Rävala

Who holds it

Name

None named for 1200

Title

The elders of Rävala's parishes and of Lindanise

Since

not applicable

Born

not applicable

Family

No ruling family; no elder named for these years.

Confidence

low

en.wikipedia (Revala).

Overlord

None. No tribute is known.

What it holds

• Lindanise on Toompea with its harbour (Lindanise)
• The districts of Rebala, Ocrielæ and Vomentakæ
• The islands of Naissaar, Aegna and Prangli

How things stand that morning

Free and pagan.

Wealth

Farming on the coastal limestone plain, fishing, and the harbour trade on the Gotland to Novgorod road.

Military

Parish levies; the hillfort of Lindanise; coastal ships. No numbers.

Threats

• The Danes: Valdemar II lands at Lindanise in 1219 (later)
• Novgorod: besieges Danish Reval in 1223 (later)

Parishes

Rebala, Ocrielæ and Vomentakæ (Võhmataga), usually read as its districts in the Danish census of the 13th century; others not pinned.

Hillforts

Lindanise (Lindanise); others not pinned.

Assembly

None named.

Neighbours

Harjumaa to the south, Järvamaa to the south-east, Virumaa to the east, Läänemaa to the west; the Finns of Uusimaa across the gulf.

Law and courts

Elders of parishes and hillforts.

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.

In 1200

1. Summer 1200Gotland and German ships pass and put in on their way to and from the Neva.Depends on: Peace on the sea road Stopped by: Robbery or war

Later, on the likely course

1. 1219 (after this year)Valdemar II of Denmark lands at Lindanise and builds his castle on it.Depends on: Danish crusading plans Stopped by: not applicable

Places of note

• Lindanise (Toompea): Hillfort and harbour.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Known from the Danish census, Henry of Livonia (1219) and the Rus' chronicles (1223); nothing is recorded for 1200.

On the map: The coastal belt from the Pakri peninsula to Lahemaa; the inland line is a reconstruction.

Primary sources for The Estonians

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 Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
• The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
• The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. 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.
• 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