Free people · The Baltic and Rus' · as at first light, 1 January 1200

The Curonians

The Curonians (Henry's Kurs, Latin Curones) hold Kursa, the western peninsula of Latvia with the coast south past Palanga and Klaipėda.

Their lands, named in the 13th-century documents, are Vanema in the north-east, Ventava at the mouth of the Venta, Bandava round Kuldīga, Piemare round Grobiņa and the coast, Duvzare in the south with Apuolė, Megava by Palanga, Pilsāts round Klaipėda, and Ceklis inland toward Samogitia; the Livs of the north coast live among them. They are pagan seafarers and farmers, feared in Scandinavia as raiders, and trading partners of Gotland. In Meinhard's last years (Henry I.13, told before his death in 1196, year not given) the Swedish duke with Germans and Gotlanders sailed against them, but a storm drove the fleet to Wierland in Estonia.

On 1 January 1200 they are free, unled by any named man, and at peace or war with no one that the sources record that winter.

Who rules

Name
None named for 1200
Title
No ruler. The elders of each Curonian land
Since
not applicable
Born
not applicable
Family
The first Curonian leader named is Lammekinus (Lamekins), rex of the northern Curonians, in 1230 (later).
Confidence
low

en.wikipedia Curonians; Henry of Livonia I.13 and V.

Overlord

None. Scandinavian kings had taken tribute from Curonian lands in the Viking age (Rimbert's Life of Ansgar); none is paid in 1200.

What the realm holds

  • Vanema, Ventava, Bandava, Piemare, Duvzare, Megava, Pilsāts and Ceklis (provinces Vanema to Ceklis)
  • Harbours on the open sea and the Gulf of Riga (the Venta mouth, the Palanga and Šventoji shore, the Danė mouth at Klaipėda)

How it was acquired

Ancestral.

Allies and rivals

Enemies of the Swedes, Danes and Gotlanders at sea; neighbours of the Semigallians (east), the Samogitians (south-east) and the Prussians of Skalovia (south). In 1201 they make peace with the new town of Riga, sealed by the shedding of blood as the pagans do (Henry V, later).

The realm that morning

Free and pagan. No recorded raid or expedition in the winter of 1199-1200 (the sea raids belong to the sailing season). Across their borders: the Semigallians (east, semigallians), the Samogitians (south-east, samogitians), the Prussians of Skalovia beyond the Neman delta (south, prussians).

Wealth

Fishing, farming, horses and the sea: trade with Gotland and booty from raiding.

Military

Hillforts in each land; ships able to fight a crusader squadron (eight Curonian ships beat a German fleet off Gotland in 1210) and to besiege Riga (1210). No numbers for 1200.

Threats

  • Swedish, Danish and Gotland expeditions
  • The German mission once it has a town at the Daugava mouth

Government

Lands (Latvian zeme) round hillforts under elders, grouped by the 13th century into a northern and a southern half (the north made peace with the Germans in 1230 under Lammekinus).

Treaties

None known in force; their peace with Riga is 1201 (later).

Coinage

No coinage of their own: silver by weight (bars and hacksilver), ornaments and foreign coins serve as money (general knowledge, not checked in this run).

Faith

Pagan; diviners and soothsayers noted by Adam of Bremen in the 1070s.

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 Curonian event is recorded for 1200; raiding, if any, falls in the sailing season.

Later, on the likely course

  1. 1201 (later)The Curonians send envoys to Riga and make peace (Henry V).Depends on: Riga founded.
  2. 1210 (later)Curonian ships defeat a crusader squadron near Gotland and a Curonian fleet besieges Riga for a day (en.wikipedia).Depends on: The peace of 1201 breaking.

Places of note

  • Kuldīga: hillfort of Bandava
  • Grobiņa: old Curonian centre of Piemare
  • Apuolė: hillfort of the south (Ceklis or Duvzare: not settled)

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: No source describes the Curonian lands in 1200. The lands' names come from Rimbert (9th century) and the documents of 1230 and 1253; the dated actions are from Henry (I.13; V) and later chronicles. Lithuanian and Latvian Wikipedia could not be loaded in this run.

On the map: Eight provinces with rough outlines from the 13th-century land names; boundaries between them, and with Samogitia, are guesses. Lamata, by the Neman delta, is not drawn apart.

Primary sources for this realm

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
  2. Curonians (en.wikipedia)

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