The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. TeutonicOrder1422

History

The order was formed from the remnants of the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...

after their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Schaulen (Saule). They were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237. In the summer of that year, the Master of Prussia Hermann Balk rode into Riga to install his men as castle commanders and administrators of Livonia. In 1238, the Teutonic Knights of Livonia signed the Treaty of Stensby with the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

. Under this agreement, Denmark would support the expansion ambitions of the order in exchange for northern maritime

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. In 1242, the Livonian Order tried to take the city of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

. However, they were defeated by Alexander Nevsky in the

Battle on the Ice The Battle on the Ice, also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus, took place on 5 April 1242. It was fought on the frozen Lake Peipus when the united forces of the Novgorod Republic, Republic of Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, led by Prince Alexande ...

. Fortresses as Paide in land ceded by Denmark in the Treaty of Stensby allowed the order to contain the threat of Russian troops. For that reason, the order focused on its southern borders and Semigallia. Semigallia was a strategic territory for the Livonian Order. Lithuanians passed through Semigallia to raid settlements in Livonia, and they took advantage of the winter ice pack in the Gulf of Riga to reach Oesel Island. Also, this territory kept the Livonian Branch of the Teutonic Order separated from the Prussian Branch. Between 1237 and 1290, the Livonian Order conquered all of Courland,

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

, and Semigallia. In 1298, Lithuanians took Karkus Castle north of Riga, and defeated the order in the Battle of Turaida, killing Livonian Land Master Bruno and 22 knights. In 1346, the order bought the Duchy of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark. Life within the order's territory is described in the '' Chronicle of Balthasar Russow'' (''Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt''). The Teutonic Order fell into decline following its defeat in the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

in 1410 and the secularization of its Prussian territories by Albert of Brandenburg in 1525, while the Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence. The Livonian Order's defeat in the Battle of Święta (Wiłkomierz) on September 1, 1435, which claimed the lives of the master and several high-ranking knights, brought the order closer to its neighbors in

. The Livonian Confederation agreement (''eiine fruntliche eyntracht'') was signed in

Walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

on December 4, 1435, by the Archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland, Dorpat, Ösel-Wiek and Reval; the representatives of the Livonian Order and vassals, and the deputies of Riga, Reval and Dorpat city municipal councils. During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

, however, the order 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,

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

, who had intervened in a war between Bishop

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

of Riga and the Brothers in 1557. After coming to an agreement with Sigismund II, Augustus and his representatives (especially Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł), the last Livonian Master, Gotthard Kettler, secularized the order and converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. In the southern part of the Brothers' lands he created the

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a duchy in the Baltic states, Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of th ...

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 Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. From the 14th to the 16th centuries, Middle Low German as spoken in the towns of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

was the established language, but was subsequently succeeded by

High German The High German languages (, i.e. ''High German dialects''), or simply High German ( ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Ben ...

as official language in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Masters of the Livonian Order

The Livonian Master, like the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order, was elected by his fellow knights for a life term. The grandmaster exercised supervisory powers and his advice was considered equal to a command. The grandmaster of Teutonic knights did not limit local autonomy, he rarely visited Livonia or sent ambassadors for oversight. Hermann Balk 1237–1238
Dietrich von Grüningen 1238–1241
Andreas von Velven 1241-1242
Dietrich von Grüningen 1242–1246
Heinrich von Heimburg 1246–1248
Andreas von Velven 1248-1253
Anno von Sangershausen 1254–1256
Burkhard von Hornhausen 1256–1260
Werner von Breithausen 1261–1263
Konrad von Mandern 1263–1266
Otto von Lutterberg 1266–1270
Walther von Nortecken 1270–1273
Ernst von Rassburg 1273–1279
Konrad von Feuchtwangen 1279–1281
Wilken von Endorp 1281–1287
Konrad von Herzogenstein 1288–1290
Halt von Hohembach –1293
Heinrich von Dinkelaghe 1295–1296
Bruno 1296–1298
Gottfried von Rogga 1298–1307
Gerhard van Joeck 1309–1322
Johannes Ungenade 1322–1324
Reimar Hane 1324–1328
Everhard von Monheim 1328–1340
Burchard von Dreileben 1340–1345
Goswin von Hercke 1345–1359
Arnold von Vietinghof 1359–1364
Wilhelm von Vrymersheim 1364–1385
Robin von Eltz 1385–1389
Wennemar Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1389–1401
Konrad von Vietinghof 1401–1413
Diderick Tork 1413–1415
Siegfried Lander von Spanheim 1415–1424
Zisse von Rutenberg 1424–1433
Franco Kerskorff 1433–1435
Heinrich von Bockenvorde 1435–1437
Heinrich Vinke von Overbergen 1438–1450
Johann Osthoff von Mengede 1450–1469
Johann Wolthuss von Herse 1470–1471
Bernd von der Borch 1471–1483
Johann Freytag von Loringhoven 1483–1494
Wolter von Plettenberg 1494–1535
Hermann Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1535–1549
Johann von der Recke 1549–1551
Heinrich von Galen 1551–1557
Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg 1557–1559
Godert (Gotthard) Kettler 1559–1561

Commanderies of the Livonian Order

Across modern territory of

and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Estonia

* Komturei Reval *Komturei Pernau *Komturei Jerwen *Komturei Fellin *Komturei Talkhof

Latvia

*Komturei Marienburg *Landmarschall Segewold *Ordensmeister (Komturei) Dünamünde *Komturei Ascheraden *Komturei Dünaburg *Komturei Bauske *Komturei Mitau *Komturei Doblen *Komturei Goldingen *Komturei Windau

References

{{Authority control Livonian Confederation Livonian Crusade State of the Teutonic Order Northern Crusades 1237 establishments in Europe Establishments in the State of the Teutonic Order 13th-century establishments in Europe 1561 disestablishments in Europe 1560s disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire