[David Lindholm, David Nicolle] the Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500

7/23/2019 [David Lindholm, David Nicolle] the Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500

1/51

The Scandinavian

Baltic Crusades

1100 1500


2/51

DAVID LINDHOLM MA

was

born In 1970. He

was

educated

at the University

of Lund

In Sweden where he

studied

medieval

archaeology

history and ethnology. He Is

also

a specialist

in

medieval

weaponry and

warfare

.

DAVID NICOLLE

was bom

In

1944 and

worked in

the BBC

Arable service

for

a number

of years, before gaining an

MA

from the

School

of

Oriental and

African

Studies,

London, and a doctorate from

Edinburgh University. He

has

written ma

ny

books

and

artic

les on

medieval

and

Islamic

warfare.

ANGUS

McBR

IDE

is

one

of

the world s most respected

historical

i llustrators, and

has contribu

ted

to more

than

90

Osprey

ti tles in t he past

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

De finitio n >

ora

cru

sade

Participants in

the

Ba iLie ~ a d e s

The Ba il ie

at

the time

olt

lw Crmades

CHRONOLOGY

THE RMIES

EQUIPMENT OF THE

SCANDINAVIAN

CRUS DERS

Th

e dilliculties of interpn:ting sources

1100-1

W O

shields - sword.,- helmets- mai l atmour-

the gambeso the imp

ortance or

the bow and crossbow

close comha1 weapons

1300-1 0 0 : additional pla te reinforcements-

the

coat-of-plates-

h e l m e t ~ the

bascinct,

the

Order

helmet

and

the J...ettlc-hat -

mm ual

cop,i

ng

of.,ome

infantrv and

cavah \

items- ~ > h i e l d s

and h u c J I e r ~ \\ eapom:

hand-held

guns-

crossbows- swords- daggers- pole-arms

14

00- 1500: plate armo

ur

- ha l

berds

and polcall.e1>

Jongswords- crossbows

MILITARY

EQUIPMENT

IN

THE

BALTIC LANDS

NOVGOROD

1100-1300: Armour- shit:lcJ.,- weapons

1300-1500

STRATEGY TACTICS

Strongpoint.,

and raiding

Climalt

. and terrain-

\\inlet warfare

Boats and ships

Fortifications

Si

ege

warfare

AFTERMATH

OF THE

CRUS DES

FURTHER

READING

PLATE

COMMENT RIES

INDEX

3

7

9

11

21

33

40

42

43

48


3/51

Men-at-Arms 436

The Scandinavian

altic Crusades

1100 1500

D

indholm

D

Nicolle

Illustrated

by

McBride


4/51

First published

n

Great Bntaln

In

2007 by Osprey Publishing

Mtdland House. West

Way

Botley. Oxforo OX2 OPH UK

443 Park Avenue South. New York. NY 10016 USA

Email

ln l

oOospreypublishingcom

0

2007

Ospnsy

Pubi


5/51

The

Dan

ish

knight

l

ot in

full armour, shown

century

stained glass

This Illustrates the

styles of body

- probably with a

worn over a

mail

nd soft

armo

ur -

so found In the grave-pits

.

In

s tu Do

llefjelde

Denmark)

THE SC NDIN VI N

B LTIC

CRUS DES

1100 1500

INTRODUCTION

os 1 PEOPLE arc familiar with

the Cmsades t the

Holy Land

during

the Middle Ages; others know of the Rcconquista, in

what

arc

now

Spain

and P

ortuga

l, which

was

another form

of

medieval crliSadc. In conuast, the crusades

that

took place around

the

a ltic Sea

during

the

same period are less we ll known. Even those

studies which have been made have

emphasized

the role of

Gcnnans,

and above a ll

the

Germanic military orders - the Sword Brethren, and

the

Teutonic

Knights - rather than that of the Scandinavian peoples

who played

such

a vital role.

These expeditions were regarded as genuine crusades, both bj

the

medieval European

Ch

urch

and

by Lhose who

took

pan in them. The

Baltic Crusades, as they are now known, were

sanctioned

by Papal

authority; and they h

ad

a

profound

impact upon the subsequent histol)

of all the states that surround

the

Baltic Sea.

e fin it ion s of a c

ru

sa de

In recent times a crusade , in its original religious and warlike sense,

has

ge

n

era

ll

y

been regarded

simply as an ugly

phenomenon

from

the

Western wor ld s blood-stained past, without much consideration being

given

to th

e actual origins of the term. To

the

Christian peoples of

the

Middle Ages, however,

the

word

had

a very specific meaning: it

was

an armed

expedition

or series of expeditions intended to remove a

perceived

threat

to

the

Christian faith ,

or

to convert non-Ch1istians to

Christian i

y

(by force if necessary) , or to achieve

both

these

ends.

Not all such religiously inspired armed

o n f l

were against Muslims

or pagans, however. Those against 1he Albigensians in sou thern France

were undertaken

to

crush a heresy ; while those against the Byzami ne

Imp

erial

cap

ital

of

Constantinople,

against Bulgars, Hussites

and

o1her

peoples and communiti

es in Europe, pitted Latin or Catholic Christians

against Christians who

adhered

to a different version of the faith.

Meanwh ile,

the

so-called Italian Crusades were little more than po li tical

wars to

maintain or

extend Papal power. At

the

legal

core of

all

suc

h

crusades l

ay

the tact

that

such

mi litary efforts

had

to be sanctioned

by

the Pope

- Christ s represenrative

on

earth - or, at

the

least, by a

respected bishop who

was

himselfrepresentiug the Pope.

Participating in a crusade offered many material and spiritua l benefits

for the believing vVestern European Christian, and this

was

as true of the

Baltic Crusaders as it

was

of

I

hose who

mounted

expeditions to

Lhe

Hol

y

Land in Palestine.

These

benefits may be sununaJiLecl

as

follows:

While a man

was

on crusade, all his assets were protected; they could

not be seued in payment of taxes or other debts. All his sins were


6/51

\

\

)

l

v,

i-.

l l:l

i..

4>/ .

M ZOVJA

\ ,

~ . -\

Poznan

GRE T POL ND

Swedish

t rritory

J Danish

r r t o r y

,--- '

Swedish Crusades

Danish Crusades

forgi\cn.

including those

committed while on the

cntsadc

it'>elf.

A

crusader

would

not

be prosecuted

for am crime > committed

before the

crmade,

and i f

lw fulfilled hi., oath and

completed hi., crusade

(and .,UJ \ived ) , then these

crimes would be forgi\en

b\

the worldh

authorities;

in

other

words, a

man

could

return horne with a

clean slate,

both

spirituall}

and

legally.

Anr

loot that

he

might

take while on

crmade

could usually be

kept, although a tithe

was normally

expected to

be paid to the Church

out of 1>uch profits of

campaigning.

People from all wall-s

of life took pan in these

ventures, ranging from

king-. and prince\ of

the

blood

through

C\er.

le\el

ot

-;otiet\

dm n to

the verT

poore >t.

Impired

b\

their

faith

and their hope

for

Lhe

.,,,Jnnion of their immortal

..,oub. the\ gathered what

e\et meam the\ could

aflord and set off into the

distant unkn0\\11, to rid

the

world of those they

belic\ed to be enemies

of

the faith .

rn the

past, many

historiam

have made much of

the

fact that

the

crusades were a means for ruler:.

ami

cotnnnmitics in times

of

local

peace to rid themselves -

at

least temporarily -

of

landless and

burdensome

younger sons of the

propcrtkcl

clas.,cs, and of greedy and

troublemaking

noblemen

whose ambitions threatened the stabilitY of

the state. In reality, this docs

not

usually iCt lll

to

have been the case.

Intead, the vast m ~ j o r i t y of crusaders took part because rhev believed in

what they were doing and accepted hat

their

local religious leader\ told

them was

their

u ~

to God. Thb wa., a tim


7/51

Pa r t i c ipan ts In th e a lt ic C r u sa d es

Tn

the c r l ~

)Cars the Baltic Crusade.,

mosth imohed

~ a n d i n m i a

and

the German-speaking areas. Outrcmer . or the crusader lt lritories in

the Middle East, provided a more appealing

arena

for wuthern

monarchs and their peoples. After th e loss of the

l a ~ r

rragments of

the Ho ly Land in 1291,

crusading

opportunities in 1

he

ea

a

re.,ult,

French and

Hurgundian

would-be cmsade1.

began to

show increasing imere >t in the

pagan

lands of the Baltic region, this being especiall) apparent

dudng the

1

1t

h centu

ry. The Teutonic

Knights, as an

international

military order

of

chivalry,

co

uld poren rially draw upo n manpower from right across

Christendom , but in rea li ty the Order s rccnliling bases were limited to

their core lands within

the

German Empire.

Where Lhe Scandinmian counuie., were

concerned,

it

\\tl. >

never a

very large-scale affair,

and there

was

no

qucslion

of

the Baltic

Cmsades

capturing

the

imagination

of an

entire

conlinent

in the wa\ that the

First Cru

sade

to j crw..alem

had

done. Th

ere

were, of course,

many

vo

lunt

eers; but for rh e

most

part rhc forces involved were ro y l

cr

usa

de

s ,

carr

i

ed

o

ur

by rulers

and

the

relinues that lhcy lhe mse

lv

es

could

muster,

whe

th er from D

enmar

k, Norway or Sweden.

The Baltic Crusade >, and especialh

the

campaign direned against

the pagan Lithuaniam, also came

t

be ~ e e n as offering an opportunity

for

men to gain va luab le military cxpetience without hm ing to travel

a ll

the

way to

the

Middle East,

where

a feeble cmsad ing cO

on

was sti ll

under

way.

It was for these reasons

1

h

al the

Baltic became th e most

popular region for g during

the

14th cen

tu ry. T h i ~

is furtJ1er

highlighted by the facr that

the

Papal

aut

holities offered rhe same

re\,ards

and conditions to Scan

din

a\;an ~ m e r e i g n s a.. were

offered

to

the English and French when it came

w

allocali ng the tax revenues

co

ll

ected

by

the Church

for

the

specific

pwvose

of

financing a crusade.

y th e mid-14th

cen

tu ry

I

he

Church

came to realize

that

a

dwindling

in

come

from these

taxes meant

lhaL, if conti

nu

ed pre s

ur

e

\\

O be

maintained in

the BaJLic region, a larger

portion

needed to he

hand

ed over to rh e

monarchs

ac

w a lly inmlved.

~ f o 1 a l

pressure

wa a l ~ o

C \elted: for example,

St Bi rgitta of Sweden

was

at that time ex

tr

eme lr

influential, both in rh e

Church and in worldly

matters.

She

wrote on tJ1c

topic

of

cmsading

se\era

l

times, in

an anempt to

revive

interest amongst

J..ings who now .seemed to

lack sumcie nt enthusiasm.

The

Bishop s Citadel of

Kuressare on the

Estonian

Island of Saaremaa,

described

as

the only medieval fortres

s

In the Baltic States

which

Ia

virtually

complete. Nevertheless,

the upper parts

of

both the walls

and the

towers

were added

during the 20th

century.

5


8/51

The altic at the

time of

the Crusades

Since

at

least the Bronte Age. the BaJtic Sea has

been

a factor \\ hich

connected rather than di ,,ided those peoples and counu

iei>

which hl

around iti> shore..,. It prO\ ided relatively easy communications and tr-ade

routes between mall\ different regions. The fairly modest

of the

Scandinm ian Pen imula

and of Denntat k began to

consolidate inw kingdotm

along es.

the

problem . posed b\ tribal

raiders from elsewhere in

the Baltic cea-,ed to be a

local

i s ~ u e

\\hich could be

dealt \\itJ1 piecemeal. It now

became a matter

lor

royal

authority

and

became

a

state responsibility. It also

orTcrcd the new rulers of'

what became

Denmark,

Sweden and, to a e ~ s c t

extent, Norway a means

of

exerting and demon

strating royal pmn. r

prott ctor

of their s u l ~ j e C L > .

Although the..,e per.,i>.ten

1

r a i d ~

\\ere

not the onh

rea\on

for

\\hat

-.ub-.e

quently beccune Lhe Baltic

C r u ~ a d e s Lhe\ c e r t a i n ~

gaYe

added

momentum to

the movement.

POL ND

Union of

almar

Teutonic Kntghts

. . . Castles

Hanseatic

leag

ue


9/51

OPPOSI

TE

Key for numbered castles -

s

om

e with

mod

ern

place

n am

es

In

bra

ckets :

(1) Cope

nhagen

(2)

Kalundborg

(3)

Spro

g o

(4)

Nyborg

(5) TArnborg

(6) Vord l

ngborg

(7) Sto ckholm

(8) Taves

tunhu

s

(9) Viborg

(1

0) Kn h

ol

m

(11) Lands

krona

(12) Kopor

ye

(13) Narva

(14) Re

val

(Tallinn)

(15) L

ea

l (Lihula)

(16) Abo

(17) Kure

ss

are

(18) K

as

t e

lh o

lm

(19) S

egewold

(Sigulda)

(20) R

ase

borg

(

21

) H

ase

npoth (Aizput

e)

(22) Turaida

hom the -;tart

it becanw clear Lhat

the

geographical dispo'>itiun of

the

new

(andinmian ' tate' t'nabled

them to locus

on

sligluh

different

region.., at least lO begin \\ith. Dt'nmark lool-.c

:d

ea,tward to the

\\

c:

ndbh

coast of what

is no" non

l

wrn

Germany, and to

the

southem

t

mid

Ba

ltic region

of

what

are

now

the

Polish

c o a ~ t and p a r L ~

of

the

new

independent Baltic

~ t a t e , .

Swt'rlen looked towards Finland and

the

northern

pans

of the

Baltic

r m L ~ t l i n e .

To a large

extent

thi-. di'>pmition

also reflected regional politic'>; Denmark

a'

alreach much more o ~ e h

connectl'rl

bv

uade and political relatiotv

hip' to northem

Getman}.

while Sweden

had

closer cnnnt'ctions to

the: ti 'ing

Russian prindpalit)

of

Novgorod

and tJ1e

tribtt l

areas around

Finl

and.

Tn

comidering the

following chronolog)' of

the major cventl>,

readers

should

bear in mind that

the

earliest

campaigns

were not

~ t r i c t h

speaking 'crusades', becaml' the Pope had not \et sanctioned them

as

w t ~ r . conducted

in rlw

name

of Chri'>tianit\.

Pope

Ut ban had

proclaimed the Cntsade' (the First Cruade ) in 1096, directed lO\\.

It would

take:

manv

years before

t

he

idea

of

a

'northern' or Ba

ltic Crusade took

root

in

Scandinavia. However, in

1103

King Eric I 'Ever

Good'

of

Denmark

made

an

armed

pilgdmage Palestine,

the f l r ~ t

European

crowned

mler to 'isit the

neKly e later Sigurd .Jm-.alafar,

one

of

the

co-rulers of 'orway, also made

an epic

\Ovage from

Scandina\ia

through

the Straits of

Gibraltar

to

the eastern

Medircrranc:an,

where

his little fleet helped

the cntsaders

conquet

the

coast.

h i ~ should

again, perhaps,

be regarded

an

armed

pilgrimage,

since the broader ideCl of 'c

rmacting' -

as a

calling, distinct from

I

he

specific expedition which we now call, \dth hindsight, the F i r ~ t

Cru'lade'- had not

yet fulh de,

eloped.

HRONOLOGY

I095-99 First Crusade

to the

Iloly

Land.

1103 Pilgtimage

of

King Erik

of

D

enmark to the

easL

II 08

.

\n

appeal for help i > made

in

Lhe

northern German Dioce'e

of

Magdeburg.

1135 Danish attack on rlw Slav (Rugian) island of Rl'tgen.

I1

47 The

first ' northern crusade' against

the

pagan Baltic

Slnv >.

1168-69

King Valdemar I

of

Denmark attacks

and conquers

Rl'tgen island.

I l

71

Pope ,\Jexander H1 authorizes crmade'>

against the

pagan

populations or the ea"Cnl

Baltic

(S

ia\ , Bait

and Finn I I

ihe'i).

1185 Pomeranian Slavs lurrender to King Canute

IV

of Denmark.

1188

Estonians

(Finm)

raid

the

Swedish city

of

t.Jppsala.

1198 Pope Innocent TT l authorizes Lhe Livonian Crusade against the

eastern

Baltic coast.

1200 Bi'>hop

Alben establbhes the

see

of

Riga (now in Lat\ia)

and the

Order

of Sword BroLherl).

l 206 Valdemar Seijre

e a d ~ hb 1eet

agaimt

the

Osilian (Estonian-Finn)

i ,lancl

of

Osel,

supported

by

r c h b i ~ h o p

Andreas Sunesen

of Lund.

7


10/51

1200-09

o q u c ~ t of the Livs (now central Lania) by r u s a d e r ~ and

Bishop Albert.

1217

P

ope

I l

onotilh Tl

authorizes a crusade against

the

Prussiam

(now in north-tastern

Poland and

the

Ru

ssian enclave of

Kaliningrad ).

1219

King \'alclcmar TJ of Denmark goes

on

a crusade against the Ew,;

accord

ing

to

legend

the

D

anish

national flag miraculomh fell

from

the

k

at the

battle

of

Lmd

anise

during

this

expedit

i

on.

King \aldc

mar

founds

the

cit\' of Reval (now Tallinn)

and

initiates 1

he

conquest

of

northern Esronia.

1226

Gennan Emperor Frederick T 's Bull of Rimini grants Pn t'>-.ia

to the Tcuwnic Order

in what are now north-eastern P

oland,

the

Rm.sian enclave

ofKaliningrad

and

part of

western Lithuania.

1230 Pope

Grcgot) IX authorizes

the Teutonic

Knights

to

anack tlw

pagan

~ s i a m .

123 1

-40 The Teut

on

ic

Kni

gh

ts

and

ot

h

er

German crusaders conquer

the west

ern

Prussian tribes.

1236

The German

Order

of Sword Brothe rs is virtually wiped out hy

th('

paga

n Lithuanians at Siaulai (Saul

e).

1240

Fir

'i

t Baltic Crusade against th e Russians

of

ovgorod; Swedish

cn

t

saders defeated

by Prince Alexand

er

Nevski.

1249

Conquest

of the centra

l regions of

Finland

(pagan Sumi

and

Emi

t r i b e ~

hv

Swedish forces under BirgerJ arl.

1254-56 ConqueM of the pagan Samogitians in Sam land (

no

the

eastern pan of the Ruc;sian

enclave

ofKa

liningracl).

1290

Conque'>l

of pagan

Semigallia (now coastal Lithuania) bY

the

fetllonic

Kni

ghts of Lh

onia

(now

Lat\ia

).

29

Fall of c n t ~ a d e r - h e l d ,\

ere

in Palestine; transfer of the

headquarter-,

of

the Temonic

Knight

ro

\ en

ce.

1292

Swedi'>h crmadet > establish an outpost in pagan Korela (Finnic)

teniLOt') .tt

\ iborg

(now \ 'yborg in nord1-western u s ~ i a .

1300 Swede'>

forrif} Land.,krona

on the Ri

ver Neva (now St e t e r ~ b m g

in north-western Rmsia)

on

the frontier bet\,een the pagan

(Finn) Korela and l7hora tribes.

1308

Teutonic

Kni

gh ts occupy Danzig (now

Gdansk in northern Poland).

1309

fh e headq uarter of the Teutonic Kni ghts

is moved from Venice to M

ar

ie nburg in

Pruss

ia (now Malb

ork

in Pola

nd

).

13 18

Novgorod ians raid Swedish-ru led Finland

and

burn

the ca thedral in

Abo

(now

Turku).

1323

Treat}

of N6teborg

ends

the

war bet\,

ee

n

Swcdt'n and Novgorod;

peace is agreed

between the

Teutonic

Knights and Grand

Duk

e

Gee

imina'>

of

Lithuania.

1316

King Valdemar I\ of Denmark

sell'>

Danish

held territon in what

is

now northern

Estonia t

the Teutonic

Knights.

1348

King

g n u s

ofS,,

eden

invades Russia

(King

a g n u s

First

Crusade).

1350

King ~ l a g n u s of Sweden\ Second Crusade.

A

king

and one of his retainers

or

guards

In a tate 12th century

Swedish-Danish

relief

carving.

Note

that the helmet right Is

of the almost flat-topped form

but still

has a

nasal; the mail

coif covers almost

the

whole

face

and

Is shown In a different

stylized manner

to the

mall

hauberk. The soldier Is

otherwise

armed

with a

tall

almost flat-topped

kite

shield

and a sword. In s tu Lyngsjo

Church

SkAne, Sweden)


11/51

1362

Christian

Prussians and

crusaders capture wesLCrn Lithuanian

c.ity

of

Kaunas.

1364 Pope Vrban \ 'issues a Bull

urging

a

cominuation

of the

crusade

against the Ducl1\

of Lithuania,

the

l a ~ t 'pagan

'\late

in Europe.

1381 Cannon used b) TeuLOnic Knights

f01

the fin.t time on the

Rj,er 'emen.

1382

Teutonic

Knights

seize

the

l

.ithuanian

c-apital

ot

\ '

ilniw .

1381 JogaJio (Jagiello) become'> ntler

of

tlw

> t i l l l t ~ ~ g e l ~

pagan

Crand

Duchy of Lithuania.

1386

Grand Duke

Jagiello

of

Lithuania is bapti/ed ao., a Chri

me

western

Prussia

but retain

eastern PnL > >ia , .,sab

of the

Poli-.h crm,11,

and

remain

independem in Livonia

(no" Lal\ia

and

b.tonia).

l.J-96 Swedish force attack the RtL >sian

~ l u s c m

i t e ) lot lit of

Ivangorod on the eastern frontit>r of Estonia.

13 2 Wolter von

Plettenberg,

Ma-.ter

of the Teutonic

Knight-. in

Limnia, defeats Czar Ivan II

of

l u s c o \ \ at L1kc

~ m o l i n a .

1361 Livonia divided between Poland and \\eden (0'>el ily based on the

charaneristic

Viking

Age dependence upon ships. It came to be known a > the

INiung,

and it

enabled

a

ruler

to

summon

a

specified

number

of

i g h t i n g

men

from a

particular geographica l region. By the time of the Baltic Crusades each

hundare district should have

been

able to muMer

up

one hundred

men

and

four

ships, and

formed part of

a

larger

region called a

svealand

The vel.sel was called a

sniirka

or 'seashell'. and wa-. technologically a

descendant

of

the Viking age warship. ~ 1 e a t l \ \ h i l e the

nlf t/and

formed

the core of the

Swedish

kingdom.

and

could

mu'>ter as

manv 2,200

w own teJTiLOry

and,

as

such, pro,ed en u ~ e f u l for

Ualtic

crusading

expeditions. This /edung had

it.'>

roots ill the

Viking .

\ge,

and

"-u. found

in

all

Scandinavian

countries at

one

time

01

another.

First

formalized

in

Denmark

during

the

first

half of the

1

lth c e n t u ~ .

it

prO\ided

a legal 9


12/51

Inlaid

silver

decorations from

a 12th century s

word

blade.

Although

excavated on

the

eastern side of the Baltic

Sea, the

weapon was

almost

certainly made in

Germany

or

Scandinavia;

th

e

decorations

show warriors In typica l 12th

century

European

knightly

equipment f t

er

D.A.Drboglav

2

method

whereby

a king

cou

ld mmter an

r m ~

- t colleCL

t a x e ~

paid as

an

alternative to

attending the mmter. The concept \\ent back to the

9rh

and

I

Oth centuries, when Sea

King,' could

be elected and ghen

prmisional authority

oYer

men who

had a'>'>embled

for

a limited

time

or to

achieve certain

limited

and pre-agreed

goalelf,

the men

ir carried plus

their personal equipment

and prmisiom: all

the ship s

company agreed to serve

for

a -;et number of drt\ >.

The lPdung

system

of

a'isembling

men

must

not be confused

with

feudalism , since the lPdung

was

not gathered around

leaders

on the

basis of

their

nobility or seniorit} by birth. I

nstead

it

imohed

free men

who o ~ 1 1 e d farms and who were eligible lor military duty, and as such

it had more

in

common

with

later

c o n c e p t ~

ol milita ) consc1iption.

No

exemptions from taxation or any

other ~ o n

of reward were offered

as

compensat

ion

for

service;

the i c e

itself r('mnined

an

obligation.

On

the

other

hand, the taxes clemancled in place or service from those

individuals

who

did not

present

th

emse

lves

to

serve

later became

a

pennanent

tax,

espec

ially after

the ll dung

wa mmt ba >ic

Je,el

the

>\ >tem

relied

on each hemman or

fam1

~ u p p l v i n g one

armed man,

thu-.

spreading

the burden

of

prmiding

arlequateh

equipped

foot'>oldier..,

throughom

the entire community.

Th

e 14th cemun 'ia" '>ignificant changes

in the socio-political climate and in militan

technolog).

both

o f hkh

resulted in a

differem

military situation.

lh now

the Scandinavian

nobility had

also

strengtlwned its ahi lin ro muster

well-armoured

and

well-rnonnted cavalr} forces.

The

evidence

shows that a

great

many,

perhaps

even a m of tile newl)

conquered

territories.

1

See MAA

399,

e va

l Scalld


13/51

RIGHT Scandinavian

inscribed

effigla l slabs:

12th cent

ury knight from

Vejers

l

ev in

Denmark believed

to be identified as a crusader

because of

the

cross

on

his

helmet and

carried in

his hand.

F R RIGHT

Th

e kn

ight Blrger

Persson and his wife

1327

.

His

armour

is

of

the

old-fashioned

type consisting of ringmail

wit

h

out

plate additions

. in

situ

Uppsala Domkyrka

Upp

sala)

EQUIPMENT OF

THE

SCANDINAVIAN CRUSADERS

ARMOUR WEAPONS 1100 1300

When

studying medieval military equi

pment

, horse-harness

and

related

objects,

we are

always f ~ c e d with the question

of how

representative the

surviving artefacts really are. Where Scandinavia

is

concerned

it

is

also

important

to

recognize that,

in

military as in so many other respect this

region was not quite

the

same

as

Continental

Europe. An interesting

example of

th

is

phenomenon

was the

Norwegian

ongshird

( king s

army ), a m

il

itary force which the written sources assure us

was well

eq uipped by Scandinavian standards. evertheless, the

ongshird

lacked

items such as great helms and plate reinforcements to its armour, at a

time when these were widespread amongst the knights of France or

Germany. For instance, in the

region ofUpp

lsandsl

agen during

the 13th

century, the l

aw

required

that

on ly one

man

from every hnmnrm need

achieve the

same

standard of

mi

litary equ ipment that was

expected

of

every

man

in

the

Hinl

which consisted

of

the king s best men.

11


14/51

A

(A) Sword from Denmark ,

seco

nd half of the 12th century

(National Museum, Copenhagen;

photograph

via E.Oakeshot1)

(B)

Sword

from Scandinavia,

second half of

th

e 13th century

private collection; photograph

via E.Oakeshot1)

C)

Sword from Denmark,

second

half of the

14th

century

(National

Museum, Copenhagen;

photograph via E.Oakeshot1)

B c

Milital) demandl> and the availabi li tY

of

arms

and armour

dif1ered considerabh between the

Scandinmian countriel>.

T h c ~ e

variations tended

to renect wealth and acccs-. to the major arms

producing

centte.., of \\'e'>lt.'rn Europe.

The

standards of militan equipmcm

in medieval

e n m a r ~ \\ere . for e Xamplc:. '>omewhere between

those

of

the poorer

~ t a t e - .

of :'\on\'ed the '>pread of new ideas

and milital) 'fashion.,.

Throughout Scilndinmia fighting

men

used

whatever they could obtain

or

w a ~ issued to them

by higher authority. Arms,

armour

and costume

were in

no ~ e n s e

unifc>r

m.

Documetllal)' sources

migh1 record the level

of

equipment that was

r

eq uired,

as

i l

110rt

of

ideal. Mediev-al illustrated

so

urc

own obsen


15/51

point, which graclun lly became more acute,

permitting

thrusting

as

well as

cutting.

\ \ hi lc even

this was not

uniH

rsal, the evidence

nc,

enheless

tends to support

thE'

idea that methods of using a

sword laid

increasing emphais on the point rather

than rel}ing so much

on

the edge.

Scandinavian lwlmct-. from this period included

the pointed

or

conical sO,

but

gradua

ll

y

became

larger.

From this the f1ll ly

enc

losed helmet or great helm soon

developed, and

was

used in candina,ia

as

elsewhere in Westem

Europe,

though on } cava l ) . B)' contrast, the broad-brimmed kettle helmet or

chapel-de-fer became much more popular in 13th

century

Scandina,ian

am1ies, being cheap to manufacture and highl} effectiYe. A

distinniwh

Scandina,ian Yer' .ion of this war-hat would in fact be developed during

the

Hth

centun.

The mo >t tYpical bodv armour wa the mail

hauberk

,

IL'malh

\\ith

each ring

hming

n \C others p a s ~ e d

through

it and ri\ eted clo-;ed.

The

mail shirtE d dtu;ng the

\'iking Age probably

did not

reach

much

further than the groin

at

most,

and

some

were noticeabl\

shorter,

while

mail s l e e ~ that onh reached the elbows were considered adequate

.

gain,

the r i ~ i n g

imponance of

ca\ all) and their greater

need fm

protection led to .,ignificant changes in

armour,

including mail

hauberks that reached to mid-thigh and

\ \ ~ t h

wrist-length slee,es;

thereafter, mail mittem

wc.:re

added to

protect

the hands. A later

development ~ mail kggings. supported by a belt or strapped around

the

rear

of the legs. Another cle\ cloprnent was the mail coif or hooded

extension

of

the hauberk,

rep

l

acing

the

ear li

er mail avcnLial that

was sometimes attached to the rims of hel

met.'l.

T he mail hood then

developed into a separate piece of armour. All forms

of

mai l were

secured to the body or limbs using leather cords, otherwise the mail

tended

to

flap about, making the wearer clnmsy, slow and Lircd.

The

final item

of armour was the gambeson,

a form

of

soft

armour.

This

was uot a nc\\ imention, the Romans having worn

something

similar. During the Middle Ages the gambeson

unden,ent

several

changes

but

retained

its original

purpose-

to absorb a blum impact

and

e\en to resist piercing anacks. Cloth, when well

padded.

is superio1 to

metal \\hen absorbing the shock of a blow; when worn beneath mail

armour the padded gambelin-warmed heat of metallic armour. Sometime


16/51

4

The

mportanc

e

of

the

bow and

crossbow

Scan

eli

na\ iam had a long

tradition of

using

sub-;tantial

bows in both

hunting and

warfare, a \implorl; a

rows with broad h e a d ~ were less suitable in warfare, since

they

were

generally

unable

l

penetrate even tingmail armour.

' \That is more imporl ant was how these

simp

le bows were used. There

seem

to

be no records

of

bows

or

crossbows being used in l importance in

Scandina\'ia

and some otJ1er parL'> of

the Baltic can be -.cen from its carl)

appeardl1cc,

and from the large

numbers

of

crossbow bolts

that arc

almost

routineh

found

ar

fortifications and battle sites.

In

fact tJ1e crossbow

became

the

weapon of

(A A hi

ghly

decorated 12th

or 13th ce

ntury

s

word

from

Finland, with an Inlaid pommel

and qutttons. (

Nati

onal Museum ,

Helsinki)

(B) Ah

eavy

axe head;

th

is would

have been more of a toot than

a weapon, but would have been

used by peasant warriors If

nothing else was availab l

e.

(Untversttets Oldsakssamling,

Oslo)

(C)

Ax

ehead

from

Norway,

of

a

type which

would hav

e been

useful both as a weapon and as

a woods

man

's axe . This design

remained

In

use with

minor

changes from the Viking Age

to

the 18th century. (Universitets

Otdsak

ss

amltng , Oslo)

(D)

Ahigh ly decorated 1oth

to

13th ce

ntury

axe from Finland,

th

e tnta td socket part with front

an

d rear extensions a long the

sides of

th

e

helve

. (

National

Museum , Helsi nki


17/51

choice for

common

soldier-;, along with the

spear

or halberd,

and

remained

110 C\Cil into the

carl}

16th century period of

unrest.

The

first recorded usc of the crossbow by Scandinavians dates from

1170 and the D a n i ~ h crusade against the Estonians, and its

popularity increased Mcadih thereafter. It

was

considerabh

easier to usc than a

hand

bel\\, and required far

les

practice

to

achieve an acceptable leH' I

of

skill. h shot bolts

at

greater spcl'd

than

a bow, resulting in

greater

damage

lO

tJw

target

and being more

cflecthe against

armour.

The 13111 cellllll) sa'' fu1ther adoption of the crossbow,

which

prO\ed to

be especially effective in

\icge warhtrc, most notably from behind cover inside

fortifications.

As

a con.,equence the crossbow

became

an indispemable asset in the hands of Baltic Cmsaders.

In

some respects the simple

or

early form

of

crossbow

was

aclltally easier to manufacture than a good qu ality

handbow, its bolts or shafts ccrtpread out along its length,

a >

11ith a .,,,ord; conseqnnllY the total weight

of

a war-a.xe

could

be

considerabl) less than 1hat of a sword. Such war-axes ranged from

those

held

in

one hand

to those wirh

longer

shafts wielded in

both hands. The Iauer, in Scandina,;;m hands, may actuall) ha\e

in11uenced 1he devt>lopment

of

pole-arms in Russia.

The spear remaind a

\eJ }

impor1an 1 wE-apon,

being cheap and straigh t

forward to make ancl easy

to

U >e.

\

hen

wit>

lckcl in

conjunction with a shiC Id

it

was

also highly effective

as 1he weapon

of

infantl'\

formation > faring mounted

enemie.

During the 13th

centurY, if not caJlicr,

the mace al-.o became

increasingh popular,

perhaps primarih in

reaction

to

incn

:a.,ingh

heaw armour. The

mace

can be sceu primarily

A

mid

-

14th

century Ge

rman

great he

lm

, known as the Prank

Helm

,

of

a

type

us

ed

throughout

those

re

gion

s

Influen

c

ed by

,

and supplied

with

mltltary

equipm

ent

from

, Germany.

Waffensammlung , VIenna;

Min

is

try

of

Works photograph)

lW

o s

mall

wooden buckler-

typ

e

shie

ld

s be

li

eved to date

from

the 13th century; th ey a

re re

Info

rc

ed with d

eco

rative metal

str ips a

nd

w i

th

large central

b

osses

over their fi st -grips

Nat

io

nal

Mu

seum ,

Cop

enhagen)

15


18/51

The

Iron

plates from

two

coats-

of-plates excavated from

th

e

grave-pi ts of the battle of Vlsby

in

Gotland

,

1361

.

{A Th

is

armour consists of 2g

plates

riveted

to

a s

upport of

leather or linen; It Is of a type

which appeared at the end of

the

13th

century

In Continental

Europ

e.

B)

This

form with

fe

wer and

larger plates

is regarded

as a

later style. National Historical

6 Museum, Stoc

kholm)

an

armour-breaking

weapon, in

o n t r ~ t

to the cotlcemratcd cutting

or

penetrating

action

of

a sword. axe

or ~ > p e a t . The d i ~ t i n c t i v e

medieval

mace had studs, spikes or

short.

blum, blaclc-like f l a n g e ~ for increed

impact through

the

concentration ol

the hole

weight of

the

blo in

small areas of the surface.

The dagger

or

knife

ob

ioush came in

mam

'>hape" and si1es. since it

was an indispensable tool for

c\ct)da\

chore-. and for

eating

food. Such

an

all-purpose utili ) knife

had

a blade of ,tbout

the

length

of

a man

s

hand, usually with a single edge. s, contt

the

de\elopmem of rigid or

semi-rigid body am1our culminating in the

c o a t o f p l a t e ~ .

This fom1

of

armour consisted of a flexible CO\Cting or ba'>e of leathet or

se,eral

layers of cloth. to which plates of steel

\\ere

ri' eted, the

number

and size

of which r i e d a great deal. Se,eral example-. \\t'rc found in

the gra,e

pir.'i

at Korsbetningen

on

the Swedish

i'>land of

(.otland, ha\ing

been

buried

following a battle in 1361. The c o a t o f ~ p l a t e . \\as \ \ m

mer

a

mail hauberk and quilted soft am1out. This combination

rendered

the

combatant s

torso ,;nually im ulnerablc to

am thing

e:-.cept powerful

mi'isile weapons and t11e hea icst pole-anm, "hcrc.a hi-. arm-. and legs

remained relative ) exposed.

The helmet also

underwent

.,ignificant changes during the 14th

centwy, tl1e full

or

great helm being replaced b} 01her t)pes that

had


19/51

fewer nat Surfaces, in an ; 1ll( 111pl

tO

('nsnre that

blows glanced ofT harmkssly For horsemen the

r n o ~ t noticeable new style was tlw bascineL, which

could incorporate a mo,cablc visor of either the

'pig-face' or 'dog-face' shape. ln addition to pro

\iding very efleCiive protecrion for

head

,

neck and

face, t

he

bascinet also muallv had a mail aventail

attached

to

rim to cover the neck and throaL

A dist

incti\e

form of ha'iciner found only in

northem

Europe and snniving in a single specimen

from Poland now known a'i the Order helmet',

renec ting its

~ u p p o s e c i

a'lsociation with

the

military

order of T

eutonic

Knights. The face was protected

by a visor and the helmet had an aventail. The lower

part

was

essentially

the sanw m

that

of ordinary

bascinelS, but the upper part wa.s extended into a

ta

ll

point

rather

like the traditional helmets of

Ru

ssia and further

cast;

this

helmet

therefore seems

to be a fusion

ofWestern and Eastem

styles.

Beneath these various forms of helmets it was still common to wear

a mail coif with a

padded

cloth coif

underneath. For

rootsoldier >

the

most visible development was a ncar universal

adoption

orvarious forms

or blimmecl kettle-hats or chapels-de-fer; this type had been developed

during the

13th century

but

really

came

into its own

during the

follmving century. A special fonn of kettle-hat developed in Scandina\ia

had a rounder skull and a narrower brim.

It is worth noting

that

inlamrymen

seemed

inclined to

c o n t i n u ~

using helmets that did

not

cover their faces and hardly impaired their

vision

at

all. The re


20/51

8

Helmets, from

the

end of the

13th to the mid 15th centuries:

A

)

Reconstruction

of the great

helm found in the castle of

Aranaes,

c. 13

00

(B) The great

helm

found at

Arana

es,

in

It s

original condition

Nat ional Historical Museum ,

Stockholm)

(C) Norwegian

kettle

helmet

or chapel-d

e-

fe r, 13th century

National Histori

cal Mu s

eum ,

Stockholm)

(D)

Kettle

helmet,

14th-15th

century Museum

of

Estonian

History, Tallinn)

(E) Danish kettle helmet,

first

half

of

the 15th century (Royal

Danish Arsenal Museum,

Co p

e

nhag

e

n)

Weapons

Here

the main developments were associated with

missile weapons and infant.ry pole-arms.

t

was during the 14th cemury that gunpowder

reached Scandinavia and the Ba ltic, the

Teutonic

Knights and Danish armies being relatively earlier

than Sweden and Norway in the use of this

ne

technology. Early hand-held guns were litlle more

than miniatmiLed cannons, and would

haYe been

more effective in frightening an enemy than in

doing much physical hann. Such devices

did

however, prove useful when attacking or defending

fortifications, where the man with a gun cou

ld

fire

from behind considerably better cover than

was

possible with a bow

or

crossbow the vertical

and

horizontal staves

of

the latter needed more space

and they were shot through larger embrasures.

On

the other hand , firing mechanisms were so

unreliable that guns could only be used effecti\eh

in

static connicts such as sieges.

During the 14th century the crossbow wali

developed further. Increases in its reliability and

power renected both improved techniqnes of

manufacture

and

higher quality materials. The

crossbow now seems to have replaced the hand

bow almost entirely. The bo l

ts

shot by such

weapons remained essentially the same as before,

their points being mostly of the basic armour

piercing bodkin shape, though such points now tended to be shoner

and

squatter than those on arrows to be

shot

from hand-bows.

The

sword similarly

underwent

minor changes,

but

tl1esc were to a

large extent cosmetic, changing the appearance of

the

weapon rather

than the way in which it was used. A surviving weapon known as the

Tritonia Sword is a

good

example

of

a type that was very popular as

a horseman s weapon during the later 13th and first half of the 14th

century. I t is also necessary

tO

point out that, while typologies of sword

blades can shed light on the emergence of newer or more fashionable

forms, the

older

or more traditional ones remained in production at

the same time.

One

innovation which appeared during the late 1

3th

and early 14th

centuries

was

the longsword. This was a development

of

the

earlier

horseman s single-handed war sword and

was

in effect, an enlarged

version with a l

onger

blade which

made

it easier for a man

on

horseback

to reach his target. This new form was then developed further into a

separate class of weapon, for use both on horseback and on foot. n

reality the type of sword used y an individual was almost certainly

a matter of individual preference or was simply what a particular

emp

loyer saw fit lO issue to his followers.

This was the

century during

which the dagger became more

prominent as a fighting weapon,

at

least

in the

sense that it was

increasingly often depicted in pictorial sources. These show

that

daggers

were specifica

ll

y weapons rather than also serving more utilitarian


21/51

functions.

The

14th centur, fighting dagget relied on it >

point to

inflict

cl.unage. allowing the \\t>apon to be thnto,t into the mo\t \ulnerable

c h i n ~ in

the jointed

area' of armour. Contrar; to a ,,;c(e.,prcad modem

be lief, the slashing rype of attack using the edge of a dagger w a ~ qu ite

useless even aga inst an opponent wearing

or

dinary clothing,

whi

le a

th

n t

could

penetrate

deep

into the vitnl orgam without much effort.

The mace remaint>d in usc, as did

other

forms of

wcapom ' 'hich

tdiecl on \\eight. Amongst the other

edged

weapons would hme been

tlw axe,

but

this

did not

sec

aTI)

:.ignificnnt changes.

It

doc'

.

>eem

that

the earlier type

of

long-hafted axe wielded \dth two hand ) now fell

into disuse, perhaps ail a result of th e devel

opment

of more efficient

pole-arms whi ch combined au axe blade with other u

sef

ul fentures.

On

e

of the most significant dcvelopmems during the 14th centut)' was this

combining of thrusting and slashing blnde > into one weapon, of which

tlw halberd would e\en tualh become tlw mo >t de\ eloped t\ pe. Its basic

de.,ign was nevenhele >s simple: one or more cutting blade-, were added

to

a sub,tantial spear shaft to create a

huge

ly imprmed weapon. The

precise date when these new cut-and-thrus t weapons appeared is

not

kn

own,

bul

rhey were clearly

present

in

Cont

incnt.al

Europe

in the first

half of the 14th century and in Scandina\ ia

during

the second half of

that century. :\leanwhile the spear

remained

an important weapon, but

would gradually be replaced by earl\ forms of halberd > amongst

profe.)sional soldicn. if not yet

among

local militias.

ARMOUR WEAPONS 1400

1500

The ~ o r directions or technological change in

15th

century

Scandinavian milirar;

equipment

were towards more plate armour, and an

tncrea.,ed reliance on more

complex f o r m ~ of

p o l e a r m ~ .

Another

feature

of

this

ccntur.

was

the fact

that

cntsading efforts shifted awpecialized fonm. ew

techniques also meant that it was often quicker

and

cheaper to manufactme items

of

plate rather

than of ringmail. Plate n

ot

o nly gave better

protection

bm

also permi

tt ed

increased mobility,

largely because the old fm>hioned, thickl y padded

,oft armours worn

beneath

mail

could

now

largely be dispensed with - the benet filling

plate armour

required

little or no such padding.

Furthermore, the armour became modu l

ar

rather

than covering large areas of the body wi th singl

t

pieces of iron or stee l. T h i ~ even included the

torso, \\hich could nm\ he covered with two large

pieces

lor

the front and for the back,

each of

which often consi-;tcd of two separate t>lements.

resulting in a

better

fit

and greater

mobility.

M


22/51

2

Scandinavian dagger dating

from the 14th

or

15th century.

Museum of Estonian History,

Tallinn; photograph D.Nicolle)

This statue In Storkyrkan,

Stockholm, dates from

1489

and was made

to

commemorate

victory

at

the battle of

Brunkeberg. It Is a majestic

piece, and If

we

disregard the

decorative elements it is an

interesting example

of

both

armour and horse harness

from the late 15th century.

/

of plate annour often on ly being included as a means of covering

vul

nerable

gaps in plate defences

at

the armpits, elbows

and

groin.

Small plates cou ld be atta

ched

to a flexible garment to form a

scaJe-lined brigandine, which resulted

in

a relatively t ight-fittingjacket,

usually sleeveless.

For mounted so

ldiers, pieces of plate

armour

now

covered their legs, sometimes with mail

underneath.

The soldier s upper

bod

y was covered first with a thin arming jacket, on top

of

which went

plate armour covering the torso, arms and shoulders. Although almost

a

ll

styles

of

armour corresponded

to a general model,

there

were

significant

regiona

l variations

and different solutions

to specific

problems. The jupon was a padded garment that developed out of the

earlier

gambeson but was tail

ored to

follow the

contours of

the body,

and was often worn

on

the o utside of an armour. This enabled thejupon

to double as a warm outer gannent

in

co

ld

weather.

The kettle-hat retained essentially the same shape,

but

occasionally

borrowed features from other popular helmets

such

as the sallet. This

resulted in an

interesting

version which

had

a

deeper and

wider brim

with a slit for the eyes. Wiele

brimmed chape

ls-de-fer were most

common

among

footsoldiers, but sometimes fully

armoured

riders used them:

they offered excellent protection plus improved visibi lity

Weapons

The 15th

century

was characterized

by

a

continuation

of several 14th

cent

u ry developments,

most

notably towards

better

pole-arms, st

ronger

crossbows and more efficient use of gunpowder, the latter resulting

in greater

numbers of more

powerful cannons and hand-

held guns. However, the

change in weapons technology

that

h

ad

the

most direct

impact

on the way battles were

fought was the fully developed

halberd

and poleaxe.

The

former

now consisted

of a shaft about 50-SOin

(c.130-200mm) long, with a

metal head

which incor

porated not

on

ly a

cutting

edge and thrusting point but

often

one or more sharpened

hooks.

The

great

advantage

of

this weapon was its remarkable

ease

of

use, while also being

highly effective against both

heavily and lightJy

armoured

foes. To achieve its best effect

tl1is

halberd

was

intended

be used by men in formation.

Other styles of pole-arm also

developed including new

forms of spear such as those

w

ith

additiona

l horizontal


23/51

Pagan

Prusslan statue

s,

mostly

in

the

form of armed

warriors

perhaps used as gravemarkers

or

for

s

ome

other

religiou

s

purpose;

they we

re

found

In

what

is

now

th

e Russi

an

enc

lave

of Kalinlngrad

, ox-KISnlgs

berg

.

The s

words

s

uggest that th

ey

date from

the

1Oth to 12th

centuries

.

Note

that

two

of

the rear vi

ew

s seem to

show

a

round, slung s

hield

, and a

hood

wi

th

a

large llrlplpe

.

At

ce

ntre

a cap with an upturned flap

re

sembl

es that which

we

reconstruc t In Plate Ft . Most

of

the

se f igur

es

have drinking

horns. af ter V.I.Ku lakov)

cross-bar, as shown in Dolnstein s famous dntwing'>. This remained in

use into the Renaissance period, when it evolYed into weapons -.uch as

the

partisan

and the

pike.

The

poleaxe

was another

chantcteristk deYclopment

of the

late 14th

and early 15th centuries. It ccune to be regarded

a >

a di'>tinctheh J..nighlly

or chi\'alrous weapon.

and found pm

ticular fa\

our

in Continental

Europe, though it less popular iu Sweden and \ o m a ~ . TaJ..en into

widespread

LL ie

in Germany,

the

poleaxe

\\enionl> dealing ith

the

uo;e of a sword and

dagger

were

abundant.

\\ here

crossbow., were

concerned, the

bowstme became

notabh

'>trongcr while the

manner

of

spanning the

\\Capon changed in

consequence, with the adoption of the cranJ..:,

goat\-foot

or

i n d l a ~ ~ mechani'>nh.

MILIT RY EQUIPMENT

IN THE B LTIC

L NDS

&

NOVGOROD

The regions along the

e a ~ t e r n

side

of

the Baltic

Sea

experienced

in(luence'\ from the

Eur.:L \ian

steppes

that \\ete

neH r

felt in Scandinada,

although

the\ did reach '>l'\t'ral part., of Central

Europe.

Thi > had the eflt:ct that,

\\hile

the b a ~ i c

npes

of militan

ecptipnwnt

U >ecl

along

the

eastern and >uth-ea.>tem hores of the Baltic

differed \t f\ little from

thme

of Scandin.l\i.t and

\\ estem

Europ,

tlwi clecoratiom

and

some

a'\pects

of

the

t

sn

](

or

.lppt


24/51

Estonian

and Sc

a

ndinavian

weapons

, ranging from the

10th

to 12th

c

enturies

.

Museum

of

Es

tonian Hi

s

tory

Tallinn;

photograph D.Nicolle)

The

m ~ j u r

influence was of course, from the

great

nomadic horse-based cultures of the steppes.

This was present from at least the early 6th century

onwards. Unfortunately,

there

are as yet fewer

surviving examples of medieval military equipment

from these regions than from Western Europe; but as

archaeological research develops

further

, the

historians of these countries

will

be able

to

delve

more deeply into

their

military-technological histOI).

1100 1300

The mail shirt was the standard form of body armour

along the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic,

as it was in Scandinavia during this period. But there

was lso use of a form of scale armour, consisting

of small metal scales sewn on to an undergarment

of l

eather

or several layers of cloth. Padded soft

armours

similar to the gambeson were also present.

He

l

mets

basically corresponded

to

those found

in

Scandinavia, while there were distinctive local

or

e ~ t e r n styles, including those

in

which the top

narrowed into a point

about

8in 20cm) high. L was

also quite common

O

attach a mail aventail

to

the

rim of a helmet to provide additional protection.

Mail coifs were similar ly used, although mail leggings

do

not

seem tO have become as popular as they were

in

Western Europe. Perhaps it the influence of

the

great horse cu ltures

of

the East which precluded

items that tended to

impede

horsemanship.

s

elsewhere, the use

of

mittens and

hand

pro

tections were important; again as in Western Europe,

plate reinforcements were used. It

is

possible that

this was an ongoing tradition from

the

earlier Viking Age, while at the

same time being influenced

by

the Eurasian steppe cultures, especially

as the use of

bone

or metal reinforcements might elsewhere have been

regarded as an archaic technique by the medieval period. Similarly the

pointed style of helmet that became common in this area

can

be traced

back to a

common

root that was presem from Inctia to the Baltic. Tllis

form of helmet essentially consisted of a round base which narrowed

acutely

or

more gentJy to a narrow top.

The

sh ields used east

and

south-east

of

the

Baltic coast were initially

of

the

same round

type as used in Scandinavia dUiing the same period.

These continued to be used, but were later supplemented

with

the

kite-shaped and so-called heater types of shield. The way in which

these sh ields were constructed was probably much the same as

elsewhere, though as yet there is

not

enough archaeological evidence

to slate this with certainty. A base

ofwooden

boards would have been

covered with one or more layers of leather, parchment or even, on

occasions, with fur. The round shield would always have had a boss,

and some form of reinforcement around the rim

to

prevent the boards

splitting.

The

exterior

of

such shield

cou

ld,

of

course, be

painted

in

designs

or

colours.


25/51

Weapon s

The

\\Capons were mu(h

the

' me those u >ed b) other

European peoples. Swords a

nd

axes remained

the

favourite

edged weapons, and

these

could

be wielded with

one

hand.

rh

ere lillie

t '\ idence

for the

use

of

long-hafted axes

1\it'lded with two

hand'

such

'

those

seen

in

Scand

inavi

a.

Most swords

were of the

dottble-cdged, s

tr

aight-bladed

l\pe. w.ing very much the

\atne language

of

form

of

th ese sparsely populated lands.

A\ suc h it

doub

led a weapon

of war and a tool for suni\'al

in

,,

diflicult climate.

On the

othct

hand, the

crossbow d

oes

not seem to have

achie,ed

the

same popu

larity as it

did

in

Scan

din

avia

or Continental

Europe. i nevitably, these bows

ha\e left

li

ttle

trace

in

the

archaeological

record; yet

there is no

reason

to

suppose

that

they were

differem

from

those used on the oth er side of

the Balti

c. The

size a

nd

weight

f

the

bows might, however,

have differed. L o n g b o w ~ are

known

to

have

been

used in

Europe

from

t11e

earl} B

ronze

Age onward..,,

-;o

th

eir

de'>ign

\\tcppes

and

eas1

em

forests

efore the

spread of

the h o r t e r but thicker u r c o ~ 1 o n g o l

how. Not on

I)

new wa,es

of

steppe

peoples

pushing imo

Eastern and Cenu-al

Europe

from

the

1

2th century

om\-ards,

but

Hun

:

and orlwr-.

had

been

migrating in to whar is now Hungary and some surrounding rt'j.,rlOlll> from

ABOVE

Part

of a

13th

century

wall-painting

at

Garda

on the

Swedi

sh Island

of Gotland

,

which

seems to have been

painted by

an artist from

the

East.

Th

e eas1em

Influence

s

are

seen

In the helmets

of the

horsemen

which still

do not

have the

face-guard

s

whi

ch

were otherwise normal In

Europe at

this time.

The

shields

are of

the s

maller

heater typ

e;

and

note

that

the

spears have

crossbars

which

is usually a

fea

ture

of

hunting weapon

s.

In s tu

Garda

Church

, Gotland,

Sweden)

LEFT

Another detail from the

1

3th century

Garda

wall

painting; these helmets are

significant. The man

on

the right

has

a

tall

,

pointed or spired

style of

th e type

commonly seen

In Ru

ss

ia or in Byzantine art.

The man In the centre wears

some form of brimmed

ket e

hat.

In

situ Garda

Church

,

Gotland, Sweden)

23


26/51

4

a much earlier date. All of

the >e

people11

relied to a

great

e\.tent upon archer)

and

U >ed u i o u ~

fonm of

composite

hm,. Such h o w ~

would hme

been

'>lllaller

in O\erall . i1e than

thmc

of

simple

one-piece

wooden

construction comrnonh

used in Europe. In

Ru -.ia

and

sonw

other of

the

far north of ea-,tern Europe

and wcstem A ~ i a

a

form

of

bow

mad(

o f more

than o ne piece of wood

and some tinws reinforced

by bone or

antler,

was

also widespread. In some

respects iL

;

cons tru

ct io n

had

dements in common

with th e fully

com

po i re

bow of

wood.

sinew and

hom.

and m;w indeed ha\'e

been its archaeological

predecessor.

Th

e

most

common pole-arm was

the

spear, as it was in Scandinm ia.

and a ' of similar comtnrction, although the spearheads were not

' en

large in

compa

r

;.,on

to

some earlier

Viking .\ge spear blade-..

o s t were

around

7-8in ( 17-20cm) long and, when used lor hunting

such

animab a., boars, would ha\'e

incorporated

a crossbar. A knife

of some son would ha ,c

been almost

uni\'ersallv

carried,

in desigm

ranging

from

the c a r l ~

single-edged utility knife

to the later lonm

of

specia li

ted

fighting

kni\es.

1300 1500

Armour

in the Ba ltic region initially d eveloped in much the same way

as it

did

in

Scandinm

ia and

th

e rest of Europe. One m

ajo

r

difference,

however, seems lObe th a t true plate a rmour did not ac hieve such wide

popu larity in th e

eas

te rn Baltic countries, Novgorod and

th

e

r e ~ l

of

Rmsi a as it

did

elsewh ere in

Europe.

The

re

asons f

or

this

are

unclear,

bm

may incl

ude

the absence of a ch ivalrous culture with it

associated tournamerH11 and other

suc

h aris t

ocrat

ic ac ti\ities. which

encouraged the drvelopmerH of

hea\icr

armour within

Europe.

Another p m ~ i b i l i t \

th

at plate armour

simp

ly did not sene

am

useful purpme in

the

son of \\arfare that erupted

between

the

re.,urgent nnth e Finn and Bait populations and the crusading annie'>

and

militan order11. The \ J \ nature of the

dcnseh

fore-.ted

countn.,

irle and

the

relmi,

e

lack of large face-to-face battle-. on open

ground

would ll


27/51


28/51

:

2

BUILDING OF A TIMBER FORT LATE 12TH CENTURY

1: Danish knight

:

Danish sergeant

3:

aptured Estonian wamor


29/51


30/51


31/51


32/51


33/51


34/51

. .

.....

w

LL

E

z

u

~ :

H


35/51

11th

or 12

th century

arh

ead f

ro

m Fi

nland

,

with

d e

xt

en

sio

ns each

si

de of

soc

ket.

N

a

tion

al Museum,

si

nk

i

or comiderabl} greatc:-r

impOitance \ \ \ ~

the

increasing

volum a

whole.

it

seems

that

it

was the

in\'ading

CJU\ading armies Lhat had

lO .ICI,IJ}l

to

local

circumstances, rather

than local peoples

cop\ing

the

im

,lder.,.

On the other hand the use of padded armour of variou' dc,igm

became

jmt

as important for local fighting men as it

wa'

fm the

in\'acling crusader'>.

or

cour;;e, such garmems also offered imul.llion,

and rhe cominued use

of

leather and furo; against the

hiring

cold ol

the Baltic winter remained an i1nponant t ~ s p e c t

of

military

equipmenl

in

r his

region.

STR TEGY T CTICS

The 't'\o1 thc1n

or Baltic Cn.1\ade..,

\\C.''

rhei1

SUUit changing

cin

Ulll'>t.mre'

and challenges. In

many

waV' the'>e campaigns became a \\ u

ol

endurance on all sides; it wa'> very dillicult and cost }. espe

made

the initial

conqueM

of

large a r e a ~ \ l ' J"\ difficult;

this wa, the

main reason

why the. Baltic area saw the building

of

mam

more

castles t h t ~ n was the case

in

Denmark

and Sweden

t h e m ~ e

w s .

B\

c o n ~ t n l c t i n g such a slrongpoint 1hc occupiers could gradual \ Pxlencl

their contml

outwards

through a poliC\ of combined mili1an

.trrion,

co-opera1ion, 1radc

and

politics, 1hm enntually taking

owt

a largct

teniwn

.

~ w

fortifications could rhen be

built

funhe1 awa\, ,mel the

procc-.,

rt'peated

a.>

often

a-. nec bt,iegccl

\dthin their ca\Lles,

surrounded

h\ a

' t 'a

of enemies.

Such

a 'trattg.

and

its as,ociated t a c t i c ~ > were to a large cxteut dictated

11w

lact that

~ h e area was almost compl

etd;

CO\

'cncl

by dense fore),ts or lakes. This

a l

so had the effect

of

making

rivers

and other

waterways

( XI

ren1c.h

important

a\'enues

of

mmenwnr for both sides. As a r('sult, c a s t l e ~

tend('d robe erccted close for

such \ita lines

of communication. 33


36/51

34

Scandinavian seal

s

Illustrating

types of Baltic shipping :

Top) Seal

of

the c ity of Bergen,

dating

from

1376, showing that

the older type of Scandinavian

ships used In the early crusades

we

re

s

til l In

use -

or

at least s

till

had s

ymboli

c

re

s

onance. Th

e

references to the

old

VIking

longshlp

are obviou

s.

Below) Se

al

of

th

e

city

of

Strals

und

, 1329 - hal f a century

before that of Bremen - s

ho w

ing

a o wi

th ra

ised fo

re

cas

tl

e

and st em castle. Th

is

type of

vessel, In

vario

us siz

es

was

th

e

most common ship type In the

Ba

lt

ic for several centuri

es.

In Europe

1lw

warfare of the medicntl period

focused m a grcm extent on the tending relief to -;uch places

when thev were

cut

off,

Ull eatcned

or under arrack.

f

a place

fell or

suncndered, it nonnalh accepted

its

ne

lord

s -

\d1o could, in thei1 turn. ~ u b ~ e q u e n t l ~

expect

to

endure

anotiH'l -.iege

the

pre,iotb

proprietor;,

auempwd

O reclaim

that

location

HoweYer, this mock of , . u f ~ u e not the preYailing

pauern in the Baltic Crusadt''>.

at leaM

not after the

initial invasions

of1he

coa-.tal

a r e a ~ .

From the Iron

Age

onward settlements and wwn;, had

i ~ p r u n g

up along

these coasts as a result of trade. Some

of

these tmms

were already quite large.

but

were quick } besieged anrl

conquered

by the c r u s a d e r ~ . The construction of

suongpoints, usually in the

fo1111

of casLles, became

a very

important

aspect

of

:.ubsequent warfare, but

besieging such places

was

neithet the

onh

nor

eYen

the

major

method

of

conducting

a r l ~ 1 r e .

Instead, the Ba ltic

C r u ~ a d e : .

were largeh a matter

of skirmishes

and

raid'>, dut ing \\hich occa'>ional

set-piece

baules

occurred - normall} only when

both

sides believed

thaL

they could

achie\e

tactical

acl\'antages in such a conrrontation. Furthermore.

the terrain did not aiJm, for

en

imaginati\e

manoeuning;

the

mmement;, or troops

tended

ro

be relatiYelv predictable, and aYailable routes were

stricth limited b\ gtogtte them-.ehe-,

relati\ch

limited in

number, they could not aflord

w

get

caught

ll\ defending forces against

~ > l l c h naruraJ o b s t a c l e ~ .

Ao

a con.,eqm'nn. the Teutonic Knights. \\ith

their

Yen limited number-. of

men, mack

a

point

of dhiding

their

raiding forces into small detarhnwnt.,, in orde1 to minimiLe possible

losses if a part) got itself

cut on

or trapped.


37/51

Raiding

w ~ e t

when it

wa carried out re

latively close to friendh

fort/>,

and along the Riv< r:-. l , ina and Niemen. This because. in a

counuy

that offered :-.o few r o d ~ and so manv obstacles,

pro\

'i >ion-. were

always a problem . Since

having to eat their

0 \ \

n pack-animals - and even, on more than one

occasion, their

hot >e >

.

An

example

of

the

problenh

pre'iented

b'

the

Baltic

tenain

i >

prO\ided

b'

a Swedi'>h thrmt towards the lake

and

wwn of L

adoga

from

the Swedish

c a ~ t l e

of \'iborg in 1293. Troops '"ere sent into the L

adoga

region

and erected

a fori known as Keksholm;

bm

its

ganison wa


38/51

6

The castle of Abo

In

south

western

Finland

.

Originally

constructed

In

the 1280s to

support a

Swedish crusade

In

th

is

region i t was subsequently

enlarged most notably In the

seco

nd

half of the

14th

century.

Viborg Cast le In sou

th -eas

te rn

Finland dating from the la te

14th century

.

l imat and t rrain

The

climate of

the Ba

ltic region mild enough

dudng summer,

although

spdng

and

autumn

often

~ e e

' en

hcaw rain >.

1l1is.

' 'hen

coupled

\dth

severe wintet'>

and hean

snm,fall, made

warfare difficult at certain >eason-, of the) ear. For

example. tlw record-. tell m that on one winter

campaign

tht' TeuLOnic Knights

had

to

trmel

in single file hccamllO\'

' 'hich

Ia\ on either side

of

their

path;

the

tactical

hatards

of

e factor to maJ...e at

least part of the joutll(.'\ b\ coastal -,hipping.


39/51

The use of s k i ~ and sleighs was well documented th roughout

the entire Scandinavian and Baltic region. Although

not

witable lor

transporting

large

number

of troops. skis did permit easy scouting in

wintertime. The use of horsC'-drawn sleighs provided a practical method

of transporting equipnwnt and supplies during a campaigu - indeed,

the onl) method that could be adopted

during

cmsading expediLiom

other than using

the

r i v e r ~ \\'inter warfare thus became more or l e s ~

a necessit\ rathet than a maner of choice; in the

milder

seasons it

was often impo'>'>ible 10 ttttb'>tantially larger supplies of food and even of

equipment in

ordet

to maintain a crusading force at an cffecti\C Jc,el

of fitness and flgh1ing capahilit:v.

Sleighs were pullt>d

h}

horses harnessed singly or in pairs, which

could

easi ly pull many

hundrech of

pounds weight i f packed on a

well-made

sl

eigh. Troops

were

normally

obliged to

march

on

foot

if

they had

no

h orses 10 ricle. Riding horses themselves were generally

not we

ll su ited to win ter ca

mp

aigning. During one especially

bitter

winter

the

Teutonic

Kni

ghts lost an estimated o ne

thousand

horses,

which

represented

virtna lly

their

entire

stock

and thus

reduced

tllem

to an infantry force until

replacement mounts co

uld be obtained.

Once the initial

conq

uest of rhe coastal regions had

been comp

l

eted

and the area of

contro

l had

been pushed up the

m< _jor waterways,

the

campaigns had to

he extended

into

the wintertime if

funhet

progres :> was to

be made

ormally there were two forays

during

each

winter, one in

December

and one in

Janm\r) or

Februaq, with some

time between these expedition


40/51

8

C

as

tle plans:

A)

Gurr

e, De

nm

ark

B) Lihula, Estonia: 1 = itadel

2

=

irst bailey, 3

=

iving

quarter

s

4 =sta

bl

es, 5 = ossa,

6 =

outer

w all, 7 = quarry or pit ,

8 = nner ga te, 9 = entrance

w ay, 10 =second bailey,

11 = moat, 12 = e mbankment ,

13 = w el l and spring.

C) R

aseborg

, Fi

nl

a

nd

: 1 =

li

ne

of o

ld

moat , 2 =

li

ne of new

m

oa

t , 3 = natu

ra

l

wa

ter

obs

ta

c le.

A

- l Jrt

nl

=

nl

---

oatsand

ships

Seafaring capability and a capacil:\

to

wage war on water was an

important

aspect of

these

conflicL'> , C'>pecialh

where

Denmark and

Sweden were

concerned.

For

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[David Lindholm, David Nicolle] the Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500

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