ABSTRACT
Baltic-German historian Leonid Arbusow Junior, the publisher of the so far best edition of the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, registered in the 1920s the total of 16 preserved full and partial manuscripts of the chronicle, ranging from the beginning of the fourteenth century up until the eighteenth. The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia retouches the reciprocal contradictions of Rigan crusaders. The historical tradition represented by Henry's chronicle was far from being the only one in Livonia even as early as during the thirteenth century, even if it is difficult to ascertain the mutual relationships between the chronicle and the other writings. The legitimization offered by Henry, largely related to the theme of crusades, quickly became outdated in the context of the Middle Ages and thus remained insufficient: competing chronicles made Livonian history older, privileges and other charters provided a more secure support in legal discussions.
