# Danish Campaigns to Novgorod

The Danish Campaigns to Novgorod (Danish: De danske korstog i Novgorod; Russian: Датские походы на Новгород) were a series of Crusader raids in 1241 by Danish royals and vassals, using the Duchy of Estonia as base of operation, against the Novgorod Republic. The Danish Crusades were supported and executed in coordination with the papacy and other Crusading states, notably Sweden and the Livonian Order, the former one not being able to send further support after being defeated at the Neva.

## Background

Since 1169, Denmark had continuously sought to establish a Danish empire over the Baltic Sea's coasts. In 1223, Denmark controlled the coastline from Lübeck to Pomerelia, and made a foothold in Estonia. Yet the same year, the Danish king, Valdemar II, was abducted by his own vassal, Henry of Schwein. This led to a domino effect, in which all Valdemar's possessions renounced their vassalage to him, and the Danish Baltic Empire definitively ended in 1227 at Bornhöved.
The Livonian Order took advantage of a weakened Denmark and seized the control in the Duchy of Estonia in the same year. This, among with other factors, led the order to be too powerful for the pope, and in 1238 he initiated the Treaty of Stensby, which returned all of Estonia (except Järva) to Denmark. Additionally, Denmark would receive one third of all future conquests in the region.

### Papal ambitions and prelude

The ambitions of the papacy were to expand ecclesiastic control in the east. Papal letters to Scandinavian archbishops commanded the preachings of Crusades against their pagan neighbours. Haakon IV of Norway was attempted to be recruited for a Crusade in 1241, yet he rejected. Still, Denmark under Valdemar II the Victorious, Sweden under Birger Jarl and the Livonian Order, were all in for a Crusade. Novgorod was the main focus for the campaign, since it was a strong bastion for the Russian Orthodoxy and overall posed a serious threat to catholic presence in the Baltics. The Swedes were defeated in the Battle of the Neva, yet this did not stop the Danes and Germans, who launched their own campaign the year later. The Casus belli, being that prince Alexander Nevsky, was so proud of his victory at the Neva, that he started to offend Novgorod's nearby enemies. This gave the Danish and German knights an excuse to further conquests into Orthodox territory.

## First Crusade

A few months after the Swedish attack, a force, led by Abel of Schleswig, consisting of 300 Danish and German knights, supported by an additional greater number of Estonian troops, attacked the Votians in winter 1241. The city of Koporye was occupied and a stone castle was erected to secure the territory. This move was done in order to cut off Novgodrodian access to the southern side of the Bay of Finland, which would greatly damage their economy and international trade. Further to the south, the villages of Tesov and Sablia were also captured, which only lad 30 km from Veliky Novgorod. It is reported in the Novgorod First Chronicle, that the Votians suffered greatly from the campaign.

### Death of Valdemar II

Despite the initial successes, the campaign would come to an end in March. Back in Denmark, king Valdemar had laid ill and died. This led to a succession crisis in Denmark, over the question of who should succeed Valdemar. Duke Abel therefore suspended his campaign in Novgorod and returned to Denmark to assert his claim on the throne.

## Second Crusade

Meanwhile, the king's vassals were led with the defence of Estonia for themselves. They participated in campaign, launched by Andreas von Felben with an army of 1000. The army was allied with Jaroslaw Wladimirow, a former prince of Pskov, who was in exile amongst the Crusaders. The Crusade intended to secure Pskov for Jaroslav and the Catholic Church and their first target was the Novgorodian fortress of Izborsk.

### Battle of Izborsk

A battle for the fortress was quickly started, and the Dano-German army took the fortress. A 600-man force from Pskov continuously tried to recapture the fort, yet was defeated by the Crusading army. The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle recalls the event;
   "Those from Pskov were unhappy about the news (capture of Izborsk). This is the name of a neighboring town in Rus' whose inhabitants were extremely evil. None of them stayed behind but rather all participated in the expedition and grimly stormed Is- borg, with many bright cuirasses and helmets shining like glass. There were many crossbowmen among them. When they came upon the Brothers' army (the Teutonic Knights) they attacked and the Brothers and the (Danish) King's men boldly charged towards them. The Germans hacked great wounds and the Rusins suffered terribly. Eight hundred of them fell on the battlefield.... The others took to flight and were pursued relentlessly...."
The Crusader army then marched on Pskov, which was left defenseless. The Crusaders camped outside of Pskov for a week, burning villages and Orthodox monasteries, including their books and icons. With a reduced defense and a defeat at Izborsk, the mayor of Pskov, Tverdilo Ivankovich, opened the city gates and surrendered the city to the Crusaders.

## Aftermath

It had become clear to Novgorod, that the Crusaders (besides trade) were also interested in conquering new territories. As a response to the fall of Pskov, Alexander Nevsky reassumed power. The newly arrived prince took the Novgorodian city militia and set out for the occupied Votians, and retook the Crusader castle of Koporye. Danish and German prisoners from the fortress were sent to Novgorod. Nevsky, along with his brother, Prince Andrey of Suzdal, now appeared outside of the Crusader occupied Pskov and quickly stormed the city. The Novgorodians then crossed the Velikaya and began burning and pillaging the Crusader territory. In response, the Crusaders raised an army in Livonia and Estonia, under Hermann von Buxhoevden, and met the Russians at the Battle on the Ice.