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The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Latin: Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, German: Schwertbrüderorden, French: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive) was a Catholic military order established by Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theoderich von Treyden), in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204 for the second time. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks" who fought Baltic and Finnic pagans in the area of modern-day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Alternative names of the Order include Christ Knights, Swordbrothers, Sword Brethren, Order of the Brothers of the Sword,[1] and The Militia of Christ of Livonia. The seal reads: +MAGISTRI ETFRM (et fratrum) MILICIE CRI (Christi) DE LIVONIA.
| Livonian Brothers of the Sword | |
|---|---|
| Latin: Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae German: Schwertbrüderorden French: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive | |
 
| |
| Active | 1204–1237 |
| Land | Terra Mariana |
| Allegiance | Catholic Church |
| Garrison/HQ | Wenden (Cēsis), Fellin (Viljandi), Segewold (Sigulda). Ascheraden (Aizkraukle), Goldingen (Kuldīga), Marienburg (Alūksne), Reval (Tallinn), Weißenstein (Paide) |
| Battle honours | Livonian Crusade |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Master Wenno Master Volquin |
Following their defeat by the Samogitians and Semigallians in the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) in 1236, the surviving Brothers merged into the Teutonic Order as an autonomous branch and became known as the Livonian Order.
Organization
The Livonian Brothers had a set of rules adopted of the Knight Templars, as to be of noble birth and take vows of obedience, poverty, and celibacy. The order also included soldiers, artisans, and clerics as members. The Knights made up a general assembly, which selected a grandmaster and other officials.[1]
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.[1] Wenno von Rohrbach was the first master of the order (1204–1209),[2] followed by Volkwin Schenk von Winterstein, who died in the Battle of Schaulen in 1236.
In the beginning, the main duty of the Livonian Brothers was to protect priests and missionaries.[3] The characteristics of the territory brought a moral challenge for the crusaders due to Livs and Letts didn't own land that was previously Christian. Therefore, they didn't have any justification to attack them. The division of conquered territory also was a problem faced by the order. Swordbrothers were to garrison the built castles to maintain the control along the Daugava. However, garrison duties didn't imply ownership. Albert of Riga established that one-third of any new territory could be retained by the order. Meanwhile, the rest of the territory was handed over to the bishop.[3]
History
Foundation
Albert, Bishop of Riga (also called Prince-Bishop of Livonia) (or possibly Theoderich von Treyden)[4] realized that standing-army in Livonia would be more useful than crusaders staying a short time. As rewards for secular knights in the Baltic area were not enough to ensure their long-terms stance, Albert founded the Brotherhood in 1202 to aid the Bishopric of Livonia in the conversion of the pagan Livonians, Latgalians and Selonians living across the ancient trade routes from the Gulf of Riga eastwards.[3]
The Brotherhood had its headquarters at Fellin (Viljandi) in present-day Estonia, where the walls of the Master's castle still[update] stand. 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.[citation needed]
Battles
In 1205, the first battle of the Livonian brothers occurred. The Semigallian duke Viesthard visited Riga to request the help of the Swordbrothers after a local Semigallian tribe was devasted by the Lithuanians. The brotherhood was reluctant to go to war due to the absence of the bishop Albert. However, Viesthard successfully persuaded Swordbrothers. They prepared an ambush against the Lithuanians that were returning with the booty, where the Lithuanian leader was beheaded.[3]
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 remained crusaders, beat the Russians troops that arrived suddenly to Daugava.[3]
In 1207, the Swordbrothers faced an attack from Lithuania launched during the winter. The Swordbrothers and allies stayed at the castle of Lennewarden on the north of the Daugava. 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 raider's return route and attack them.[3]
Undiscipline
From its foundation, the undisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed vassalage to the bishops.[citation needed] In 1218, Albert asked King Valdemar II of Denmark for assistance, but Valdemar instead arranged a deal with the Brotherhood and conquered northern Estonia (now known as Danish Estonia) for Denmark.[citation needed]
Pope Gregory IX asked the Brothers to defend Finland from the Novgorodian attacks in his letter of November 24, 1232.[5] 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]
Incorporation into the Teutonic Knights
The Order was decimated in the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) in 1236 against Lithuanians and Semigallians.[6] 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.[6] They continued, however, to function in all respects (rule, clothing and policy) as an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, headed by their own Master (himself de jure subject to the Teutonic Order's Grand Master).
Masters
See also
Gallery
-
The Livonian Confederation in 1260. -
The Mecklenburgian swordbrother Helmold III. von Plesse.
References
- ^ a b c "Order of the Brothers of the Sword | German organization of knights". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
- ^ Venning, Timothy,. A chronology of the Crusades. Frankopan, Peter,. London. ISBN 978-1-317-49643-4. OCLC 908389545.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f Turnbull, S. R. (Stephen Richard), 1948- (2004). Crusader castles of the Teutonic Knights. 2, The stone castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185-1560. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-557-0. OCLC 52783454.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ The Discovery of the Baltic The Reception of a Catholic World-System in the European North (AD 1075-1225) Blomkvist, Nils. 2004 (p.539)
- ^ "Letter by Pope Gregory IX". Archived from the original on 2007-08-14.. (In Latin) Hosted by the National Archive of Finland. See Diplomatarium Fennicum Archived 2007-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Andrejs Plakans, A Concise History of the Baltic States, (Cambridge University Press, 2011), 44.