Metsepole ('forest land') is the Liv land of the coast and forest north of the Gauja mouth, with Lemisele (Limbaži) as its chief place; with it go the Livs of the Salaca (Henry's Salis) along the river to the sea at Salacgrīva.
To the north beyond the Salaca and the coast at Ainaži lies Sakala, an Estonian land; to the east, Tālava. Henry's chapters from 1206 (not read in this run) show these Livs in war and peace with the Estonians and taking baptism. On 1 January 1200 they are free and pagan; their relations with the Estonians that winter are not pinned.
Who holds it
- Name
- None named for 1200
- Title
- the elders of Metsepole and of the Salaca Livs
- 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
- Lemisele (Limbaži) (town record Lemisele)
- The Salaca Livs' villages
- The coast from Saulkrasti to Ainaži
How things stand that morning
Free and pagan, on the Estonian border.
Wealth
Fishing, farming, forest; the Salaca and the coast.
Military
Hillforts; levies. No numbers.
Threats
- Estonian raids from Sakala
- 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
- Lemisele (Limbaži): chief place of Metsepole
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Known from Henry's later chapters; bounds are reconstructions.
On the map: The coast to Ainaži and inland to Lake Burtnieks; the Estonian border is a guess.
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.