Saaremaa, with the smaller island of Muhu across a narrow strait, is the richest and most warlike Estonian land and the one most at home on the sea.
Its people, the Oeselians, sail in summer with warships and merchant ships; the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle calls them neighbours of the Curonians who raided Christians and pagans alike every summer. A Danish fleet fought Estonian and Curonian raiders at Öland in 1170 (Saxo), and in 1203, by Henry of Livonia's account, sixteen Oeselian ships with five hundred men raided the Danish coast. Henry says their great god Tharapita was born on a hill in Virumaa and flew to Saaremaa.
Their strongholds are Valjala (Valdia) and the fort on Muhu (Mona), the two Henry names at the conquest of 1227; Kaarma (Karmel) is named in 1261. The meteorite lake at Kaali is often taken for a holy place. On 1 January 1200 the island is free and pagan, its fleets laid up for the winter.
Who holds it
- Name
- None named for 1200
- Title
- The elders of the island's parishes and strongholds, with the assembly of its free men
- Since
- not applicable
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- No ruling family. Oeselian elders are first named in the treaty of 1255 with the Livonian Order.
- Confidence
- low
en.wikipedia (Oeselians), with Henry of Livonia and the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle as reported there.
Overlord
None. No power takes tribute from Saaremaa on 1 January 1200.
What it holds
How things stand that morning
Free and pagan, under no overlord. The fleets are laid up for the winter.
Wealth
Barley, rye and cattle on the thin limestone soils; fishing and sealing; trade by sea and the profits of raiding (captives, cattle, goods).
Military
Every parish's free men in arms; war fleets (the Rhymed Chronicle's warship carries about 30 men under a carved dragon or snake prow and a square sail); hillforts of earth, stone and timber. Henry's figures for the 1203 raid are 16 ships and 500 men. No figure for 1200.
Threats
- Danish fleets: a landing in 1206 and a stone fort in 1222 (both later)
- Swedish and Gotlandic reprisals for the summer raids
- The Germans of Riga: across the ice in 1216, conquest in 1227 (later)
Parishes
Not listed by name for 1200. The island acts as one body of parishes in its treaties with the Livonian Order (1241, 1255); the parish names are not pinned here.
Hillforts
Valjala (Valjala) and Muhu (Muhu fort), named by Henry of Livonia in 1227; Kaarma, named in 1261; Pöide (Pöide) has no stronghold attested before the Order's castle of the later 13th century.
Assembly
No assembly place is named. The elders of the island act together in war and in the treaties of 1241 and 1255.
Neighbours
Läänemaa and Hiiumaa across the straits (Väinameri) to the north and east; the Curonians of Kursa across the Irbe strait to the south; Gotland and Sweden across the open sea to the west.
Tributes
Pays none and takes none that is known.
Law and courts
No written law. Each parish keeps its stronghold under its elders; the island's elders decide war, peace, raids and hostages, and the assembled free men approve.
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
- May to September 1200 (sailing season)Oeselian ships put to sea to raid and trade; no raid of 1200 is recorded.Depends on: The fleets sailing as in other years Stopped by: A Danish or Swedish fleet in the eastern Baltic
Later, on the likely course
- 1203 (after this year)Sixteen Oeselian ships raid the Danish coast (Henry of Livonia).Depends on: not applicable Stopped by: not applicable
- 1206 (after this year)Valdemar II of Denmark and Archbishop Andreas of Lund land on Saaremaa and fail to hold a fort.Depends on: Danish crusading plans Stopped by: not applicable
- 1227 (after this year)The Sword Brothers and Bishop Albert cross the ice; Muhu is destroyed, Valjala surrenders and the island accepts baptism.Depends on: The conquest of the mainland Stopped by: not applicable
Places of note
- Valjala stronghold: Ring-walled hillfort about 700 m south of Valjala village.
- Muhu stronghold (Mona): Hillfort on Muhu; position approximate.
- Kaarma (Karmel): Stronghold named in 1261; position approximate; its state in 1200 not pinned.
- Kaali lake: Meteorite crater lake, often taken for a holy place.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No source describes Saaremaa in 1200; Saxo (1170), Henry of Livonia (from 1203) and the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle (about 1290) give the picture.
On the map: The islands themselves; the parishes inside are not drawn.
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
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: Oeselians
- Henry of Livonia, Chronicon Livoniae (written about 1225-1227), as reported in the Wikipedia articles listed
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.