The history of Tartu in the 13th century has recently been studied by archaeologists and art historians who adhere to the traditional date of 1224 as the beginning of medieval Tartu. Through an analysis of the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia along with other contemporary written records, this paper argues that it was actually the year 1220 which marked the turning point for Tartu in the early 13th century. Furthermore, the paper suggests that instead of seeking to define a certain year as the ’beginning’ of the Middle Ages, one should consider the early 13th century as a period of transition.

At the start of the 13th century, Tartu was a stronghold of local significance subject to Otepää, the power centre of Ugandi at the time. It was a centre of a stronghold district. In the year 1220, the Order of the Brothers of the Sword chose Tartu as the seat of their bailiff of Ugandi. During the Estonian rebellion in the winter of 1222–1223, Tartu served as the centre for the insurgents in Ugandi. In the autumn of 1223, Tartu became the seat of Viacko, a minor Rus’ian prince subject to Novgorod. After the crusaders sacked Tartu in August of 1224, it became the seat of the Bishop of Tartu. Thus, from the year 1220 onwards, Tartu served as the administrative centre of the conquerors in Ugandi.

The period from late 1215 until August of 1224 should be seen as a time of transition for Ugandi.  During these years, the Ugaunians were no longer engaged with securing their political independence in the face of crusader and Rus’ian aggression but were instead seeking to decide whether to subjugate themselves to the former or the latter. Since written records on this period are so scarce, the position of the local elite of Ugandi, the ’elders’ of Otepää and Tartu, during the period of rule by the Brothers of the Sword as well as Viachko’s reign remain obscure. Nevertheless, Otepää did not acknowledge Viachko as its ruler. Instead, Otepää sided with the crusaders against Viachko and Tartu in late 1223.

The paper argues that the Estonian uprising of 1223–1224 created the political situation which made the founding of the Bishopric of Tartu possible. The dominant position of the King of Denmark in Estonia in 1219–1222 had made it impossible for Bishop Hermann of Lihula to establish his bishopric. The bishopric of Lihula, founded in 1210, laid claim to all of Estonia. This was unacceptable to the King of Denmark and the Archbishop of Lund, who established new bishoprics in areas of Estonia under Danish rule. When the king, the Brothers of the Sword, and Bishop Albert divided Estonia between themselves in 1222, Bishop Hermann was left out. The Estonian uprising upset the established political order in Estonia and made it possible to found a new bishopric for Hermann. In July of 1224, bishops Albert and Hermann and the Brothers of the Sword agreed that Hermann’s bishopric should consist of Southern and Central Estonia, and he would soon choose a new seat for his cathedral. In the autumn of 1224, Hermann went to Otepää and while he was there, he decided to build his cathedral in Tartu.

Finally, the paper discusses the founding of the town of Tartu and reaches the conclusion that Hermann’s choice of Tartu as the centre of his bishopric meant that Tartu would become a town. Even though the exact time of the founding of the town of Tartu is unclear, comparisons with the episcopal towns of Riga and Old-Pärnu suggest that in early 13th-century Livonia, the election of a place as the seat of a cathedral was interconnected with the same place becoming a town.