Terra Mariana (Land of
St. Mary) was the official name
for
Medieval Livonia or
Old Livonia (, , ) which was formed in the aftermath of the
Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day
Estonia and
Latvia. It was established on February 2, 1207 as a principality of the
Holy Roman Empire but lost this status in 1215 when proclaimed by Pope
Innocent III as a direct subject to the
Holy See.
Terra Mariana was divided into six feudal principalities by
Papal Legate William of Modena: the
Archbishopric of Riga,
Bishopric of Courland,
Bishopric of Dorpat,
Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, the lands ruled by the
Livonian Brothers of the Sword and the
Dominum directum to the
King of Denmark, the
Duchy of Estonia.
In 1227 the
Swordbrothers conquered all Danish territories in Estonia. After the 1236
Battle of Saule the surviving members of the Swordbrothers merged in 1237 with the
Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as the
Livonian Order. On June 7, 1238 by the Treaty of Stensby the Teutonic knights returned the Duchy of Estonia to
Valdemar II of Denmark. In 1346 the lands were sold back to the order and became part of the
Ordenstaat.
Throughout the existence of medieval Livonia there was a constant struggle over the supremacy of ruling the lands by the Church, the Order, the secular German nobility and the citizens of the Hanseatic towns of
Riga and
Reval.
Following its defeat in the
Battle of Grunwald in 1410 the Teutonic Order and the
Ordenstaat fell into decline but the Livonian Order managed to maintain its independent existence.
The Livonian Order's defeat in the
Battle of Swienta (Pabaiskas) on September 1, 1435 brought the Order closer to its neighbours in Livonia. The Livonian Confederation agreement was signed on December 4, 1435 by the Livonian Order, the Livonian Bishop, vassals and city representatives.
In 1561, during the
Livonian war, Terra Mariana ceased to exist
. Its northern parts were ceded to
Sweden and formed into the
Duchy of Estonia, its southern territories became part of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania — and thus eventually of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as the
Duchy of Livonia and
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The island of
Saaremaa became part of
Denmark.
History
Livonian Crusade
The lands on the eastern shores of the
Baltic Sea were the last part of
Europe to be
Christianized.
In 1193
Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against the
pagans in
Northern Europe. At the beginning of the 13th century, German crusaders from
Gotland and the northern
Holy Roman Empire conquered the
Livonian and
Latvian lands along the
Daugava and
Gauja rivers. The stronghold of
Riga (capital of modern Latvia) was established in 1201, and in 1202 the
Livonian Brothers of the Sword was formed, as a branch of the
Knights Templar. In 1218
Pope Honorius III gave
Valdemar II free rein to annex as much land as he could conquer in Estonia. Additionally
Albert of Riga, leader of the crusaders fighting the Estonians from the south, paid visit to the German King
Philip of Swabia and asked permission to attack the Estonians from the North.
The last to be subjugated and Christianised were
Oeselians,
Curonians and
SemigalliansAfter the success of the
crusade, the German- and Danish-occupied territory was divided into six feodal principalities by
William of Modena.
Establishment
thumb|175px|right|Three Mighty Ladies from Livonia by Albrecht Dürer (1521)
This division of medieval Livonia was created by
Papal Legate William of Modena in 1228 as a compromise between the church and the
Swordbrothers, both factions led by Germans, after the German knights had conquered and subdued the territories of several
indigenous tribes:
Finnic-speaking
Estonians and
Livs, and
Baltic-speaking
Latgalians,
Selonians,
Semigallians and
Curonians.
Medieval Livonia was intermittently ruled first by the
Swordbrothers, since 1237 by the semi-autonomous branch of
Teutonic knights called
Livonian Order and the
Roman Catholic Church. By the mid 14th century, after buying the
Duchy of Estonia from
Christopher II, the Livonian Order controlled about 67,000 square kilometers of the Old Livonia and the Church about 41000
km2. The lands of the Order were divided into about 40 districts governed by a
Vogt. The largest ecclesiastical state was the
Archbishopric of Riga (18,000 km
2) followed by the
Bishopric of Courland (4500 km
2),
Bishopric of Dorpat, and
Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. The nominal head of Terra Mariana as well as the city of Riga was the
Archbishop of Riga as the apex of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
thumb|250px|left|Citizens and commoners in medieval Livonia 16th centuryIn 1240
Valdemar II created the
Bishopric of Reval in
Duchy of Estonia by reserving (contradictory to canon law) the right to appoint the bishops of Reval to himself and his successor kings of Denmark. The decision to simply nominate the Holy See of Reval was unique in the whole Catholic Church at the time and was disputed by bishops and the Pope. During this era, the election of bishops was never established in Reval, and the royal rights to the bishopric and to nominate the bishops were even included in the treaty when the territories were sold to Teutonic Order in 1346 .
Livonian civil wars
thumb|175px|Coins of Medieval Livonia, 15th–16th centuryThroughout the existence of medieval Livonia there was a constant struggle for superiority in the rule over the lands by the Church, the order, the secular nobles of German descent who ruled the fiefs and the citizens of the Hanseatic town of
Riga. Two major civil wars were fought in 1296–1330, 1313–30, and in 1343–45 the
Estonian revolt resulted in the annexation of the Danish Duchy of Estonia within the Teutonic Ordensstaat.
Technically the Archbishop of Riga was the feudal and ecclesiastical superior, first over the Teutonic Knights, later over the Livonian Order. But the Archbishop did not become the dominant political power; already the Knights had thrown off the episcopal dominion, later the Livonian Order tried to unify the country under their leadership. The bishops of Dorpat, Courland and Ösel-Wiek were lesser powers.
The most important ally of the Livonian Order was the German nobility in the Danish Duchy of Estonia.
In the beginning of the 14th century Denmark was no longer a powerful state and the local German nobility had effectively become the rulers of the territory. After the Estonians of Harria started a rebellion in 1343 (
St.George's Night Uprising) the
Teutonic order occupied the territories. The overthrow of Danish rule came two days after the Order had defeated the Estonian revolt. The Danish viceroy was imprisoned in cooperation with the pro-German vassals. The castles in Reval and Wesenberg were handed over to the Order by the German nobility party on May 16, 1343 and the castle at Narva in 1345. In 1346, the Estonian territories (Harria and Vironia) were sold by king of Denmark for 19 000 Köln
marks to the
Teutonic Order. The shift of sovereignty from Denmark to the Teutonic Order took place on November 1, 1346
Livonian Confederation
thumb|250px|right|Medieval Livonia (1207 – 1561) published in 1573 by Joann PortantiusThe Teutonic Order fell into decline following its defeat in the
Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence as it didn't participate in the battle and suffered no casualties.
In 1418
Pope Martin V nominated
Johannes Ambundii to the position of
Archbishop of Riga . He became known as the organizer of the Livonian confederation.
Conflicts between the Order, the bishops, and the powerful
Hanseatic cities were common throughout the existence of medieval Livonia. To solve internal disputes, the Livonian Diet or
Landtag was formed in 1419 by the initiative of Archbishop Ambundii. The city of
Walk was chosen as the site of the Diet. The Diet was composed of members of the Livonian Order, Livonian Bishops,
vassals and city representatives.
On September 1, 1435 the Livonian Order's defeat in the
Battle of Swienta (Pabaiskas), claiming the lives of the Master and several high ranking knights, brought the order closer to its Livonian neighbours. The Livonian confederation agreement (
eiine fruntliche eyntracht) was signed in
Walk on December 4, 1435, by the archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland, Dorpat, Ösel-Wiek and Reval; the representatives of the Livonan Order and vassals, and the deputies of Riga, Reval and Dorpat city municipal councils.
The states of the Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the
Livonian War (1558–82). In 1559 the
Bishop of Ösel-Wiek sold his lands to King
Frederick II of Denmark for 30,000
thalers. The Danish king gave the territory to his younger brother
Duke Magnus of Holstein who in 1560 landed with an army on
Saaremaa.
In 1561 the Swedish army landed in
Reval and gained control over the northern part of Old Livonia. The Livonian Order was dissolved by the
Wilno Pact in 1561. The following year, the Livonian Diet decided to ask protection from
Sigismund II of Poland (Zygmunt II August) and the Grand Duke of
Lithuania. With the end of government by the last Archbishop of Riga
William of Brandenburg,
Riga became a
Free Imperial City and the rest of the territory was split between the Lithuanian
vassal states
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the
Duchy of Livonia.
See also
References and Notes
Category:1561 disestablishmentsCategory:States and territories established in 1207Category:LivoniaCategory:Baltic statesCategory:History of EstoniaCategory:History of Latvia Category:1560s disestablishmentsCategory:Crusader statescs:Terra Marianada:Terra Mariae
