Battle of Lyndanisse

In the battle of Lyndanisse on June 15, 1219 a Royal Danish crusaders army triumphed over an array of pagan Estonians.

Prehistory

Under the pretext of supporting the Fifth Crusade in Palestine, suggested the Danish King Waldemar II on behalf of Pope Innocent III. the pagan Estonians in Lyndanisse ( in Estonian Lindanise ), today's Tallinn.

With supposedly 1,500 longboats the king sailed together with Bishop Anders Sunesen, Bishop Theoderik of Estonia, Count Albert of Nordalbingien and Witslaw I of Rügen to Lyndanisse, where he occupied the Estonian castle, which he later called Toompea Castle.

Battle Record

On June 15, the Estonians attacked the Danes near the castle, which the invaders so surprised that they scattered to the four winds. But Witslaw gathered his men fought back and defeated the Estonians.

Legend has it that during the battle, as the Estonians, the Danes very distressed, the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark later with a white cross on a red background, had fallen from the sky. This event would have given the Crusaders new hope. The Danish flag is certainly the oldest still in use state flag.

Follow

To the Toompea Castle built by the Danes today Tallinn, whose name comes from the Estonian words " Taani " (Denmark) and " linn " (city) could be derived, and thus would mean " Danish town ", but this is not without controversy as interpretation of the name origin. The Battle of Lyndanisse was crucial for the success of Danish imperialism in the Baltic States; Denmark subjugated and Christianized in the sequence the whole of northern Estonia.