The Baltic Crusades comprise a major chapter of medieval history. They were the heroic pages in the history not only for the German people, but also for the principalities of Rus. The images that immediately spring to mind are holy warrior of Rus, noble German crusader and a Baltic pagan. I would like to consider an alternative course of history from the perspective of the Woldemaro de Ploceke (Vladimir of Polotsk), who first encountered the Catholic intervention. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the English translation of the chronicle of Henry of Latvia on the Internet. Same thing with the Novgorod First Chronicle.
I apologize in advance, my English is rather bad. And min Old Ænglisc is ēac wyrse
That's a panorama of Polotsk in middle ages:
Let's plunge into the days of Old and years of yore. The days when Vladimir received ærende that the new bishop Albert had arrived to spread the word of God among infidels. These pagan tribes had been paying tribute to ancestors of Vladimir for a long time and the knyaz did not know how to deal with the visit of holy missioner. Should the infidels be converted to Christianity by force or should they understand the ways of Christianity by themselves in line with an old Russian tradition? And he was quick to act.
Dawn. The old chronicler dipped a pen into the inkwell and after thinking a bit began to write:
6709 gere of the ærworuld “In the same summer the king of Polotsk suddenly appeared in Livonia with an army, and besieged the castle Ikeskola. Livi, who had no armor, dared not to resist, and promised to pay him tribute. After receiving the money, the king lifted the siege. Meanwhile, the Teutons, whom the bishop sent with crossbows and weapons, entered the Castle Holm, and when the king came to besiege the castle, they wounded many horses, and put the Russians to rout, who had dared not to cross the Dvina river under fire. "(Henry Latvia VII, 7).
From this point our actions begin.
I apologize in advance, my English is rather bad. And min Old Ænglisc is ēac wyrse
That's a panorama of Polotsk in middle ages:
Let's plunge into the days of Old and years of yore. The days when Vladimir received ærende that the new bishop Albert had arrived to spread the word of God among infidels. These pagan tribes had been paying tribute to ancestors of Vladimir for a long time and the knyaz did not know how to deal with the visit of holy missioner. Should the infidels be converted to Christianity by force or should they understand the ways of Christianity by themselves in line with an old Russian tradition? And he was quick to act.
Dawn. The old chronicler dipped a pen into the inkwell and after thinking a bit began to write:
6709 gere of the ærworuld “In the same summer the king of Polotsk suddenly appeared in Livonia with an army, and besieged the castle Ikeskola. Livi, who had no armor, dared not to resist, and promised to pay him tribute. After receiving the money, the king lifted the siege. Meanwhile, the Teutons, whom the bishop sent with crossbows and weapons, entered the Castle Holm, and when the king came to besiege the castle, they wounded many horses, and put the Russians to rout, who had dared not to cross the Dvina river under fire. "(Henry Latvia VII, 7).
From this point our actions begin.
