Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after ...

and the first

Duke of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

Biography

Kettler was born near

Anröchte Anröchte () is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography It is situated approximately 13 km south of Lippstadt and 15 km east of Soest. Neighbouring municipalities * Bad Sassendorf * Er ...

, Kreis Soest, of an old Westphalian noble family and the ninth child of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

knight Gotthard Kettler zu Melrich (mentioned 1527–1556) and his wife Sophie of Nesselrode. Gotthard's older brother Wilhelm Kettler was

bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

from 1553 to 1557. Kettler enlisted in the

Livonian order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after ...

around 1537 and became a knight. In 1554 Gotthard Kettler became

Komtur Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

Dünaburg Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...

(Daugavpils), and in 1557

Fellin Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

(Viljandi). In 1559, during the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...

(1558–1582) he succeeded Wilhelm von Fürstenberg as a Master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia. When the

Livonian Confederation Terra Mariana (Medieval Latin for "Land of Mary") was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia ( nds, Oolt-Livland, liv, Jemā-Līvõmō, et, Vana-Liivimaa, lv, Livonija). It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, ...

came under increasing pressure from

Ivan IV of Russia Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

, Kettler converted to Lutheranism and secularised Semigallia and

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...

. On the basis of the Treaty of Vilnius (28 November 1561), he created the

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

as a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was soon merged into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Following the Duke's proposal in 1567, the regional assembly (''

landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in no ...

'') decided to build 70 new churches and 8 schools in the remote areas of Duchy where many peasants still lived and died unbaptized. He died on 17 May 1587 in Mitau (Jelgava), aged 70. His heirs ruled in Courland until 1737.

Family

On 11 March 1566 Kettler married Anna, Duchess of Mecklenburg, daughter of Duke Albert VII of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Princess Anna of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squar ...

. The couple had seven children, three of whom died early. His sons Friedrich Kettler and Wilhelm Kettler succeeded him as dukes. The daughter Anna Kettler married the Lithuanian prince Albrecht Radziwiłł, the son of Mikołaj Radziwiłł Czarny, the daughter Elisabeth Kettler married the

Adam Wenceslaus, Duke of Cieszyn Adam Wenceslaus of Cieszyn ( pl, Adam Wacław cieszyński, cs, Adam Václav Těšínský, german: Adam Wenzel von Teschen; 12 December 1574 – 13 July 1617), was a Duke of Cieszyn from 1579 until his death. He was the second but only surviving ...

of Duchy of Teschen.

References

Sources

* Grusemann, Hans, 1990. ''Die Frühgeschichte des Geschlechts Ketteler (Kettler), 12.-16. Jahrhundert''. Soest. * Schwennicke, Ditleff. ''

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for thos ...

zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten (Neue Folge), Band VIII, Tafel 91 (Die Ketteler)''. * ''Salomon Henning's Chronicle of Courland and Livonia,'' translated and edited by Jerry C. Smith,

William Urban William Urban is an American historian specializing in the Baltic Crusades and Teutonic knights. He is the Lee L. Morgan Professor of History and International studies at Monmouth College. He served as an editor for the '' Journal of Baltic Stud ...

and

Ward Jones Ward E. Jones is a scholar at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, where he is a professor of philosophy. He joined the department in 1999. His DPhil. thesis, entitled ''The View from Here: A First-person Constraint on Believing'' was ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kettler, Gotthard 1517 births 1587 deaths People from Soest (district) German Lutherans Converts to Protestantism Baltic-German people Masters of the Livonian Order Dukes of Courland 16th-century Latvian people Polish people of the Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory Burials in the Ducal Crypt of the Jelgava Palace People of the Livonian War