Letter to Prince Mindaugas
Oh, eternity! Tribesmen of Mindaugas!
I'd like to talk to you
And hear the truth …
Is Voruta Castle real? Or is it just a dream?
Lina Adamonite. Letter to the tribesman of Prince Mindaugas (2001)
“The heart of“Baltic Europe”is made up of the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (together with the Kingdom of Poland) and the Teutonic Order. The Danish dominium maris baltici, characteristic of the thirteenth century, gradually gave way to the German Hansa and the unified Lithuanian-Polish monarchy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries."
S. C. Rowell, Baltic Europe, in: The New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 6: c. 1300 - c. 1415, edited by Michael Jones, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 701.
Knights and chivalry of three centuries. During the Middle Ages, the modern Baltic states and some of the neighboring regions along the southern and eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various peoples who spoke Finnish, Baltic and Slavic languages. Among them were the Prussians, Lithuanians, Livonians, Latvians and Estonians, who for several centuries maintained their independence from the Poles, Russians and Germans. These Baltic peoples became the target of a series of so-called "northern crusades", because they adhered to the pagan faith of their fathers for a long time. Their conquest and conversion to Christianity was in fact the reason for the creation of the Order of the Swordsmen, a German military order, which was then merged with the larger Teutonic Order in 1237-1239. Although the Teutonic Order was founded in Palestine in 1190, it flourished in the Baltic states, where it existed from 1228 to the middle of the 16th century.
"Acts of the Danes" by Saxon Grammar
Our acquaintance with the military history of the Baltic peoples will have to start from a somewhat earlier period, and here's why. The fact is that in the "Acts of the Danes" by Saxon Grammar it is indicated that the Kush and Swedes, who previously paid the Danes "annual tribute", attacked Denmark when a certain Rorik became the king of Denmark. A number of other tribes joined this uprising, even choosing their own king. Rorik defeated these "barbarians" in a battle at sea, and then forced the rest of the Baltic Slavs to submit to him and pay tribute.
Famous Rorik and Baltic piracy
And this very Rorik can be completely identified with the known Viking Rorik, who operated on the territory of Friesland and Jutland in the middle of the 9th century. It is known that Rorik made campaigns to Denmark in 855 and 857. and then fortified in South Jutland in 857 with varying success, he attacked Dorestad, and only in 870-873. received it in linen from the Franconian kings, and in 882 he had already died.
Saxon associates Rorik's struggle in the Baltic with the strengthening of his power in Jutland in 857. But the same date coincides well with the events that took place in Russia. The version that Rorik of Jutland and the legendary Rurik are the founder of the Rurik dynasty, one and the same person, today finds more and more adherents. Russian chronicles attribute his calling to 862, and his death to 879. And, although these dates are rather arbitrary, they coincide with the main dates from the life of the real historical Rorik.
It is important that the struggle of Rorik with the Curonians and Swedes, which Saxon describes, is, in fact, an important link on his way to Russia. The Swedes had colonies both in Kulyandiya (Grobina-Zeburg) and in Northern Russia (Ladoga-Aldeygyuborg). And when the locals drove the Swedes across the sea, Rorik, who fought with them and the Curonians, immediately appeared. And why then the inhabitants of Ladoga should not have invited him to defend them from the Swedes and further.
But then Saxon, albeit fragmentarily, but tells about the events of the 11th-12th centuries, as about the period of piracy of the Curonians and other local tribes of the Eastern Baltic in the Baltic Sea. He reports pirate raids in 1014, 1074, 1080 and 1170, confirming the great activity of these pirates. That is, we can conclude that as soon as the Viking era ended in the Scandinavian countries, the inhabitants of the Eastern Baltic countries began to engage in piracy on their model. From this follows, first of all, the druzhin (vatazhny) nature of military affairs among the local tribes, with the appropriate military equipment and battle tactics.
Between a rock and a hard place …
However, the most important factor that influenced the development of this region of Europe was its … "tightness" between Catholic countries in the West and Orthodox Russia in the East.
For example, Pomerania gained independence from Poland in 1033, but gradually Germanized until, like part of the Brandenburg March, it was completely absorbed by the German Empire in the 13th century. Then, in 1231, the invasion of the neighboring pagan peoples began by the German crusaders, and their first target was the Prussians. Wars with them continued in the XIV century. If we move further north, we find ourselves in the lands of modern Estonia and Latvia, and we learn that they were captured in 1203. Squeezed between these regions, Lithuania retained its independence and even paganism even in the second half of the 14th century, which can be considered as a kind of record for the existence of paganism in the center of Europe. However, by this time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania went on the offensive, eventually becoming one of the largest European states. Subsequently, she united with Poland in 1386 to oppose the expansion of the Crusaders, after which paganism was immediately officially abolished in Lithuania in 1387.
Learn from the Germans
However, everyone in these lands opposed Christianization a little, albeit separately, which greatly helped the crusaders. Local tribes have always been warlike, and now in the XI and XII centuries, looking at the Germans, they also tried to acquire their own equestrian elite. At the same time, however, their military equipment was still very simple, but only a few of the soldiers had armor. Weapons were usually imported from Russia or Scandinavia, and although the use of the bow was very widespread, the shooting technique, and the bows themselves, were very primitive. More advanced weapons, such as the same crossbows, were usually captured or bought from their opponents or neighbors. And over time, the Balts learned to copy the siege weapons of their opponents. Nevertheless, swords continued to be rare weapons until the very XIV century, but spears were certainly a very common weapon.
The basis of the army is light cavalry
The Latvian and Lithuanian tribes of modern Latvia were small, weak, and simply hunted by their more warlike neighbors. They soon came to terms with the domination of the German invaders, but the Estonians, Lithuanians and Prussians periodically raised uprisings against them. Relatively wealthy and numerous, the Prussians adopted the tactics of guerrilla warfare, as they lived in swampy and wooded lands and thus tried to resist the armored cavalry and crossbows of the invader. Lithuanians were poorer, although they lived in an even more inaccessible area. However, they had many horses, which allowed them to develop their own tactics for their light cavalry. And these Baltic warriors turned out to be so effective that the Teutonic knights did not hesitate to use the representatives of the local aristocracy, converted by them to Christianity, in such a way that they continued to maintain their military traditions already in the service of the Order, that is, they acted very far-sightedly. A similar process was noticed later in some regions of Lithuania. Well, the German crusaders themselves, of course, had knightly weapons in a typical Central European style.
Winter is the best time for war with Lithuania
By the middle of the 14th century, part of the Lithuanian elite wore full armor, probably in Western European style, but the majority still adhered to national traditions. Their military organization may have become more sophisticated by the 13th and early 14th centuries, but surprisingly large cavalry units remained the main military force of Lithuania, as before. According to D. Nicolas, Lithuanians basically copied weapons and armor of the Polish and Russian models, as they were cheaper and more affordable. Their tactics were associated with organizing quick raids on the enemy in order to get cattle, slaves or prey, and, especially in the summer, when the swamps prevented the heavy Christian cavalry from pursuing them. Instead, the Crusaders preferred to attack the Lithuanians in the winter, using the frozen rivers as highways.
Darts against bows
After the Mongol invasions in the 1240s and 1250s, the Lithuanians borrowed a lot from them, although they used darts and swords instead of bows, and their infantry was still armed with spears, axes and possibly crossbows. In any case, the tactics of their equestrian battle were similar to the Mongolian one: attack, throw darts at the enemy and immediately retreat. And so on until the exhausted enemy turns to flight. True, the difference lay in the weapons, since the Lithuanians preferred darts to bows. And by the way, Vitovt used the same tactics in the famous battle of Grunwald, and it was also successful! Eastern European military influence as a whole also increased, and Lithuanian weapons and armor became similar to the weapons of both their eastern neighbor, that is, the Russian principalities, and the Mongols. This was especially noticeable in the lands of eastern Lithuania, in the center of which was the city of Vilno (Vilnius). Moreover, in Eastern Lithuania, it was customary to recruit mercenaries, including the Mongols. Interestingly, Western Lithuania clung to its paganism for a longer time, but at the same time was influenced by the military technologies of Western Europe and the Teutonic knights.
References:
1. Saxo and the Baltic Region. A Symposium, edited by Tore Nyberg, [Odense:] University Press of Southern Denmark, 2004, p. 63-79.
2. Nicolle D. Arms and Armor of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350. UK. L.: Greenhill Books. Vol.1.
3. Nicolle D. Raiders of the Ice War. Medieval Warfare: Teutonic Knights ambush Lithuanian Raiders // Military illustrated. Vol. 94. March. 1996. PP. 26-29.
4. Gorelik M. V. Warriors of Eurasia: From the VIII century BC to the XVII century AD. L.: Montvert Publications, 1995.
5. Ian Heath. Armies of the Middle Ages. L.: Wargames Research Gp. 1984.
