The Idumeans (Henry's Ydumaei) live between Treiden and the Latgalians, round Straupe and toward the Rubene stream, a small land of Livs and Latgalians mixed.
They take baptism in the 1200s, and by the usual reading of Henry's later chapters (not read in this run) the chronicler himself served as priest among them and the Letts of the Ümera. On 1 January 1200 the land is free and pagan.
Who holds it
- Name
- None named for 1200
- Title
- the elders of Idumea
- Since
- not applicable
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- No elder is named.
- Confidence
- low
Henry of Livonia (Brundage tr.); see sources.
Overlord
None shown; not pinned.
What it holds
- Liv and Latgalian villages round Straupe
How things stand that morning
Free and pagan.
Wealth
Farming and forest.
Military
Levies; no fort named. No numbers.
Threats
- Estonian raids
- The German mission
Law and courts
Elders of the land and its fort, with the assembled free men, decide war, peace and disputes by custom; oaths and peace are sealed by pagan rite. 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.
- During 1200 (nothing dated for this land)No event in this land is recorded for 1200.
Places of note
- Straupe: village in the heart of the land
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Known only from Henry's later chapters; placement and bounds are reconstructions.
On the map: Small block between the Gauja and the Brasla; very approximate.
Primary sources for The Livs
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
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. 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.
- Charter books of Lübeck and of Hamburg (documents to 1226 (Lübeck vol. 1) and to 1300 (Hamburg vol. 1)). The charters of the two north German towns and of the archbishops of Bremen and Hamburg. Read online
- The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online
Sources and studies
- Henry of Livonia, Chronicon Livoniae, tr. J. A. Brundage, The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia (1961): Books I-III, chapters I-IX read for this record
- Livonians (en.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.