# Swedish–Novgorodian Wars

The Swedish–Novgorodian Wars were a series of armed conflicts during the 12th and 13th centuries, fought between the Novgorod Republic and medieval Sweden over control of the Gulf of Finland. Part of the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, the area was vital to the Hanseatic League. The clashes between Catholic Swedes and Orthodox Novgorodians had religious overtones, but before the 14th century there is no knowledge of official crusade bulls issued by the pope.

## Background

Scandinavians maintained trade relations and other links with Novgorod from the Viking Age onwards. Merchants from Gotland operated both their own trading house (Gutagård) and Saint Olaf's Church in Novgorod. Scandinavians also carried out isolated raids on Novgorod. Eiríkr Hákonarson raided Ladoga in 997, and his brother Sveinn Hákonarson followed suit in 1015. After the marriage of Yaroslav I (Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kiev) to Ingegerd of Sweden in 1019, Ladoga became a jarldom in the orbit of Kievan Rus'. It was ruled by Ragnvald Ulfsson, the alleged father of King Stenkil of Sweden (reigned 1060–1066). Dynastic marriages took place between Rus' and Scandinavian royal families—for example, in the 1090s Stenkil's granddaughter Christina married Mstislav of Novgorod, upon whose death in 1132 Novgorod seceded from Kievan Rus'.

## 12th century

The 12th century is poorly documented in Sweden, and Old East Slavic documents are fragmentary.

### 12th century in the Novgorod First Chronicle

Arnold Lelis (2005) summarised that the Novgorod First Chronicle (NPL) mentions 42 instances of warfare between 1111 and 1205. Amongst other conflicts, 18 of them were with other Rus' states and cities over dynastic succession; 11 with the Chud'; and only 2 (in 1142 and 1164) involved Swedes, the first of which concerned merchants that may or may not have been "Novgorodian".
According to the sub anno 1142 entry in the NPL, a "knyaz of the Svei with a Bishop in sixty boats attacked merchants who were coming from over sea in three boats", and "they killed one hundred and fifty of them." Scholars disagree on how to interpret this passage, because it is not said whether the merchants were Novgorodians or not; nor whether they were coming from Novgorod, or going to Novgorod. It is also unclear who supposedly defeated and killed who; earlier authors such as Nikolay Karamzin (1826) and Vladimir Pashuto (1968) concluded that the "Novgorodian" merchants defeated the Swedish raiders, while Beñat Elortza Larrea (2023) wrote that the Swedish fleet ended up "intercepting three merchant ships from Novgorod and killing their crews." Philip Line (2007) pointed out that it is uncertain whether this raid was formally sponsored by the king of Sweden or not, nor whether the Swedes co-ordinated their raid with the Yem people, who had unsuccessfully raided Ladoga earlier in 1142 according to the NPL, as the same chronicle mentions the Yem raiding on their own in 1149 and 1228.
The NPL reports under the year 1164 that a Swedish fleet of 55 ships approached Ladoga, which was then defeated on the river Voronai, with most of its ships captured by Novgorod.

### 12th century in Erik's Chronicle

According to Erik's Chronicle, Karelians, supported by Novgorod, attacked mainland Sweden in late 12th century and destroyed Sigtuna, which was then Sweden's most important city. However, Novgorodian sources do not mention these events, and earlier Swedish sources refer to the attackers of Sigtuna simply as "heathens", without specifying their identity further. The chronicle also tells that Jon Jarl spent nine years fighting against Novgorodians and Ingrians at the end of the 12th century. Jon's story is not known from other sources.

## 13th century

Pope Honorius III (1216–1227) received a number of petitions regarding new Baltic crusades, mainly concerning Prussia and Livonia, but also a report from the Swedish Archbishop concerning difficulties with their mission in Finland. At that time, Honorius responded to the Swedish Archbishop only by declaring an embargo against trade with pagans in the region; it is not known if the Swedes requested further help for the moment.
The 1230s and 1240s saw the first papal involvement in Latin crusades against the Novgorod Republic. In 1237, the Swedes received papal authorization to launch a crusade, and in 1240, new campaigns began in the easternmost part of the Baltic region. The Finnish mission's eastward expansion led to a clash between Sweden and Novgorod, since the Karelians had been allies and tributaries of Novgorod since the mid-12th century. After a successful campaign into Tavastia, the Swedes advanced further east until they were stopped by a Novgorodian army led by Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, who supposedly defeated the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in July 1240 and received the nickname Nevsky. The only source of information on the attack is a Novgorodian chronicle. Novgorod fought against the crusade for economic reasons, to protect their monopoly of the Karelian fur trade.
From then on, Sweden moved its interest to Finland. Its troops did not return to the Neva before the end of the 13th century, when it had gained some kind of hold of western Finland. Earlier in 1220, Swedes had also tried to establish a bridgehead in Estonia, in vain. Apart from Ladoga, Novgorodian interests clashed with Sweden's in Finland, where Novgorodian forces held expeditions on numerous occasions from the 11th century onward. The raid in the winter of 1226–1227 led to heavy losses on the Finnish side. A Finnish retaliatory raid against Ladoga in 1228 ended in defeat, contributing to the Finns' subjugation by the Catholic Swedes during the Second Swedish Crusade in 1249. Seven years later, the Novgorodians devastated Swedish Finland again.
In 1293 the Swedes won a part of western Karelia and built the fortress of Viborg there. This expedition has traditionally been dubbed as the Third Swedish Crusade. Seven years later, they founded the fortress of Landskrona in the mouth of the Neva, on the river Okhta, and ruined the Novgorod settlements on the Neva. Later that year, the Novgorod troops retaliated by destroying Landskrona.

## 14th century

In 1311, the Novgorodians devastated central Finland, where the Swedes had recently built the new Hakoinen Castle, starting the Häme War. In response, a Swedish fleet embarked towards Ladoga and set that trade emporium on fire. Three years later, the Karelians' discontent with Novgorod's rule broke out into the open, as they killed Novgorodian governors and sought help in Sweden. After several months of hostilities, Karelia submitted to Novgorod's authority again.
In 1318 Novgorod attacked Turku in southwestern Finland, burning the city and the cathedral as well as the episcopal castle in Kuusisto Castle. Four years later, they besieged Viborg and founded Oreshek, an important fortress dominating the entrance to Lake Ladoga.
After the Kexholm War (1321–1323), the first treaty concluded by the parties to the conflict was the Treaty of Nöteborg (12 August 1323), followed by the Treaty of Novgorod between Novgorod and Norway in 1326. The treaties sought to bring "eternal peace" to the region.
As early as 1328, Sweden was encouraging settlers to take over the northern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, which was defined by the treaty as Novgorod's possession. When Karelians rebelled against Novgorod in 1337, King Magnus Eriksson sent his troops in their support, managing to briefly occupy Korela Fortress (Sten Bielke's war against Novgorod). Next year, Novgorod besieged Viborg, but an armistice was soon agreed upon.
After ten years of peace, the king felt ready to renew hostilities and demanded the Novgorodians to recognise the pope's authority. According to the Novgorod First and Fourth Chronicles, the king demanded that the Novgorodians debate with his "philosophers" (Catholic theologians) and whoever lost would convert to the religion of the winner. Novgorodian archbishop Vasily Kalika conferred with the posadnik and other members of the city's elite and told the king that, since they had received Christianity from Constantinople, he should send his philosophers there to debate with the Byzantines. Having received such a response, the king sent his army to Oreshek and set it ablaze. Novgorod soon recovered the lost ground.
The king attempted yet another fruitless attack in 1350. In the same year, the Black Death broke out in Northern Europe, effectively ending further hostilities.
Later skirmishes were more sporadic. Sweden's attempts to control the Gulf of Bothnia resulted in Novgorod beginning construction of a castle near the Oulujoki delta in the 1370s. Sweden replied by establishing their own castle nearby. Novgorod assaulted it in 1377, but was unable to take it. In the following year, Pope Gregory XI intervened and issued a crusade bull against Novgorod. Soon afterwards, the Novgorodians retreated from Ostrobothnia, leaving it for the Swedes.
In the late 14th century, the Novgorodians set up the fiefs of Korela, Oreshek, Koporye, Luga, and Ladoga as a sort of buffer state between their core dominions and Sweden. Several Lithuanian dukes renowned for their military skills were invited to rule this Ingrian duchy; Narimantas, his son Patrikas, and then Lengvenis.

## 15th century

Hostilities between the two powers were renewed in 1392 and 1411. However, Sweden had, by then, become a member state in the quarrelsome Kalmar Union, and was preoccupied by the Scandinavian power struggle for the entire 15th century. The last conflict took place in 1445, several decades before Novgorod was absorbed into Muscovy. Novgorod's demise did not result in peace, however, and conflict continued between the Principality of Moscow (later known as the Tsardom of Russia) and Sweden until the early 19th century.

## List of wars

| Date | Conflict | Kingdom of Sweden and allies | Novgorod Republic and allies | Result |
| 1164 | Battle of the Voronezhka River [ru] | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Novgorodian victory |
| 1187 | Pillage of Sigtuna | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic? Karelians? | Novgorodian victory |
| 1236–1237 | Tavastian uprising | Kingdom of Sweden | Tavastians Novgorod Republic Karelians | Swedish victory |
| 1238–1239 or c. 1249–1250 | Second Swedish Crusade | Kingdom of Sweden | Tavastians Novgorod Republic | Swedish victory |
| 1240 | Battle of the Neva | Kingdom of Sweden Finns Tavastians Norwegians | Novgorod Republic | Novgorodian victory |
| 1293–1295 | Third Swedish Crusade | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Swedish victory |
| 1300–1301 | Neva campaign | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Novgorodian victory |
| 1311–1314 | Häme War | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Inconclusive |
| 1318 | Attack on Åbo | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Inconclusive |
| 1321–1323 | Kexholm War | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Inconclusive Treaty of Nöteborg |
| 1338–1339 | Sten Bielke's war against Novgorod | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Swedish victory |
| 1348–1351 | Magnus Eriksson's war with Novgorod [ru] | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Novgorodian victory |
| 1377 | Attack on Oulu | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Swedish victory |
| 1395 | Storming of Yam | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Novgorodian victory |
| 1396 | Northern Ladoga Campaign | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Inconclusive |
| 1404 | Swedish-Novgorodian conflict | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Inconclusive |
| 1408–1409 | Swedish-Novgorodian conflict | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Inconclusive |
| 1411 | Tiversk campaign | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Swedish victory |
| 1415 | Campaign at the Gulf of Bothnia | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Novgorodian victory |
| 1444 | Karl Knutsson's campaign against Novgorod | Kalmar Union Sweden Teutonic Order Livonian Order | Novgorod Republic Pskov Republic | Swedish victory |
| 1448 | Novgorod's war against Karl Knutsson | Kingdom of Sweden | Novgorod Republic | Inconclusive |