Œsel

Infobox Former Subdivision
conventional_long_name = Œselia
native_name = Saaremaa
common_name = Saaremaa
subdivision = county
nation = Estonia
capital = Pöide
event_start =
year_start = 9th century
event_end =
year_end = 1345
p1 =
s1 = Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order
image_s1 =
s2 = Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
image_s2 =

---

image_map_caption = Ancient Estonia
common_languages = Estonian
stat_area1 = 2871

Saaremaa, Œselia, Œsel was an ancient Estonian independent county. It corresponded to the present territory of Saare County: Saaremaa + Muhumaa.

History

According to archeological finds, the territory of Saaremaa has been inhabited for at least five thousand years. In old Scandinavian sagas, Saaremaa is called "Eysysla" which means exactly the same as the name of the island in Estonian: "the district (land) of island". This is the origin of the island's name in German and Swedish, "Ösel", Danish, "Øsel", and in Latin "Osilia". The name "Eysysla" appears sometimes together with "Adalsysla", 'the big land', perhaps 'Suuremaa' or 'Suur Maa' in Estonian which refers to mainland Estonia. Sagas talk about numerous skirmishes between islanders and vikings. Saaremaa was the wealthiest county of ancient Estonia and the home of notorious Estonian pirates, sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and five hundred Œselians ravaging the area that is now southern Sweden, then belonging to Denmark. In 1206, the Danish Valdemar II the Victorious built a fortress on the island but they found no volunteers to man it. They burned it down themselves and left. In 1227, Saaremaa was conquered by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, but remained a hotbed of Estonian resistance. The Order founded the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek there. When the Order was defeated by the Lithuanian army in the Battle of Saule in 1236, Œselians rebelled. The conflict was ended by a treaty that was signed by the Œselians and the Master of the Order.

The Œselians along with Curonians were known in the Old Norse Icelandic Sagas and in Heimskringla as "Víkingr frá Esthland" (in English, Estonian Vikings)no icon [http://www.skole.karmoy.kommune.no/wavald/sagaoya/snorre/olav%20trygvasson.html Olav Trygvassons saga at School of Avaldsnes] ] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZTVjwf2ZPGYC&pg Heimskringla; Kessinger Publishing (March 31, 2004); on Page 116;] ISBN 0766186938] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=4BxvGd3c9OYC&pg=PA166&vq=%22Estonian+Vikings%22&sig=gWbLLsPmTPloyTpG4HdpqIS7FYk A History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones; on page 166;] ISBN 0415091365 ] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=g2-Lga0r62MC&pg=PA177&vq=Estonian+Vikings&sig=rw28BfteCrHXhnTn7l_p-875vu4 Nordic Religions in the Viking Age by Thomas A. Dubois; on page 177;] ISBN 0812217144 ] . Their sailing vessels were called pirate ships by Henry of Livonia in his Latin chronicles from the beginning of the 13th century. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=FmJnyTlis7oC&printsec The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia] ISBN 0231128894]

"Eistland" or "Esthland" is the historical Germanic language name that refers to the country at the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea in general, and is the origin of the modern national name for Estonia. The mainland of modern Estonia in the 8th century Ynglinga saga was called "Adalsyssla" in contrast to "Eysyssel" or "Ösyssla" that was the name of the island (Swedish): Ösel or (Estonian): Saaremaa, the home of the Œselians ( _et. Saarlased). In the 11th century Courland and Estland (Estonia) were both denoted separately by Adam of Bremen . [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=QsS-fAVrUgIC&pg=PA196&vq History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen By Adam of Bremen Page 196-197] ]

On the eve of Northern Crusades, the Œselians were summarized in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle thus: "The Œselians, neighbors to the Kurs (Curonians), are surrounded by the sea and never fear strong armies as their strength is in their ships. In summers when they can travel across the sea they oppress the surrounding lands by raiding both Christians and pagans." [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=GNBNHgAACAAJ&dq The Baltic Crusade By William L. Urban; p. 20] ISBN 0929700104]

Battles and raids

Saxo Grammaticus describes the Curonians and Estonians as participating in the Battle of Bråvalla on the side of the Swedes against the Danes, who were aided by the Livonians and the Wends of Pomerania. It is notable that Baltic tribes — i.e., the Letts and Lithuanians — are not mentioned by Saxo as participating in the fight. [http://books.google.com/books?id=q5gCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA141 Pre- and Proto-historic Finns by John Abercromby p.141] ]
Snorri Sturluson relates in his "Ynglinga saga" how the Swedish king Ingvar (7th century), the son of Östen and a great warrior, who was forced to patrol the shores of his kingdom fighting Estonian pirates. The saga speaks of his invasion of Estonia where he fell in a battle against the men of "Estland" who had came down with a great army. After the battle, King Ingvar was buried close to the seashore in Estonia and the Swedes returned home. [ [http://omacl.org/Heimskringla/ynglinga.html Heimskringla; 36. OF YNGVAR'S FALL] ]

According to Heimskringla sagas, in the year 967 the Norwegian Queen Astrid escaped with her son Olaf Tryggvason from her homeland to Novgorod, where her brother Sigurd held an honoured position at the court of Prince Vladimir. On their journey, Oeselian Vikings raided the ship, killing some of the crew and taking others into slavery. Six years later, when Sigurd Eirikson traveled to Estonia to collect taxes on behalf of Valdemar, he spotted Olaf in a market on Saaremaa and paid for his freedom.

A battle between Oeselian and Icelandic Vikings off Saaremaa is described in Njál's saga as occurring in 972 AD.

About 1008, Olaf the Holy, later king of Norway, landed on Saaremaa. The Osilians, taken by surprise, had at first agreed to pay the demands made by Olaf, but then gathered an army during the negotiations and attacked the Norwegians. Olaf nevertheless won the battle.

Around the year 1030, a Swedish Viking chief called Freygeirr may have been killed in a battle on Saaremaa.

According to the Novgorod Chronicle, Varyag Ulf (Uleb) from Novgorod was crushed by Estonians in a sea battle close to the town of Lindanise in 1032.

From the 12th century, chroniclers' descriptions of Estonian, Osilians and Curonian raids along the coasts of Sweden and Denmark become more frequent.

The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia describes a fleet of sixteen ships and five hundred Osilians ravaging the area that is now southern Sweden, then belonging to Denmark. In the XIVth book of Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus describes a battle on Öland in 1170 in which the Danish king Valdemar I mobilised his entire fleet to curb the incursions of Couronian and Estonian pirates.

Perhaps the most renowned raid by Estonian pirates occurred in 1187, with the attack on the Swedish town of Sigtuna by Finnic raiders from Couronia and Estonia. Among the casualties of this raid was the Swedish archbishop Johannes. The city remained occupied for some time, contributing to the decline as a center of commerce in the 13th century in favor of Uppsala, Visby, Kalmar and Stockholm. [ [http://heninen.net/sigtuna/english.htm The raid on Sigtuna] ]

The Livonian Chronicle describes the Estonians as using two kinds of ships, the "piratica" and the "liburna". The former was a warship, the latter mainly a merchant ship. A "piratica" could carry approximately 30 men and had a high prow shaped like a dragon or a snakehead as well as a quadrangular sail.

Viking-age treasures from Estonia mostly contain silver coins and bars. Compared to its close neighbors, Saaremaa has the richest finds of Viking treasures after Gotland in Sweden. This strongly suggests that Estonia was an important transit country during the Viking era.

Religion and mythology

The superior god of Oeselians as described by Henry of Livonia was called Tharapita. According to the legend in the chronicle Tharapita was born on a forested mountain in Virumaa (Latin: Vironia), mainland Estonia from where he flew to Oesel , Saaremaa [http://books.google.com/books?id=FmJnyTlis7oC&dq The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, Page 193] ISBN 0231128894 ] The name Taarapita has been interpreted as "Thor, help!" (Taara a(v)ita in Estonian) and associated with the Scandinavian god Thor. The story of Tharapita's or Taara's flight from Vironia to Saaremaa has been associated with a major meteor disaster estimated to have happened in 660 ± 85 B.C. that formed Kaali crater in Saaremaa.

Archeology

Estonia constitutes one of the richest territories in the Baltic for hoards from the 11th and the 12th centuries. The earliest coin hoards found in Estonia are Arabic Dirhams from the 8th century. The largest Viking-Age hoards found in Estonia have been at Maidla and Kose. Out of the 1500 coins published in catalogues, 1000 are Anglo-Saxon. [Estonian Collections : Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman and later British Coins; ISBN 0197262201]

Decline

With the rise of centralized authority along with a bolstering of coastal defense in the areas exposed to Vikings, Viking raids became more risky and less profitable. With the growing presence of Christianity and the rise of kings and a quasi-feudal system in Scandinavia, these raids ceased entirely. By the 11th century, the Scandinavians are frequently chronicled as overpowering the Vikings from the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, which would eventually lead to German, Danish and Swedish participation in the Northern crusades and the Scandinavian conquest of Estonia.

The eastern Baltic world would be transformed by military conquest. First the Livs, Letts and Estonians, then the Prussians and the Finns underwent defeat, baptism, military occupation and sometimes extermination by German, Danish and Swedish forces. [The Northern Crusades: Second Edition by Eric Christiansen; p.93; ISBN 0140266534]

Conquest of Œselians

In 1206, the Danish army led by king Valdemar II and Andreas, the Bishop of Lund landed on Saaremaa and attempted to establish a stronghold without success. In 1216 the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and the bishop Theodorich joined forces and invaded Saaremaa over the frozen sea. The following spring the Osilians raided the territories in Latvia that were under German rule in return. In 1220, the Swedish army led by king John I of Sweden and the bishop Karl of Linköping conquered Lihula in Rotalia in Western Estonia. Osellians attacked the Swedish stronghold the same year, conquered it and killed the entire Swedish garrison including the Bishop of Linköping.

In 1222, the Danish king Valdemar II attempted the second conquest of Saaremaa, this time establishing a stone fortress housing a strong garrison. The Danish stronghold was besieged and surrendered within five days, the Danish garrison returned to Revel, leaving bishop Albert of Riga' brother Theodoric and few others behind hostages as pledges for peace. The castle was leveled to the ground by Œselians. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=GNBNHgAACAAJ&dq The Baltic Crusade By William L. Urban; p 113-114] ISBN 0929700104]

In 1227, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, the town of Riga and the Bishop of Riga organized combined attack against Saaremaa. After the surrender of 2 major Oeselian strongholds, Muhu and Valjala, the Œselians formally accepted Christianity.

In 1236, after the defeat of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the Battle of Saule, military action on Saaremaa broke out again.

Œselians accepted Christianity again by signing treaties with the Master of Teutonic Order in Livonia Andreas de Velven and the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek in 1241. The next treaty was signed in 1255 by the Master of the Order, Anno Sangerhausenn, and, on behalf of the Œselians, by men called Ylle, Culle, Env, Muntelene, Tappete, Yalde, Melete, and Cake [ [http://books.google.com/books?ei=5T5NR8i7Gp_QpwLvvNn3Bg&id=aTouAAAAMAAJ&dq=ylle+culle+muntelene&q=Ylle+Culle&pgis=1#search Liv-, est- und kurländisches Urkundenbuch: Nebst Regesten] ] The treaty granted several additional rights to the Osilians. The 1255 treaty included clauses concerning the ownership and inheritance of land, the social system and religious rules.

In 1261, warfare continued as the Œselians had again renounced Christianity and killed all the Germans on the island. A peace treaty was signed after the united forces of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order, the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, the forces of Danish Estonia including mainland Estonians and Latvians defeated the Osilians by conquering the Kaarma stronghold. Soon thereafter, the Teutonic Knights established a stone fort at Pöide.

On July 24, 1343, the Œselians killed all the Germans on the island, drowned all the clerics and started to besiege the Teutonic castle at Pöide. After the surrender the Osilians levelled the castle and killed all the defenders. In February 1344, Burchard von Dreileben led a campaign over the frozen sea to Saaremaa. The Osilians' stronghold was conquered and their King Wesse was hanged. In the early spring of 1345, the next campaign of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order took place that ended with a treaty mentioned in the Chronicle of Hermann von Wartberge and the Novgorod First Chronicle. Saaremaa remained the vassal of the master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia, and the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek.

Chronology

* 967 - Olaf Tryggvason flees Norway with his mother only to be attacked by Œselians
* 972 - A battle between Œselians and Icelandic vikings in Saaremaa described in Njál's saga.
* 1008 - Olav Haraldsson, the future king of Norway lands on Saaremaa, wins a battle there and forces the inhabitants to pay tribute.
* 1170 - Danes make an attack against Saaremaa.
* 1187 - Œselians, Curonians and Karelians destruct Sigtuna and kill the archbishop.
* 1194 - Danes make an attack against Saaremaa.
* 1197 - Danes make an attack against Saaremaa.
* 1206 - King Valdemar II and archbishop Andreas Sunonis raid Saaremaa, forcing the Œselians to submit. The Danes build a fortress, but finding no volunteers to man it, they burn it down themselves and leave the island.
* 1227 - Estonian ancient fight for independence ends with foreign rule in the country for next 7 centuries.
* 1343 - St. George's Night Uprising in Saaremaa (-1345).
* 1344 - Wesse, the rebel King of Saaremaa, is hanged.

Notes

See also

* Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
* Danish Estonia
* History of Estonia
* List of Estonian rulers
* Livonian Crusade
* Saare County
* Saaremaa
* St. George's Night Uprising
* Viking Age