The Semigallians

Who rules

Name

None named for 1200

Title

No ruler. The elders of each Semigallian land and fort

Since

not applicable

Born

not applicable

Family

The first Semigallian named is Viesthard (Viestards), 'a noble of the Semegalls', in 1205 (Henry IX.2); later called duke of the Semigallians and based at Tērvete. He is not pinned for 1 January 1200.

Confidence

low

Henry of Livonia (Brundage tr.) IV, VI, IX; en.wikipedia Semigallians and Semigallia.

Overlord

None. The Primary Chronicle counts the Zimigola among the peoples paying tribute to Rus' in its early lists, but in 1106 the Semigallians routed an army of the sons of Vseslav of Polotsk (the Russian chronicles say 9,000 dead; en.wikipedia), and no tribute to Polotsk is recorded after that.

What the realm holds

• Mežotne land (Mežotne)
• Upmale (Upmale)
• Tērvete land, with Silene and Žagarė (Tērvete)
• Dobele land, with Dobene (Dobele)
• Spārnene (Spārnene)
• The Semigallian harbour on the Lielupe used by the summer merchants (place not pinned: near the river mouth or upstream toward Mežotne)

How it was acquired

Ancestral.

Allies and rivals

Rivals of the Livs (I.6; VI.7) and, by 1201-1205, targets of the Lithuanians: in the winter after the Lithuanians' 1201 peace with Riga they marched down the Daugava toward Semigallia and turned back only on hearing of a Polotsk army (Henry V), and in 1205 Viesthard sought German help against them (IX.2). Trading partners of the Gotland and German merchants. The Curonians are their western neighbours.

The realm that morning

Free and pagan; no named leader; no recorded war in the winter of 1199-1200, so no raiding belt is drawn. Their harbour is still open to the merchants. Across their borders: the Livs (north, livs), the Selonians (east, selonians), the Lithuanians and Samogitians (south, lithuanians and samogitians), the Curonians (west, curonians).

Wealth

Grain from the Lielupe plain, cattle, and trade at their harbour on the Lielupe.

Military

Hillforts in each land; a host able to fight the Lithuanians in the field (1205). No numbers for 1200.

Threats

• Lithuanian raids
• Feud with the Livs
• The closing of their harbour to the merchants (1200, likely course)

Government

Lands (Latvian zeme) round hillforts under elders; no overall ruler is shown before Viesthard (1205), whose standing is debated.

Trade

Henry (IV.6) says that in 1200, at the request of Theodoric of Treiden, the pope forbade under anathema all merchants to use 'the port of Semgallia', and the merchants added their own ban, under pain of loss of goods and life; two men, a ship's master and a pilot, were later put to death for breaking it. Before that ban the Semigallian harbour was a regular stop for the summer trade.

Treaties

None known in force; their peace with Riga is 1202 and their alliance with the Germans 1205 (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.

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. 1200, after Albert's arrival (Henry IV.6; month not given)At Theodoric of Treiden's request the pope forbids merchants to use the Semigallian port, and the merchants themselves ban it on pain of death, to force the trade through the Daugava and the bishop's new town.Depends on: Albert's expedition succeeding and the merchants accepting the ban. Stopped by: The merchants refusing; the expedition failing.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1202 (later)The Semigallians burn the church at Holme and besiege its fort, then make peace at Riga (Henry VI.7).Depends on: Their feud with the Livs. Stopped by: A settlement with the Livs and the bishop.
2. 1205 (later)Viesthard allies with the Germans against the Lithuanians; the Lithuanian army returning from Estonia is cut down near Rodenpois (Henry IX.2-4).Depends on: The Lithuanian threat.

Places of note

• Mežotne: hillfort, centre of eastern Semigallia
• Tērvete: hillfort, centre of western Semigallia
• Dobele: hillfort

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Henry gives a few dated actions (1185-86, 1200, 1202, 1205); the lands' names come from 13th-century documents and their bounds are reconstructions. The location of the Semigallian harbour is not pinned.

On the map: Five provinces with rough outlines; the 13th-century lands of Silene, Žagarė and Dobene are folded into their neighbours.

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.

• The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. 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.