The Vends ( lat, wendi, lv, vendi, et, võndlased, võnnulased, vendid) were a Balto-Finnic people that lived between the 12th to 16th centuries in the area around the town of Wenden (now

Cēsis Cēsis (), (german: Wenden, liv, Venden, et, Võnnu, pl, Kieś) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river over ...

) in present-day north-central

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 ...

. According to

Livonian Chronicle of Henry 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 ...

prior to their arrival in the area of Wenden in the 12th century, the Vends were settled in Ventava county ( la, Wynda) by the Venta River near the present city of

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

in western Latvia. Their proximity to more numerous Finnic and

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

tribes inclined the Vends to ally with the German

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

, who began building a stone castle near the older Vendian wooden fortress in 1207. The castle of Wenden later became the residence of the Master 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 th ...

. The last known record of the Vends' existence as a distinct entity dates from the sixteenth century.

Origin

Henry of Latvia 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 (Catholic Church), priest, mis ...

made the first surviving mention of the Vends as they were chased away from

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...

and Christianized by Germans during

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 ...

of 1198–1290. Traditionally researchers believe that Vends spoke a Finnic language and were related to the neighboring Livonians and the Votes. Sometimes they are associated with the Western Slavic

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...

Flag of Latvia

Vends may have a connection with the national

flag of Latvia The national flag of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas karogs) was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly before the country ...

. The

Rhyme Chronicle of Livonia 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 ...

(''Livländische Reimchronik'') states that in 1290 when the local militia was recruited to defend

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 ...

, they came from Wenden with "a Latvian red banner crossed by white, in the manner of the Vends/of the Wenden" (''nâch wendischen siten'').Livlädische Reimchronik
: ''die quâmen hovelîchen dar / mit einer banier rôtgevar,/ daß was mit wîße durch gesniten/ hûte nâch wendischen siten./ Wenden ist ein burc genant,/ von den die banier wart bekant,/ und ist in Letten lant gelegen,/ dâ die vrowen rîtens pflegen/ nâch den siten, als die man./ vor wâr ich ûch daß sagen kan,/ die banier der Letten ist.'' (09223-09233)

References

Historical ethnic groups of Europe Ethnic groups in Latvia Slavic tribes Baltic Finns {{europe-ethno-group-stub

Origin

Flag of Latvia

See also

References