Download The North-Eastern Frontiers of Medieval Europe

The North-Eastern Frontiers of
Medieval Europe
By the mid-twelfth century the lands on
the Eastern Coast of the Baltic Sea, from
Finland to the frontiers of Poland, were
Catholic Europe’s final frontier
The North-Eastern Frontiers of Medieval Europe. The Expansion of Latin Christendom in the
Baltic Lands
Edited by Alan V. Murray, University of Leeds, UKSeries : The Expansion of Latin Europe, 1000-1500
Ashgate Variorum 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4094-3680-5
ISBN Short: 9781409436805
ABSTRACT:
By the mid-twelfth century the lands on the eastern coast of the Baltic
Sea, from Finland to the frontiers of Poland, were Catholic Europe’s
final frontier: a vast, undeveloped expanse of lowlands, forest and
waters, inhabited by peoples belonging to the Finnic and Baltic
language groups. In the course of the following three centuries,
Finland, Estonia, Livonia and Prussia were incorporated into the Latin
world through processes of conquest, Christianisation and settlement,
and brought under the rule of Western monarchies and ecclesiastical
institutions. Lithuania was left as the last pagan polity in Europe, yet
able to accept Christianity on its own terms in 1386. The Western
conquest of the Baltic lands advanced the frontier of Latin
Christendom to that of the Russian Orthodox world, and had profound
and long lasting effects on the institutions, society and culture of the
region lasting into modern times. This volume presents 21 key studies
(2 of them translated from German for the first time) on this crucial
period in the development of North-Eastern Europe, dealing with crusade and conversion, the
establishment of Western rule, settlement and society, and the development of towns, trade and the
economy. It includes a classified bibliography of the main works published in Western languages since
World War II together with an introduction by the editor.
CONTENTS:
Introduction.
Part One Historiographical Approaches:
Crusades and colonisation in the Baltic: a historiographic analysis, Sven
Ekdahl
Approaches to the conversion of the Finns: ideologies, symbols, and
archaeological features, Derek Fewster;
Part Two Crusade, Conquest and Conversion:
Sweden’s conquest of Finland: a clash of cultures?, Philip Line
From Fulco to Theoderic: the changing face of the Livonian mission, Peep
Peter Rebane
The military activity of the Order of the Sword Brothers (1202-1236),
Ēvalds Mugurēvičs
Military orders and the beginning of crusades in Prussia, Maria
Starnawska
Prussian mission and the invitation of the Teutonic Order into
Kulmerland, László Pósán
The arrival of Christianity in Lithuania: baptism and survival (1341-1387),
Michal Giedroyć.
Part Three State Formation:
Acquisition of the acquired: the establishing of a real administration in
Livonia, Muntis Auns; The military occupation of Semgallia in the 13th
century, William Urban
Estonia under Danish rule, Niels Skyum-Nielsen
The Teutonic Order in Prussia, Karol Górski.
Part Four Population and Society:
Finns as aliens and compatriots in the late medieval kingdom of Sweden,
Marko Lamberg
Genesis of the Livonian town in the 13th century, Enn Tarvel; Interactions
between indigenous and Western culture in Livonia in the 13th to 16th
centuries, Ēvalds Mugurēvičs
Languages in a medieval North European city: an example from medieval
Tallinn, Tiina Kala
The Teutonic Order and the non-German population of Prussia, Reinhard
Wenskus
Part Five Economy: The profits of the Cross: merchant involvement in the
Baltic crusade (c. 1180-1230), Mark R. Munzinger
The Hanseatic League and the Eastern Baltic: towns, trade and politics in
medieval Livonia from the 13th to the mid-16th century, Andris Šnē
Index.
ABOUT THE EDITOR:
Dr Alan V. Murray is Senior Lecturer in Medieval Studies and Editorial Director, International Medieval
Bibliography, University of Leeds, UK.