The Semigallians were one of the tribal entities to evolve out of the ancient Balts, Baltic-speaking peoples living in north-central Europe. They lived in present-day central Latvia and northern Lithuania. Many of their homes were situated along the Western Dvina (Daugava) River (an alternate name for them was Daugavians). Their territory, known as Semigallia, extended to the Gulf of Riga around present-day Riga. To the west were the Curonians, whose homeland became known as Courland. With the Curonians, Letts, Selonians, and assimilated Finnic-speaking peoples (such as from among the Esths, Livs, and Votes), they are among those peoples considered ancestral to contemporary Latvians (see Latvians: nationality).
ORIGINS
Identifiable tribes coalesced in the Baltic region by the ninth century C. E. The Semigallians, although they are thought to be close relatives of other tribes of the Baltic language family, are associated with other peoples on the basis of their names. The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus (who wrote in the 13th century) mentions “Daugava town” of the Hellespontians, which corresponds with the Semigallian hill fort Daugmale. According to one explanation the name Hellespontians was applied to the inhabitants of the shores of the Daugava (Western Dvina) because the river was an important trade route to Greece, connecting the Baltic Sea with the Hellespont (the Dardanelles). Thus it is possible that the term Hellespontians refers not to the place inhabited by the Semigallians, but to their possible origin. Bartholomew, an English writer of the 13th century, theorized that the
C. E.
Ninth century Identifiable Baltic tribes coalesce.
950 Viking contacts with Semigallians
1201 City of Riga founded by Bishop Albert von Buxhoevden.
1202 Bishop Albert establishes military and religious order Brothers of the Sword to Christianize Baltic lands.
1236 Lithuanians and Semigallians defeat Brothers of the Sword at Saule in northern Lithuania.
1259 to 1272 Semigallians resist Livonian Order.
1290 Brothers of the Sword occupy Semigallia.
1561 Brothers of the Sword dissolve their order and combine Courland and Semigallia into duchy of Courland, which becomes Polish fief.
Semnones I'll
Semigallians—that is, semi-Galats—originated from the Galatians, Celtic peoples who had migrated to Asia Minor beyond the Hellespont (see Galatoi), the name could have been from semi-Gauls, that is, another tribe of CELTS. (The fifth-century B. C.E. Greek historian Herodotus mentioned Gelons, supposedly Scythians, a name also associated with the Semigallians.)
LANGUAGE
The Semigallian language was related to other Latvian dialects, such as Curonian.
HISTORY
The Vikings had contacts with the Semigallians by 950, as indicated by written Danish sources that mention Semigallia. The name of Semigallia appears on several Swedish rune stones from 1001. Two centuries later in 1201 the German prelate Albert von Buxhoevden began the construction of Riga in Semigallian territory at the southern extremity of the Gulf of Riga, which, because of its location, became the center of trade and military expansion in the Baltics.
In Semigalia in the 13th century seven major regions existed—Dobe, Dobele, Rakte, Sparnene, Silene, Tgrvete, and Upmale—each with at least one heavily fortified castle. The importance of the Tgrvete castle reached beyond frontiers of that specific territory in that its ruler, Viestards, raised his army from other regions as well to combat the Germans.
In 1236 the Brothers of the Sword suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Lithuanians and Semigallians at Saule, not far from present-day Siauliai. Eager for conquest new German recruits ventured into the southern regions of the Semigallians. In summertime the marshlands made passage difficult and facilitated guerrilla-style warfare. The Germans suffered catastrophic losses. This defeat brought about the end of the Brothers of the Sword. The remnants of the order reorganized as the Livonian Order of the Brothers of the Sword, a branch of the Teutonic Knights.
Another leader who sought to unify all of Semigallians later in the 13th century was Nameisis, the last Semigallian chief named in medieval chronicles. The Semigallians rose up against the Brothers of the Sword, now united with the Teutonic Knights, in a number of engagements between 1259 and 1272. In 1290 the Brothers of the Sword and Teutonic Knights pacified the majority of Semigallians, although some resistance persisted. The dominant Letts also managed to assimilate some Semigallians.
Semigallians time line
The Rhyme Chronicle of Livonia (the history of the Order of Livonia in two volumes written in rhymes) from 1300 records that many Semigallians left their homeland to join the Lithuanians against the crusaders and that some of their lands were then populated by people from surrounding regions, including the Letts.
The name of the Semigallians disappeared by the 16th century; the name Semigallia (or Zemgale) was thereafter used only to describe the territory that they had once inhabited. In 1561 the Brothers of the Sword dissolved their order and combined Courland and Semigallia into the duchy of Courland, which became a Polish fief.
CULTURE (see also Balts)
Rich soils of their lands provided Semigallians with surplus agricultural products, which they traded with their neighbors.
In Samigallian burials have been found short one-edged swords; spears; bronze ornaments, including headbands and pins; and farming tools.
The location of the Semigallians along the Western Dvina River and the Gulf of Riga led to numerous contacts with outside peoples.
World History
