Saint George's Night Uprising facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saint George's Night Uprising |
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 Medieval Livonia |
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| Revala, Harria, Rotalia, Vironia, Oeselia |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Vesse of Oeselia † |  Burchard von Dreileben Bertram von Parembeke (1343) Stigot Andersson (1344–1346) |
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The Saint George's Night Uprising (called Jüriöö ülestõus in Estonian) was a big rebellion that happened in Estonia between 1343 and 1345. It was an attempt by the local Estonian people to get rid of their Danish and German rulers. These rulers had taken over Estonia in the 1200s during a time called the Livonian Crusade. The Estonians also wanted to stop the foreign Christian religion that had been brought to their land.
At first, the rebellion was successful. But then, the Teutonic Order, a powerful group of knights, invaded and stopped the revolt. In 1346, the King of Denmark sold the area known as the Duchy of Estonia to the Teutonic Order for a lot of money. This meant that the control of Estonia moved from Denmark to the Teutonic Order.
Contents
Why the Uprising Started
By 1261, Estonia was fully controlled by foreign rulers from Germany and Denmark. These rulers were called Northern Crusaders. The local Estonian people had to pay many taxes and duties to these new masters. Even though they had some rights, like being able to carry weapons, life became harder.
The foreign rulers started building large manor houses all over the country. This made the taxes and duties even heavier. On top of that, the Catholic Church also put pressure on the local religion and took money from the people.
The area was also not very stable politically. The Estonian regions of Harria (Harju) and Vironia (Viru) were controlled by Denmark. But by the 1300s, Denmark's power was getting weaker. The Danish part of Estonia was split between two groups: one that supported Denmark and another that supported Germany. Most of the Danish rulers' helpers, called vassals, were Germans.
How the Uprising Began
On Saint George's Night, April 23, 1343, the Estonians started their rebellion. They lit a fire on a hilltop as a signal for a planned attack on the foreigners in Harria. Their goal was to remove all the German rulers and their families. Many people of German background were killed during this time.
According to old writings, after giving up Christianity, the rebel forces moved across Harria. They burned down the manor houses of the nobles and killed any Germans they found. They also burned down the Cistercian Padise Abbey and killed the 28 monks who couldn't escape. The writings also say that Estonian women killed any German women or children who were spared by the men. Then, they burned down all the churches and the huts where monks lived.
After their first successes, the Estonians chose four leaders, whom they called "kings." These kings and their army went to Reval (Tallinn), which was controlled by the Danes. They surrounded the city with 10,000 men. In the first battle near Tallinn, the Estonians won against the knights.
However, the rebel leaders were worried. They knew that once the Germans and Danes recovered, the Estonian forces might not be strong enough. So, they sent a message to the Swedish officials, called bailiffs, in Åbo and Viborg. They told them that the Germans in Harria had been defeated. They also said that they were surrounding Reval, but they would give the city to the King of Sweden if the Swedes sent help. The Swedish bailiffs promised to gather an army and sail to Estonia.
The Rebellion Spreads
A few days later, the Estonians in the region of Rotalia (Lääne) also rebelled. They gave up Christianity and killed all the Germans they could find. Once the countryside was under Estonian control, the rebel army surrounded the city of Hapsal (Haapsalu). This city was the capital of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. Some historical accounts say that 1,800 Germans were killed in Läänemaa. Other accounts suggest this number refers to Harria, or Harria and Vironia combined.
The Massacre of the Four Kings
After the attacks, terrified survivors slowly made their way to the castle of Weissenstein (Paide). The castle's commander, called a vogt, immediately sent a letter to the leader of the Livonian Order, telling him what was happening. Burchard von Dreileben, the Livonian Master, sent a Brother to the Estonians. This Brother knew their language and was known to them. He asked the Estonians to send their leaders to Weissenstein to explain why they had given up Christianity and killed so many Germans. He also promised to fix past problems and build good relations.
The Estonians sent their four "kings" to Weissenstein, along with three squires (helpers). They also allowed the bishop of Reval to travel through their territory to attend the talks. Many important members of the Livonian Order came to Paide. These included the Livonian Master Burchard von Dreileben, the commanders (called komturs) of Fellin (Viljandi) and Riga, and the vogt of Jervia (Järva). The large number of knights who came suggests that the real goal of the meeting was to capture the Estonian kings and then attack their army, which would be without leaders. Even after a truce was agreed, knights of the Order attacked a camp of 500 Estonians in Ravila.
On May 4, the two sides began their talks. The Livonian Master spoke for the German side. The Estonian kings offered to become helpers (vassals) of the Livonian Order, but only if they had no other rulers above them. The Master asked why they had killed so many people, including the 28 monks of Padise. The Estonians replied that any German deserved to be killed.
The Master, Burchard von Dreileben, said this answer was terrible. But he declared that the four kings and their helpers would not be punished and could remain free. However, he said they could not leave Weissenstein castle until he returned from fighting the Estonian army. The four kings, who had been promised safe travel under the medieval code of honor, were very angry. They demanded to be released so they could join their army, but their demands were ignored.
When the Estonian leaders were being taken to their rooms, they were suddenly attacked by their German hosts in the castle courtyard. In the fight that followed, all four kings and their squires were killed. Some historical accounts blame the Estonians, saying one of them tried to kill the vogt of Jervia. However, many historians believe that the negotiations were just a trick to kill the leaders of the rebellion. They think the official story was a poor attempt to justify the murder of diplomatic envoys by the Teutonic knights.
End of the Rebellion in Mainland Estonia
After the massacre, a large army led by the Master of the Order immediately moved towards Reval. They attacked smaller Estonian groups along the way. A larger Estonian force that tried to stop the knights was met by the German cavalry. In the Battle of Kanavere on May 11, 1343, the Estonians cleverly retreated into the Kanavere bog (a type of wetland). Since the knights couldn't use their heavy cavalry in the bog, they got off their horses and fought on foot. The bog wasn't very big, and the Order's army, which had more soldiers, was able to surround it completely. The battle ended with a German victory. About 1,600 Estonians were killed.
Battle of Sõjamäe
After the Battle of Kanavere, Burchard von Dreileben, the Master of the Order, wanted to avoid fighting the main Estonian army. This army was camped next to a large bog, where the Order's heavy cavalry would lose its advantage. So, he decided to use a trick. He sent the vogts of Wenden (Cesis) and Treyden (Turaida) to the Estonians, pretending to want peace talks. They seemed to agree to the idea of the Estonians being vassals without landlords. The Estonians accepted the offer, and the envoys returned to the German army.
Meanwhile, von Dreileben had two groups of cavalry hide between the swamp and the Estonian camp. After the envoys reported that the Estonians accepted the terms, the Master and the knights decided that the killed Germans needed to be avenged and the Estonians deserved no mercy. On May 14, 1343, the Germans attacked. The Estonians tried to retreat towards the bog. But because of the hidden German cavalry, they couldn't complete this move. In the battle that followed, 3,000 Estonians were killed. According to old writings, some Estonians who pretended to be dead tried to kill Germans even after the battle ended. The place where this battle happened became known as Sõjamäe (meaning "Warhill"). It is now a part of Tallinn.
After the Battle of Sõjamäe
The Master of the Order and the officials in Tallinn learned from a captured German soldier that the Estonians had been promised military help from Sweden. Sweden had recently taken over several Danish areas in Scandinavia. Swedish forces were expected to arrive in Estonia in five days. The people of the Danish king in Tallinn, who were very weak after the fighting in Harju and Viru, and afraid of the Swedes, put Tallinn and other Danish lands in Estonia under the protection of the Order. After being promised payment, the Master of the Order agreed to put German soldiers in Reval and Wesenberg (Rakvere).
The bailiff of Viborg arrived with a large army on May 18, and the bailiff of Åbo arrived a day later. When they found that the Danish stronghold was now controlled by the Order and the Estonian army was completely defeated, the Swedes just looted the area around Reval before sailing back to Finland.
The Estonians had also tried to find allies in Russia. Two envoys from Harria had been sent to Pskov to tell the Russians about the defeat of the Germans in Harria and Vironia and that the Order was about to fall. The envoys suggested that the Russians might want to loot the German lands in southern Estonia. On May 26, 1343, the Bishopric of Dorpat (Tartu) was attacked by 5,000 Pskovians. However, since the rebellion in Estonia had mostly been stopped, the Order was able to gather enough soldiers. With some effort, they defeated the Russian attackers, killing about 1,000 of them.
Meanwhile, the Master had led the main force of the Order to Rotalia to break the siege of Hapsal. The Estonians left the city without a fight, again hiding in the bogs.
Soon, the Livonian Order received more soldiers from the Teutonic Order in Prussia. In the beginning of winter, the Master of the Livonian Order returned with these extra soldiers to Harria and stopped the remaining resistance. The last Estonian strongholds in Harria to fall were Varbola and Loone (Lohu). After the bloody end of the rebellion, Harria was described as a "barren and desolate land."
The writer Bartholomäus Hoeneke also tells a story about Estonians trying to get inside the castle of Fellin by hiding armed warriors in bags of grain. The plan failed when a mother told the Order commander in exchange for her son's life. This story might not be true, but it has inspired many writers.
After losing Reval and Wesenberg to the Livonian Order in 1343, Denmark, which was very weak, also lost Narva in 1345. Because of this, King Valdemar IV sold the Duchy of Estonia to the Teutonic knights in 1346 for 19,000 silver marks (about 4 tons of silver). Another 6,000 marks were paid to the Margrave of Brandenburg. Another result of the Saint George's Night Uprising was that the last remaining Estonian noble families in North Estonia disappeared.
Rebellion in Ösel
On July 24, 1344, the Oeselians in Ösel (the islands of Saaremaa and Muhumaa) also rebelled. They gave up Christianity, killed all the Germans, and drowned the priests in the sea. On the same day, they gathered around the Castle of the Livonian Order in Pöide. The castle surrendered after being surrounded for eight days. The vogt of the castle and his soldiers, as well as all other Germans in the castle, were promised safe passage. However, all the castle's defenders were killed after they came out of the gates.
Saaremaa and Muhumaa stayed in Estonian hands until winter. As soon as the sea between the islands and the mainland froze, the Master of the Order, with new soldiers from Prussia, crossed the sea and invaded Saaremaa. The German army looted and burned all the villages they found. Finally, they surrounded Purtsa Fortress, one of the largest Estonian strongholds on the island. In the winter of 1344, the knights broke into the stronghold after tearing down part of its walls. According to Wigand of Marburg, 2,000 people were killed in the fortress. The Germans lost 500 soldiers. The Oeselian leader, Vesse, was captured, tortured, and then killed. However, Saaremaa remained free and strongly against Christianity because the German army had to cross back to the mainland before the sea ice melted in the spring.
In the winter of 1345, the Christian army returned to Saaremaa. They destroyed the northern parts of the island by looting and burning for eight days. Eventually, the Oeselians asked for peace. The two sides reached an agreement. The army of the Livonian Order left Saaremaa after the Oeselians reluctantly agreed to give hostages and tear down the fortress of Maasilinna Castle. The rebellion in Ösel had lasted for two years. With the surrender of Ösel, the Saint George's Night Uprising finally ended.
The Uprising in Stories
The Saint George's Night Uprising has inspired several historical novels by Estonian writers. One famous example is Eduard Bornhöhe's Tasuja (The Avenger). The Soviet Union tried to use the anniversary of the uprising in 1943 to turn Estonians against Germans.
The uprising is also a popular topic for discussion among Estonian historians and writers. Some, like Edgar V. Saks and the writer Uku Masing, have argued that the uprising was not against Christianity itself, but only against the Livonian Order. They believe that the bad things blamed on the rebels were actually done by the Order. Some see it as a continuation of the fight between the Order and the Holy See (the Pope). Others disagree with these ideas, saying they are biased and not historically accurate.
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See also
In Spanish: Levantamiento de la noche de San Jorge para niños
