Editing Lembitu (section)

{{Short description|Estonian elder (13th century)}}
{{distinguish|Lembit}}
{{for|the ferry|MS Lembitu}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name           = Lembitu
| title          = Elder of Sakala
| image          = Suure-Jaani Vabadussõja mälestussammas 2018 (cropped).jpg
| caption        = Monument to Lembitu at [[Suure-Jaani]], [[Estonia]].
| reign          = Until 21 September 1217
| coronation     =
| predecessor    =
| successor      = [[Unnepewe]], his brother
| spouse         =
| issue          = One or several sons
| royal house    =
| father         =
| mother         =
| birth_date     = 12th century
| birth_place    =
| death_date     = {{death date|1217|9|21|df=yes}}
| death_place    = Near [[Viljandi]]
| buried         =
}}

'''Lembitu''' ([[Estonian language|Estonian]] also: '''Lembit''', died 21 September 1217) was an [[ancient Estonia]]n senior ([[Elder (administrative title)|elder]]) from [[Sakala County]] and military leader in the struggle against [[Livonian crusade|conquest of the Estonian lands]] by the [[Germans|German]] [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]] at the beginning of the 13th century. He is the only Estonian pre-Crusade ruler, about whom some biographical information is known (he is mentioned only in the [[Livonian Chronicle of Henry]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical Dictionary of Estonia |last=Miljan |first=Toivo |year=2004 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-4904-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKWRct15XfkC&pg=PA310}}</ref>

Lembitu, also referred to in [[Latin]] as ''Lambite'', ''Lembito'' or ''Lembitus'', was first mentioned in chronicles in 1211. Troops led by Lembitu destroyed a troop of missionaries in the historical Estonian county of [[Sakala County|Sakala]] (''Sackalia'') and made a raid as far as [[Pskov]], then a town of the [[Novgorod Republic]]. In 1215, Lembitu's Lehola (''Leal'') stronghold (situated near the present town of [[Suure-Jaani]]) was taken by Germans and Lembitu was taken prisoner. He was released in 1217.

Lembitu attempted to unite the [[Estonians]] in order to withstand the German conquest. He managed to assemble an army of 6,000 Estonian men from different counties, but was killed in the following [[Battle of St. Matthew's Day]] in September 1217.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |year=1970 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, inc |page= 734 |url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=cyXwSPGlPIquywSt1qWrBw&client=firefox-a&q=%22in+1217%2C+the+knights+defeated+the+Estonians+and+killed+their+commander+Lembitu%22&btnG=Search+Books}}</ref>