The Treaty of Stensby was an agreement between King Valdemar II of Denmark and 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 ...

, signed on 7 June 1238 in Stensby,

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, and confirmed by

Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

in September 1243. The arrangement transferred northern maritime

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 ...

to the Kingdom of Denmark in exchange for military support.

Backgrounds

From May 1223 to November 1225, Count Henry of Schwerin maintained captive King Valdemar II of Denmark and his son

Valdemar the Young Valdemar the Young () ( – 28 November 1231) was a Junior King of Denmark from 1215 until his death. Valdemar was the eldest son and co-ruler of King Valdemar II of Denmark by his first wife, Dagmar of Bohemia. He did not outlive his father s ...

. During that time, Denmark lost power in the Baltic region. In 1225, Denmark transferred the authority of

William of Modena William of Modena ( – 31 March 1251), also known as ''William of Sabina'', ''Guglielmo de Chartreaux'', ''Guglielmo de Savoy'', ''Guillelmus'', was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat.

. However, the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword ( la, Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, german: Schwertbrüderorden) was a Catholic military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theoderi ...

took possession of the territory and refused to cede. In 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 ...

resolved that the Livonian Brothers were to cede

Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...

, Jerwia,

Harria Harjumaa, ( la, Harria) (1200 hides), was an ancient county in what would now be Estonia. Parishes *around Varbola *around Lohu *around Kose See also * Danish Estonia *Harju County *Rapla County *History of Estonia *Livonian Crusade *Rul ...

, 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 ...

to the Danish king. However, the Swordbrothers were defeated in the

Battle of Saule 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 and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Betwe ...

and was incorporated into the Teutonic Order after.

Treaty content and signing

William of Modena persuaded the Teutonic Order to follow the papal resolution to return northern Estonia to Danes. The papal legate met with representatives of Denmark and the Teutonic Order in Stensby. The Teutonic Order agreed to return Reval, Jerwia, Harria, and Vironia to King Valdemar II. The Danish King donated Jerwia to the order in perpetuity as penitence and agreed to support the campaigns of the order. The Danish King was to retain two-thirds of future conquests. Meanwhile, the order would keep one-third. In September 1243, Innocent IV confirmed the Treaty of Stensby. The Treaty of Stensby allowed to the Danes and the Teutonic Order to collaborate in crusades against Novgorod and Pskov, and give to Denmark the legal foundation to rule in the north of Estonia.

References

{{Reflist 1238 in Europe 1230s treaties Northern Crusades Teutonic Order Treaties of Denmark 13th century in Denmark 13th century in Estonia Livonian Order