Bishop Albert of Riga founded the
military order of the
Livonian Brothers of the Sword (, ) in
1202;
Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in
1204. The membership of the order comprised
German "warrior
monks". Alternative names of the Order include the
Christ Knights,
Sword Brethren, and
The Militia of Christ of Livonia.
Following their defeat by the
Samogitians and
Semigalians 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.
History
Swordbrothers
Albert, Bishop of
Riga (or
Prince-Bishop of
Livonia), 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. From its foundation, the undisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed
vassalage 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 the
northern Estonia (now known as Danish Estonia) for Denmark.
The Brotherhood had its headquarters at
Fellin (Viljandi) in present-day
Estonia, where the walls of the Master's castle 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.
Pope Gregory IX asked the Brothers to defend
Finland from the
Novgorodian attacks in his letter of
November 24,
1232.
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 Schaulen (Saule) in
1236 against
Lithuanians and
Semigallians. 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. 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
