Chronology (1009-1283)

Chronology

High Middle Ages

(1009-1283)

On February 14, 1009 the name of Lithuania was first mentioned in connection with the murder of a missionary, St. Bruno, at the border of Lithuania and Ruthenia.

In 1038 Meclaw, the Duke of Masovia, went into battle with Polish Duke Casimir the Restorer. His allies were the Yatvingians and the Lithuanians. Yaroslav, the Grand duke of Kiev, offered his aid to Casimir the Restorer, and attacked Yatvingia.

In 1040 and 1044 Yaroslav attacked LLithuania in his campaign against Meclaw and his allies. Lithuania became a tributary to Ruthenia and was paying tribute to the dukes of Polotsk.

In 1047 Meclaw of Masovia was completely defeated by Yaroslav.

In 1060 Hakon became King Svein’s of Denmark commander of the coast defence against the Vikings, – the Vindlanders, the Curonians, and others from the East countries, – who infested the Danish dominions.

In 1075 Adam of Bremen described the Curonians (a tribe iin the present-day western Lithuania) as „the most cruel tribe“. He also noted that they were becoming widely renowned for their prophets, who were able to foretell the future.

In 1080 Canute IV, the King of Denmark, attacked and ddefeated the Curonians, the Sembians and the Estonians.

In 1128 Mstislav, the Grand Duke of Kiev, organised the invasion to Polotsk, banished two dukes of Polotsk, Borisoviches, to Byzantium and took Polotsk under his direct rule.

In 1131 Mstislav of Kiev invaded Lithuania, devastated it and took numerous prisoners. When the army was retreating, the Lithuanians beat the Kiev division, which had lagged behind.

In 1140 the banished Dukes of Polotsk Borisoviches returned from their exile.

In 1151-1167 the Borisoviches were fighting with the Gleboviches for power in Polotsk. The Lithuanians also became involved in this fight.

In 1159 Polotsk Duke Rogvolod Borisovich forced Rostislav Glebovich to make peace, but Volodar Glebovich „did not kiss tthe cross because he marched through forests under Lithuanian leadership“.

On June 15, 1161 the Danes captured Palanga castle in Curonia (the first mentioning of Palanga).

In 1162 Rogvolod Borisivich had surrounded Volodar Glebovich in the castle of Gorodets (at the border of Lithuania; now Gorodok in Molodechno region, Belarus). With Lithuanian assistance Volodar defeated Rogvolod.

In 1170 the Estonians and the Curonians attacked the Oland island (in Sweden).

In 1180 the Lithuanians for the last ttime participated in the march of the army of the Polotsk dukes.

In the winter of 1183-1184 the Lithuanians organised their first raid on Ruthenian lands (Polotsk and Pskov). The permanent Lithuanian expansion began (it was the first sign of the existence of the Lithuanian state).

In 1185 the Lithuanians devastated Livonia. The frightened Lyvians agreed to allow Meinhard, a German missionary, to build two brick castles in Livonia. At the same time, the Ikskile diocese, later to become the Riga diocese, was established. Thus the German domination over Livonia began.

In the winter of 1190 Rurik Rostislavich marched on Lithuania but came to a stop in Pinsk and went back.

In 1191 the dukes of Polotsk and Novgorod planned attack on Lithuania. However, they did not fulfil their plan.

In 1192 the Polish sovereign Casimir the Just organized a punitive attack against the Yatvingians, as they used to plunder the Polish lands (possibly together with the Lithuanians).

In 1193 Rurik Rostislavich planned the second attack on Lithuania but retreated at the demand of Svyatoslav, the other duke of Kiev.

In 1196 the Yatvingians attacked Volhynia (a duchy in Ruthenia).

In 1198 tthe aim of the Velikye Luki castle (on the southern border of Novgorod land) was pointed out in the Novgorod chronicle: to „defend Novgorod against Lithuania“. In the autumn of the same year the Lithuanians together with warriors from Polotsk made a raid on Velikiye Luki.

In 1201 the Lithuanians made a peace treaty with the bishop of Riga (the first known international agreement of Lithuania).

In 1202 the bishop of Riga established the Order of the Knights of the Sword.

In 1213 the Lithuanian „ruler and senior“ perished in a battle against the Knights of the Sword near Lielvarde.

At the beginning of 1214 there perished in Livonia the other ruler of Lithuania – Stekšys (Stecse).

In 1219 a peace agreement was reached between Lithuania and Volhynia. There were 5 elder and 16 common dukes, representing the Lithuanian side. The first of the elder dukes was Živinbutas, probably the successor of Stekšys. The other 4 elder dukes (2 pairs of brothers) were probably the sons of the two previous rulers who perished in Livonia. Mindaugas was one of them.

On April 23, 1228 Konrad, Duke of Masovia, granted the land of Kulm to tthe Teutonic Order (the Knights of the Cross). It became a base to the conquest of Prussia.

On February 19, 1236 Pope Gregor IX announced the first crusade against Lithuania.

On September 22, 1236 the Lithuanians defeated the Knights of the Sword in the battle of Šiauliai. Master Volkwin and 48 knights were killed.

On May 14, 1237 Pope Gregor IX united the Knights of the Cross and Knights of the Sword.

In 1238 Mindaugas was documented as the ruler of Lithuania.

1239-1248 was the period with the highest frequency of attacks on Ruthenia by Lithuania, which was taking advantage of Ruthenia’s weakened condition after the Tartar invasions. At this time Lithuania took control of Black Ruthenia with the castle of Novogrudok.

In June 1245 the emperor Friedrich II gave permission to the Teutonic Order to conquer and rule Curonia, Lithuania and Semigallia.

In 1248 Mindaugas sent the sons of his brother, Tautvilas and Gedivydas, and the brother of their mother, Vykintas, to fight against Smolensk. They defeated the army of the duke Michael of Moscow, who was killed in the battle near Protva but soon were defeated near Zubtsov by the dukes

of Suzdal. Mindaugas decided to expel the defeated dukes from Lithuania.

In 1249 Tautvilas, Gedivydas and Vykintas fled to Daniel, the duke of Volhynia. Daniel helped them to organize a coalition against Mindaugas and attacked Black Ruthenia. In the meantime, Vykintas managed to bribe the Yatvingians and half of the Samogitians, and come to an agreement with the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order.

In 1250 the Livonian army attacked the lands under the rule of Mindaugas. Tautvilas hhad joined them and had himself christened in Riga. Mindaugas, however, bribed Andrew of Stirland, the Livonian Land Master.

In the spring 1251 Andrew of Stirland christened Mindaugas, and drove Tautvilas out of Riga. Tautvilas attacked Mindaugas, who had decided to defend himself in the castle of Voruta. Mindaugas had successfully repelled the attack with the assistance of the Teutonic Knights and soon defeated Tautvilas in Samogitia.

On July 17, 1251 Pope Innocent IV recognised Lithuania as a sstate within the political system of the Catholic Europe, and delegated the Bishop of Kulm to crown Mindaugas as the King of Lithuania.

On June 29 or July 6, 1253 the coronation of Mindaugas and his wife Martha (Morta) wwas held, probably at Latava manor. At the time of his coronation Mindaugas was compelled to grant a part of Samogitia and Yatvingia to the Livonian Order in return for its support. A document certifying Mindaugas’s donation was issued „in Lettowia in curia nostra“. Lettowia stream and Lettow hillfort were mentioned in the descriptions of the 14th century boundaries of Selonia and are identical with Palatavys hillfort and Latava village and stream in Anyksciai region, Lithuania (this is the only hint about the place of coronation). In time this donation was further enlarged.

In August or September 1253 Albert, the Archbishop of Riga, consecrated Christian, a member of the Livonian Order, as the Bishop of Lithuania. Christian had to mmake an oath to the Archbishop of Riga, but as the Livonian Order was in disagreement with the Archbishop, it provided assistance to Mindaugas for achieving cancellation of this oath by the Pope. In 1254 Christian was once again consecrated bishop. He became now directly subordinate to the Pope.

In 1254 a peace agreement between Lithuania and Volhynia was made.

In January 1256 the Samogitians, under the leadership of Duke Aliminas, raided Curonian lands, then under Livonian rule. <

In the spring 1257 the Samogitians negotiated a 2-year cease-fire with the Livonian Order, following successful battles.

In 1259 the battles between the Samogitians and the Knights of the Cross were renewed. Mindaugas, in the meantime, had been striving to retain friendly relations with the Order, particularly after the Tartars had plundered his lands during the winter. He even granted the whole of Samogitia to the Order on August 7th. At about the same time, the Samogitian army of 3000 attacked Curonian lands and defeated the Livonian Knights in the battle of Skuodas. 33 knights perished. This victory prompted the Semigallians to begin an insurrection against the Livonian Order, which lasted from 1259 to 1272.

On July 13, 1260 the Samogitians crushed the joint forces of the Prussian and Livonian Knights of the Cross in Curonian lands near Durbe lake. Livonian Land Master Burchard of Hornhausen, Prussian Land Marshall Botel, and 150 knights were killed. This was the greatest defeat, suffered by the Order during the 13th and 14th century. It gave rise to battles for liberation throughout the whole of the Baltic lands, ruled by the Teutonic Order, including the Great Prussian Insurrection, which lasted from 11260 to 1274.

In the autumn 1261 Mindaugas, convinced by his military commander Treniota, took the Samogitions under his own jurisdiction, rejected Christianity, and entered into a war with the Order. Unfortunately, the war effort did not go well, and Mindaugas blamed Treniota.

In the autumn 1263 Treniota conspired with Duke Daumantas of Nalšia, and murdered Mindaugas. Treniota then declared himself to be the Grand Duke of Lithuania.

In the spring 1264 the servants of Mindaugas murdered Treniota. Vaišalgas (Vašelga), a son of Mindaugas, who had converted to the Orthodox Christian faith and become a monk, was declared the Grand Duke of Lithuania. With the help of the Dukes of Volhynia, he suppressed the resistance in Lithuania.

In 1265 Daumantas fled to Pskov. There, he had himself baptized, was elected the Duke of Pskov, and ruled successfully until his death in 1299. He was declared a saint for his merits to Pskov.

In 1267 Vašalgas had returned to the monastery and passed the rule over Lithuania to Shvarno, the husband of his sister and son of Daniel, the Duke of Halich-Volhynia.

On December 9, 1267 Lev, the bother of Shvarno, murdered Vaišalgas, because he hhad not been granted the rule over Lithuania.

In 1269 Traidenis came into power in Lithuania. In the early years of his rule he maintained friendly relations with Lev, who had murdered Vaisalgas. Therefore we may guess, that he was a rival to Mindaugas and his family. Traidenis actively fought the Teutonic Order and was actively supporting the other Balts (the Prussians, the Yatvingians and the Semigallians) against it.

On February 16, 1270 the Lithuanians defeated the Livonian Knights of the Cross in the battle of Karusa in Estonia. Livonian Land Master Otto of Luttenberg and 52 knights were killed.

On March 5, 1279 Traidenis smashed the Livonian knights near Aizkraukle (at the Daugava river), while they were retreating after the raid on Lithuania. Livonian Land Master Ernest of Rassburg and 71 knight perished.

In 1281 Traidenis died and was succeeded by Daumantas.