Sakala

Who holds it

Name

None named for 1200

Title

The elders of Sakala's parishes and hillforts

Since

not applicable

Born

not applicable

Family

No ruling family and no elder named for 1200. Lembitu, the Sakala elder of the war years, is first named in 1211 and Meme later with him; they cannot be assumed to lead in 1200.

Confidence

low

en.wikipedia and et.wikipedia (Lembitu); en.wikipedia (Sakala County).

Overlord

None. No tribute is known.

What it holds

• Viljandi, hillfort (Viljandi)
• Lõhavere, hillfort (Lõhavere)
• The country south to the Salaca

How things stand that morning

Free and pagan.

Wealth

Grain and cattle, forest goods, fishing on Võrtsjärv; trade southwards to the Livs and the Daugava.

Military

Parish levies and hillforts. No numbers.

Threats

• The Germans and Latgalians from 1208 (later)
• Feuds with Ugandi

Parishes

Not listed for 1200.

Hillforts

Viljandi (Viljandi) and Lõhavere (Lõhavere); others not pinned.

Assembly

None named.

Neighbours

Läänemaa, Alempois, Nurmekund, Ugandi across Võrtsjärv and the Väike Emajõgi, the Latgalians of Tālava to the south-east and the Livs beyond the Salaca to the south.

Law and courts

Elders of parishes and hillforts; Henry later shows Sakala acting under several elders together.

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. During 1200 (nothing dated)No event in this land is recorded for 1200.Depends on: not applicable Stopped by: not applicable

Later, on the likely course

1. 1211 (after this year)Lembitu is first named, leading a raid across the Ümera on Rubene.Depends on: The German war Stopped by: not applicable
2. 21 September 1217 (after this year)Lembitu is killed in the battle of St Matthew's Day near Viljandi.Depends on: The German war Stopped by: not applicable

Places of note

• Viljandi: Hillfort.
• Lõhavere: Hillfort.

Where the sources disagree

• en.wikipedia (Lembitu) names Lembitu's stronghold Lehola (Leal), while et.wikipedia (Lembitu) makes Lõhavere his centre and doubts Lihula; this record follows et.wikipedia.

Evidence: Known from Henry of Livonia (from 1208) and the Rus' chronicles (1061); nothing is recorded for 1200.

On the map: The southern line follows the northern edges drawn by the Livonian research for Metsepole and Tālava, close to the modern border; the strip down to the Salaca (Rūjiena is Ruhja in Estonian) may have been Sakala's in part.

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