Swedish–Novgorodian Wars

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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.^{[citation needed]} The clashes between Catholic Swedes and Orthodox Novgorodians had religious overtones,^{[citation needed]} but before the 14th century there is no knowledge of official crusade bulls issued by the pope.^{[citation needed]}

Scandinavians maintained trade relations and other links with Novgorod from the Viking Age onwards.^{[citation needed]} Merchants from Gotland operated both their own trading house (Gutagård) and Saint Olaf's Church in Novgorod.^{[citation needed]} Scandinavians also carried out isolated raids on Novgorod.^{[citation needed]} Eiríkr Hákonarson raided Ladoga in 997, and his brother Sveinn Hákonarson followed suit in 1015.^{[citation needed]} 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'.^{[citation needed]} It was ruled by Ragnvald Ulfsson, the alleged father of King Stenkil of Sweden (reigned 1060–1066).^{[citation needed]} 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'.^{[citation needed]}

The 12th century is poorly documented in Sweden, and Old East Slavic documents are fragmentary.^{[citation needed]}

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".^[1]

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."^[2] Scholars disagree on how to interpret this passage, because it is not said whether the merchants were Novgorodians or not;^[1] nor whether they were coming from Novgorod,^[3] or going to Novgorod.^{[clarification needed]} It is also unclear who supposedly defeated and killed who; earlier authors such as Nikolay Karamzin (1826)^[4] and Vladimir Pashuto (1968)^[5] 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."^[3] 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.^[6]

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.^[4][a]

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.^[9] The chronicle also tells that Jon Jarl spent nine years fighting against Novgorodians and Ingrians at the end of the 12th century.^[10] Jon's story is not known from other sources.^[11]

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.^[12]

The 1230s and 1240s saw the first papal involvement in Latin crusades against the Novgorod Republic.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] The only source of information on the attack is a Novgorodian chronicle.^[b][16][17] Novgorod fought against the crusade for economic reasons, to protect their monopoly of the Karelian fur trade.^[18]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Seven years later, the Novgorodians devastated Swedish Finland again.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

In 1311, the Novgorodians devastated central Finland, where the Swedes had recently built the new Hakoinen Castle, starting the Häme War.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[19] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[20][21][22] Having received such a response, the king sent his army to Oreshek and set it ablaze. Novgorod soon recovered the lost ground.^[23]

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.^[24][25]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

This section is an excerpt from List of wars between Russia and Sweden § Wars between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic.[edit]

Date	Conflict	Kingdom of Sweden and allies	Novgorod Republic and allies	Result
1164	Battle of the Voronezhka River [ru][26]	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic	Novgorodian victory
1187	Pillage of Sigtuna[27]	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic? Karelians?	Swedish defeat
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[28]	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][29]	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic	Novgorodian victory
1377	Attack on Oulu[30][31]	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic	Swedish victory
1395	Storming of Yam	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic	Novgorodian victory
1396	Northern Ladoga Campaign [32]	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic	Inconclusive
1411	Tiversk campaign[33]	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic	Swedish victory
1415	Campaign at the Gulf of Bothnia[34]	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[35]	Kingdom of Sweden	Novgorod Republic	Inconclusive

• Capture of Novgorod (1611)
• Finnish–Novgorodian wars – Conflicts between the Novgorod Republic and northern Finnic tribes in the 11th-13th centuries

• Novgorod First Chronicle (NPL, c. 1275), sub anno 6650 (1142)
  • (Church Slavonic Synodal Scroll critical edition) Izbornyk (1950). "Новгородская Первая Летопись Старшего Извода (синодальный Список). В лЂто 6649 [1141] — в лЂто 6688 [1180]" [Novgorod First Chronicle of the Older Edition (Synodal Scroll). In the year 6649 [1141] — in the year 6688 [1180]]. Izbornyk (in Church Slavic). Moscow / Leningrad: Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Retrieved 19 July 2024. – digitised version of the late-13th-century Synodal Scroll edition (or "Older Edition") of the Novgorod First Chronicle (Synodalnyy NPL).
  • (modern English translation) Michell, Robert; Forbes, Nevill (1914). The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016–1471. Translated from the Russian by Robert Michell and Nevill Forbes, Ph.D. Reader in Russian in the University of Oxford, with an introduction by C. Raymond Beazley and A. A. Shakhmatov (PDF). London: Gray's Inn. p. 237. Retrieved 5 April 2024.

• Erik's Chronicle (c. 1330)
  • (modern English translation) The Chronicle of Duke Erik : a Verse Epic from Medieval Sweden (2012).

• Fonnesberg-Schmidt, Iben (2007). The popes and the Baltic crusades, 1147–1254. Brill. ISBN 9789004155022.
• Larrea, Beñat Elortza (2023). Polity Consolidation and Military Transformation in Medieval Scandinavia: A European Perspective, c.1035–1320. The Northern World. Brill. p. 396. ISBN 978-90-04-54349-2. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
• Lelis, Arnold A. (2005). "The View From the Northwest: the Chronicle of Novgorod as the mirror of local experience of Rus' history, 1016–1333". Russian History. 32 (3/4). Brill: 389–399. doi:10.1163/187633105X00204. ISSN 0094-288X. JSTOR 24663271. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
• Line, Philip (2007). Kingship and State Formation in Sweden: 1130 – 1290. The Northern World. Brill. p. 697. ISBN 978-90-04-15578-7. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
• Murray, Alan V., ed. (2009). The clash of cultures on the medieval Baltic frontier. Farnham: Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-6483-3.
  • Paul, Michael C. (2009). "Archbishop Vasilii Kalika of Novgorod, the Fortress of Orekhov and the Defence of Orthodoxy". In Murray, Alan V. (ed.). The Clash of Cultures on the Medieval Baltic Frontier. Farnham, UK; Burnlington, VT: Ashgate. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-7546-6483-3.
• Pashuto, Vladimir (1968). Внешняя политика Руси [The foreign policy of Rus'] (in Russian). Moscow: Nauka.
• Shkvarov, Alexei (2012). Россия и Швеция. История военных конфликтов 1142-1809 [Russia and Sweden. The history of military conflicts 1142-1809] (in Russian). Saint-Petersburg: RME Group Oy:Алетейя. p. 576. ISBN 978-5-91419-754-1.
• Sundberg, Ulf (1998). Medeltidens svenska krig [Medieval Swedish Wars] (in Swedish) (1st ed.). Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg. p. 458. ISBN 9189080262.

•  "Русско-шведские войны" . Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.
• Hipping, A. J. (1837). Neva och Nyenskans. Helsingfors.