duchy · Scandinavia and the Baltic

Duchy of Estonia (1219-1346)

1219 CE – 1346 CE · capital Reval

Northern Estonia under the Danish crown, won by Valdemar II's crusade in 1219 and sold to the Teutonic Order after the great peasant revolt of 1343.

Origins

In 1219 Valdemar II of Denmark landed at Lindanise, defeated the Estonians and built a castle on Toompea, the start of Reval. Denmark competed with the Livonian Brothers of the Sword for northern Estonia, and the Treaty of Stensby in 1238 confirmed Danish rule over Rävala, Harjumaa and Virumaa.

Rule and society

The Danish king ruled through a captain at Reval, but real power on the land lay with German vassals who formed the Harrien-Wierland knighthood, holding estates recorded in the Liber Census Daniae. Reval received Lübeck law in 1248 and became a Hanseatic port. Cistercian monasteries and parish churches spread Christianity among the Estonian peasants.

Decline and legacy

In 1343 the Estonians of Harjumaa rose in the St George's Night Uprising, killing many Germans. The Livonian Order crushed the revolt, and in 1346 Valdemar IV sold the duchy to the Teutonic Order, which handed it to its Livonian branch. Northern Estonia became part of the Livonian Order's lands.

Lineage

Virumaa 800 CE – 1220 CERävala 800 CE – 1219 CEHarjumaa 800 CE – 1219 CEDuchy of Estonia (1219-1346)Livonian Order 1237 CE – 1561 CE

Connections (2)

  • Duchy of Estonia (1219-1346) was a province of Kingdom of Denmark1219 CE – 1346 CE
  • Reval was part of Duchy of Estonia (1219-1346)1248 CE – 1346 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Estonia (1219-1346). In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-estonia-1219-1346
MLA
“Duchy of Estonia (1219-1346).” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-estonia-1219-1346. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Estonia (1219-1346).” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-estonia-1219-1346.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Estonia (1219-1346)’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-estonia-1219-1346 (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻