Vaiga (people or land) in 1200, The Estonians

Vaiga, Henry of Livonia's Waiga, is the land on the west shore of Lake Peipus, north of the Emajõgi and the Tartu crossing.

Jogentagana (beyond the river, north of Tartu) and Soopoolitse (on the lake shore round later Kallaste and Alatskivi) are counted by some as small lands of their own and by others as parishes of Vaiga; they are drawn here inside Vaiga. The land fishes the lake and looks across it to the Rus' shore. Nothing is recorded of it for 1200; it is free and pagan.

Who holds it

Name: None named for 1200
Title: The elders of Vaiga and its parishes
Since: not applicable
Born: not applicable
Family: No ruling family; no elder named.
Confidence: low

en.wikipedia (Vaiga; Jogentagana; Soopoolitse).

Overlord

None. No tribute is known.

What it holds

The Peipus shore from the Alutaguse forest to the Emajõgi mouth
Jogentagana north of Tartu
Soopoolitse on the lake shore

How things stand that morning

Free and pagan.

Wealth

Lake fishing, farming, forest goods; trade across the lake.

Military

Levies of a small land; boats on the lake. No numbers.

Threats

Rus' raids across the lake and up the Emajõgi
The Germans after 1208 (later)

Parishes

Jogentagana and Soopoolitse (see summary); others not pinned.

Hillforts

None pinned.

Assembly

None named.

Neighbours

Virumaa to the north, Mõhu to the west, Ugandi across the Emajõgi to the south, the Rus' shore of Lake Peipus to the east.

Law and courts

Elders.

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)No event in this land is recorded for 1200.Depends on: not applicable Stopped by: not applicable

Places of note

Mustvee: Peipus shore inside Vaiga as drawn.
Kallaste: Soopoolitse, on the lake shore.

Where the sources disagree

en.wikipedia gives Jogentagana and Soopoolitse their own articles as ancient counties; they are folded into Vaiga here because their extent cannot be drawn apart with any confidence.

Evidence: Known from Henry of Livonia's naming only; the extent is a modern reconstruction.

On the map: Very rough; the Emajõgi is taken as the line with Ugandi, leaving Tartu itself to Ugandi.

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

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