Livonian Chronicle of Henry

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The Livonian Chronicle of Henry (

The Livonian Chronicle of Henry provides eyewitness accounts of the events, with an invaluable and deeply human history. It provides insight, not only into military operations in the East during this tumultuous period but also into the conflicted attitudes of an eyewitness; it reveals the complexities of religious motives enmeshed with political aims. The other famous early Livonian text, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, has less historical value, as it was essentially intended as a patriotic and Christian courtly entertainment.

The Livonian Chronicle of Henry utilizes two major points of justification for the conquest of Livonia: that it was the Land of the Virgin Mary, which began after Bishop Meinhard, the first Bishop who attempted to spread Christianity to Livonia, established a Cult of Mary convent in Livonia. Following this, Albert of Riga also helped perpetuate this association by naming the Episcopal Cathedral in Livonia as the church of the Virgin Mary in the early 1200s.

The second main justification was that Livonia was comparable to Jerusalem.

Other reasons include justification on the basis of the defense of Christianity, the conversion of pagans, and the return of apostates to Christianity. Many have questioned to what extent the Christianization of Livonia was in fact about commercial and political gains. Henry mentions in his chronicle that there was a notable number of German merchants in the crusading army, but does not describe their stake in the crusade. Conversely, in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, the writer states that these merchants would, "Sell [their wares] to greater advantage there than elsewhere".^[3] Politically, because Livonia was so rich in natural resources and was such an important trading hub for so many nations and people, gaining political control over this land would bring political advancement to Germany over the other nations that were vying for the resources that existed in Livonia during this time. The modern English translator of the Livonian Chronicle of Henry, James A. Brundage, also argues that the German popes, kings, bishops, and dukes would have been aware of the existing positive economic and political potential in Livonia.

The chronicles consist of four books.

• The first book, "On Livonia" describes events between 1186 and 1196: the arrival of the first bishop of Ikšķile, Meinhard, and the baptizing of Livonians.
• The second book, "On bishop Berthold" describes events between 1196 and 1198: the arrival of the second bishop of Ikšķile Berthold of Hanover and his death in the battle with Livonians near what later became the town of Riga.
• The third book, "On bishop Albert" describes events between 1198 and 1208: the arrival of third bishop of Ikšķile,
  Albert of Buxhoeveden, the foundation of the Christian knightly order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, the conquest and dividing of Livonian territories between the Bishopric of Livonia and the Order, the wars with the Princes of Polotsk and Lithuanians, conquest of the Principality of Koknese and the country of Selonians
  .
• The fourth book, "On Estonia" describes events between 1208 and 1226: the campaigns against
  Novgorod
  .

English online material on the chronicle is rather scarce, though there are some excerpts [1]. The Latin copy in the Polish National Library is available online.

A modern translation of the chronicle was published in 1961 (2nd ed. 2004) by James A Brundage and is available through Columbia University Press.

Author

The author of the chronicle is

Henry's Chronicle is written from the clerical point of view, that the history of the Church was the essential history of Livonia. The Chronicle may have originated as a report to the papal legate William of Modena, to whom he was assigned as an interpreter in 1225 through 1227. The legate, one of the papacy's most able diplomats, was in Livonia to mediate an internal church dispute between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, and the territorial claims of the Catholic bishops of Livonia.

Assessment

For many episodes in the early stages of the Christianization of the peoples of the eastern Baltic, the Chronicle of Henry is the major surviving evidence aside from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Novgorod First Chronicle.

The Livonian Chronicle of Henry has been highlighted for the purpose of understanding the complexities of crusading ideology because it describes the religious motives used to justify the crusade as well as alluding to the potential economic and political benefits that were existent in the Christianization of Livonia by mentioning the fact that there were merchants who were present in the crusading army. This chronicle is also an example of a crusader document that implements opinionated and demeaning rhetoric towards the people they were conquering, especially when describing the nature of the pagans when Bishop Meinhard initially fails to convert them without the use of force by promising to build them forts if they would accept baptism. Many of the pagans accepted this offer but didn't have intentions to change their faith to Christianity. When it was discovered that these people were still practicing their pagan beliefs and rituals, many of those involved in implementing the crusade, including Henry himself, expressed their disapproval and judgments of these individuals.

References