Lembitu of Lehola

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For the submarine, see Lembit (submarine).

For the ferry, see MS Lembitu.

Lembitu
Elder of Sackalia
Ancient Estonian elderships in 1214. Sackalia is light green.
Reign	until September 21, 1217
Born	12th century
Died	September 21, 1217
Place of death	Battle of St. Matthew's Day
Successor	Unnepewe, his brother
Issue	one or several sons

Lembitu (died September 21, 1217) was one of the best-known Estonian leaders in the struggle to oppose the conquest of the Estonian lands by the German Livonian Brothers of the Sword at the beginning of the 13th century. Interestingly, he is the only Estonian pre-Crusade ruler, about whom some biographical information is known (he is mentioned only in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia).

Lembitu, also referred to in Estonian as Lembit and in Latin as Lambite, Lembito or Lembitus, was first mentioned in chronicles in 1211 with regard to a military expedition. Troops led by Lembitu destroyed a troop of missionaries in the historical Estonian eldership of Sakala and made a raid as far as Pskov, then a town of the Novgorod Republic. In 1215, Lembitu's Lehola (Leal) stronghold (situated near the present town of Suure-Jaani) was taken by Germans and Lembitu was taken prisoner. He was released in 1217.

Lembitu attempted the unification of all Estonians in order to withstand the German conquest. He managed to assemble an army of 6,000 Estonian men from different counties, but was killed in the following Battle of St. Matthew's Day in September, 1217.

Since 19th century he has been a symbolic figurehead of some anti-Christian and anti-German propaganda.