People or land · The Livs · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Üxküll

The Livs of Üxküll live on the right bank of the Daugava round the village where Meinhard built his first church (about 1184), and up the Ogre river and the forest toward Rodenpois (Ropaži); across the river stands the old trading hillfort of Daugmale.

After a Lithuanian winter raid drove Meinhard and the people of Üxküll into the forests (I.5), he offered a stone fort if they would be baptized; they swore to it, and Gotland masons built the fort the next summer (1185). The Semigallians came with ships' ropes to pull it into the river (I.6). Berthold was buried here in 1198; about a hundred Livs were baptized at Üxküll the day after the Holme baptisms (II.7); within a month the peace broke and the clergy fled from Üxküll to Holme (II.9).

On 1 January 1200 the Livs of Üxküll hold their villages and the stone castle, with no priest.

Who holds it

Name
None named for 1200
Title
the elders of Üxküll
Since
not applicable
Born
not applicable
Family
The first Livs baptized by Meinhard at Üxküll were Ylo, father of Kulewene, and Viezo, father of Alo (Henry I.4), in the 1180s; whether these families lead in 1200 is not pinned.
Confidence
low

Henry of Livonia (Brundage tr.); see sources.

Overlord

Tribute to the prince of Polotsk, paid by the Daugava Livs in Meinhard's time (Henry I.3) and demanded by force in 1203 (VII.7); whether it was paid in 1199 is not pinned.

What it holds

  • Meinhard's church and stone castle, the bishop's nominal seat (town record Üxküll; Church map Üxküll)
  • Liv villages on the right bank and up the Ogre
  • Daugmale hillfort across the river (town record Daugmale)

How things stand that morning

Free Liv land; the stone castle not held for the bishop so far as can be shown.

Wealth

Farming, cattle, fishing and the river trade.

Military

Meinhard's stone castle and the village levies. No numbers.

Threats

  • Bishop Albert's crusade (sails during 1200)
  • Lithuanian winter raids
  • Semigallian attacks across the river
  • Polotsk's tribute demands

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.

In 1200

  1. 1200 (Henry IV.2)Albert reaches Üxküll and makes a three-day peace, during which the Livs gather their army.Depends on: Albert's expedition.

Later, on the likely course

  1. 1201 (later)Albert grants Üxküll as a fief to Conrad of Meiendorf (Henry V).Depends on: The 1200 settlement holding.
  2. 1203 (later)The king of Polotsk besieges Üxküll; the unarmed Livs promise him payment and he lifts the siege (Henry VII.7).Depends on: Polotsk's tribute claim.

Places of note

  • Üxküll: Meinhard's church and castle
  • Daugmale: old Liv and Semigallian trading hillfort on the left bank

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Henry I.4-6, II.7-9, IV, V, VII; bounds not recorded.

On the map: Right bank with Ogre and Ropaži, and a strip of the left bank at Daugmale; bounds are 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.

Sources and studies

  1. 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

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.