Latgalians (, nds, Letti, Lethi, modern ; variant translations also include Latgallians, Lettigalls or Lettigallians) were an ancient
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...
tribe.
They likely spoke the
Latvian language
Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well ...
, which probably became the ''
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' in present-day Latvia during the
Northern Crusades
The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around th ...
due to their alliance with the crusaders. Latgalians later assimilated into the neighbouring tribes, forming the core of modern
Latvians
Latvians ( lv, latvieši) are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common L ...
.
History
The Latgalians were an
Eastern Baltic tribe whose origin is little known. In the 5th and 6th centuries, they lived in the eastern part of present-day
Vidzeme
Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...
(west of the
Aiviekste River), and later on in nearly all the territory of that region. In written sources, they are mentioned from the 11th century onward. In the first two decades of the 13th century, the (Western) Latgalians allied with German (mainly Saxon)
crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
rs. Their lands (the
Eldership of Tālava, the
Principality of Jersika and the
Principality of Koknese) were incorporated into
Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...
as vassal states.
In the 11th century,
Eastern orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonic ...
started to spread in Latgalian lands from
Polotsk
Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...
and
Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
. In the 12th century, Latgalian lands and their rulers paid tribute to the dukes of Polotsk.
During the
Livonian crusade
The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...
in the 13th century, Latgalian elders switched from Eastern orthodoxy to
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and became vassals of the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after th ...
.
Because of the crusade, many regions of
Semigallia
Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...
and
Courland
Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...
were left depopulated. Thus, part of the Latgalians migrated to those regions both during and after the war. Subsequently, between the 13th and 16th centuries, they gradually assimilated into the other Baltic tribes: the
Selonians
The Selonians ( lv, sēļi; lt, sėliai, from liv, sälli – "highlanders") were a tribe of Baltic peoples. They lived until the 15th century in Selonia, located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. They eventually merged wit ...
, the
Semigallians and the
Curonians
:''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.''
The Curonians or Kurs ( lv, kurši; lt, kuršiai; german: Kuren; non, Kúrir; orv, кърсь) were a Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in what are now the western ...
. These formed the core of present-day ethnic
Latvians
Latvians ( lv, latvieši) are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common L ...
.
Archaeological data
In the lands inhabited by Western and the Eastern Latgalians, about 80 flat cemeteries of Western Latgalian origin have been excavated, with more than two thousand burials uncovered. The first large scale excavations took place in Ludza Odukalns Cemetery in Latgale (1890–1891), where 339 Late
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
burials were uncovered. In the excavations at Pildas Nukši Cemetery (in Latgale, 1947–1948), 218 burials were uncovered, dated to the 9th to 12th centuries.
At the Zvirgzdenes Kivti Cemetery (in Latgale: 1948, 1955–1958), 175 burials from the 7th to 12th centuries were excavated. 315 burials were found at Aglonas Kristapiņi Cemetery (in Latgale; 1928, 1938, 1977–1980, 1984–1987, 1999–2000), in use from the late 8th century to the 12th century.
Ērgļu Jaunāķēni Cemetery was totally excavated in 1971–1972, with 89 burials found. At
Koknese Cemetery, 102 burials from the Late Iron Age were uncovered (1986–1989). In the area of the
Gauja
The Gauja River ( et, Koiva jõgi, german: Livländische Aa) is a river in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the only large river of Latvia that begins and ends its flow in Latvia. Its length is 460 km, of which 93.5 km (approxim ...
river, two Latgalian cemeteries, Drabešu Liepiņas and Priekuļu Ģūģeri, have been excavated too.
Archaeological excavations have also been carried out on the hillforts of Ķente,
Koknese, Sārumkalns, Tanīskalns, as well as on other Latgalian sites. Only a few (Western) Latgalian settlements have been excavated. Large-scale excavations (1960s–1970s) and reconstruction have been done at the
Āraiši lake dwelling site (9th century).
In Latgale, dating from the 6th and 7th centuries, there were flat cemeteries as well as barrow cemeteries. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the transition started from flat graves to barrows. There are about 15 excavated Eastern Latgalian barrow cemeteries, but in most of them only a small number of barrows were investigated.
Archaeologically-identified dwelling sites in
Latgale
Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While ...
include
hill forts, settlements and
lake dwellings. Among hillforts, the most well-researched one is
Jersika
The principality of Jersika ( la, Gerzika, terra Lettia, german: Gerzika, Zargrad, russian: Ерсика, Герцике; also known as ''Лотыголa'') was an early medieval Latgalian principality in eastern modern-day Latvia and one of th ...
Hillfort (excavated in 1939 and from 1990 onwards), forming a complex together with Dignāja Hillfort, on the opposite bank of the
Daugava
, be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna
, image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png
, image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava
, source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia
, mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic ...
river. Jersika was occupied from the 10th to 14th centuries, probably after the decline of Dignāja, which had been inhabited since the 6th century.
It is possible that ancestors of the so-called Eastern Latgalians migrated to the territory of present-day Latgale between the 7th and 11th centuries, pushed from their previously inhabited territory by
Slavic migrations; some archaeologists also believe that the Eastern Latgalians are descended from the more ancient East-Baltic inhabitants of Latvia, who lived in
central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
eastern Latvia during the "Roman" Iron Age (1st to 4th centuries).
References
{{Reflist
Ethnic groups in Latvia
Medieval Latgalian people
Historical Baltic peoples