History of the Baltic Sea Region

В статье преимущественно на архивных материалах рассмотрен процесс подписания Тартуского (Юрьевского) мирного договора между Советской Россией и Финляндией в 1920 г. Особое внимание уделено тактике советской делегации и инструкциям, приходившим из Москвы. В работе делается попытка дать оценку характеру переговоров и степени влияния различных ведомств на его ход.

This article analyses a unique case of testimonials presented by seamen before the urban court of Danzig in 1564–1565. It argues that three factors played significant roles in how these statements were received and used in court: first, their overall status in society; second, their presence at the place of the contested events, which enabled them to provide relevant information; and third, the detail of their evidence, which owed much to their demonstrable experience of working at sea, and is largely unknown to modern researchers of the pre-modern maritime history of the Baltic region and northern Europe in general. The case therefore offers novel insights into maritime, social, and legal aspects of the life and work of mariners.

The boatsmen that served onboard the Army fleet during the war of Gustavus III came from Swedish and Finnish boatsmen’s companies:
Roslag’s 2 Companies; Östergötland Company; Tjust Company; Bohuslän’s 2 Companies; Åland and Southern Finland Company; Gotland’s 2 Companies; The Cities of Skåne’s Company; Norrland’s 2 Companies; Södermanlands’ 2 Companies; Småland Company; Västergötland Company; Öland’s 2 companies; The Stockholm City Company; Uppstäderna’s Company.
The Åland and Southern Finland Company was the only company providing boatsmen from Finland. The region is predominately Swedish speaking which is probably a contributing reason why boatsmen were only recruited from this area.

Classical studies of the Russian Empire's engagement with the Baltic region have focused primarily on the conflicts between the Russian central state policy and local particularism. In a volume written when the Baltic region was still part of the Soviet Union, Thaden and his co-authors analyzed the impact of Orthodoxy on " administrative " and " cultural " Russi-fication from the 1860s to 1914, arriving at the unsubstantiated conclusion that " Orthodox proselytizing and Russified schools had very little impact on Estonians and Latvians ". 2 In recent years, the discussion of the Russian central state versus local particularism has been framed in the context of Empire, focusing on the ways in which nationalizing societies were caught between the central policies of Russification and processes of modernization. 3 Scholars have brought various cultural forms of power to light, including imperial imagination and mental maps. 4 Inevitably, despite the shift towards cultural history and new imperial history, historians continue to focus on the workings of power and responses to it by the national intelligentsia and the emerging civil society. While the new theoretical and methodological approaches have been very useful in invigorating the studies of the Baltic region, there is still a shortage of studies that focus on popular everyday practices in the context of colonial or imperial authority, and a lack of knowledge of the responses of ordinary people, including the rural and lower-class urban population to the imperial policies of 'Russification'. Religion provides an important insight into the lives of ordinary people and their responses to the various identity projects imposed on them either by the colonizers or by their own national intelligentsia. It has become traditional to identify the interests of the " people " with those of the national activists who spoke on their behalf. In reality, this has not always been the case. The recent literature on " national indifference " in various borderland regions in Central Europe, including Silesia and Bohemia, takes issue with the dominant theories of nationalism and emphasises the problematic identification of a specific nation with a linguistic group.

The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been taken from the ducal coat of arms. Duke Wartislaw I (died 1135) was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin dynasty. The most prominent Griffin was Eric of Pomerania, who became king of the Kalmar Union in 1397, thus ruling Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The last Griffin duke of Pomerania was Bogislaw XIV, who died during the Thirty Years' War, which led to the division of Pomerania between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden. Duchess Anna von Croy, daughter of Duke Bogislaw XIII and the last Griffin, died in 1660.
The dynasty is known by two names, Pomerania, after their primary fief, and Griffin, after their coat of arms, which had featured a griffin since the late 12th century: The first verifiable use of the griffin as the dynasty's heraldic emblem occurred in a seal of Casimir II, Duke of Pomerania, which showed the imaginary beast within a shield, and was attached to a document dated 1194.
The name Pomerania comes from Slavic 'po more', which means: 'land along the sea'.
The origins of the Griffins are not clear. Most theories derive them from either local Slavic nobility or a cadet branch of the Polish house of Piasts. Medieval Polish chronicler Jan Długosz connected them with Polish noble family of Świebodzice from the south province of Poland named the Lesser Poland, who also used a griffin as their coat-of-arms and who in turn might also have been a cadet branch of the Piasts. At any rate, chronicler Gallus Anonymus in his Gesta principum Polonorum calls the Griffins "close cousins" of then-contemporary Bolesław III of Poland, directly implying a close dynastic relationship with the Piasts.
In the 17th century, the Griffins derived their roots from legendary beings from Sorb mythology called Gryphus or Baltus.
The first known members of the Griffins were the brothers Wartislaw I and Ratibor I. Wartislaw would be the ancestor of the line of dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania until 1630; Ratibor would be the ancestor of the Ratiborides branch of the Griffins, that was to rule the lands of Schlawe and Stolp (Slupsk) until the line became extinct and the area was incorporated in the Duchy of Pomerania. The first known member of the Swantiborides branch of the Griffins, notable as castellans of Pomeranian cities, was Wartislaw (II) Swantiboriz.

The Guta Saga like the Goths tribal saga speak of a southern emigration from Gotland to the Black Sea area and the Byzantine Empire. We know from Byzantine sources that the Goths settled in the Bosporian Kingdom and took possession of its fleet with which they for some time ravaged in the Mediterranean. As we have seen above, we have, already in the late Bronze Age, Gotlandic trading Emporiums on the Baltic Sea coast where the river roads lead down to the Black Sea and Byzantine Empire. Even at the time when the Guta Saga was recorded, in the early1200s, it is not startling when the author of the Guta Saga notes that in Greece (Crimea belonged to Greece with Miklagarðr, as its capital), there lived a group that “settled and live there and even today they have in their speech track of our language” (note 15).

According to Professor Elias Wessén, Fv 1969 p27: “There are thus several language barriers across the Nordic language area, and the Gothic line thus always agrees with the eastern parts of Scandinavia, mainly Gutnish on Gotland.”
“If the Gotlanders on Gotland and the Goths in the Vistula area originally were the same people they would still in the first centuries CE have spoken substantially the same language, a language in its later development in Southern Europe emerging as Gothic. It is likely that the mother language of the Gothic and forn Gutnish has not differed too much from the contemporary primitive Norse. In any case, the similarities with Gothic is nowhere in the Nordic region as close as in forn Gutnish .“
We can thus follow the Crimean Goths, which Busbecq encountered, from the 200s and all the time until our time. They lived not far from the island Berezan out in the Dnjepr estuary, which the Gotlandic Varangian merchants used as a stopover for river trips and for the voyage across the Black Sea towards Byzantium and Miklagarðr (Constantinople). There has also a Gotlandic picture stone been found.

In this essay I outline my forthcoming research project on military enterprisers in sixteenth century Sweden and the Baltic Sea area. The aim is to present and discuss productive research problems on the subject of mercenaries. During the Thirty Years war, the Swedish strategies for contracting mercenaries are a well-known phenomenon. In my thesis I also show how contracts with German companies of mercenaries became an established practise for military recruitment in Sweden already during the 1490s. The century in between is a fairly pristine area for further research on this matter. Previous research has ascertained the presence of mercenaries in Swedish service during the early Vasas. Though, the question of why and how the Swedish state contracted foreign mercenaries during the sixteenth century have seldom been studied – neither the business strategies of the enterprisers themselves. The primary aim of this study is not to study mercenaries as military assets from a traditional state perspective, but to study the military enterprisers themselves as commercial agents on the Baltic market.

[The essay is published in Swedish but results of the study will be published in English]

Vom 4. bis 14. July 2014 fand eine Survey Expedition in Wilhelm Gustlof wrack statt, es war ein nazi-Kreuzerschiff von K.d.F. das wurde ein Kaserneschiff vom Kriegsmarine und am 30. Januar 1945 wurde vom sowietischen U Boot S-13 gesunken. Wilhelm Gustloff Wrack ist eine Erinnerung vor der grossen Seetragoedie der Geschichte und liegt in internazionale Wasser vor der Kuesten dem heutigen Poland, zwischen dem Stolpe-Bank und der danischen Insel Bornholm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfBtFVfWYNM

This article presents an overview of the long term trends in the trading patterns for salted herring in the area of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and their hinterlands in the period of c. 1600-1850. The market is defined as ‘the interaction between supply and demand to determine the market price and corresponding quantity bought and sold.’  In this period the north European herring market underwent several changes. This is analysed from four different points of view:
The first main section examines the main trading routes for herring in Northern Europe by use of records from the Sound toll registers as well as from accounts of herring imports in the German North Sea and Baltic cities. Then a number of price series for various parts of northern Europe give indications for the long term development of prices of herring. Following this an analysis of the consumption patterns of salted herring is carried out, and finally the influence of mercantilist policies is evaluated.

“Vi ved ikke med rimelig sikkerhed, hvornår de bornholmske kirker blev opført, hvem som opførte dem, hvorfor de ligger, hvor de gør, hvorfor flere har overhvælvede stokværk, og hvorfor nogle blev befæstet. Vi ved ikke, hvem eller hvad som blev beskyttet i kirkerne, eller mod hvem det skete”. (Prof. Jes Wienberg, Lunds Universitet, 2002).
This paper was started in 2010, but never published, but the content was extended and used in a longer article (Bornholmske Samlinger 2012) and in my book Bornholm og Østersøen 1060-1140 (from 2014). 
Mere er kommet frem siden dengang, dels om Sebbersund, dels om Bornholm, dels om rundkirker i de slaviske lande. Se mine to - næsten ens - engelsksprogede artikler om rotunder her på academia - den ene fra framlæggelse af et paper ved en konference, som Gdansk Universitet afholdt i efteråret 2015, den anden med citater fra professor i kunsthistorie ved Tallinn Universitet, Kersti Markus.  (JE, 09-07-2017).

The paper takes a critical look at the suggestion by a Finnish historian, Jouko Vahtola, that the Order of the Sword Brothers or Brethren on the initiative of the Finnish bishop Thomas (Tuomas) was present in Finland for a period in the 1230s. The evidence for this is weak bordering on non-existent. Related articles available on academia.edu are Lind, Bishop Thomas in recent Historiography; Lind, Early Russian-Swedish Rivalry; and Lind, Sword Brethren
https://www.academia.edu/32540122/Bishop_Thomas_in_Recent_Historiography_Views_and_Sources_In_Suomen_varhaishistoria_ed_Ky%C3%B6sti_Julku_pp_304_16_Studia_historica_septentrionalia_21_Oulu_1992_Finnish_summary_
https://www.academia.edu/14546779/Early_Russian_Swedish_Rivalry_The_Battle_on_the_Neva_in_1240_and_Birger_Magnusson_s_Second_Crusade_to_Tavastia_Scandinavian_Journal_of_History_16_4_1991_269_95
https://www.academia.edu/19497169/Sword_Brethren_in_The_Crusades_an_Encyclopedia_ed_Alan_V_Murray_2006_1130_36

The naval wars of the 14th and 15th century in the territory of the Hanseatic League are less spectacular than generally assumed. There were neither special designed warships nor can the deployment of stonethrowing engines or outsize crossbows be proved. Shipguns, if existent, were only used sporadically. For the maritime wars basically every type of ship, which was also installed for merchant shipping, was used. For combat use vessels were reconstructed with castles and fighting top. When hunters and hunted – figuratively speaking – fought with the same material, the only way of winnig a battle was to increase the number of vessels and fighting men.

Konferenz „Mecklenburg-Vorpommern im Kalten Krieg“
Universität Rostock, 17.-18. Juni 2022
Die europäische Teilung in Zeiten des Kalten Krieges verlief mitten durch Deutschland sowie durch die Ostsee und bewirkte, dass das heutige Mecklenburg-Vorpommern an zwei Seiten von seinen Nachbarn getrennt war. Die Aufarbeitung dieser speziellen, von militärischen, politischen und nachrichtendienstlichen Auseinandersetzungen geprägte Geschichte ist eine gemeinsame Aufgabe, weil sie Deutsche, Dänen, Schweden und Polen gleichermaßen betrifft. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern im Kalten Krieg ist daher mehr als nur reine DDR-Geschichte; sie ist immer auch regionale und transnationale Verflechtungsgeschichte, deren Relevanz weit über die eigentlichen Landesgrenzen hinausgereicht hat. Dies zu vermitteln, macht sich die internationale Tagung zur Aufgabe.
Veranstalter:
- Lehrstuhl für Zeitgeschichte/Forschungs- und Dokumentationsstelle des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern zur Geschichte der Diktaturen in Deutschland, Universität Rostock
- Center for Cold War Studies, University of Southern Denmark (SDU)
- Abteilung für Regionalgeschichte, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU)

Монография издана под грифом Санкт-Петербургского Института истории РАН, в качестве ее рецензента выступил д.и.н., проф. М.Ф.Флоринский (СПбГУ).
На основании широкого круга источников как отечественных, так и зарубежных архивов в ней исследуется политика российского правительства по отношению к прибалтийским немцам в начале 20 в. В работе рассмотрены правовой статус Прибалтийских губерний в составе Российской империи и общественно-политическая ситуация в них на рубеже 19-20 вв., а также формирование прибалтийско-немецкой политической эмиграции в Германии и ее влияние на русско-германские отношения.
Основное внимание в монографии уделено разработке правительственных реформ для Прибалтики – церковной, аграрной, земской и др., а также политике в отношении лютеранской церкви и прибалтийско-немецкой школы. Особый интерес представляет исследование такого малоизученного вопроса, как политика правительства и военных властей применительно к прибалтийским немцам в период Первой мировой войны.
Наряду с этим автор рассматривает участие отдельных представителей прибалтийско-немецкой политической эмиграции в деятельности спецслужб Германии и в организации антироссийской пропаганды. В то же время на основании широкого круга документальных источников в работе опровергается огульное обвинение немецкого населения Прибалтики в шпионаже в пользу Германии.
В целом исследование разрушает сложившиеся в историографии стереотипы в отношении прибалтийских немцев и дает иную, отличную от традиционной, оценку политики правительства в Прибалтийских губерниях в конце 19 - начале 20 в.

In: Latvijas Arhīvi, Nr. 1/2, 2012. 7.–26. lpp.
http://www.latvijasarhivi.lv/index.php?1&210&view=magazine&mag_id=66
The article provides the review of research of sources of the historical sources created during the period of the russian empire referring to the province of Courland, focusing particular attention to the issues of the change of the confession affiliation or conversion. the article includes the analysis of documents of state authorities of various levels and ecclesiastical administrations of parishes stored in the russia state Historical Archive, the Lithuania state Historical Archive and the Latvia state Historical Archive.

Im Jahre 1869 notiert der Journalist Julius Eckardt: " Man kann das russische Reich vom Peipus-See bis zum Ochozkischen Meerbusen, vom Tiflis bis an die eisigen Gefilde Achangels durchstreifen, in jeder Stadt von einiger Bedeutung wird man wenigstens einen deutschen Arzt und einen deutschen Apotheker finden, […] "

PRUSSIAN POMESANIA
THE HISTORY OF SETTLEMENT FROM 13TH UNTIL 15THCENTURY


Pomesania was one of ten Prussian tribal territories. In written sources, the first mention of the area referred to as Pomizania dates back to only the first quarter of the 13th century, that is to the last decade of tribal independence. As a territory with established administrative boundaries, it is mentioned in sources from the middle of the 13th century, when it was conquered by the Teutonic Order. At that time, the area of Pomesania was delimited by the Osa River in the south, by the Vistula and Nogat Rivers in the west and northwest, by Lake Drużno and a strip of vast forests and lakes in the northeast and by the upper Drwęca River basin in the east. At that time, Pomesania covered an area of around 3530 km2.
Through the centuries, its area underwent various changes. Before the consolidation of Prussian settlement, which we know from the documented territory of Pomesania in the middle of the 13th century, settlement in this region, especially the southern and western borderlands, was characterised by lability and cultural dynamism of mutual Slavic-Prussian influences. The original area of Prussian settlement in the Middle Ages was delimited by the Dzierzgoń River, which was crossed already in the 11th century and on a larger scale in the 12th century and the Prussians occupied the area near Sztum, Susz, Prabuty, Malbork and the area around Lake Jeziorak. In the 13th century, permanent Prussian settlement stopped at the border forest covering the area to the north of the Osa River and to the east of the Vistula River. In the tribal period, Pomesania included 10 territories – small regions. They were Pasulōwō, Algems, Leipīts, Lingwars, Komor, Pobuz, Geria, Rudenītai, Rezijā, Prozile. In these territories, a total of 228 Prussian settlements have been recorded, including 94 fields (Prussian: lauks, Latin: campus, German: Feld), most of which were located in Geria, while none have been found in Rezijā, which was taken over by Pomesanian bishops in 1250, just like Prozile. What was an important and permanent settlement element in Pomesania was the group of Prussian freemen, who were vassals of the Teutonic Order and for their service were granted land plots, which had often been their ancestral properties in the tribal period. Also local toponyms have preserved a number of elements confirming probable owners of various estates and settlements. As many as 48% of all Prussian names in Pomesania are anthroponyms.
This dissertation also provides an overview of the subject of locating sacred places, markets and strongholds on the edge of settlements, which was characteristic of Pomesania. The strongholds functioned as forts or refuges, which were located in the borderlands. Markets, which integrated people from many settlements located in different regions near the boundaries between them, were also situated in the borderlands.
With established leadership structures, the Prussians organised assemblies to elect their representatives acting as chieftains. Sources from the 9th-13th centuries refer to them as “kings” as well, which may point to their role as leaders but on a local scale. The Prussians still retained the memory of the “kings” in the 14th and 15th centuries, which is illustrated by the fact that they used such titles at that time and that they invoked the authority of old kings, who were known mainly from oral traditions and ancestors. Kings and chieftains played a crucial part in the security organisation, they led assemblies, represented the community during talks on various political levels and organised military expeditions. However, in the new situation after the Teutonic conquest, their position was equal to the rest of freemen. They were also in the service of the Teutonic Knights.
In the Prussian society, an important role was also played by priests, who were above all guardians of the cult, although some of them had also secular authority. They had a number of responsibilities, both related to the sacred (sacrificers, diviners, intermediaries between the world of the living and the dead) and to social activities – the kriwe performed an integrating function in summoning of assemblies. However, priests were not known by one common name, their tasks differed over almost five centuries and according to sources they did not form a homogeneous caste.

The conquest and colonisation of the northeastern Baltic Rim in the 13th century durably shaped religious and ethnic identities of and relations between the native population and the arriving crusaders. This article explores the codes and displays of hospitality in the anonymous ‘Livonian Rhymed Chronicle’, which are seen here as ways of conceptualising the relationship and conflicts between the Teutonic Knights and the pagan or apostate people in Livonia. It asks which consequences the framing of the host-guest relations might have had for the self-comprehension of the chronicle’s author and his audience. The analysis of the chronicle is pursued along three lines: the first focuses on the questions of chivalry, courtesy, and conversion; the second explores different renditions of a miracle story of inhospitality from the 1220s; the third focuses on the conceptual metaphors of hospitality as a way in which the Teutonic Knights accommodated their adversaries’ viewpoints. In its conclusions, the article argues how a broad focus on the institutions, concepts, and discourses of hospitality can help account for both confrontational and amicable attitudes between the colonisers and the colonised both on the Baltic frontier and among other European frontier societies.

Call for Papers for the 5th Workshop in the Network "Bridging the Baltic".
The symposium will take place on March 18-19, 2022, at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense.
Organizers:
Nils Hansson, Düsseldorf: hansson@hhu.de
Thomas Wegener Friis, Odense: twfriis@sdu.dk
Jennie Sejr Junghans, Odense: jennie.junghans@eui.eu

Le journal de Jean de Beausse est un témoignage de premier ordre, qui relate de l'intérieur l'effondrement d'un des trois pays baltes, la Lettonie, mise sous tutelle puis brutalement annexée en 1940 par l'URSS de Staline, en vertu du pacte germano-soviétique d'août 1939. Abondamment illustré de magnifiques photographies d'époque inédites prises par Jean de Beausse en personne, ce livre témoigne des efforts d'une jeune Nation pour sa survie dans un contexte international dramatique... Hélas sans succès. Les archives de la Légation française en Lettonie ont toutes été détruites en 1940. Les carnets de Jean de Beausse constituent donc le seul document diplomatique sur cette période et ce pays. Ils n'en sont que plus précieux. Fils de l'auteur, Jacques de Beausse, fut lui-même le premier ambassadeur de France en Lettonie lors de la seconde indépendance de 1991. Enfant à l'époque des faits, il a préfacé cet ouvrage et l'a enrichi de son propre témoignage, inédit lui aussi. Commenté et annoté par Matthieu Boisdron, historien spécialiste de l'Europe centrale et orientale entre les deux guerres, Diplomate en Lettonie offre un éclairage passionnant sur des faits méconnus et constitue une source capitale pour comprendre une époque complexe et troublée.

This seminar paper deals with the sovereignty of the newly founded Finnish state in 1918 in the context of the German military intervention (Baltic Sea Division) in the same year. At the beginning of 1918, violent conflicts broke out in Finland between republican groups (whites) and the red milieus of the population influenced by the Russian Revolution (reds). Finland asked for help from the German Empire, which was currently in the First World War. Germany finally granted Finland its support and both states signed a peace treaty and two agreements in March 1918 as a basis for intervention. This agreement strongly restricted Finnish sovereignty from a political and economic point of view, so that an asymmetric gap emerged between the two countries. It is possible to go so far as to say that Finland was now a semi-sovereign state within the sphere of influence of the German Empire. Only the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I and the Paris Peace Conference put an end to this state of affairs.

'This is a superb ancient Viking braided silver bracelet / Oath-ring, dating to the 9th-10th century A.D. It is formed from rods of silver, twisted about each other in a ropework formation, the terminals welded, forming a double spiral decorative element. This type of double spiral can be found on other Viking silver bracelets from Gotland in Sweden see here. This example recovered during dredging work is intact, though parts of the original weld has failed due to the conditions of sediment and machinery, this has been repaired but sadly it is no longer suitable to be worn. This bracelet is a very rare museum grade example, classic Viking workmanship and presence. Such an item would have been a prize piece of jewellery, worn as an 'Oath-Ring', given by a Jarl to brave and worthy subject. The silver likely taken at some stage as booty in raids, used as form of currency in a barter system of exchange. The weight of this bracelet alone would have been the monetary equivalent of at least 42 silver pennies, when 1 penny would have bought you 15 chickens! A wonderful piece of iconic Viking jewellery for the serious collector.' So far for the salesman advertisement ! So.. it got in hands of the serious collector .. A bracelet / arm ring of this braided type I think was a one off chance to aquire for my collection.

This is a short presentation of chapter 5 in the anthology "Christianity and War in Medieval East Central Europe and Scandinavia",
ed. R. Kotecki, C.S. Jensen & S. Bennett (Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2021), 97-115.

The entire book can be purchased here: https://arc-humanities.org/products/c-67104-10597-68-8253/

This is the cumulative doctoral thesis of Dr. Daniel Zwick based on five peer-reviewed articles and a main part, which is monographic in character (although this thesis is not officially a monographic thesis). The doctoral project was based at the University of Kiel and took place in cooperation with the University of Southern Denmark (Syddansk Universitet) and the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde (Vikingeskibsmuseet).

It examines the maritime organisation of predominantly Danes and Germans in the period of the Northern Crusades, which includes navigation and orientation, fleet organisation, but also shipbuilding and the establishment of a maritime trade network and other maritime-related infrastructure. While the chronological framework of this study is defined by a historical period - of the Northern Crusades - spanning four centuries, a great variety of historical and archaeological sources are addressed in the course of the investigation. This study starts with an examination of the natural physical landscape of the Baltic Sea in chapter 1 and how its populations adapted to geographical and climatic factors in the maritime sphere.

Chapter 2 examines the logistical links from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea, bypassing the Jutland peninsula, which opened up to a large-scale colonization and urbanisation movement and long-distance trade networks from western European, particularly from Danish and German places of origin in the wake of the Wendish, Baltic and Prussian crusades, starting in 1147. The foundation of Schleswig and Lübeck and the growing importance of the Ummelandfahrt are identified as paradigm shifts, which can be both corroborated by privileges on the one hand and ship-finds on the other hand. Early Bremen-type vessels seem to have played a particularly important role, and presently the overwhelming evidence points for a southern Jutlandic origin of this type. The great variances observed in the constructional characteristics strongly suggest a maritime organisation that was not bound to a singular local tradition, but can be most likely linked to long-distance trade networks of this time, which bounded merchants of different denominations together, such as the Gotlandic-Lübeckian gilda communis or the fraternities danicum in Cologne.

While the previous chapter was most focussed on the legal and environmental precondition as well as the driving forces – i.e. actors – behind the opening up of the Baltic Sea, chapter 3 also investigates maritime organisation, but its practical aspects, i.e. navigation, orientation and fleet organisation. A major focus of this chapter lies on the re-evaluation of a 13th-century itinerary – colloquially known as King Valdemar's Iitnerary – describing the sea route between the then Danish territories of Blekinge and Estonia, along the Swedish and Finnish coastline. By drawing analogies to similar sources which served the orientation and army and fleet logistics, a new interpretation can be suggested according to which the itinerary was meant as basis for calculating travel time and organising leding fleets. This chapter is first and foremost focussed on Danish maritime logistics to its Estonian enclaves.

This is compared and contrasted to an evaluation of actual 13th-century ship-finds in chapter 4 in the wider region associated with the Baltic Crusades, i.e. Riga (historical province of Livonia, today Latvia), the Matsalu Bay (Estonia), Kuggmaren (Sweden) and Egelskär (Finland), all of which – except the Riga 3 ship – are Bremen-type vessels too. In the concluding section, the question is raised whether Bremen-type vessels corrospond to the historical cog type, which was frequently mentioned in contemporary chronicles and source in connection with the crusades in general (as was deduced in paper E) and this region in particular.

In contrast to the preceding parts, chapter 5, is first and foremost focused on trade – i.e. Baltic timber trade – and examines the probable impact of the availability of high quality Baltic oak on western European shipbuilding. The Beluga Ship (paper C) is introduced as exemplary case study, from which contextual study (paper D) further research questions are derived, assessing the use of timber imports in the light of possible cost-benefit decisions.

Chapter 6 examines the local transport geography of a castle where lime was cut and distributed via ship. A nearby wreck's role within this context is analysed. In its conclusion, Chapter 6 takes a longue durée approach to make a hypothesis for Saaremaa's strategical importance, reaching back in time to the very beginning of the chronological framework of this study, i.e. the early attempts of the Danes to gain a foothold on Saaremaa in the Valdemarian period in the 12th and 13th centuries.

M.J. Hoffmann, A. Rzeszotarska-Nowakiewicz 2016. "The societies of West Balt Barrow culture, 500 BC - 1 AD", in P. Urbańczyk, A. Rzeszotarska-Nowakiewicz (eds), "The Past Societies. Polish lands from the first evidence of human presence to the early middle ages", vol. 4: 500 BC - 500 AD, 49-70. Warsaw, The Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences.

The paper focuses on the withrawal of the Lithuanians  by examinig previous battles and contemporary Latin and German sources also.  My goal was to prove that the feigned withdrawal was a common and efficient maneuvre of the Lithuanians and thus offer an insight into the Baltic warfare

Marika Mägi’s book considers the cultural, mercantile and political interaction of the Viking Age (9th-11th century), focusing on the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea. The majority of research on Viking activity in the East has so far concentrated on the modern-day lands of Russia, while the archaeology and Viking Age history of today’s small nation states along the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea is little known to a global audience.
This study looks at the area from a trans-regional perspective, combining archaeological evidence with written sources, and offering reflections on the many different factors of climate, topography, logistics, technology, politics and trade that shaped travel in this period. The work offers a nuanced vision of Eastern Viking expansion, in which the Eastern Baltic frequently acted as buffer zone between eastern and western powers.

https://brill.com/abstract/title/20804