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'{{short description|Military order founded by Bishop Albert of Riga in 1202}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2013}} {{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 |country= [[Terra Mariana]] |allegiance= [[Catholic Church]] |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=Master [[Wenno]]<br>Master [[Volquin]] }} The '''Livonian Brothers of the Sword''' ({{lang-la|Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae}}, {{lang-de|Schwertbrüderorden}}, {{lang-fr|Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive}}) was a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Military order (monastic society)|military order]] established by [[Albert of Riga|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 [[Germans|German]] "warrior [[monk]]s" 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''', and '''The Militia of Christ of Livonia'''. The seal reads: ''+MAGISTRI ETFRM (et fratrum) MILICIE CRI (Christi) DE LIVONIA''. Following their defeat by the [[Samogitians]] and [[Semigallians]] in the [[Battle of Saule|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]]. == History == [[Image:LivoniaKnight.jpg|thumb|left|240px|A [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knight]] on the left and a Swordbrother on the right.]] Albert of Riga 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 decided to found his order.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Turnbull, Stephen R.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56426711|title=Crusader castles of the Teutonic Knights. 2, The stone castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185-1560|date=2004|publisher=Osprey|others=Dennis, Peter, 1950-|isbn=1-84176-712-3|location=Oxford|oclc=56426711}}</ref> 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 1075-1225) Blomkvist, Nils. 2004 (p.539)</ref> founded the Brotherhood in 1202 to aid the [[Bishopric of Riga|Bishopric of Livonia]] in the conversion of the [[paganism|pagan]] [[Livonian people|Livonians]], [[Latgalians]] and [[Selonians]] living across the ancient trade routes from the [[Gulf of Riga]] eastwards. In the beginning, the main duty of the Livonian Brothers was to protect priests and missionaries.  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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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. From its foundation, the undisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed [[vassal]]age 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 [[Danish Estonia|northern Estonia]] (now known as Danish Estonia) for Denmark. 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. [[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 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814083933/http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 |archivedate=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.) 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, however, to function in all respects ([[monastic rule|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 [[Hochmeister|Grand Master]]). <br> == Masters == * [[Wenno]] (von Rohrbach) 1204–1209 * [[Volkwin]] (Schenk von Winterstein) 1209–1236 == See also == * [[Teutonic Order]] * [[Battle of Saule]] * [[Livonian Crusade]] * [[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 == {{reflist}} {{Crusader States}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Livonian Brothers Of The Sword}} [[Category:Livonian Brothers of the Sword| ]] [[Category:History of Christianity in Estonia]] [[Category:Military orders (monastic society)]] [[Category:Northern Crusades]] [[Category:13th century in Lithuania]] [[Category:Livonian Confederation]] [[Category:1202 establishments in Europe]] [[Category:1237 disestablishments in Europe]] [[Category:Livonian Crusade]] [[Category:Baltic-German people]]'