| rdfs:comment | - 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.
|
| abstract | - 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. In winter 1270, the Livonian Order invaded Semigalia. However, after learning that a large Lithuanian army also invaded the region, Master Otto von Lutterberg decided to retreat to Riga. The Lithuanians marched north reaching as far as the Saaremaa Island. They were able to reach the island because the Baltic Sea was frozen. 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. Master Lutterberg gathered a large army of Livonian knights, soldiers from Bishopric of Dorpat, Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, Danish Estonia, as well as local tribes of Livs and Latgalians. The Order was well-prepared for the battle: for a year it was recruiting soldiers for an expedition into Semigalia. The Livonian army marched north to meet the Lithuanians near the Saaremaa Island. The armies met on the frozen Moon Sound (probably near Virtsu) on the feast day of Juliana of Nicomedia.
|
