Sten Bielke's war against Novgorod

Sten Bielkes war against Novgorod
Part of a series of Swedish–Novgorodian Wars
Date 1338–1339 Location Karelia, Ingria Result Swedish victory Territorial changes Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Sweden Rebels from Korela	Novgorod
Commanders and leaders
Sten Turesson Bielke Peter Jonsson	Gljeb Naimont Feodor Michail Koporanin   †
Units involved
Forces from Viborg	Forces from Kopore
Strength
Unknown	Likely large
Casualties and losses
Many captured and killed	Light

Sten Bielke's war against Novgorod (Swedish: Sten Bielkes krig mot Novgorod) was a war between Sweden and Novgorod lasting from 1338 to 1339. It started when the Novgorodians attempted to take revenge on Karelian rebels that had fled to Viborg in 1337.

Background

The Lithuanian Prince, Gljeb Naimont, had received Russian Karelia, parts of Ingria, and the city of Ladoga in 1333. His regime was supposedly very unpopular, and in 1337 some non-Christian Karelians caused a violent uprising in Korela supported by the commander of Viborg ^{[1] [2]} and killed many Russians, ^{[1] [3] [4]} after which they escaped and took refuge in Viborg. ^{[4] [5]}

Ladoga fortress, more commonly referred to as Staraya Ladoga.

War

In the spring of 1338, the Novgorodians would march out under the command of the Posadnik Fedor Vasilevich to take revenge on the rebels situated in Viborg. They went along the Neva. ^[2] However, they would be intercepted at Nöteborg and negotiations would quickly develop between the Novgorodians and Viborgs commander, Sten Turesson Bielke. The negotiations would however fail and the Novgorodians would return to Novgorod. ^{[6] [2] [5] [7]} soon after forces from Viborg went ravaging in Ladoga and Novgorodian Karelia. ^{[5] [1] [8]} Although the Swedes failed to conquer Ladoga fortress, they instead set fire to it. ^{[9] [8] [7]} The Swedes went as far as Onega. ^{[10] [7]}

After the Swedish attack into Karelia and Ladoga, the Novgorodians responded by raiding the districts around the Nemetski and Karelian towns, they would also devastate the countryside, burning the crops and killing many cattle. They would later return with many captives as well. ^{[7] [8] [6]}

Later in the year, another Swedish expedition goes against Ingria, the Swedes ravaged the town of Toldoga and went further into "the country of the Vod people" but due to their caution took nothing from it. ^[7] The expedition eventually ended in a decisive defeat for the Swedes who were repulsed by troops from Kopore under the command of Fedor Vasilevich. ^{[7] [8] [11]} During the main battle, Michail Koporanin, who was according to the Novgorod Chronicle a "good man" was killed by the Swedes. ^{[5] [7]} The Swedes also wounded the horse of Feodor, but he remained unharmed. ^[7]

Aftermath

The fighting between Sweden and Novgorod dragged on until the winter of 1338, when envoys from Viborg arrived in Novgorod and acheived a peace treaty with them. They claimed that Sten Turesson Bielke had acted on his own accord without approval from the king of Sweden. ^{[6] [8]} The peace treaty was based on the earlier treaty signed in 1323. ^{[5] [8]}

References

1. Schybergson, Magnus Gottfrid (1887). Finlands historia (in Swedish). G. W. Edlund.
2. Sweden (1883). Sverges traktater med Främmande magter jamte andra det hörande handlingar (in Swedish). P.A. Norstedt.
3. Line, Philip (2007-03-31). Kingship and State Formation in Sweden 1130-1290. BRILL. ISBN   978-90-474-1983-9.
4. Lönnrot, Elias (2021-04-29). Kalevala: The Epic of the Finnish People. Penguin UK. ISBN   978-0-241-40307-5.
5. Sundberg, Ulf (1999). Medeltidens Svenska krig[Swedish wars in the Middle Ages] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg. p. 143. ISBN   9189080262.
6. Harrison, Dick (2024-02-01). Fienden: Sverige och Ryssland från vikingatid till idag (in Swedish). Ordfront. ISBN   978-91-7945-181-3.
7. Michell, Robert. "The Chronicle of Novgorod" (PDF). faculty.washington.edu.
8. Murray, Alan V. (2016-12-05). The Clash of Cultures on the Medieval Baltic Frontier. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-351-89260-5.
9. "History of Staraya Ladoga fortress - Northern Fortress". - Northern Fortress (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-09.
10. Finelius, K. A. (1850). Försök till lärobok i Finlands historia (in Swedish). J. Simelii arfwingar.
11. Querengässer, Alexander (2021-08-26). Before the Military Revolution: European Warfare and the Rise of the Early Modern State 1300–1490. Oxbow Books. ISBN   978-1-78925-670-3.