The
Bishopric of Courland (,
Low German:
Bisdom Curland) was a second smallest (4500 km2)
ecclesiastical state in the
Livonian Confederation founded in the aftermath of the
Livonian Crusade. During the
Livonian War in 1559 Bishopric of Courland became a possession of
Denmark and in 1562 was formed into
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia as a vassal state of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
History
In
ancient times the
Curonians, a
Baltic tribe, inhabited
Courland and had strong links with the maritime tribes in both sides of the Baltic sea. In 1230 Curonian king
Lammechinus signed agreement with the vice-legat
Baldwin of Alna (
Baudoin d’Aulne) of the pope
Gregory IX about the voluntary conversation of his people to Christianity and receiving of the same rights as the inhibitants of
Gotland. In 1234
Dominican monk Engelbert was appointed to be the first bishop of Courland. In 1242 the area of Courland passed into the influence of the
Teutonic Knights owing to the amalgamation of this order with that of the
Brethren of the Sword in 1237. In 1253 the territory of Courland was divided between the Bisphoric of Courland and the Livonian branch of the Order of Teutonic Knights. After severe defeat of knights in the
Battle of Durbe the Bishop
Heinrich of Lützelburg left Courland in 1263 and the new bishop
Edmund of Werth returned in his bisphoric only after suppression of Curonian and Semigallian insurgencies in 1290. During the
Livonian War (1558–1582), under the increasing pressure of
Muscovy, the
Livonian Confederation dissolved. On the basis of the
Union of Wilno,
Livonia were ceded to The
Grand Duchy of Lithuania and formed into the
Ducatus Ultradunensis (
Latvian:
Pārdaugavas hercogiste). The land between the west bank of the
Daugava River and the
Baltic Sea formed another new region, The
Duchy of Courland and
Semigalia (
Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste). It depended on the
Grand Prince of Lithuania, later on The
King of Poland and The Grand Prince of Lithuania.
Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of The
Livonian Brothers of the Sword, became the first
Duke of Courland. Several parts of the Courland area did not belong to the bishopric. The
Order of Livonia had already loaned the
Grobiņa district (on the coast of Baltic Sea) to the
Duke of Prussia. Another district, the Bishopric of
Pilten, also called the "Bishopric of Courland" (on the
Venta River in western Courland), belonged to
Magnus, the
King of
Livonia. He promised to transfer it to the Duchy of Courland after his death, but this plan failed and only later
Wilhelm Kettler did regain this district. After Magnus of Livonia died in 1583,
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth invaded his territories in the
Duchy of Courland and
Frederick II of Denmark decided to sell his rights of
inheritance. When Gotthard Kettler died in 1587, his sons,
Friedrich and Wilhelm, became the dukes of Courland.
Chronology
- September 1234 : Bishopric of Courland (Bistum Kurland) established (formally declared in 11 February 1232), consisting of three separate enclaves after numerous distributions of the Curonian lands among the Bishops of Courland, and of Riga, and the Teutonic Order.
- 1290 : The cathedral chapter is incorporated into the Teutonic Order lands, the bishopric is subjected to the Order.
- 1341 : The bishops were also rulers of the island of Runö (now Ruhnu in SW-Estonia) from at least 1341.
- 1520 : Made a sovereign principality (prince-bishopric) of the Holy Roman Empire (formally from Jan 1521), but style of prince not used.
Bishops of Courland
See also
