Northern Crusades

Definition

The Northern or Baltic Crusades were military campaigns organised by popes and western rulers to convert pagans to Christianity in the 12th to 15th century. Unlike in the Holy Land, where military campaigns were aimed at liberating former Christian lands from Muslim rule, the crusades in Prussia, Livonia (modern Estonia) and Lithuania were aimed at converting the local pagan population.

More about: Northern Crusades

Timeline

  • 1147 - 1148
    Campaigns against pagans in the Baltic are led by Germanic and Danish nobles during the Second Crusade.
  • Jun 1147 - Sep 1147
    Dobin and Malchow in northeast Germany are captured during the Second Crusade.
  • 1242
    An army of Teutonic knights is defeated by the Russians at Lake Peipus.
  • 1308
    The Teutonic Order acquires Danzig and eastern Pomerania.
  • 1309
    The headquarters of the Teutonic Order is moved to a fortified convent at Marienburg in Prussia.
  • 1346
    The Teutonic Order acquires control of northern Estonia.
  • 15 Jul 1410
    At the battle of Tannenburg an army of Teutonic knights is wiped out.
  • 1457
    The headquarters of the Teutonic Order is relocated to Konigsberg.
  • 1525
    The Teutonic Order is secularized in Prussia.
  • 1562
    The Teutonic Order is secularized in Livonia.
Membership