Battle of Saule

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Battle of Saule
Part of Northern Crusades
Date September 22, 1236
Location probably near Šiauliai in Lithuania
Result Samogitian and Semigalian victory
Belligerents
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
Pskov Republic
Livonians
Lettigallians
Estonians		 Samogitians
Semigalians
Commanders
Volkwin† Vykintas
Strength
3,000 4,000 to 5,000
Casualties and losses
50-60 knights killed
2700 dead		 Unknown
The Livonian Confederation in 1260, showing the site for the Battle of Saule.
The Livonian Confederation in 1260, showing the site for the Battle of Saule.

The Battle of Saule (German: Schlacht von Schaulen; Latvian: Saules kauja; Lithuanian: Saulės mūšis or Šiaulių mūšis) was fought on September 22, 1236 between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan Samogitians. Some 60 or 50 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin; it was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands.[1] The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic military order established in the Baltic lands, was soundly defeated and its remnants accepted incorporation into the Teutonic Order in 1237. The battle inspired Curonians, Semigallians, and Selonians, Baltic tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers, to rebel. Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of Daugava were lost.[2]

[edit] Background

The Sword-Brothers were established in 1202 in Riga to conquer and convert pagan Baltic tribes to Christianity. By the 1230s under the leadership of Master Volkwin, the Order was coping with strained financial resources, decreasing manpower, and ill reputation.[3] The Order was in conflict with the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, two of its biggest supporters, over Estonia.[4] In fall of 1236 a party of crusaders arrived from Holstein; it demanded to be led into a battle.[4] Volkwin led a war party with the assistance of the prince of Pskov[3] southward into pagan Samogitia. Earlier in the year the Order obtained a papal bull announcing a crusade against pagan Lithuania and Samogitia.[5]

[edit] Events of the battle

The knights raided some settlements of the Samogitians. On the knights' return to the north, however, they encountered a determined group of Samogitians at a river crossing. Unwilling to risk losing their horses in the swampland, the Holsteiners refused to fight on foot, forcing the knights to camp for the night.[3] The next morning, on the day of Saint Maurice, the main pagan forces composed of Samogitians, probably led by Duke Vykintas, and Lithuanians arrived at the camp. The Lithuanian light cavalry flung javelins at short range, which were highly effective against the unwieldy Livonian heavy cavalry. The slaughter of these troops, including Volkwin, sowed the seed of confusion in the Livonian ranks. The lightly-armed native forces under the command of the Brothers soon fled from the battle. Those crusaders and knights who tried to flee to Riga were allegedly killed by Semigallians.[6]

The exact place where the battle took place is not known. The Chronicum Livoniae by Hermann de Wartberge says the battle was fought in terram Sauleorum. This may be near Šiauliai (German: Schaulen, Latvian: Saule) in Lithuania or, less likely, near the small town of Vecsaule near Bauska in what is today southern Latvia.[5] Saule/Saulė means "the Sun" in both Latvian and Lithuanian languages.

[edit] References

  1. ^ (Lithuanian) Baranauskas, Tomas (2006-09-22). Ar priminsime Europai apie Šiaulių mūšį?. Delfi.lt. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
  2. ^ (Lithuanian) "Saulės mūšis". Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija 3. (1987). Ed. Jonas Zinkus, et. al. Vilnius, Lithuania: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. 633. 
  3. ^ a b c Christiansen, Eric (1997). The Northern Crusades, 2nd ed., Penguin Books, 102-103. ISBN 0-14-026653-4. 
  4. ^ a b Urban, William (2000). The Prussian Crusade, 2nd ed., Chicago, Illinois: Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, 142-147. ISBN 0-929700-28-7. 
  5. ^ a b "Saulė-Šiauliai, Battle of". Encyclopedia Lituanica V. (1970-1978). Ed. Simas Sužiedėlis. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. 73-74. LCC 74-114275. 
  6. ^ (Latvian) Dedumietis, D. (2001-11-20). Saules kaujas 1236.gada 22.septembrī norises rekonstrukcijas mēģinājums. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.