Prince Vyachko of Koknese,[1] the king of Koknese (Latin: Rex Vesceka de Kukenois; Russian: Вячко[2]) or Vetseke of Kokenhusen[3] was a Russian prince, a vassal of Polotsk who fought against the expansionism of the Livonian Knights at the turn of the 13th century.
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Identity of Vyachko
His name is the Old Novgorod dialect form of Vyacheslav and his father is supposed to have been a Rurikid Prince of Drutsk.[citation needed]
Another interpretation, based on evidence from the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, is that Vyachko was a local élite, perhaps a Liv, who converted to Orthodox Christianity and became a vassal of Polotsk, whereupon he changed his name to the East Slavic Vyachko. This interpreation is supported by the fact that Chronicle says the population of Koknese included Balts (Latgallians and Selonians), and even a German colony, in addition to the East Slavic element.[4]
Role in the German Conquest of Livonia
At the time in the beginning of the 13th century, when Germans led by Albert of Buxhoeveden and the crusading Livonian Order began to occupy the shores of the Gulf of Riga, Vyachko ruled the fortress of Kukeinos (modern Koknese, Latvia) some 100 km southeast. Although his principality is believed to have been subject to Polotsk, senior princes did nothing to help him withstand the Knights' pressure. According to other sources, it was indeed in return for protection against Lithuanians and Polotsk, that Vyachko gave half of his land to Albert in 1205. During one of the raids he was captured by Albert of Buxhoeveden and delivered in chains to Riga, where a local archbishop set him free. Thereupon Vyachko burnt his capital and the fortress of Kes' (present-day Cēsis, Latvia) and retreated to Rus. By 1209 Kukeinos had been taken over by the Order and the formal sovereignty of Polotsk was finally revoked in 1215.
In 1223, the Novgorod Republic sent Vyachko to defend the Estonian fortress Tarbatu[5] against the Knights. Although his druzhina was small, Vyachko managed to install himself in the fortress with support from local Estonians and to launch several raids against the Knights. In response, Albert besieged Tarbatu in 1224 with a large force and offered a peace settlement. However, Vyachko refused to surrender, choosing to die with all of his supporters when the Knights stormed the fortress.
See also
Full Collection of Russian Chronicles
References
- ^ Also spelled as Kuikenos
- ^ Bojtár, Endre (1999). Foreword to the Past. Central European University Press. ISBN 9789639116429. http://books.google.com/books?id=5aoId7nA4bsC&pg=PA125.
- ^ Brundage, James (2003). The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia. Columbia University Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780231128889. http://books.google.com/books?id=UtRs1QecqIsC&pg=PA68.
- ^ Šterns, Indriķis (2002) (in Latvian). Latvijas vēsture 1180–1290: Krustakari. Riga: Latvijas vēstures institūta apgāds. p. 182. ISBN 9984601889. OCLC 53125658. On the Baltic population of Koknese, cf. Brundage, op. cit., p. 78f.
- ^ In the fifth century they (Estonians) built the first fortress at Tarbatu—from which both the modern Estonian name of Tartu and the Germanic name of Dorpat derive: Batten, Alan Henry (1988). Resolute and Undertaking Characters. Springer. ISBN 9789027726520. http://books.google.com/books?id=kXSjxkg0rRgC&pg=PA13&dq=Tarbatu&as_brr=3&ei=BjvTSLfHHYrojgGwy-TmAw&sig=ACfU3U1wzcokHzcg4kB94Uh4EG3ar2vP1w.
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