The Northern Crusades by Eric Christiansen
The Baltic and the Catholic Frontier, 1100–1525
A concise history of the military and religious campaigns waged across the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic from the 12th to the 15th century, examining how papally sanctioned crusades by Danish and German forces, notably the Teutonic Knights and Livonian Order, forcibly converted and subjugated pagan peoples such as the Prussians, Estonians, Livs and Lithuanians. It traces the interplay of missionary zeal, territorial ambition and commercial interests that produced fortified crusader states, colonization, and the integration of the region into the economic orbit of the Hanseatic League, while detailing the sustained resistance, intermittent alliances and eventual assimilation that reshaped ethnic, political and religious landscapes. Combining military narrative with political, social and economic analysis, the work assesses the long-term consequences of these campaigns for medieval and early modern Northern Europe.
- Published
- 1980
- Nationality
- British
- Length
- Medium
- Pages
- 250-350 pages
- Original Language
- English
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- Alternate Titles
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