Tālava (; ) was a Latgalian country in the northern

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

and northern

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

region of modern-day

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. It was bordered by the Latgalian Principality of Jersika to the south, the

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

n counties of Metsepole and Idumeja to the west, the

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

n counties of Sakala and

Ugandi Ugandi (Latin: ''Ungannia'' or ''Ugaunia''; ; Low German: ''Uggn'') was an Independence, independent county between the east coast of Lake Võrtsjärv and west coast of Lake Pskov, bordered by Vaiga, Mõhu, Nurmekund, Sackalia, Sakala, Tālava ...

to the north and the Russian

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

to the east. Tālava was first mentioned in the ''

Livonian Chronicle of Henry The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' () is a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's Estonia and Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was written by a priest named Henry. Apart from some references ...

'' in 1207 as the Christian County of ''Tholowa''. Russian chronicles refer to the county of ''Atzele'' (), first mentioned in 1111, which was probably the eastern part of Tālava. The county existed from the 10th century until 1224 when it was divided between

Bishopric of Riga The Archbishopric of Riga (, ) was a Catholic diocese and civil government in Medieval Livonia, subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 and ended in 1561. History The diocese was established in 1186 as the Bishopric of Livonia ...

and the Brothers of the Sword.

History

After Mstislav Rostislavich "the Brave", the

prince of Novgorod The Prince of Novgorod () was the title of the ruler of Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in present-day Russia. From 1136, it was the title of the figurehead leader of the Novgorod Republic. The position was originally an appointed one until the late ...

, rode against the Chud during the winter of 1179-1180, Tālava was forced to pay tribute to

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

. The leader of Tālava, Tālivaldis and his sons were baptized in the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

faith. In 1208, Tālivaldis, together with the Latgalian leaders Rūsiņš of Satekle and Varidots of Autine, established a military alliance with the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...

. The Sword Brothers promised their help against the Novgorodians. In the same year, the Tālavians invited their northern enemies, presumably Ugandians (or Ugaunians), for peace talks which however ended unsuccessfully. The Tālavians together with the Sword Brothers then fought a four years war with the Estonian tribes, concluded by a peace treaty in Turaida in 1212. In 1214, two sons of Tālivaldis, Rameks and Varibuls signed a new treaty with Bishop

Albert of Riga Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia ( – 17 January 1229) was the third Catholic Bishop of Riga in Livonia. As the Bishop of Livonia, in 1201, he founded Riga, the modern capital city of Latvia, and the city was later made a bishopric. The bu ...

, giving the northern part of Talava to the

. They converted from Eastern Orthodoxy to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and became vassals of the bishop. In 1215 the Tālavians together with the bishop's forces continued their war against the Estonians. In response, the Estonians raided Tālava and captured Tālivaldis in Trikāta, and later burnt him to death. After the death of Tālivaldis, the war continued. His sons took revenge and plundered the Estonian lands, burning alive all Ugandian men they could catch. In the winter of 1216, Tālava was in turn invaded by Novgorodian troops from

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. After the capture of

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

and the Christianisation of the Ugandians in 1224, Tālava was divided between the Bishopric of Riga and the Brothers of the Sword, the bishop receiving two-thirds and the Sword Brothers one-third of Tālava. Tālava thus became part of

Terra Mariana Terra Mariana (Medieval Latin for 'Land of Mary (mother of Jesus), Mary') was the formal name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia. It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia a ...

Legacy

A Latvian choir under the name ''Tālava'' () was established by members of the Latvian diaspora in Moscow in 1993.30-летие хора Московского общества латышской культуры “Талава"
0th anniversary of Tālava, the choir of the Moscow Latvian Culture Society- Latvian Embassy in Russia, official website, Embassy of Latvia, Moscow

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talava 1224 disestablishments Historical regions in Latvia Latgale