Muhu fort

Who holds it

Name

None named for 1200

Title

The elders of Muhu and Saaremaa

Since

not applicable

Born

not applicable

Family

No lord; the stronghold belongs to the free men of its district.

Confidence

low

See sources.

Lord in 1200

No lord: the elders and free men of Muhu and Saaremaa (none named).

How things stand that morning

Held by the Oeselians.

Charter

None. There is no town law in Estonia; Muhu is a hillfort, not a town.

Council

None. The elders of the district decide.

Fairs and markets

None recorded.

Militia

The free men of the district, who defend the stronghold.

Walls and castle

A ring rampart; its build in 1200 is not pinned.

Trade and crafts

Watches the straits (Väinameri) used by ships between the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland.

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.

1. January 1227 (after this year)Taken and destroyed by the crusaders, who cross the ice.Depends on: The conquest of Saaremaa Stopped by: not applicable

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Henry of Livonia (1227); the position given here is approximate.

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