Battle of Karuse

Battle of Karuse
	Part of the Livonian Crusade
	; Map of Livonia in 1260
Date	16 February 1270
Location	Moon Sound, frozen Baltic Sea 58°33′N23°27′E / 58.55°N 23.45°E
Result	Lithuanian and Semigalian victory
Belligerents
Grand Duchy of Lithuania ; Semigallians	Livonian Order ; Bishopric of Dorpat ; Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek ; Danish Estonia
Commanders and leaders
Traidenis	Otto von Lutterberg † ; Friedrich von Haseldorf ; Hermann of Buxhoeveden ; Siverith
Casualties and losses
1,600 killed	52 knights and 600 low-rank soldiers

Last updated November 16, 2023

The Battle of Karuse or Battle on the Ice was fought on 16 February 1270 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Livonian Order on the frozen Baltic Sea between the island of Muhu and the mainland.^[2] The Lithuanians achieved a decisive victory. The battle, named after the village of Karuse, was the fifth-largest defeat of the Livonian or Teutonic Orders in the 13th century.^[3] Almost all that is known about the battle comes from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle , which devoted 192 lines to the battle.^[1]

Background

The Livonian Brothers of the Sword, a crusading military order established in 1202, set out to conquer and convert to Christianity indigenous peoples of present-day Latvia and Estonia. They subjugated the Semigallians by 1250. However, after the Livonian defeats in the 1259 Battle of Skuodas and the 1260 Battle of Durbe, the Semigallians rebelled. Traidenis, who became Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1269 or 1270, supported the rebellion.^[1]

In winter 1270, the Livonian Order invaded Semigalia. However, after learning that a large Lithuanian army had also invaded the region, Master Otto von Lutterberg decided to retreat to Riga.^[1] The Lithuanians marched north, reaching as far as the island of Saaremaa, which they were able to reach because the Baltic Sea was frozen.^[4] The Lithuanian army plundered the area, taking much war loot. It is unclear whether Semigallians joined the Lithuanians and participated in this campaign – contemporary sources do not mention them, but later sources such as Jüngere Hochmeisterchronik and Dionysius Fabricius always mention their participation.^[1]

Master Lutterberg gathered a large army of Livonian knights, soldiers from the Bishopric of Dorpat, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, Danish Estonia, as well as local tribes of Livs and Latgalians.^[1] The Order was well-prepared for the battle: for a year it had been recruiting soldiers for an expedition into Semigalia.^[5] The Livonian army marched north to meet the Lithuanians near Saaremaa Island. The armies met on the frozen Moon Sound (probably near Virtsu)^[6] on the feast day of Juliana of Nicomedia.^[1]

Battle

The Livonian army positioned for the battle: troops from Danish Estonia, commanded by the Danish king's viceroy Siverith, formed the right flank; Livonian knights, commanded by Master Luttenberg, formed the center; soldiers from the Bishoprics formed the left flank.^[1] The Lithuanians arranged their sleighs as a barricade.^[4] A vanguard unit likely covered construction of the improvised barricade so that the knights could not see it. When the knights attacked, Lithuanians retreated behind their sleighs and the Livonian cavalry ran into the barricade.^[6] As the horses got stuck between the sleighs, the horses and their riders were struck by Lithuanian spears. A small number of Livonian knights managed to break through the barricade and the left and right flanks joined the fighting, but that was not enough to overcome the strong Lithuanian formation.^[1] The Lithuanians achieved a decisive victory: 52 knights, including Master Lutterberg, and some 600 low-ranking soldiers were killed while bishop Hermann of Ösel-Wiek was gravely injured and barely managed to escape. According to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, 1600 Lithuanians were killed, but that information is very doubtful and most likely inflated by pro-Livonian bias.^[1]

Aftermath

Vice-Master Andreas von Westfalen, who acted as a Master before proper elections could be held, decided to restore the lost morale of the knights by winning a quick victory. In the middle of 1270 he learned of another Lithuanian raid into Livonia and hurried his soldiers to seek out the enemy. While the knights were resting, the Lithuanians attacked their camp and killed Andreas and twenty more knights.^[5] This is sometimes known as the Battle of Pārdaugava near Riga, and was the tenth-largest defeat of the Teutonic Knights in its own right.^[3] Traidenis scored another victory in 1279 during the Battle of Aizkraukle.

Related Research Articles

Livonia or in earlier records 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.

The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, and also against Orthodox Christian Slavs.

The Livonian Brothers of the Sword was a Catholic military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert, the third bishop of Riga. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204 for the second time. The membership of the crusading order comprised warrior monks, mostly from northern Germany, who fought Baltic and Finnic polytheists in the area of modern-day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Alternative names of the Order include Christ Knights, Swordbrothers, Sword Brethren, Order of the Brothers of the Sword, and The Militia of Christ of Livonia. The seal reads: +MAGISTRI ETFRM MILICIE CRI (Christi) DE LIVONIA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saare County</span> County of Estonia

Saare County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. The county borders Lääne County to the east, Hiiu County to the north, and Latvia to the south. In 2022 Saare County had a population of 31,292, which was 2.4% of the population of Estonia.

The Battle of Saule was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands. 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 rebellions among the Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, Oeselians, tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers. Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of Daugava were lost. To commemorate the battle, in 2000 the Lithuanian and Latvian parliaments declared 22 September to be the Baltic Unity Day.

Semigallians were the Baltic tribe that lived in the south central part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania. They are noted for their long resistance (1219–1290) against the German crusaders and Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades. Semigallians had close linguistic and cultural ties with Samogitians.

Traidenis was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1269 or 1270 until 1282. He is the second most prominent grand duke of Lithuania in the 13th century after Mindaugas. His reign ended a seven-year unrest period after Mindaugas was assassinated in 1263 and firmly established the Grand Duchy as a pagan state for another hundred years.

The Battle of Aizkraukle or Ascheraden was fought on 5 March 1279 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by Traidenis, and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order near Aizkraukle in present-day Latvia. The order suffered a great defeat: 71 knights, including the grand master, Ernst von Rassburg, and Eilart Hoberg, leader of the knights from Danish Estonia, were killed. It was the second-largest defeat of the order in the 13th century. After the battle Duke Nameisis of the Semigallians recognized Traidenis as his suzerain.

Muhu is an island in the West Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea. With an area of 198 km² (76 sq mi) it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.

Saint George's Night Uprising in 1343–1345 was an unsuccessful attempt by the indigenous Estonian population in the Duchy of Estonia, the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, and the insular territories of the State of the Teutonic Order to rid themselves of Danish and German rulers and landlords who had conquered the country in the 13th century during the Livonian Crusade; and to eradicate the non-indigenous Christian religion. After initial success the revolt was ended by the invasion of the Teutonic Order. In 1346, the Duchy of Estonia was sold for 19,000 Köln marks by the King of Denmark to the Teutonic Order. The shift of sovereignty from Denmark to the State of the Teutonic Order took place on November 1, 1346.

The Duchy of Estonia, also known as Danish Estonia, was a direct dominion of the King of Denmark from 1219 until 1346 when it was sold to the Teutonic Order and became part of the Ordensstaat.

Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava river and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tribe. They are noted for their long resistance (1219–1290) against the German crusaders and Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades. Semigallians had close linguistic and cultural ties with Samogitians.

The Battle of Skuodas or Schoden was a medieval battle fought in ca. 1259 near Skuodas in present-day Lithuania during the Lithuanian Crusade. The Samogitian army of 3,000 invaded Courland and on their way back defeated the Livonian Order, killing 33 knights and many more low-rank soldiers. In terms of knights killed, it was the eighth largest defeat of the Livonian Order in the 13th century. This victory led to a Semigallian insurrection against the Livonian crusaders, which lasted from 1259 to 1272.

The Battle of Durbe was a medieval battle fought near Durbe, 23 km (14 mi) east of Liepāja, in present-day Latvia during the Livonian Crusade. On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians soundly defeated the joint forces of the Teutonic Knights from Prussia and the Livonian Order from Livonia. Some 150 knights were killed, including Livonian master Burkhard von Hornhausen and Prussian land marshal Heinrich Botel. It was by far the largest defeat of the knights in the 13th century: in the second-largest, the Battle of Aizkraukle, 71 knights were killed. The battle inspired the Great Prussian Uprising and the rebellions of the Semigallians, the Couronians, and the Oeselians. The battle undid two decades of Livonian conquests and it took some thirty years for the Livonian Order to restore its control.

The Bishopric of Courland was the second smallest (4500 km²) ecclesiastical state in the Livonian Confederation founded in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade. During the Livonian War in 1559 the bishopric became a possession of Denmark, and in 1585 sold by Denmark to Poland–Lithuania.

Oeselians or Osilians is a historical name for the people who prior to the Northern Crusades in the 13th century lived in the Estonian island of Saaremaa (Ösel) – the Baltic Sea island was also referred as Oeselia or Osilia in written records dating from around that time. In Viking Age literature, the inhabitants were often included under the name "Vikings from Estonia"., as written by Saxo Grammaticus in the late 12th century. The earliest known use of the word in the (Latinised) form of "Oeselians" in writing was by Henry of Livonia in the 13th century. The inhabitants of Saaremaa (Ösel) are also mentioned in a number of historic written sources dating from the Estonian Viking Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livonian Crusade</span> 12–13th century Baltic Christianisation campaign

The Livonian crusade consists of the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – modern Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal-sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was conducted mostly by the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Denmark. It ended with the creation of Terra Mariana and the Danish duchy of Estonia. The lands on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea were one of the last parts of Europe to be Christianised.

Otto von Lutterberg was the Landmeister of the Livonian Order of the Teutonic Knights from 1267 to 1270.

Terra Mariana was the official 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 and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Varakauskas, Rokas (1962). "Ledo mūšis ties Karūzu 1270 m. (Iš lietuvių kovų prieš Livonijos ordiną XIII a.)". Istorija. Lietuvos TSR aukštųjų mokyklų mokslo darbai (in Lithuanian). 3: 147–153.
↑ "Karusės mūšis". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 3 November 2023.
1 2 Baranauskas, Tomas (22 September 2006). "Ar priminsime Europai apie Šiaulių mūšį?" (in Lithuanian). Delfi.lt. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
1 2 Turnbull, Stephen (2004). Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (2): The Stone Castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185–1560. Osprey Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 1-84176-712-3.
1 2 Urban, William (1994). The Baltic Crusade. Chicago, Illinois: Lithuanian Research and Studies Center. pp. 278–280. ISBN 0-929700-10-4.
1 2 Batūra, Romas (2013). Karolis Zikaras (ed.). Žymiausi Lietuvos mūšiai ir karinės operacijos (in Lithuanian) (2nd ed.). UAB Alio. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-9986-827-05-4.

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[varak-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Varakauskas, Rokas (1962). "Ledo mūšis ties Karūzu 1270 m. (Iš lietuvių kovų prieš Livonijos ordiną XIII a.)". Istorija. Lietuvos TSR aukštųjų mokyklų mokslo darbai (in Lithuanian). 3: 147–153.

[2] "Karusės mūšis". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 3 November 2023.

[tomas-3] 1 2 Baranauskas, Tomas (22 September 2006). "Ar priminsime Europai apie Šiaulių mūšį?" (in Lithuanian). Delfi.lt. Retrieved 26 May 2007.

[turnbull-4] 1 2 Turnbull, Stephen (2004). Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (2): The Stone Castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185–1560. Osprey Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 1-84176-712-3.

[urban-5] 1 2 Urban, William (1994). The Baltic Crusade. Chicago, Illinois: Lithuanian Research and Studies Center. pp. 278–280. ISBN 0-929700-10-4.

[batura-6] 1 2 Batūra, Romas (2013). Karolis Zikaras (ed.). Žymiausi Lietuvos mūšiai ir karinės operacijos (in Lithuanian) (2nd ed.). UAB Alio. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-9986-827-05-4.

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