LIVONIAN BROTHERS OF THE SWORD

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The 'Livonian Brothers of the Sword' (, ) was a military order organized in 1202 by Albert of Buxhoeveden and composed of German "warrior monks". They were also known as the ''Livonian Order'', ''Christ Knights'', ''Sword Brethren'', and ''The Militia of Christ of Livonia''.
The Livonian Order was founded during the Northern Crusades to defend German settlements in the Baltic; their rule was primarily based on that of the Knights Templar. Following their defeat by Lithuania in the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) in 1236, they were merged into the Teutonic Knights as an autonomous branch. The Livonian Order was ultimately secularized and became the Duchy of Courland during the 16th century Livonian War.

Contents

History

Masters of the Livonian Order

Masters of Livonia (within the Teutonic Order)

See also

References

History

Albert, bishop of Riga (or Prince-Bishop of Livonia), founded the Brotherhood to aid the Bishopric of Riga in the conversion of the pagan Curonians, Livonians, Semigallians, and Latgalians along the Gulf of Riga. From its foundation the undisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed vassalage to the bishops. In 1218 Albert asked King Valdemar II of Denmark for assistance, but Valdemar instead arranged a deal with the Brotherhood and conquered the north of Estonia.
The Brotherhood's headquarters were at Fellin (Viljandi) in present day Estonia, where the walls of the master's castle are still standing. Other strongholds included Wenden (Cēsis), Segewold (Sigulda) and Ascheraden (Aizkraukle). The commanders of Fellin, Goldingen (Kuldīga), Marienburg (Alūksne), Reval (Tallinn), and the bailiff of Weißenstein (Paide) belonged to the five-member entourage of the Order's master.
Pope Gregory IX requested the Brothers to defend Finland from the Novgorodian attacks in his letter in November 24, 1232.^[1] However, no information survives if the knights ever had any activities in Finland. Finland was eventually taken over by Sweden after the Second Swedish Crusade in 1249.
The Brothers were all but annihilated by the Lithuanians and Semigallians at the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) in 1236, leading the surviving Brothers to be incorporated into the Order of Teutonic Knights the following year. From that point on, they were in all respects (rule, clothing and policy) an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, headed by their own Master (who was ''de jure'' subject to the Teutonic Order's Grand Master).
Between 1237 and 1290, they conquered all of Courland, Livonia, and Semigallia, but their attack on Northern Russia was repelled in the Battle of Wesenberg (Rakovor) (1268). In 1346, the Order bought the rest of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark. Life within the Order's territory is described in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia and the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle.
The Teutonic Order fell into decline following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and the secularization of its Prussian territories by Albert of Prussia in 1525, but the Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence. During the Livonian War, however, they suffered a decisive defeat by troops of Muscovite Russia in the Battle of Ergeme in 1560. The Livonian Order then sought protection from Sigismund II Augustus, the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who had intervened in a war between Bishop William of Riga and the Brothers in 1557.
After coming to an agreement with the Sigismund II Augustus and his representatives (especially Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł), the last Master, Gotthard Kettler, secularized the Order and converted to Lutheranism. In the southern part of the Brothers' lands he created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia for his family. Most of the remaining lands were seized by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The north of Estonia was taken back by Denmark and Sweden.

Masters of the Livonian Order

★ Wenno (von Rohrbach) 1204–09

★ Volquin (von Naumburg?) 1209–36

Masters of Livonia (within the Teutonic Order)

★ Hermann Balk 1237–38

★ Dietrich von Grüningen 1238–42

★ Dietrich von Grüningen 1244–46

★ Andreas von Stierland 1248–53

★ Anno von Sangershausen 1253–56

★ Burchard von Hornhausen 1256–60

★ Werner von Breithausen 1261–63

★ Konrad von Mandern 1263–66

★ Otto von Lutterberg 1266–70

★ Andreas von Westfalen 1270

★ Walther von Nortecken 1270–73

★ Ernst von Rassburg 1273–79

★ Konrad von Feuchtwangen 1279–81

★ Wilken von Endorp 1281–87

★ Konrad von Herzogenstein 1288–90

★ Halt von Hohembach –1293

★ Heinrich von Dinkelaghe 1295–96

★ Bruno 1296–98

★ Gottfried von Rogga 1298–1307

★ Conrad von Jocke 1309–22

★ Johannes Ungenade 1322–24

★ Reimar Hane 1324–28

★ Everhard von Monheim 1328–40

★ Burchard von Dreileben 1340–45

★ Goswin von Hercke 1345–59

★ Arnold von Vietinghof 1359–64

★ Wilhelm von Vrymersheim 1364–85

★ R. von Eltz 1385–89

★ Wennemar Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1389–1401

★ Konrad von Vietinghof 1401–13

★ Diderick Tork 1413–15

★ Siegfried Lander von Spanheim 1415–24

★ Zisse von Rutenberg 1424–33

★ Franco Kerskorff 1433–35

★ Heinrich von Bockenvorde 1435–37

★ H. Vinke von Overbergen 1438–50

★ Johann Osthoff von Mengede 1450–69

★ Johann Wolthuss von Herse 1470–71

★ Bernd von der Borch 1471–83

★ Johann Fridach von Loringhofe 1483–94

★ Wolter von Plettenberg 1494–1535

★ Hermann Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1535–49

★ Johann von der Recke 1549–51

★ Heinrich von Galen 1551–57

★ Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg 1557–59

★ Godert (Gotthard) Kettler 1559–61

See also

★ Livonian Confederation

★ Courland

★ Livonia

★ Latvia

★ Estonia

★ Northern Crusades

★ Order of Dobrin

★ Teutonic Knights

★ Conquest of Estonia

References

1. Letter by Pope Gregory IX. In Latin. Hosted by the National Archive of Finland. See [1] and ''Diplomatarium Fennicum'' from the menu.