The Vends (; ; ) were a Balto-Finnic people that lived between the 12th to 16th centuries in the area around the town of Wenden (now

Cēsis Cēsis (; (, , , ) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river, overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was selected to b ...

) in present-day north-central

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. According to the ''

Livonian Chronicle of Henry The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' () is a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's Estonia and Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was written by a priest named Henry. Apart from some references ...

'', prior to their arrival in the area of Wenden in the 12th century, the Vends were settled in Ventava county () by the Venta River near the present city of

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

in western Latvia. Their proximity to more numerous Finnic and

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 ...

tribes inclined the Vends to ally with the German

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

, who began building a stone castle near the older Vendian wooden fortress in 1207. The castle of Wenden later became the residence of the Master 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 thei ...

. The last known record of the Vends' existence as a distinct entity dates from the sixteenth century.

Origin

Henry of Latvia made the first surviving mention of the Vends as they were chased away from

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

and Christianized by Germans during

Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade consists of the various military Crusade, Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – modern Latvia and Estonia – during the Pope, Papal-sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12th–13th century. Overview Historic ...

of 1198–1290. Traditionally, researchers believe that Vends spoke a Finnic language and were related to the neighboring

Livonians The Livonians, or Livs, are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to the Livonian Coast, in northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian language, Livonian, a Uralic language closely related to Estonian language, Estonian and Finnish lan ...

and the Votes. They are sometimes associated with the Western Slavic

Wends Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...

Legacy

Vends may have a connection with the national

flag of Latvia The national flag of Latvia () was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly befor ...

. The '' Livonian Rhymed Chronicle'' () states that in 1290 when the local militia was recruited to defend

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, they came from Wenden with "a Latvian red banner crossed by white, in the manner of the Vends/of the Wenden" ().Livlädische Reimchronik
: ''die quâmen hovelîchen dar / mit einer banier rôtgevar,/ daß was mit wîße durch gesniten/ hûte nâch wendischen siten./ Wenden ist ein burc genant,/ von den die banier wart bekant,/ und ist in Letten lant gelegen,/ dâ die vrowen rîtens pflegen/ nâch den siten, als die man./ vor wâr ich ûch daß sagen kan,/ die banier der Letten ist.'' (09223-09233)

References

{{Reflist Historical ethnic groups of Europe Ethnic groups in Latvia Ancient Slavic peoples Wenden Voivodeship Lechites Wendland

Origin

Legacy

See also

References