Virumaa

Who holds it

Name

None named for 1200

Title

The elders of Virumaa's districts and hillforts

Since

not applicable

Born

not applicable

Family

No ruling family; no elder named for these years.

Confidence

low

Henry of Livonia as reported; en.wikipedia (Knut Eriksson).

Overlord

None in 1200. In the 1190s a fleet of Germans and Gotlanders led by the Swedish jarl Birger Brosa, bound for Courland, was driven onto the coast of eastern Estonia and forced its people to pay tribute (Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, as reported in en.wikipedia, Knut Eriksson); nothing shows that tribute paid since.

What it holds

• Tarvanpää (Rakvere), hillfort (Tarvanpää)
• The Alutaguse forest towards Lake Peipus
• The coast to the Narva mouth

How things stand that morning

Free and pagan.

Wealth

Grain and cattle on the northern limestone plain; furs from Alutaguse; coastal trade.

Military

District levies and hillforts. No numbers.

Threats

• Swedish and Danish fleets (the Danes subdue Virumaa after 1219: later)
• Novgorod across the Narva, and the Pskovians on Lake Peipus (the ambush of 1190)

Parishes

The Danish census of the 13th century lists Virumaa's districts (kiligund) with their villages; Pudiviru, Mahu (Maum), Lemmu and Askele, with the Alutaguse forest country in the east, are the usual readings (not checked here).

Hillforts

Tarvanpää (Rakvere) (Tarvanpää); others not pinned.

Assembly

None named.

Neighbours

Rävala to the west, Järvamaa to the south-west, Mõhu and Vaiga to the south, Lake Peipus to the south-east, the Votes (Novgorod's tributaries) across the Narva, and the Finns across the gulf.

Tributes

None known in 1200 (see overlord).

Law and courts

Elders of districts 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. 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. 1219-1220 (after this year)The Danes of Lindanise begin to subdue Virumaa.Depends on: The Danish landing of 1219 Stopped by: not applicable

Places of note

• Tarvanpää (Rakvere): Hillfort.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Known from Henry of Livonia (1219 onwards) and the Danish census; the Swedish expedition of the 1190s is known only from a summary in Svenskt biografiskt lexikon.

On the map: Modern Lääne-Viru and Ida-Viru counties; the Narva river is the eastern edge.

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