Ports for whom? Harbors in the early thirteenth-century Eastern Baltic

Abstract

ABSTRACT The thirteenth-century crusades to Estonia and Livonia have traditionally been seen from the conquerors’ perspective, considering the local actors only as passive subjects of these processes. Recent archeological research has challenged this. Various centers, such as hillforts or harbors, were controlled by locals and functioned as more or less neutral places. This article examines three harbors, which may have possessed a central importance in the region: Daugavgrīva (Dünamünde) in the lower reaches of the Daugava River, portus novus (the New Harbor) in Saaremaa, and the port of Tallinn. The discussion treats local magnates as active participants in these places, thus creating a more nuanced picture of how different foreigners were treated in the ports of the Eastern Baltic.