Kingdom of Skype, or the Medieval Kingdom of Estonia

[The Great Krigare]

A long time ago, the Pope called crusades for many lands that were not Christian yet, and established knight orders to fight for Christendom and spread the faith. Oftentimes, this was by the sword, as is the case in the Baltic Crusades. The Teutonic Knights were the biggest factor in the crusades, both Livonian and Prussian, but other powers were involved as well. The Swedes and Danes were in the Livonian Crusade, while the Mazovians assisted the Teutons in the Prussian Crusade. The Prussian Crusade was by far the more successful campaign, as the Livonian crusade was only half successful. While modern-day Latvia was successfully taken, the Estonians managed to fight back the crusaders long enough to prevent their annexation. Let's start from the beginning of the end for the crusaders...

***​

Lembitu had successfully rallied the Estonians to fight under one banner to drive out the crusaders. The area of Viljandi was fortified by the Estonians. The crusaders would soon walk into Lembitu's trap, assisted by a man famous in Estonia for drinking the most beer in one go, Kaupo( not to be confused with the other Kaupo, who led the crusading army). Kaupo is also a national hero in Estonia for saving the Estonians' independence. Kaupo is somewhat of a superhero in Estonian folktales, where he supposedly gets stronger the more he drinks, and is never drunk despite drinking more than twice his weight in beer within an hour. He goes around saving people while always carrying beer to boost his strength.

Several primitive mechanisms were installed in the forest near Viljandi in quick time, such as rams to knock out chunks of the army so that Estonians could kill, capture, or maim them. Kaupo himself was to assist the Estonians by leading the crusader army into every single trap, whether it was pitfalls, nets, or rams. Then, once the crusading army was sufficiently weakened, he'd lead the army into a segment of forest where the Estonians would be waiting. Then, he'd signal them to attack the weakened army.

***​

Comparisons have been drawn between the Battle of Teutoburg Forest and the Battle of St. Matthew's Day by Estonian scholars, with both consisting of a technologically superior "civilized" society being routed in battle by "barbarians" who primarily practice war in their spare time. Another similarity is that both the Roman and crusading armies were betrayed from within by a supposedly integrated member of society(e.g. Arminius and Kaupo).

A map of Estonia before the Battle of St. Matthew's Day


The Battle of St. Matthew's Day ended with 2/3 of the crusader army dead, and another 1/6th captured by the Estonians. The leaders of that army, except for Kaupo the turncoat, all were slain by the Estonians. The most valuable thing for the Estonians in this battle was taking the Crusaders' gear, such as armour and swords.

 

[The Great Krigare]

Even though the Battle of St. Matthew's Day had been a crushing defeat for the crusaders, the war didn't end there. The crusaders had indeed withdrawn from Estonia, but only to regroup in Livonia. As the crusaders withdrew, Albert of Riga called out to the good Catholic states across the sea, Sweden and Denmark. He attempted to buy their assistance with Estonian land. To the Swedes, he offered the islands to the west, and the Estonian county of Läänemaa. To the Danes, he offered Revala and Virumaa.

The Swedes, under King John I, attempted to capitalize on the opportunity as soon as possible. It failed. Badly. The Swedes attempted to invade Saaremaa with 500 men. More than 450 of them died, with King John as one of the only survivors. This ended the short Swedish involvement in the Livonian crusade, as the King decided that the Estonian territory was not worth losing so many men.

The Danes were far more successful, as they beat the Estonians at the Battle of Kaleva, or Lyndanisse in Danish. Supposedly, the Danes were guided to victory by a bishop. The tale goes that whenever the bishop raised his arms, the Danes advanced, while when they fell, they fell back. Eventually, the bishop's arms got tired and they fell until some Danes rushed to lift his arms. As they raised his arms, the bishop called for a sign from God that he was on their side. Then, from the sky, came the Dannebrog. The flag of Denmark does come from this battle, but it is doubtful that it occured quite like how it was described.

The battle led to the Danes coming into control of the city of Kaleva, and beginning to fortify the north further than it had been before. To the south of Estonia, the crusaders were in chaos. No one wanted to invade the north and die like the previous crusaders did. When trying to recruit men for his cause, no one joined Albert. The Teutonic Order was still focused on the Holy Land, not some backwater pagan tribes in the northeast. They didn't want to waste valuable men that could be used for another crusade to the Holy Land.

This would only get worse, as the Estonians under Lembitu planned a counterstrike against the crusaders. They would sack Riga in February of 1218. The troops, led by Kaupo of the Livonians, burned the city to the ground after robbing it of its goods. The city was sparsely defended, as Albert wasn't in his city, and neither was his personal retinue. As a result, the Estonians grew richer as he lost his base of operations.

This would eventually lead to the Estonians joining Lembitu more whole-heartedly as they believed he would lead them to riches. In the north, the Danes began to construct what they hoped would be an impregnable fortress from which they could base their attacks. The Danes also began to expand their occupied territory as the Estonians continued to focus on their south. The chief of Revala was but one of the Estonian deaths caused by the Danes. The stage was set for a final confrontation between the Christians and the Estonians.

 

[Sceonn]

Wow, this is very interesting. So Estonia will become Orthodox TTL?

 

[Riley]

Yes this is very interesting already and I cannot urge you enough to continue.

 

[Avrorrange]

Wow, this is very interesting. So Estonia will become Orthodox TTL?

Or stay Pagan.

 

[Deleted member 82118]

It will be nteresting relations between Novgorod and Estonia - Novgorod perceived Estonian lands as its territory

 

[Sceonn]

It'll be surrounded by Christian nations, there's no way for it to survive without evangelizing.

 

[Salvador79]

I thought this had something to do with voice over IP phoning.
Now i love it! Especially the superhero who gets stronger the more beer he drinks.

 

[Augenis]

Estonia might find an ally against the Brothers of the Sword in the form of the Lithuanians. At this point, Lithuania was still coalescing into a state, or re-coalescing if you believe Tomas Baranauskas's 1183 hypothesis, but soon enough you'll have either Mindaugas or Živinbudas in control there.

 

[The Great Krigare]

June 12th, 1218 was the date of the last major battle in the Livonian crusade in Estonia. The Second battle of Kaleva would end Danish participation in the war, and end all organized opposition to the new Estonian state under Lembitu.

***​

Kaupo had a significant role to play in the battle. He would lead the army to take the Danish castle in Kaleva. As he knew how the Christian crusaders worked, he had the best chance of taking the fort. He was also highly trusted by Lembitu for his role in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day. That trust would be shown to not be misplaced.

***​

The battle began with the thundering crack of a trebuchet. From there, the Estonians charged the castle with ladders and battering rams. Hundreds charged to the fortress, intending on destroying it and killing all the defenders who would dare to try and take their homeland. Men rushed up the ladders, to be met by knights in shining armour. Their blades would clash, but to no avail, as the knights were defended by their plate armour. The occasional Estonian might kill a knight, but it was far more common for the knights to kill the heathen warriors. The attempt would have seemed ill-fated by an observer, but the tide would soon turn. The one advantage the Estonians did have over the knights was numbers. They numbered roughly 5 to 1 in comparison, but it could not be used to the Estonian's advantage yet as they had to climb up the ladders to even fight the knights. They were forced to come up roughly one at a time, further nullifying that advantage. But that would soon change.

***​

Another group of Estonians had tunneled under the castle walls to try to set charges. As the Danes had to deal with the men coming up the ladder and the battering rams, they would not meet the men under the castle walls. Once the charges were set, the men quickly ran out of their tunnel to avoid the charges. The castle wall then fell, bringing a few hundred knights with it. This brought all attention to the western side of the fortress, as a large gaping hole eas now available for the Estonians to bring their full might against the crusaders. The Danes rushed to the western side, leaving sparse amounts of troops at the other walls. This would be their undoing, as a quarter of the Estonian army would climb up those walls and surround the last army of the Danish crusaders. They would use bows to fire upon the Danes while the main army attacked head-on. Waves of Estonians came, some on equal footing with the knights, others below the knights. It was irrelevant however, as their sheer force of numbers would decimate the last army. The battle would end with the crusaders destroyed, and the remnants of the fortress Estonian. The battle had been an indicator of Estonian unity, as it had been the first battle to involve troops from every county in Estonia. While the Estonians had lost massive numbers, they had won in the end.

***​

The final part of the crusade was an Estonian offensive into territory of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. They would take some territory bordering them in Livonia, but not enough to truly decimate the Order. Eventually, Albrecht capitulated to Estonian demands. He would stay out of Estonia, and cede a northern portion of his territory. This truce would last for 15 long years before Albrecht could safely invade again.

With this treaty, his eyes would shift inwards, to see why he failed. His next goal would be Curonia.

***​

The kingdom of Estonia had effectively been established, under the former Chief Lembitu. The crusaders had been repelled, and Estonia was united. Now, the only issue was that Lembitu was quite old at this point...

 

[Augenis]

>Lithuanian-Rus border the same as OTL border

wut

 

[The Great Krigare]

>Lithuanian-Rus border the same as OTL border

wut

Whoops, I based the map off of a modern map. I will get a new map when I'm at home.
EDIT: New map is up, to reflect how there weren't really definite borders.

 

[Iron Chariot]

This is a timeline I'll be following for sure.

 

[The Great Krigare]

Lembitu was, as many war time leaders were, not exactly the greatest leader outside of war. He actually had little to do with Estonia’s continued survival after its initial war with the crusaders. Most of his role was to serve as a uniting figurehead for the individual tribes of the Estonians, as an analogue to the decentralized Kings in Medieval Europe, with little power outside of his personal domain of Sakala. The main cause of the Estonian state’s early survival was instead the Council of Elders.

***​

From each of the 14 counties of Estonia came an elder to represent their interests in the council. After the Crusade’s end in Estonia, the Elders realized the need for continued unity, if only to avoid the fate of the Curonians who were invaded after the Estonians. Thus, the Council of Elders decided to determine how best to ensure stability for the state, as Lembitu’s successor had not yet been picked.

***​

It was decreed by the Council early on that they would pick each monarch from their own ranks, acting as a sort of elective monarchy. In theory, the monarch was a sort of first among equals, with the council being required to listen to him and consider his ideas more than their fellow councillors. In Lembitu’s reign however, this never truly came up, due to his death in 1224.

***​

Estonian sources have been quite unreliable for his age at this point, as there were not written records in this era from the Estonians, and the oral tradition believes him to have been a sorcerer who had lived for 176 years to prepare Estonia for the Germans’ eventual arrival. The same oral tradition also believes him to have been Kaupo’s Great-Grandfather who granted him his powers after seeing how much of a drunkard he had been.

An Estonian film's depiction of Lembitu as legends depict him.

***​

Lembitu’s successor was the Elder Koit from Läänemaa, as the Elder with the most authority, and individually the most popular amongst the Elders. While records remain unclear as to the extent of his rule, oral tradition indicates that Estonians from the time viewed him as overbearing in his rule of Estonia. He supposedly attempted to gain money and power for himself with no regard for the lives of the common man, making him deeply unpopular with what would now be called the lower classes.

***​

What is known about Koit is that he managed to increase the power of the ruler of Estonia without antagonizing the Council enough for them to reduce the monarch’s power after his passing in 1232. In general terms, Estonia came into being with these two rulers and the Council of Elders. However, in just a few years after Koit’s death, hostilities with the Crusaders would flare up again as the treaty that bound Albrecht to not attack the Estonians would end and the cause of Christianity would not tolerate a pagan land near Christianity’s borders. Nor did it help the idea of peace when a raid was launched by Estonians against the Crusaders’ lands in 1235.

 

[CaedmonCousland]

Another group of Estonians had tunneled under the castle walls to try to set charges. As the Danes had to deal with the men coming up the ladder and the battering rams, they would not meet the men under the castle walls. Once the charges were set, the men quickly ran out of their tunnel to avoid the charges.

Might want to change the word 'charges'. While sapping certainly is a thing, that phrasing puts to mind dynamite, gunpowder, or some other explosive.

Otherwise, very unique idea. Admittedly never really considered the possibility of a medieval Kingdom of Estonia...although I have to question its long term chances. Estonia nowadays only has like 1.3 million people. With medieval population density Estonia would probably be around 100-250,000 people total. Long term prospects for Estonia would probably be reliant on good foreign policy, as well as alliances with neighboring kingdoms.

 

[Salvador79]

It is back! Let's hear more about how the Estonians fought off Christians by drinking themselves strong

 

[The Great Krigare]

Might want to change the word 'charges'. While sapping certainly is a thing, that phrasing puts to mind dynamite, gunpowder, or some other explosive.

A fair point. I'm just not entirely sure what to replace the word "charges" with.

Otherwise, very unique idea. Admittedly never really considered the possibility of a medieval Kingdom of Estonia...although I have to question its long term chances. Estonia nowadays only has like 1.3 million people. With medieval population density Estonia would probably be around 100-250,000 people total. Long term prospects for Estonia would probably be reliant on good foreign policy, as well as alliances with neighboring kingdoms.

Estonia, prior to the decimation of its population by Crusaders and Plague, is commonly estimated to have a population of around 200 000, so your estimate is quite accurate. As for Estonia requiring good foreign policy to survive, that is entirely true. At the moment, Novgorod and the Teuronic Order are its biggest threats. Novgorod will be dealing with Mongols in a few decades, and the Teutons are surrounded by enemies. (Estonians, Lithuanians, and Prussians) Estonia is therefore going to have quite a bit of good luck if it can exploit these advantages and might be able to expand a bit if lucky enough.

It is back! Let's hear more about how the Estonians fought off Christians by drinking themselves strong

How else would one fight off Christians?

 

[alexmilman]

A fair point. I'm just not entirely sure what to replace the word "charges" with.

Estonia, prior to the decimation of its population by Crusaders and Plague, is commonly estimated to have a population of around 200 000, so your estimate is quite accurate. As for Estonia requiring good foreign policy to survive, that is entirely true. At the moment, Novgorod and the Teuronic Order are its biggest threats. Novgorod will be dealing with Mongols in a few decades, and the Teutons are surrounded by enemies. (Estonians, Lithuanians, and Prussians) Estonia is therefore going to have quite a bit of good luck if it can exploit these advantages and might be able to expand a bit if lucky enough.

How else would one fight off Christians?

Teutonic order is completely irrelevant until 1237 when it was forced to incorporate the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (also known as the Livonian Order) after which its main activities had been attempts to link possessions of the Teutonic Order with those of the Livonian branch. Within this framework, conquest of Estonia by the original Teutonic Order is impossible by geographic reasons and by the Livonian Order after 1237 is pretty much pointless because it is in a wrong direction (not to mention that the forces of the Livonian Order were minuscule and after the merge some of the members left it refusing to recognize Teutonic supremacy). OTOH, the Teutonic Order also was less than enthusiastic about the whole affair and would not be eager to send any significant reinforcement to Livonia upon the adventure which was counterproductive strategically. By the end of the XIII the Prussians ceased to be a factor and the enemies of the Teutonic Order (without Livonian branch) were Poles and Lithuanians while for the Livonian Order: Lithuanians and Novgorodians. And, of course, the Archbishop of Riga to whom they were formally subordinated.

The main adversaries would be a Archishop of Riga, Bishop of Dorpat, Livonian Order (prior to 1237) and Novgorod.

Novgorodian "dealings" with the Mongols amounted to paying tribute because the Mongols did not invade its territory and had been quite satisfied with having, as a Prince of Novgorod, their collaborator Alexander "Nevsky" (who was willingly doing all the dirty work including suppression of anti-Mongolian rebellion caused by an attempt to conduct a census). In other words, most of the time (until it had to be dealing with the threat coming from Moscow) Novgorod was quite free and eager for the border small-scale war.

 

[The Great Krigare]

Teutonic order is completely irrelevant until 1237 when it was forced to incorporate the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (also known as the Livonian Order) after which its main activities had been attempts to link possessions of the Teutonic Order with those of the Livonian branch. Within this framework, conquest of Estonia by the original Teutonic Order is impossible by geographic reasons and by the Livonian Order after 1237 is pretty much pointless because it is in a wrong direction (not to mention that the forces of the Livonian Order were minuscule and after the merge some of the members left it refusing to recognize Teutonic supremacy). OTOH, the Teutonic Order also was less than enthusiastic about the whole affair and would not be eager to send any significant reinforcement to Livonia upon the adventure which was counterproductive strategically. By the end of the XIII the Prussians ceased to be a factor and the enemies of the Teutonic Order (without Livonian branch) were Poles and Lithuanians while for the Livonian Order: Lithuanians and Novgorodians. And, of course, the Archbishop of Riga to whom they were formally subordinated.

The main adversaries would be a Archishop of Riga, Bishop of Dorpat, Livonian Order (prior to 1237) and Novgorod.

Novgorodian "dealings" with the Mongols amounted to paying tribute because the Mongols did not invade its territory and had been quite satisfied with having, as a Prince of Novgorod, their collaborator Alexander "Nevsky" (who was willingly doing all the dirty work including suppression of anti-Mongolian rebellion caused by an attempt to conduct a census). In other words, most of the time (until it had to be dealing with the threat coming from Moscow) Novgorod was quite free and eager for the border small-scale war.

I was simply using Teutons as a synonym for Northern Crusaders, though I see I should not do that in the future. And I originally thought that the Livonian Order began as part of the Teutonic Order, only to be separated later.

However, here, the Bishopric of Dorpat cannot exist, due to the Estonians having either all or a vast majority of their territory, including the city of Tartu for which the Bishopric is named.

In this point in the TL, the Prussians have not yet been conquered, as the Teutonic Order (Real one this time) only started campaigning in Prussia in 1230, and are not going to finish their actual conquest for a while.

Thanks for the corrections.

 

[alexmilman]

I was simply using Teutons as a synonym for Northern Crusaders, though I see I should not do that in the future. And I originally thought that the Livonian Order began as part of the Teutonic Order, only to be separated later.

No, it was other way around and it was something of a "shotgun marriage" enforced on both orders by the Papal (IIRC) command: none of them was happy because their chapters were different and for the Teutonic Order it created a major pain in the posteriors forcing them to get and subdue Samogitia to get a land access to the Livonian territories. Which, in not such a long run, resulted in a war against Polish-Lithuanian alliance, defeat at Tannenberg, etc.

However, here, the Bishopric of Dorpat cannot exist, due to the Estonians having either all or a vast majority of their territory, including the city of Tartu for which the Bishopric is named.

I was not quite sure where exactly are your borders and precise timeline and listed all potential opponents.

In this point in the TL, the Prussians have not yet been conquered, as the Teutonic Order (Real one this time) only started campaigning in Prussia in 1230, and are not going to finish their actual conquest for a while.

See above about the timeline. But for the Teutonian Order (in the original sense) it would be one problem at a time: 1st the Prussians, then the rest. Their actual conquest posed the same problems as later one of Samogitia: the initial conquest (as in building few castles in the key points and starting collecting the tribute) was relatively simple due to the huge difference in the fighting abilities but having the territories fully subdued was a long affair with the numerous uprisings and simply local banditry. In Prussia they eventually managed to accomplish this task but in Samogitia they did not have enough time.