On 1 January 1200 there is no Riga.
'Riga' is the name of a place by the Daugava mouth: the Riga stream (the Rīdzene) and its small harbour pool beside the river, Liv villages, and a dune hill that Henry calls 'the Riga mountain'. Berthold's army of 1198 fell back 'to Riga' from Holme, and the Livs camped beyond the Riga mountain before the battle of 24 July 1198 in which he died (Henry II.4-6). In 1200 Livs were baptized 'at Riga' and showed Bishop Albert the site; in 1201 he built the town 'in a spacious field' beside the harbour (Henry IV-V).
Who holds it
- Name
- None named
- Title
- the elders of the Daugava-mouth Livs
- Since
- not applicable
- Born
- not applicable
- Confidence
- medium
See sources.
Lord in 1200
The Livs of the lower Daugava; no lord.
How things stand that morning
Liv ground with no German settlement; the place where Riga will be founded in 1201.
Charter
None: an unwritten customary community.
Council
The elders of the land; no town council.
Communities
Livs. German merchants in the sailing season (whether they kept any yard here is not pinned).
Fairs and markets
None recorded.
Militia
The men of the fort and its villages.
Walls and castle
No fortification known; Liv villages and the harbour pool.
Trade and crafts
A sheltered place for ships off the main stream of the Daugava. The summer merchants' main business lies upriver with the Livs and with Polotsk.
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
- 1200, after Albert's arrival (Henry IV.3-5)Livs including Asso are baptized at Riga; the Livs show Albert the site.Depends on: Albert's expedition. Stopped by: A Liv victory.
Later, on the likely course
- 1201 (later)Albert founds Riga beside the harbour (Henry V).Depends on: The 1200 settlement.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Henry II, IV, V; the harbour and Liv settlement are also known from archaeology (general knowledge, not checked in this run).
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.
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. 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.
- Charter books of Lübeck and of Hamburg (documents to 1226 (Lübeck vol. 1) and to 1300 (Hamburg vol. 1)). The charters of the two north German towns and of the archbishops of Bremen and Hamburg. Read online
- 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.