Volume 1 of the series A Time of Knights 400 CE to 1453 CE. The Battle of Visby was fought during the Danish invasion of Gotland in 1361. Fall of the Merchant-Farmer Republic analyses the campaign, presents new research on the weapons, armour and military organisation of the Gotland merchant-farmer republic, describes the opposing armies in detail and explains the outcome of the battle and its consequences. Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea, was an autonomous Swedish territory. Gotland suffered from tensions over trading rights between the traditional rural merchants and farmers and the citizens of the heavily fortified city of Visby, which was part of the powerful Hanseatic League. The merchants and farmers of Gotland traded throughout the Baltic Sea region and from Great Britain to the Black Sea, putting them in direct competition with the wealthy and monopolistic Hanseatic League. When King Valdemar Atterdag landed on the island with Danish knights and experienced German mercenaries, his main opponent was the well-armed rural militia. After two defeats, the Gotlanders retreated to Visby, expecting the city's citizen militia and mercenaries to join them in resisting the invaders. The Battle of Visby ended in a catastrophic defeat for the Gotland militia, with thousands killed outside the city walls one of the most notorious massacres of the Middle Ages. Their remains, discovered in modern archaeological excavations, offer a unique insight into the weapons, armour and organisation of a unique merchant-farmer society. Based on the latest archaeological findings from the battlefield and a wealth of Scandinavian and international sources, Fall of the Merchant-Farmer Republic reconstructs not only the course of the battle, but also the political, economic and cultural forces that shaped it. The result is the most detailed study to date of the Danish conquest of Gotland and its lasting impact on the balance of power in the Baltic region.
