Saule, Battle of the
1236 CE
The Battle of Saule is fought on September 22, 1236 between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan Samogitians.
Between 48 and 60 knights are killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin.
It is the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands.
The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic military order established in the Baltic lands, is soundly defeated and its remnants accept ncorporation into the Teutonic Order in 1237.
The battle inspires rebellions among the Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, Oeselians: tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers.
Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of Daugava ware lost.
To commemorate the battle, in 2000 the Lithuanian and Latvian parliaments declare September 22 to be the Day of Baltic Unity.
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Twenty-one Lithuanian dukes had signed a peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia, in 1219, an event today widely accepted as the first proof that the Baltic tribes were uniting and consolidating.
Two German religious orders, the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, have in the early thirteenth century conquered much of the area that is now Estonia and Latvia, in addition to parts of Lithuania.
In response, a number of small Baltic tribal groups unite under the rule of Mindaugas, who is referred to as the ruler of all Lithuania in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle in 1236.
The Order, under the leadership of Master Volkwin, is by the 1230s coping with strained financial resources, decreasing manpower, and ill repute.
The Sword-Brothers are in conflict with the papacy under Pope Gregory IX and the Holy Roman Emperor, two of its biggest supporters, over Estonia.
However, on February 19, 1236, Pope Gregory IX issues a papal bull declaring a crusade against Lithuania.
He targets Samogitia, planning to conquer the coast of the Baltic Sea and connect with the Teutonic Knights in Prussia.
The Sword-Brothers want to keep expanding along the Daugava River and are somewhat reluctant to march against Samogitia.
In fall of 1236, a party of crusaders arrives from Holstein, demanding to be led into a battle.
Volkwin gathers a large war party, which includes troops from Pskov Republic, Livonians, Latgallians, and Estonians.
The knights march southward into Samogitia, raiding and plundering local settlements, giving the locals only a few days to gather troops for defense.
On the knights' northward return, however, they encounter a determined group of Samogitians at a river crossing.
Unwilling to risk losing their horses in the swampland, the Holsteiners refuses to fight on foot, forcing the knights to camp for the night.
The next morning, on the day of Saint Maurice, the main pagan forces, likely led by Duke Vykintas, arrive at the camp.
The Lithuanian light cavalry fling javelins at short range, which are highly effective against the unwieldy Livonian heavy cavalry.
The swampy terrain is advantageous for the lightly armed pagans.
The slaughter of the Christian troops, including Volkwin, sows seeds of confusion in the Livonian ranks.
The lightly armed native forces under the command of the Brothers soon flee from the battle.
Those crusaders and knights who try to flee to Riga are allegedly killed by the Semigallians.