Dobele

Who holds it

Name

None named for 1200

Title

the elders of Dobele

Since

not applicable

Born

not applicable

Family

No elder is named.

Confidence

low

Henry of Livonia (Brundage tr.); see sources.

What it holds

• Dobele hillfort (town record Dobele)
• The Lielupe country round the later Jelgava

How things stand that morning

Free and pagan.

Wealth

Grain of the Lielupe plain.

Military

Hillforts; levies. No numbers.

Threats

• Lithuanian raids
• Feud with the Livs
• The papal and merchants' ban on the Semigallian harbour (1200, likely course)

Law and courts

Elders of each land and fort with the assembled men; in 1205 the Germans took one hostage from each Semigallian fort, which shows the forts as the units of the people. No written law.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. During 1200 (nothing dated for this land)No event in this land is recorded for 1200.

Places of note

• Dobele: hillfort

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Names from 13th-century documents; bounds are reconstructions.

On the map: Dobene is folded in; the northern edge toward the Livs and Vanema is a guess.

Primary sources for The Semigallians

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
• Charter book of Livonia, Estonia and Courland, volume 1, 1093 to 1300 (documents of 1093 to 1300, edited 1853). The documents of the Livonian mission: Innocent III's bull of 5 October 1199 calling for a crusade to protect the Livonian church, the privileges for Bishop Albert, Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen's acts for the see of Üxküll, and the later charters that settle who held what on the Düna.