The Trials of Alexander Nevsky
THEY were followed by merchants from Bremen, and other German colonists, who in time founded flourishing towns such as Riga near the coast, and gradually spread inland. They had conquered Pskov, and were desirous of attacking Novgorod, but Alexander drove them out of Pskov, and met them in a pitched battle on the ice of Lake Peipus. The Germans were defeated and such numbers of them slain that the ice is supposed to have turned red. The battle was called the ‘Ice Massacre’, AD 1242.*
On the death of his father, Alexander succeeded to the princedom of Suzdal and the over-lordship,* and as he fully realized that Russia was too disorganised to be able to offer any resistance to the Tartars, he went down to the Golden Horde to be officially recognized and do homage.* He even induced the people of Novgorod to pay their share of the poll-tax,* and by paying the tribute regularly, kept the Tartars from making inroads on his country. He died in 1263.*
abridged
The Battle on the Ice was fought on April 5th, 1242. If such bloodshed seems unfitting for a saint, it is worth noting that modern historians are inclined to think that the mediaeval chroniclers overstated it, and that the fall of a few German knights was sufficient to hand Alexander the victory.
That is, in 1252 he became Prince of Vladimir, capital of Vladimir-Suzdal.
Alexander was not craven, however: asked to venerate an image of Genghis Khan, he politely refused, and following a tense pause Batu admitted that he was impressed. Alexander must have been anxious, though. Michael of Chernigov had done the same in 1246, and he was murdered. It is worth remembering that ‘doing homage’ to the Kings of France was an irksome, often neglected but legally required duty of the Kings of England from William the Conqueror to Edward III, because of French dukedoms they had inherited.
Great Novgorod lies far to the northwest of Russia, beyond difficult marshy country, and it was tempting to defy Batu Khan. However, Alexander had to think about cities within Batu’s reach, such as Kiev and Vladimir. The city is something of a favourite on Clay Lane: see posts tagged Velikiy Novgorod.