| Battle of Lindanise | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theNorthern Crusades | |||||||
 The Dannebrog falling from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise. Painting byC.A. Lorentzen, 1809. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Revala Harjumaa | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Valdemar II Anders Sunesen Witslaw of Rügen Albert of Saxony Theoderich von Treyden † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1,000–2,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Several thousand | Unknown but heavy | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Lyndanisse orLindanise[a] was fought on 15 June 1219 during theNorthern Crusades, between the forces of the invadingKingdom of Denmark and the localnon-Christian Estonians. The Danish victory in the battle, at the site of the laterHanseatic city ofReval (nowTallinn,Estonia) helped KingValdemar II of Denmark to subsequently claim the territory ofnorthern Estonia as his participation in thecrusade into Estonia had been undertaken in response tocalls from thePope.[1]
The 1219 Battle of Lyndanisse is still well known to this day, especially amongst Danes and Estonians, because of a popularlegend about the first ever Danish flag, theDannebrog, which allegedly fell from the sky, as an apparently helpfuldivine intervention, just when the Danish Crusaders were about to lose the battle to the localpagans.
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Valdemar II, along with ArchbishopAnders Sunesen of Lund, BishopTheoderich von Treyden, and hisvassalsCount Albert ofNordalbingia andVitslav I ofRügen, sailed to the northern Estonian province ofRevalia at the beginning of June 1219. The crusading army camped at Lindanise and built a castle there, namedCastrum Danorum (which, according to an unattestedurban legend, the indigenous Estonians thereafter started to callTaani linna, meaning "Danish castle", shortened later toTallinn). The Estonians sent several negotiators, but they were only playing for time as they assembled an army large enough to fight the Danes.
On 15 June 1219, the Estonians attacked the Danes near the castle, right after supper time. They advanced from five different directions and completely surprised the crusaders, who fled in all directions. BishopTheoderich von Treyden was killed by the Estonians, who thought he was the king. The Danes were saved by theirWendish vassals, as Witslaw led a quick counterattack which stopped the Estonian advance. This gave the crusaders time to regroup, and the Estonians were routed.
Tradition has maintained that theDanish flag appeared at the Battle of Lyndanisse on 15 June 1219.[2] Legend holds that during the battle, in the Danes' hour of need, the Dannebrog fell from the sky and gave them renewed hope. As the Estonians attacked the Danish stronghold, the Danes were hard pressed.Anders Sunesen, theArchbishop of Lund, raised his hands to the sky in prayer, and the defenders held tight as long as his hands were raised. As Archbishop Sunesen became exhausted, he eventually had to lower his arms, and the Estonians were on the verge of victory.[3] Then, a red flag with a white cross fell from the sky, and gave the Danes the victory.[4]
This account builds on two different versions from the early 16th century, both based on an even older source. According to legend, Denmark received its national flag, theDannebrog, during the battle. This legend is mentioned in the last three books (14-16) of theGesta Danorum, which describe Danish conquests on the south shore of theBaltic Sea and the Northern Crusades. An edition of the Gesta Danorum was edited by Danish priestChristiern Pedersen, and published byJodocus Badius on 15 March 1514.
This older source set the emergence of Dannebrog as a battle inLivonia in 1208. But the Franciscan friar Peder Olsen (c. 1527) rectified the year as 1219. The legend became affixed to the Battle of Lindanise. The legend of Dannebrog as originating in the Northern Crusades holds true, as the red flag with a white cross originated as a crusader symbol.[4]