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48-531: The area surrounding Dobele castle was inhabited by Semigallians before and during the Livonian crusade . A hillfort provided protection for the settlement acting as the administrative center of Dobele county. It was first mentioned by written sources in 1254. During the Livonian crusade battles were fought at the hillfort. It endured six sieges by the Livonian order , but crusaders never managed to capture

96-574: A lack of sources. The modern Swedish monarchy considers Eric the Victorious to have been the first King of Sweden. In medieval Swedish lists of kings, the figure generally represented as the first king of Sweden is Olof Skötkonung, the first Christian king of Sweden and the first Swedish king to mint coins. The earlier kings are for the most part only attested in Icelandic sagas , sometimes contradictory mixtures of myths and poetry, written in

144-526: A lineage that stretched back centuries, the Norwegian rulers may have attempted to demonstrate their inherent right to their lands and to put themselves on the same level as the Danes, who had historical accounts of their ancestors. The Swedish Ynglings might have been invented to glorify the Norwegian kings further, giving them a glorious and mythical past associated with Uppsala. Most of the sagas known today,

192-517: A new royal line. The sequence of kings presented below is given by the Hervarar saga , a saga written in the 12th or 13th century. The existence of Ivar Vidfamne and his dynasty, at least in the way described in the sagas, is considered highly unlikely in modern scholarship. As with the Yngling kings, precise dates are not presented in the sagas for Ivar Vidfamne or his descendants, but his reign

240-595: Is an unconfirmed theory that the Semigallians were one of the first Baltic tribes to establish a monarchy , yet one weak in comparison to the power of the Semigallian nobles. One of the most notable Semigallian leaders was duke Viestards (Viesturs). Upon uniting hostile Semigallian clans into a single state in the early 13th century, Viestards formed an alliance with the German crusaders to defeat his enemies on

288-571: Is believed to have resulted from, or at the very least have been connected to, Viking expansion , with petty kings increasing their power through aggressive military ventures directed both to foreign lands (i. e. Viking raids) and against their neighbors. According to the Ynglinga saga , the Yngling dynasty's rule in Sweden was succeeded by Ivar Vidfamne, previously a petty king in Scania, who founded

336-552: Is estimated to have taken place in the 7th century. The only sources that mention Ivar are Icelandic sagas from centuries after his death. As Ivar is described as building a vast empire, including parts of Britain and northern Germany, it is unlikely that contemporary and later writers in Europe would not have written of him, had he existed. It is possible that the saga preserves a grain of the truth, perhaps being an embellishment of vague memories of an ancient warrior king, but most of what

384-473: Is known with certainty, however, is that by the end of the 1270s, a new powerful leader had emerged who achieved several major victories over German crusaders in Zemgale and East Prussia. Semi-legendary kings of Sweden The legendary kings of Sweden ( Swedish : sagokonungar, sagokungar , lit.   ' saga kings / fairy tale kings') according to legends were rulers of Sweden and

432-456: Is said of Ivar Vidfamne has to be considered legendary and fictional. The Munsö dynasty of kings is the earliest royal lineage that is mentioned not only in Icelandic sagas, but also in medieval Swedish sources. Though only a few examples survive, medieval Swedish lists of kings overwhelmingly begin with Olof Skötkonung , the first Christian king of Sweden, suggesting that he, and not any of

480-737: The Aizkraukle hillfort. In 1236, Semigallians attacked crusaders retreating to Riga after the Battle of Saule , killing many of them. After regular attacks, the Livonian Order partly subdued the Semigallians in 1254. In 1270, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Traidenis , together with Semigallians, attacked Livonia and Saaremaa . During the Battle of Karuse on the frozen gulf of Riga , the Livonian Order

528-586: The Baltic tribe that lived in the south central part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania . They are noted for their long resistance (1219–1290) against the German crusaders and Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades . Semigallians had close linguistic and cultural ties with Samogitians . The name of Semigallia appears in contemporary records as Seimgala , Zimgola and Sem [ e ] gallen . The -gal[l] element means "border", while

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576-569: The Swedes who preceded Eric the Victorious and Olof Skötkonung , the earliest reliably attested Swedish kings . The stories of some of these kings may be embellished tales of local rulers or chiefs that actually existed. For example, Hygelac (500 A.D.) is believed to have historical basis due to his name being attested in Frankish, English, Danish and Icelandic sources. But the historicity of most legendary kings remains impossible to verify due to

624-558: The Ynglinga saga as good sources for genuine historical information. As a historical source, the Ynglinga saga is much better used as a source on historiography and society during Sturluson's own time than as a source on Sweden's early history. It is possible that the Yngling line of kings is entirely fictional, invented by later Norwegian rulers to assert their right to rule Norway. In the Viking Age and later, Danish rulers repeatedly attempted to conquer Norway and through inventing

672-470: The Ynglinga saga included, were composed during a relatively brief period, from the 12th to 13th century, a time when royal power was being consolidated in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Their creation might thus stem from political and social needs (i. e. justifying the rule of a dynasty), rather than a desire to tell genuine history. In addition to having been written centuries after the events they describe,

720-525: The Ynglinga saga , most of them being described as "Kings in Uppsala ", an early political center in Sweden. The Yngling dynasty is sometimes referred to as the "Royal House of Uppsala" in later scholarship. Notes The Ynglinga saga presents the following line of Yngling kings of the Swedes: Sturluson's Ynglinga saga was created far too late to serve as a reliable source in regards to

768-627: The 10th–11th century in England, but concerning events in Scandinavia in the 6th/7th century), wherein the Ynglings are called Scylfings ( Old Norse : Skilfingar ; Swedish : Skilvingar ). According to the Ynglinga saga , the earliest rulers used the title drotin (modern Swedish: Drott ). Even later Yngling rulers are typically not designated as "Kings of Sweden" or "Kings of the Swedes" in

816-599: The 11th–13th centuries, several centuries after the events described in them. What is genuine history and what is myth and legend in the sagas is impossible to determine today, and everything contained in them must as such be regarded as legendary, if not fictional. The earliest legendary dynasty, the Ynglings , may be an entirely invented sequence of kings, serving to justify and legitimize the later dynasties and rulers in Scandinavia who claimed descent from them. Many of

864-438: The 12th century. Sturluson would have had access to older (now lost) manuscripts when writing the Ynglinga saga , but this does not necessarily corroborate anything that appears in the Ynglinga saga as true. What is genuine history and what is myth and legend is today impossible to determine, and everything contained in the saga must as such be regarded as legendary, if not fictional. Modern scholarship does not see sagas such as

912-613: The 9th century in an attempt to Christianize the Swedes. In the writings of his companion Rimbert , the Vita Ansgari , several Swedish kings (who all precede Eric the Victorious) and who they met or heard of at Birka , an important Viking Age trading center, are mentioned. Attempts have been made to harmonize Ansgar's kings with the kings mentioned in the sagas but such attempts have to be considered unreliable and unverifiable. The Vita gives no genealogical information in regards to

960-695: The Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus wrote that the Viking Starkad crushed the Curonians , all the tribes of Estonia , and the peoples of Semgala. When the Rurikid successors of the Varangians tried to subjugate the Semigallians, the latter defeated the invading army of Polotsk led by Prince Rogvolod Vseslavich in 1106. Russian chronicles claim that 9,000 Russian soldiers were killed. At

1008-601: The Icelandic sources also contain the figure Blot-Sweyn , who is only present in some of the Swedish sources (and notably absent in Västgötalagen , an important early Swedish legal document) and a king by the name Kol or Erik Årsäll , completely absent in the Swedish sources. The same is true for the Hervarar saga , whose sequence of kings is identical to the sequence presented in Langfeðgatal . In some respects,

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1056-2151: The Semigallians, which included burning their fields and thus causing famine. The Semigallians continued their resistance until 1290, when they burned their last castle in Sidrabene, and a large number of Semigallians. The Rhymed Chronicle claims 100,000 migrated to Lithuania and once there continued to fight against the Germans. Bauska district Čapāni, Drenģeri-Čunkāni, Dumpji, Jumpravmuiža, Lielbertuši, Mežotne hillfort, Podiņi, Siliņi, Zeltiņi, Ziedoņskola Dobele district Atvases, Auce , Bāļas-Šķērstaiņi, Cibēni, Dobele hillfort, Gailīši, Grīnerti, Guntiņas, Īles mežniecība, Jāņogānas, Kaijukrogs, Ķūri, Lielogļi, Lozberģi, Oši, Skare, Tērvete hillfort Jelgava district Ciemalde, Diduļi, Eži, Gaideļi-Viduči, Kakužēni, Kalnaplāteri, Kraujas, Ķēķi, Mazgrauži, Pudžas, Rijnieki, Vilces parks Saldus district Griezes dzirnavas, Kerkliņi, Priedīši, Rūsīši-Debeši Tukums district Mutstrauti, Zante Riga district Pļavniekkalns Pasvalys district Ąžuolpamūšė hillfort , Berklainiai, Daujėnai, Kyburtai, Meldiniai, Noriai, Pamiškiai, Pamūšė, Skrebotiškis, Smilgeliai, Šakarniai, Vaidžiūnai Akmenė district Balsiai, Papilė hillfort, Pavirvytė-Gudai, Šapnagiai, Viekšniai Joniškis district Budraičiai, Daugalaičiai, Daunorava, Dvareliškiai, Ivoškiai, Jauneikiai, Joniškis , Kalnelis ( Sidabrė hillfort), Lieporai, Linkaičiai , Linksmėnai, Martyniškiai, Rudiškiai , Rukuižiai, Slėpsniai, Spirakiai, Stungiai, Žagarė ( Raktuvė hillfort) Pakruojis district Aukštadvaris, Dargužiai, Degesiai, Diržiai, Dovainiškis, Karašilis, Karpiškiai, Kauksnujai, Lauksodis, Liesai, Linkavičiai, Linksmučiai, Linkuva , Pakruojis , Paliečiai, Pamūšis, Pašvitinys , Peleniškiai, Petroniai, Plaučiškai, Sakališkiai, Stačiūnai, Šukioniai, Vėbariai, Žeimelis Šiauliai district Daugėlaičiai, Gibaičiai, Jakštaičiai, Jurgaičiai hillfort ( Hill of Crosses ), Kaupriai, Kybartiškė, Mažeikiai, Norušaičiai, Norvaišiai, Račiai, Ringuvėnai, Valdomai, Visdergiai There

1104-516: The Victorious, Icelandic sources give Björn Eriksson, preceded by Erik Anundsson. Apart from the kings found in the Vita Asgari , Adam writes that Eric the Victorious was preceded by Anund/Emund Eriksson, who in turn was preceded by Eric Ringsson and Emund/Anund Ringsson, sons and successors of a king by the name of Ring. Adam of Bremen's line of kings is thus: The Sparlösa Runestone , created c.   800, mentions several names, including

1152-767: The Yngling dynasty, claimed to have been descended from the Norse god Odin , the dynasty founded by Ivar Vidfamne , who conquered Sweden and deposed the Ynglings, and the House of Munsö , which succeeded Vidfamne's dynasty. The final few kings considered part of the Munsö dynasty by the Icelandic sagas; Eric the Victorious, Olof Skötkonung, Anund Jacob and Emund the Old , were real historical kings, though that does not mean that their legendary ancestors were real historical figures. Contemporary primary sources from 9th–11th century Germany, such as

1200-574: The Ynglings were real historical figures, they would have ruled during the Migration Period ( c.   375–550) and the subsequent Vendel Period ( c.   550–790), predating the Viking Age . Historical evidence of early geopolitics in Scandinavia suggests that larger political structures, kingdoms such as medieval Sweden, Norway and Denmark, did not form until the late Viking Age. The centralization of power under one monarch

1248-416: The accounts of Adam of Bremen and Rimbert , contradict the line of Munsö kings purported to have existed by the sagas. The sequence of legendary kings below derives from medieval Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson 's Ynglinga saga , the first section of the saga collection Heimskringla . The Ynglinga saga was composed by Sturluson c.   1230 and details the reigns and lives of

1296-432: The aforementioned Hervarar saga , also written in the 12th or 13th century. Langfeðgatal presents the following line of kings: The Langfeðgatal reconstruction of the Munsö dynasty and the later lineage of Swedish kings it presents does not conform with medieval Swedish primary sources. Though a majority of the kings from Olof Skötkonung onwards appear in the Icelandic sources with the same name and overall chronology,

1344-505: The castle for six days. During the war Dobele castle was devastated and was not restored. It was abandoned in 1736 and fell gradually into ruin. In 1915 German emperor Wilhelm II visited the foothill by the castle ruins during an inspection of units of the German Imperial Army . Semigallians Semigallians ( Latvian : Zemgaļi ; Lithuanian : Žiemgaliai ; also Zemgalians , Semigalls or Semigalians ) were

1392-613: The castle was the residence of Elisabeth Magdalena , widow of the Duke of Courland . She lived there together with her foster son, the future duke Jacob . During the Polish-Swedish wars the castle was occupied by swedes again in 1658. After the war it was partly restored by duke Jacob Kettler . During the Great Northern War the castle was occupied by swedes once more in 1701. The king of Sweden Charles XII stayed in

1440-730: The christened Livonian chief Caupo conquer back his Turaida castle from pagan rebels. In 1219, the Semigallian-German alliance was canceled after a crusader invasion in Semigallia. Duke Viestards promptly formed an alliance with Lithuanians and Curonians. In 1228, Semigallians and Curonians attacked the Daugavgrīva monastery, the main crusader stronghold at the Daugava river delta. The crusaders took revenge and invaded Semigallia. The Semigallians, in turn, pillaged land around

1488-403: The events and kings it describes, being separated from the earliest ones by several centuries. Ynglinga saga appears to have been based on an earlier scaldic poem, Ynglingatal , which is quoted at length by Snorri. Ynglingatal is not a reliable source either, though traditionally believed to have been composed at the end of the 9th or beginning of the 10th century, it might be from as late as

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1536-504: The first syllable corresponds to ziem ("north") or zem ("low"). So the Semigallians were the "people of the northern borderlands" or "people of the low borderlands", i.e. the lower parts of the Mūša and Lielupe river valleys. During the Viking Age , the Semigallians were involved in battles with Swedish Vikings over control of the lower part of the Daugava waterway . In Gesta Danorum

1584-456: The fort. In 1279 a crusader army from Kuldīga reinforced by allied Curonians attacked the Semigallian fort but was unable to conquer it. In the winter of 1280–81 a Livonian army commanded by master Konrad von Feuchtwangen unsuccessfully attacked Dobele fort. During the winter of 1288–89 a large crusader army, including allied estonians and latgalians under command of master Kuno von Hazzingenstein , attacked Dobele. They pillaged and burned

1632-677: The kings of the Yngling dynasty ( Swedish : Ynglingar ), a legendary line of kings said to descend from the Norse god Odin . The Ynglings are described in the Ynglinga saga as the first royal blood line of the Swedes. The Ynglinga saga contains no references to chronology (such as specific dates of the reigns of the various kings) with the exception of presenting the rulers in chronological order. In some places, names appear (notably kings Ottar and Adils ) that might belong to people also attested in other sagas, such as Beowulf (written in

1680-500: The kings preceding Olof Skötkonung. As the successors of King Stenkil ( r.   c.   1060–1066), the Icelandic sources give Håkan the Red , followed by a co-regency of Inge the Elder, Halsten and Blot-Sweyn. Adam of Bremen instead gives a more linear succession of Eric and Eric , followed by Halsten, Anund Gårdske and then Håkan the Red. As the direct predecessors of Eric

1728-460: The kings who ruled Norway in his time and claimed Yngling descent were not to be taken seriously. Though descent from figures such as Odin and Njord, gods in Norse mythology, might seem a prestigious origin, it would be problematic in early medieval Norway since the kings were Christian and their ancestors were worshipped as Pagan gods. Their addition to the saga might thus have been another attempt by Sturluson to undermine royal ideology. If some of

1776-440: The kings. It mentions the following four kings: In terms of sources on Viking Age kings, Adam of Bremen , who worked in the 11th century and wrote of Swedish kings, is significantly closer in time and place to the kings he describe than the centuries of separation in the sagas, only being separated from the mentioned rulers by at most about 150–100 years. The Icelandic sources are substantially different from his work, not only in

1824-434: The legendary kings would have ruled during the Migration Period ( c.   375–550) and subsequent Vendel Period ( c.   550–790), but larger political structures in Scandinavia (i. e. the medieval kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark) are not believed to have formed and centralized until the Viking Age . The legendary kings of Sweden, as presented in the sagas, covers three legendary dynasties of rulers;

1872-486: The master of the Livonian Order Willekin von Endorp , and an unknown number of crusader allies. It was the last Semigallian victory over the growing forces of the Livonian Order. In 1279, after the Battle of Aizkraukle , Grand Duke Traidenis of Lithuania supported a Semigallian revolt against the Livonian Order led by duke Nameisis . In the 1280s, the Livonian Order started a massive campaign against

1920-726: The outside. After the crusaders broke the treaty and invaded his lands, he allied with Lithuanians , resulting in the near annihilation of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the Battle of Saule in 1236. Duke Nameisis (Namejs, Nameitis), another renowned Semigallian leader, united Semigallian and Lithuanian tribes for a retaliatory counterattack on Teutonic Knights at Riga in 1279 and in Prussia after 1281. Main sources for his activities are Livländische Reimchronik and Das Zeugenverhör des Franciscus de Moliano (1312). What

1968-413: The previous legendary figures, was seen as Sweden's first king. In Icelandic sources, such as the 12th/13th-century Langfeðgatal , Olof Skötkonung is regarded as a late ruler of a significantly older dynasty, stretching back to legendary Viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok . In addition to the short genealogical account of Langfeðgatal , Ragnar Lodbrok's royal dynasty is also presented in a more narrative form in

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2016-523: The royal sequence is more correct in the Langfeðgatal ; Swedish medieval sources tend to omit the kings Anund Jacob and Emund the Old, who can be verified through foreign documents and through the coins they minted, and where the Swedish sources present kings as successive, some (such as Inge the Elder) are known to have co-ruled with others, which is accurately presented in the Icelandic versions. The missionary Ansgar travelled to Sweden several times during

2064-502: The sagas have numerous other problems which make them unsuitable to use as sources. Many of the elements of the Ynglinga saga appear to be based on later, documented, events and people in Scandinavia. For instance, the figure of Aun, described as being driven from Uppsala and taking up court in Västergötland instead, is similar to the historical Swedish king Inge the Elder ( r.   c.   1079–1084, 1087–1105), who

2112-567: The start of German conquests Semigallian lands were divided in Upmale, Dobele, Spārnene, Dobe, Rakte, Silene and Tērvete chieftaincies. According to the Livonian Chronicle of Henry , Semigallians formed an alliance with bishop Albert of Riga against rebellious Livonians before 1203, and received military support to hold back Lithuanian attacks in 1205. In 1207, the Semigallian duke Viestards ( Latin : dux Semigallorum ) helped

2160-416: The town, but were unable to take the fört. In 1289, after the crusaders had adopted a scorched earth policy and famine had struck the region, the remaining Semigallians burned their fort to the ground and migrated to Lithuania . The Dobele hillfort was one of the last Semigallian fortresses in the territory of Latvia . Decades later, the Livonian order decided to fortify the site once again. A stone castle

2208-452: Was constructed in the years 1335–1347. A small settlement populated by craftsmen and merchants soon developed around the castle. Until 1562 castle was a seat of the Dobele komtur . In the 16th and 17th centuries several regional assemblies ( landtage ) were held at the castle. In 1621 and 1625 the castle was briefly occupied by Swedish troops under king Gustav II Adolf . From 1643 until 1649

2256-558: Was defeated, and its master Otto von Lutterberg killed. In 1287, around 1400 Semigallians attacked a crusader stronghold in Ikšķile and plundered nearby lands. As they returned to Semigallia they were caught by the Order's forces, and the great battle began near the Garoza river ( Battle of Garoza ). The crusader forces were besieged and badly defeated. More than 40 knights were killed, including

2304-585: Was driven from Uppsala into Västergötland in the 11th century. The Ynglinga saga might also be an example of anti-royal social commentary rather than an attempt to tell history. Many of the kings in the saga are overshadowed by their contemporary vassals and wives, and they are rarely shown in a positive light. The inglorious deaths of many of the Swedish Ynglings; with examples such as murder, burning to death, drowning in mead and being " hag-ridden " to death, might be an attempt by Sturluson to say that

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