The Battle of Saule, 1236 AD ⚔️ | Destruction of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword

As the Northern Crusades were picking up steam, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword made serious inroads in conquering the Baltic lands. On their way back during a crusade, they camped nearby a river in the woodlands and marshes of Livonia. The subsequent battle changed the dynamics in the Baltics forever.
Consider supporting HoH:
►Patreon: / houseofhistory
►Become a channel member:
/ @hoh
►Leave a tip: www.paypal.me/HouseofHistory
Check out House of History: the Podcast
►iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/ho...
►Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/71f9cyl...
Socials:
►Check out my blog: www.houseofhistory.co
►My Twitter: / oscar_hoh
My videos tend to get arbitrarily demonetized. That is why I decided to open up a Patreon where people can support the channel. If you decide to pledge as little as 1$/month you will gain access to a monthly series exclusive to my Patrons!
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:35 The Northern Crusades
8:46 The Battle of Saule, 1236
Watch my documentary series:
►History of Prussia playlist: • History of Prussia
►End of Empire - Downfall of the Qing Dynasty playlist: • End of Empire - China'...
►World War 2 playlist: • World War 2
►Hitler's Spies playlist: • Hitler's Spies
The content of this video covers events, people or concepts via a lecture-style presentation that is educational and historical in nature. Every video is original content by House of History. The events relating to conflict in this video are portrayed in their historical context without either value judgment or an ideological message attached to it. There is no intent to shock, upset or disgust. The goal of my channel is to make interesting lecture-style videos, no more, no less.
Thank you for taking the time to check out House of History, I hope you will find the films informative, interesting and enjoyable!
If you have any feedback, questions or criticism feel free to leave a comment. Your opinion truly aids me in improving the content of the channel! If you have a question, feel free to leave a comment and I will either write a reply, answer your question in a Q&A video, or make an entire video about it!
Sources:
Christiansen, Eric. The northern crusades. Vol. 927. Penguin UK, 1997.
Fonnesberg-Schmidt, Iben. The Popes and the Baltic Crusades: 1147-1254. Vol. 26. Brill, 2007.
Murray, Alan V. "The Sword Brothers at War: Observations on the military Activity of the Knighthood of Christ in the Conquest of Livonia and Estonia (1203-1227)." Ordines Militares: Yearbook for the Study of the Military Orders 18 (2013): 27-37.
Written by House of History
Music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Photos, paintings and imagery: Public Domain, Wikicommons
#HouseofHistory #History

[@TherealSBlair]

Good to see the Northern Crusades get some attention. Cheers.

[@xwing8029]

The archeological finds show that individual weaponry and armor wasnt that far apart in both sides. Pagans had helmets, metal armor, swords, spears and axes. They also had archers and horseman. Pagans bought some weapons from abroad.

[@dougmungoven4315]

the real barbarians were the knights

[@deadnconfused7982]

So happy to be an officer! Love watching your videos and enjoy seeing the videos release! Keep up the great work! I look forward to the next video!

[@HoH]

Thank you for the support & kind words!

[@Assyrian_edit87]

@@HoH السلام عليكم هل يمكننى القيام بتعاون؟

[@alexy590]

If you ever continue this topic, I would recommend talking about the Battle of Otepää and the Battle of Durbe.

[@HoH]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll see what I can find!

[@dasarath5779]

st. matthews day too maybe?

[@Artur_M.]

I can't believe I missed you uploading a video about the Northern Crusades (despite receiving the notification, I checked). Never mind, it's corrected now. I'm looking forward to more videos about this part of Europe.

[@HoH]

Happy you enjoyed it! The next few videos will be about the Jugurthine War, Arminius' Revolt and the Second Mithridatic War. But I am planning on covering a lot more of this region in 2022!

[@barbarossa1983]

Thank you so much for an interesting history lesson 👍

[@mantassimolksda4018]

It would be nice to see more battles about lithuania last pagan country in europe

[@sayagarapan1686]

They're all pagan again so that's not strictly true.

[@dasarath5779]

many countryfolk were still pagan throughout europe, though ruled by christians

[@naktisnaktiss9880]

buddy, Lithuanians had nothing to do with this battle. Samogitians and partly Semigalians, as they prevented the nights crossing the river and forced them to stay the night. Samogitian Duke Vykintas was there right in time next morning.

[@user-ex9yc7yn1x]

Today?!@@dasarath5779

[@user-ex9yc7yn1x]

This is not confirmed, as Mindaugas may have had men present, we simply don't know. @@naktisnaktiss9880

[@girtskazmins5154]

Another interesting battle at Durbe 13.07.1260.

[@knightspearhead5718]

Would love too learn more about the founding of the Teutonic order

[@HoH]

I have a very old (not that great) video on the beginnings of the Teutonic order. I want to create a series where I explain its origins and follow its development from battle-to-battle. It will take some time to research and write, but will be very interesting I think.

[@knightspearhead5718]

@@HoH sounds cool

[@eliasoberhauser2698]

Id love to see a vid abt the 1322 Battle of Mühldorf

[@swatsaw6]

surprise to be sure but a welcome one :D - this battle isn't that far away from where I grew up

[@Citypunk]

Do one about Madisepäeva battle in 1217 too!

[@denniscleary7580]

Another excellent video

[@HoH]

I appreciate that!

[@rasulpourjafar]

Great content 👍

[@HoH]

Thanks!

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

too nice history channel & this video

[@swatsaw6]

btw saule means the sun

[@bishop6218]

Every veteran of this battle be like "🎶 I'm a Sauuuule man !🎶" (Don't worry, i'll see myself out.. ☹️)

[@wilsontheconqueror8101]

Well done! The Teutonic Knights would not have been so careless in enemy Territory! Guess thats why they were not that impressed with the Livonian order. Merry Christmas!

[@hosealdo7563]

Don't worry noblemans f*ked up this time. But swordbrothers were hell of the man you shouldn't be asheimed from their fighting skills... however they were cruel against pagan people. Swordbrothers lifes were not long, live fast die young.;)

[@dontbetrippin4575]

Suits them well

[@somewhere6]

Heavy cavalry in soft, damp areas, not a great idea.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Never a good idea to invade “barbaric” tribes unless you know what you’re up to.

[@HoH]

Next week it's the other way around: King Jugurtha of Numidia thought he had the upper hand and thought he could ambush the outnumbered Romans. But things did not turn out the way he expected them to... 😉

[@socratrash]

@@HoH still a fantastic historic figure. The romans had nothing to search there but greed and fame is more important for them.

[@HoH]

@@socratrash He certainly is an incredibly interesting person. Especially because he fought for the Romans in Hispania, and was renowned for his strategic genius. I will be covering the entire Jugurthine War by discussing several battles these coming months (interchanged with Arminius' Great Revolt and other campaigns).

[@bluenoteone]

@@HoH No things did not turn out well, did they? Did you see my request about Caesar at Ilerda....it was a tricky one for the Governor-General, no?

[@HoH]

@@bluenoteone I must have missed your comment but added it to the list of things I want to write about.

[@glenng8185]

Swiss wars against the Habsburgs. Battle of Sempach for example

[@HoH]

This is incredibly interesting, thank you for suggesting it!

[@glenng8185]

@@HoH Burgundic Wars (1474 - 1476) are also extremly interesting with Charles the bold loosing to Swiss forces

[@istvansipos9940]

funny how the words of a "true" god always have to be imported by greedy mortals

[@g1a18]

Greetings from Mosul

[@viking8781]

I've seen a lot of videos on the same battles you're covering. It would be cool if you would do a series . The American Civil War doesn't get a lot of attention.

[@Mendogology]

The American Civil War doesn't get attention? Are you mad? Video games, films, thousands and thousands of videos on youtube. I am sick of the fucking American Civil War, show us something else!

[@heikijv]

the history of Baltic nations will be rewritten in near future. The populistic "history" of soviets and imperialist great-nations-of-Europe ignored and hided quite a lot information about small nations, therefore most of the people think about the historic baltic people as barbaric and tribal. Still, those "tribes and barbarians" traded already centuries with other nations, they sacked Sigtuna in Sweden, some of them were already converted to Christianity (probably due of trade relations and traveling), they did not have only farms and villages but also towns and trade centers, etc. Also, some of the written sources about the events have been more or less re-written in later centuries (e.g. the Danish sources). All-in-all, Papacity and HOE needed to take hold here in Baltics. If they weren't, the balts and estonians may turned to orthodox-Christianity. Pope and Kaiser didn't care about balts or God in Heaven; they wanted to keep orthodox influence far away. PS. As we laugh here in Estonia, the crusader knights arrived here and turned out they were crusader plunderers.

[@hosealdo7563]

Popes were different. Some were kind of kind and carring about converted people, but were far away to control what happened on really on spot. Some were the ones eho organised crusades with force and didn't foresee peacefull christianisation option.

[@fips711]

Good video, but it makes it all look too fast paced. It took decades of raiding to bring those pagans down and even occasional ceasefires were established. Calling the knights heavy is a bit misleading too. Chainmail was all they had back then.

[@hosealdo7563]

Swordbrothers horses were dressed in armour, as well as brothers themselves they were like modern tanks at that time, comparing to local fighters. However when fighting on foot they lost this advantage and even more pagans were better as they used to fight tgat way. But knights were wriggly good and exelent fighters, fearless were not affraid to die, actually it was honor to die in battle for God's cause. Thats why they were for. But pagans were not bad at all too. If you read chronicles you'll see that actually number of battles won by pagans and christians are quite equal, this taking in to account that chronicles were written by priests.

[@remigijuslukauskas4517]

The German order destroyed the Baltic tribes: Prussians, Jotvingians, Curonians, Ziemgalians. The Latvians were defeated, but survived and are now the Republic of Latvia. Žemaitsi were joined to the order several times, but exist in the Republic of Lithuania. The Order of the Only Lithuanians was not able to conquer even in 1410. they and the Poles in the Battle of Grunwald put an end to the Order once and for all.

[@hosealdo7563]

Number of participants in this campaign was much larger. Crusades to Livonia was at it's peak at that time. It is written in chronicle that never before and never after was so large number of crusaders as in 1230ies. So from chronicles (2 different, mutually not connected- Henricus Livonian and Reimchronik, so it makes numbers believable) if on attack on Mezotne in 1220 was 8 000, attack on Sarema island on 1227 participated 20 000, but on attack on Tervete in 1281 14 000 of christian army. And if we take that lithuanians were the fierced heatens from all, therefore against them would be gathered largest army ever collected. All this taking into account christian army was not less than 20 000. This slaughter was enormous. Why it happened from my point of view was that nobleman on a way back didn't wanted to fight heaten army who gathered on an exit point from land, where they entered before, so they convinced master to change plan and choose different exit route, but what happened was that they went longer, they eere slow because of robbed staff thry brought eith them, so heatens catched them, and even more it gave time for locals to gather all possible forces, and they cathed them also in a place they wanted in marchy area, were knights couldn't use their usual tactics attack on horse backs with lances, so they were slaughtered as maidens by much lighter heaten force. Russian chronicles says that only every 10th returned, so it gives unbelievable number of around 18 thousand christians killed there. It is possible because remnants had to return back through semigallians lands, but they showed no mercy this time. Why christian army was so large? Because there was not only knights but basically everybody, it was plundering campaign so without order and bishop forces, and arrived noblemans from germany woth their armies, also merchants, and already subdued people as livonians, letgalians, estonians and even russians as we know. But overall nice try of showing this battle, thanks and thumb up!

[@hosealdo7563]

I apologize for my writting. Germany is big G.:)

[@hosealdo7563]

Also from other battles in Livonian chronicles there are mentioned numbers of local forces. So letgalians and livonians each could gather easily 2 thousand. Estonians could gather more, it depends from which estonian lands army was gathered. I approximate that each estonian land could gather at least 2 thousand, except Saaremaa could gather more.

[@Hluz]

Why did you copy the format of history March? The thumb nail and tittle are the same

[@fortunatusnine2012]

👍👍

[@Assyrian_edit87]

السلام عليكم

[@SaulKopfenjager]

Saule = Sau-Leh, I should know!

[@naktisnaktiss9880]

Saulė/Saule means Sun in Lithuanian/Latvian/Prussian.

[@macariomatira3234]

We Wish to have a feature video about the Philippines under Ferdinand E. Marcos from 1965 to 1986

[@vaidasdimsa681]

🇱🇹💪

[@bsoul3177]

kg

[@bsoul3177]

,nm

[@ChristopherBrogdon]

I fell asleep

[@SuperCROivan]

Siege of Szigetvár!!!!

[@HoH]

Great suggestion, thanks!

[@luzalgarin9518]

Thank you so much for sharing with me this video! The Bible foretells a time when peace will be achieved​ not through mankind. Psalm 46:9 says regarding the Creator, Jehovah God: “He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.” Jehovah God will accomplish true peace by means of his Kingdom, for which many sincere people have repeatedly prayed Matthew 6:9, 10: "Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth." His Kingdom is not an elusive condition of the heart; it is a real government through which God will establish peace from one end of the earth to the other. The inspired prophet Isaiah foretold that subjects of that government will not “learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4) By means of a worldwide educational program, people will learn to live in peace and thus “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears.”

[@istvansipos9940]

and Jule Verne foretells our modern submarines. So we can launch people to the Moon with a huge, old fashioned cannon, and they will survive the bazillion g acceleration because Verne wrote that, too. sigh... why do we mention fiction here? Anyway, at least, I mention European fiction under these European events.

[@luzalgarin9518]

@@istvansipos9940 Here is another promise recorded in Psalm 37:9-11: "For evil men will be done away with, But those hoping in Jehovah will possess the earth. Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more; You will look at where they were, And they will not be there. But the meek will possess the earth, And they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace." For how long? The answer in recorded in verse 29: "The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it." Would you not like to live for ever on Earth, made a paradise, with no evil doer hurting his neighbors?

[@istvansipos9940]

@@luzalgarin9518 evil is unspecific and vague. evil compared to whom or what? little while? also vague. nobody will live on Earth forever. That's for sure, for not even Earth will exist forever. So that's is PROVEN wrong. And all this bullsh!t brings me back to my question: Why do you share fiction (proven fiction) here?

[@brokenbridge6316]

I do like your video's House of History. But when you started making your history video's weren't you worried about anything bad happening to you. I would like to put out my own video's but I worry if bad things would happen if I do.

[@johnl.7754]

Why?

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@johnl.7754---There are a lot of reasons why I worry.

[@HoH]

What do you mean

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@HoH---What do I mean. Well I fell in love with history many years ago. I love to talk about it. I can bore the regular person about historical facts most people don't know about. I think of it everyday. But a bunch of little concerns have been making me worried about putting out my own history content. First off I worry about how my content will be viewed by others. Also I'm wondering about KZbin's infamous algorithm taking down my content. And I want to animate my video's but I hear animation software might be out of my price range and also my computer skills aren't the best. An that is all I can think of off the top of my head. Did any of these concern you when you first started? Do you have any advice for me?

[@HoH]

@@brokenbridge6316 just start

[@maxmagnus777]

Hi, there are less known topics of battles during the WWII in the Balkans. Most of the stories are mix of propaganda and facts

[@astrusis_dantis3655]

Scouting party of Semigalians? Clubs and maces, leather armor... A bit better video, but still full of myths.

[@naktisnaktiss9880]

nečirškauk. Žiemgaliai realiai prisidėjo kėlimosi per upę atkirtimu, kol Vykinto kariuomenė paryčiais spėjo įmigusius kalavijuočius pasivyti.

[@astrusis_dantis3655]

@@naktisnaktiss9880 jūs kvailys pasakojantis iš subinės ištrauktas pasakas. Paskaitykite bent ką nors iš pirminių šaltinių, kad ir Livonijos eiliuotąją kroniką. Nebuvo jokių žiemgalių Saulės mūšyje, nebuvo ir jokio įmigimo apie kurį čia skiedžiate.

[@bluenoteone]

Forced conversions? There is no such thing; it is a contradiction in thought and terms.

[@skyhappy]

how

[@user-uq6bt8wc6j]

Catholiesm aint Christian