Battle on the Ice

Battle on the Ice
Battle of Lake Peipus/Chud
Part of the Northern Crusades

Depiction of the battle in the late 16th century illuminated manuscript Life of Alexander Nevsky
Date5 April 1242
Location
Result Novgorodian victory
Territorial
changes
Peace agreed, prisoners exchanged, Livonian troops withdrawn[a]
Belligerents
Livonian Order
Bishopric of Dorpat
Novgorod Republic
Principality of Vladimir
Commanders and leaders
Hermann of Dorpat Alexander Nevsky
Andrey Yaroslavich
Strength

from 200–400[b] to as much as 1,800:

  • 1,000 Estonian infantry;
  • 800 Danish and German knights.[3]

from 400–800[b] to as many as 6,000–7,000:

  • Novgorod militia;
  • Finno-Ugrian tribal contingents;
  • Nevsky's druzhina;
  • Hundreds of horse archers.[3]
Casualties and losses
Livonian Rhymed Chronicle:
20 knights killed
6 knights captured
Novgorod First Chronicle:
400 Germans killed
50 Germans imprisoned
"Countless" Estonians killed[1]
No exact figures

The Battle on the Ice,[c] also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus[d] or Battle of Lake Chud,[e] took place on 5 April 1242. It was fought on the frozen Lake Peipus when the united forces of the Republic of Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, emerged victorious against the forces of the Livonian Order and Bishopric of Dorpat, led by Bishop Hermann of Dorpat.[b]

The outcome of the battle has been traditionally interpreted by Russian historiography as significant for the balance of power between Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It is disputed whether the battle should be considered a "crusade" or not, and whether it represented a significant defeat for the Catholic forces during the Northern Crusades, thus bringing an end to their campaigns against the Orthodox Novgorod Republic and other Rus' territories.[b][4] Estonian historian Anti Selart asserts that the crusades were not an attempt to conquer Rus', but still constituted an attack on the territory of Novgorod and its interests.[5]

  1. ^ a b Michell & Forbes 1914, p. 87.
  2. ^ Dahlmann 2003, p. 63.
  3. ^ a b Nicolle 1996, p. 41.
  4. ^ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2003. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-85229-961-6.
  5. ^ Selart, Anti (2001). "Confessional Conflict and Political Co-operation: Livonia and Russia in the Thirteenth Century". Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500. Routledge. pp. 151–176. doi:10.4324/9781315258805-8. ISBN 978-1-315-25880-5.


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