The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...
*
Ludza Estonians
The Ludza Estonians (in the Ludza dialect: ''Lutsi maarahvas'' – ‘Lutsi Estonians’, in Latvian: ''Ludzas igauņi'') are a group of ethnic Estonians living in and around Ludza, south-eastern Latvia.
History
Most of the Ludza Estonians ...
*
Rulers of Estonia
This list of rulers of Estonia starts with the ancient counties (''maakond'') and parishes (''kihelkond'') each headed by ''Seniores'' and ''Meliores'' (Elders) as noted by Henry of Livonia. The administrative jurisdiction of the parish and coun ...
*
Sakala
*
Soopoolitse
Soopoolitse was a small landlocked ancient Estonian county in the eastern part of the territory of Estonia.
See also
*Livonian Crusade
The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia ...
(
:et:Soopoolitse)
*
Suur Munamägi
*
Võro language
Võro ( vro, võro kiilʼ, link=no , et, võru keel) is a language belonging to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Traditionally, it has been considered a dialect of the South Estonian dialect group of the Estonian language, bu ...
*
Seto language
Seto (; et, setu keel) is a dialect of Estonian or a separate language spoken by 12,549 people. It is sometimes identified as a dialect of Võro, or the two are described as one language, Võro-Seto. Setos () mostly inhabit the area near E ...
*
Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was als ...
*
Iziaslav I of Kiev
Iziaslav Yaroslavich ( orv, Изѧславь Ѩрославичь; russian: Изяслав Ярославич; uk, Ізяслав Ярославич; 1024 – 3 October 1078, baptized as ''Demetrius'') was a Kniaz' ( Prince) of Turov and Gra ...
References
External links
The flag of the student organisation Ugaunia (see: Ugala)
{{Historic counties of Estonia
Ancient counties of Estonia
Võru County
Põlva County
Tartu County
Valga County