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{{Short description|
{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
{{Distinguish|Livonian Order}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Livonian Brothers of the Sword
|native_name={{lang-la|Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae}}<br> {{lang-de|Schwertbrüderorden}}<br>{{lang-fr|Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive}}
|image=[[Image:SwordBrothers.svg|100px]] [[Image:Zakon Kawalerów Mieczowych COA.svg|110px| ]]
|caption= {{ordered list |style=text-align: left; |1=Seal of the Swordbrothers |2=Coat of Arms of the Swordbrothers}}
|dates=1204–1237
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|garrison=[[Cēsis|Wenden (Cēsis)]], [[Viljandi|Fellin (Viljandi)]], [[Sigulda|Segewold (Sigulda)]]. [[Aizkraukle|Ascheraden (Aizkraukle)]], [[Kuldīga|Goldingen (Kuldīga)]], [[Alūksne|Marienburg (Alūksne)]], [[Tallinn|Reval (Tallinn)]], [[Paide|Weißenstein (Paide)]]
|battle_honours=[[Livonian Crusade]]
|notable_commanders={{ubl|Master [[Wenno]]
}}
The '''Livonian Brothers of the Sword''' ({{lang-la|Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae}}, {{lang-de|Schwertbrüderorden}}<!--, {{lang-fr|Ordre des
Following their defeat by the [[Samogitians]] and [[Semigallians]] in the [[Battle of Saule
== Organization ==
The Livonian Brothers had a set of rules adopted
The grandmaster served for life in the order. He chose a council and a military chief for each district castle, where the order's knights were living.<ref name=":0" /> [[Wenno von Rohrbach]] was the first master of the order (1204–1209),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Venning, Timothy|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/908389545|title=A chronology of the Crusades|others=Frankopan, Peter.|date=May 2015 |isbn=978-1-317-49643-4|location=London|oclc=908389545}}</ref> followed by [[Volkwin]] Schenk von Winterstein, who died in the [[Battle of Saule|Battle of Schaulen]] in 1236.
In the beginning, the main duty of the Livonian Brothers was to protect priests and missionaries.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Turnbull, S. R. (Stephen Richard)|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/52783454|title=Crusader castles of the Teutonic Knights. 2, The stone castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185-1560.|date=2004|publisher=Osprey|isbn=1-84176-557-0|location=Oxford|oclc=52783454}}</ref> The characteristics of the territory brought a moral challenge for the crusaders
== History ==
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=== Foundation ===
[[Albert of Riga|Albert]], Bishop of [[Riga]] (also called [[Prince-Bishop]] of [[Livonia]]) (or possibly Theoderich von Treyden)<ref>''The Discovery of the Baltic The Reception of a Catholic World-System in the European North (AD
The Brotherhood had its headquarters at [[Viljandi|Fellin (Viljandi)]] in present-day [[Estonia]], where the walls of the Master's castle {{as of|2009|alt=still}} stand. Other strongholds included [[Cēsis|Wenden (Cēsis)]], [[Sigulda|Segewold (Sigulda)]] and [[Aizkraukle|Ascheraden (Aizkraukle)]]. The commanders of Fellin, [[Kuldīga|Goldingen (Kuldīga)]], [[Alūksne|Marienburg (Alūksne)]], [[Tallinn|Reval (Tallinn)]], and the [[bailiff]] of [[Paide|Weißenstein (Paide)]] belonged to the five-member entourage of the Order's Master.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}
=== Battles ===
In 1205, the first battle of the Livonian brothers occurred. The [[Semigallians|Semigallian]] duke [[Viestards|Viesthard]] visited Riga to request the help of the Swordbrothers after a local Semigallian tribe was
In 1206, the Duke Vladimir of Polozk demanded tribute from the inhabitants of the Daugava when the terms of service of the crusaders expired. The Swordbrothers, with the help of the
In 1207, the Swordbrothers faced an attack from Lithuania launched during the winter. The Swordbrothers and allies stayed at the castle of [[Lielvārde|Lennewarden]] on the north of the Daugava. The Lithuanian army challenged the order to battle and was defeated by the Order. This victory served to show the value of the castle line along the river. The chain of castles allowed successful communication. Meanwhile, the local militia could assemble at the nearest fort to the
The Swordbrothers
In 1211, several threats around Livonian prompted Albert of Riga to reinforce the
Between 1211
In 1230, Kurland was
=== Indiscipline ===
From its foundation, the indisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed [[vassal]]age to the bishops.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}} The desires of the Swordbrothers to expand to the north of the Daugava river, along the [[Gauja|Livonian Aa stream]], brought the Order into a confrontation with Bishop Albert. Albert wanted to extend to the south of the river and
Master Wenno advanced to the north without the permission of Bishop Albert. First, the Order took and occupied the [[Turaida|fortress of Treiden]]. In 1208, they founded the [[Sigulda|castle of Segewold]] in the Aa valley, and the [[Cēsis Castle|castle of Wenden]] further upstream. The last one grew as a fortress and Master Wenno located the Headquarters of the Order there. Wickbert, a man loyal to Albert of Riga, was placed to manage the Wenden castle. Master Wenno removed him, but Wickbert fled to the protection of Albert of Riga and killed Wenno with an axe.<ref name=":1" />
In 1219, King [[Valdemar II of Denmark]] conquered the [[Danish Estonia|north of Estonia]] with the help of Bishop Albert. In 1222, Estonia was partitioned between Valdemar II and Albert of Riga in an agreement unsatisfactory to the Swordbrothers. After that, they exploited the peasants until a revolt arose. The Pope rebuked the Order for the way they managed the conflict. Then, they tried to seize Danish land in Estonia until a papal legate made them give it back. When the papal legate left, the Swordbrothers took the Danish land again. They also invaded the territory of Bishop Albert and levied tolls on traffic on the Daugava.<ref name=":1" />▼
After the death of Albert of Riga in 1229, ecclesiastical authorities considered that the Order was
▲In 1219, King Valdemar II conquered the north of Estonia with the help of Bishop Albert. In 1222, Estonia was partitioned between Valdemar II and Albert of Riga in an agreement unsatisfactory to the Swordbrothers. After that, they exploited the peasants until a revolt arose. The Pope rebuked the Order for the way they managed the conflict. Then, they tried to seize Danish land in Estonia until a papal legate made them give it back. When the papal legate left, the Swordbrothers took the Danish land again. They also invaded the territory of Bishop Albert and levied tolls on traffic on the Daugava.<ref name=":1" />
[[Pope Gregory IX]] asked the Brothers to defend [[Finland]] from the [[Finnish-Novgorodian Wars|Novgorodian attacks]] in his letter of November 24, 1232.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 |title=Letter by Pope Gregory IX |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814083933/http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 |archive-date=2007-08-14 }}. (In Latin) Hosted by the [http://www.narc.fi National Archive of Finland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915000053/http://www.narc.fi/ |date=2010-09-15 }}. See [http://www.narc.fi/Arkistolaitos/sahkoiset/ ''Diplomatarium Fennicum''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608003759/http://www.narc.fi/Arkistolaitos/sahkoiset/ |date=2007-06-08 }}</ref> However, no known information regarding the knights' possible activities in Finland has survived. ([[Sweden]] eventually conquered Finland following the [[Second Swedish Crusade]] in 1249.){{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}▼
▲After the death of Albert of Riga in 1229, ecclesiastical authorities considered that the Order was useless anymore. The papal legate Bernard of Aulne decided that they should be suppressed, and he tried to recapture the Danish Castle at [[Tallinn|Reval]]. However, the Order defeated him and took him as a prisoner.<ref name=":1" />
▲[[Pope Gregory IX]] asked the Brothers to defend [[Finland]] from the [[Finnish-Novgorodian Wars|Novgorodian attacks]] in his letter of November 24, 1232.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 |title=Letter by Pope Gregory IX |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814083933/http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 |archive-date=2007-08-14 }}. (In Latin) Hosted by the [http://www.narc.fi National Archive of Finland]. See [http://www.narc.fi/Arkistolaitos/sahkoiset/ ''Diplomatarium Fennicum''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608003759/http://www.narc.fi/Arkistolaitos/sahkoiset/ |date=2007-06-08 }}</ref> However, no known information regarding the knights' possible activities in Finland has survived. ([[Sweden]] eventually conquered Finland following the [[Second Swedish Crusade]] in 1249.){{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}
=== Incorporation into the Teutonic Knights ===
The Order was decimated in the [[Battle of Saule|Battle of Schaulen (Saule)]] in 1236 against [[Lithuanians]] and [[Semigallians]].<ref name="Plakans44">Andrejs Plakans, ''A Concise History of the Baltic States'', (Cambridge University Press, 2011), 44.</ref> This disaster led the surviving Brothers to become incorporated into the Order of [[Teutonic Knights]] in the following year, and from that point on they became known as the [[Livonian Order]].<ref name="Plakans44" /> They continued
== Masters ==
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* [[Volkwin]] (Schenk von Winterstein) 1209–1236
== Gallery ==▼
<gallery>▼
Image:Medieval Livonia 1260.svg|The [[Livonian Confederation]] in 1260.▼
Image:Helmoldus de Plesse4.JPG|The Mecklenburgian swordbrother Helmold III. von Plesse.▼
</gallery>▼
== See also ==
* [[Teutonic Order]]
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* [[Northern Crusades]]
* [[Order of Dobrin]]
▲== Gallery ==
▲<gallery>
▲Image:Medieval Livonia 1260.svg|The [[Livonian Confederation]] in 1260.
▲Image:Helmoldus de Plesse4.JPG|The Mecklenburgian swordbrother Helmold III. von Plesse.
▲</gallery>
== References ==
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[[Category:1237 disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Livonian Crusade]]
[[Category:Baltic-German
|