Battle of St. Matthew's Day

For the 20th century battle in Northern Ireland, see Battle of St. Matthew's. For the 1293 and 1510 naval battles off Brittany, see Gascon War and Battle of St-Mathieu.

The Battle of Matthew's Day (Estonian: Madisepäeva lahing) was fought near Viljandi (probably in Vanamõisa) on 21 September 1217^[1][2] during the Livonian Crusade. The adversaries were the Sword Brethren (a German Crusading order) with their recently converted Livonian and Latgalian allies versus an army of 6,000 Estonian men from different counties, led by Lembitu, who had attempted to unify the Estonians. The Germans won, although the converted Livonian chieftain Caupo of Turaida died. Lembitu was also killed, and many other Estonians were forced to convert.

Battle of St. Matthew's Day
Part of Northern Crusades
Location of Vanamõisa village. Probable place of battle.
Date 21 September 1217 Location Near Viljandi, Estonia. 58°26′48″N 25°28′57″E Result Livonian victory
Belligerents
Counties of Ancient Estonia	Sword Brethren Livonians Latgalians
Commanders and leaders
Lembitu of Lehola † Vootele † Manivald † Unnepeve	Volquin Caupo of Turaida † Bernard II of Lippe
Strength
6,000	3,000
Casualties and losses
~1,000 (Henry of Latvia)	~100

References

1. Battle of St. Matthew's Day on September 21, 1217 @ Frucht, Richard (2005). Eastern Europe. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-800-6.
2. Battle of St. Matthew's Day (September 21) @ Miljan, Toivo (2004). Historical Dictionary of Estonia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4904-4.