History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 211, the Baltic Crusades, the Levonian Crusade Part 17, the Danish Checkmate.

Hello again.

Last week we saw Bishop Albert achieve a high level of crusader recruits from his annual recruitment drive to Saxony in 1217.

One of the Star recruits was Albert of Ulamunda, the Count of Holstein, who sailed from Lubeck to Gotland and then on to Riga with his

small army in the summer of 1217, while Bishop Albert was still in Germany drumming up crusade volunteers.

Why did Bishop Albert remain in Germany?

Well, because he knew that Livonia was in desperate need of every

crusade volunteer he could send their way. Why was Livonia so in need of volunteers?

Well, because the Estonians were currently assembling in the border lands

between Estonian territory and the land belonging to the Letts. Around 6,000

Estonian fighters had already answered the call to arms. And if this wasn't bad enough, the Russian princes of

scoff and Novgorod had decided to support the Estonian push into Christian Livonia and had promised to send a large Russian army to join the Estonians in September of 1217. I guess I don't have to tell you that this was really bad news

for the Latin Christians. Realistically they knew they would have trouble beating the combined Estonian and Russian

forces, so there was really only one sensible cause of action they could follow.

They needed to strike before the Estonian and Russian armies joined forces.

As soon as Count Albert and his men arrived in Riga, preparations

were made to march to meet the mustard Estonian forces, to do as much damage to those forces as possible before the Russians arrived on the scene.

In the end, around 3,000 men joined the march to Estonia under the command of the Master of

the Sword Brothers.

The 3,000 strong force was made up of Sword Brothers, Crusaders, including Count Albert and his army,

men from the Bishop's household, and local Livonian and Let fighters.

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