The Livonian Order is a German spiritual and knightly organization that existed during the 13th-16th centuries in Livonia (modern territory of Latvia and Estonia). It was organized in 1237 from the one defeated by the Semigallians and Lithuanians in the battle of Saule. The Livonian Order was considered the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order. It collapsed in 1561, when it was defeated by Lithuanian and Russian troops.
Structure and management
The head of the Order was the master. True, he was also forced to obey the Supreme Master of the Teutonic Order. Herman Balk became the first head. After the master, the landmarshal followed - the commander of the army. The lands of the Order consisted of komturstvos (castle districts), which had fortified castles that served as the residence of the komtur (manager). Komtur took care of provisions, clothing and weapons. He was also in charge of warehousing and finance. It was the commander who commanded the army of the castle district during the war. However, most of the important issues were discussed at the order meeting (convention).
The supreme body of the Order was the general meeting of commanders - the chapter, which was held 2 times a year. Only with the permission of the chapter could the master give land to fief, conclude contracts, establish laws for local residents and divide the income of the commanders. The chapter elected an order council, which consisted of a master, a land marshal and 5 advisers. This advice had a huge impact on the decisions of the master.
Members of the Order were divided into clergymen and knights. A distinctive feature of the knights was a white cape. There were also half-brothers, who were distinguished by a gray cape. The main combat backbone of the Order was considered to be heavily armed cavalry. The army also included hired soldiers. In addition to the permanent members, the army of the Order was replenished by various knights who were looking for adventure.
Everyday life
Only Germans who were members of the old noble families could join the Livonian Order. Each new member vowed to dedicate his life to spreading Christianity.
Entering the Livonian Order, the knights stopped wearing it. It was replaced by a common sword and a red cross on the cloak.
In addition, the Livonian knights could not marry and own property. According to the charter, the knights had to live together, sleep on hard beds, eat meager food, and could not go out anywhere, receive or write letters without higher permission.
Also, the brothers did not have the right to keep anything under lock and key and could not talk to women.
The whole life of the members of the Order was regulated by the charter. Each castle had a book of knightly charter, which was read at least 3 times a year. Each day of a member of the Order began with a liturgy.
We fasted for almost a year. They mostly ate porridge, bread and vegetables. Weapons and clothing were the same.
The property of the Livonian knight was limited to a pair of shirts, a pair of breeches, 2 pairs of shoes, one cloak, a sheet, a prayer book and a knife. Members of the Order were forbidden any entertainment other than hunting.
But there was an indulgence in the charter, which led to the secularization of the organization that the Livonian Order created: the knights could trade for the benefit of their relatives. First, the knights changed their feats of arms to commercial and political activities, and soon they completely switched to Protestantism, turning into secular persons.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church had unlimited power not only in the sphere of shaping the worldview of people, but also in the state structure of the apologist countries. The secular power of religious leaders was exercised through the orders that led the famous crusades, the purpose of which was not only the conversion of pagans to the faith of God, but also the actual annexation of the lands of the conquered states. In the second quarter of the 13th century, the Livonian Order became one of these paramilitary forces. Its founder is Bishop Albert of Riga, who had exorbitant predatory ambitions.
Fundamentals of the formation of the order
At the beginning of the 13th century in Riga there was the Order of the Sword - a German Catholic association, which included representatives of the clergy and knights. The uniform of the members of the order was a white cloak with a print of a red cross and a sword. The first master who headed the order was named Winno von Rohrbach, he was replaced by Volkvin von Naumburg, on whom the history of the order ended. The main task of the order was the crusades to the lands of the modern Baltic. The conquest of Lithuania was especially difficult, and attempts were repeatedly made to conquer the Novgorod lands. Together with the Danish troops in 1219, the Revel fortress (modern Tallinn) was founded.
The decline of the order came at the time of the Northern Crusade of 1233-1236, which was suspended by the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. The Swordsmen suffered a complete defeat during the Crusade against Lithuania in 1236, which was organized by Pope Gregory IX. In May of the following year, the head of the Teutonic Order and Pope Gregory agreed on the entry of the remaining swordsmen into the Order. Since the swordsmen were deployed in modern Latvian and Estonian lands, the new association began to bear the name of the Livonian Order - a branch of the Teutonic Order. The knights of the Livonian Order left the same uniform as their predecessors.
Lands of Subjugation
The name of the order was given by the name of the people living in the lower reaches of the Western Dvina River - Livs. Livonia united five principalities of the clergy: the Livonian Order, as well as the bishoprics of Riga, Courland, Derpt and Ezel-Vik. Formally, the power over these lands belonged to the German emperor and the Pope.
Officially, the Livonian branch was called the Order of St. Mary of the German House in Livonia. Historians note that with the organization of the new structure, the balance of power in this territory has changed. The sword-bearers were subordinate to the Bishop of Riga, and the Livonians were subordinate to the head of the Teutonic Order, who was directly subordinate to the Pope. Subsequently, this caused a struggle for power between the bishopric and the order.
First defeat
The newly formed order tried its strength only five years later. Then the Livonian and Teutonic Orders set out on a campaign against Novgorod and Pskov. However, they met fierce resistance from the Russian army, led by the Novgorod prince Alexander, who went down in history as Alexander Nevsky. According to legend, the battle took place on Lake Peipsi on April 5, 1242. The famous battle on the ice ended with the complete defeat of the invaders, of whom about 400-500 knights died.
At the same time, history from the side of Livonia claims that there could not have been such a number of knights. Moreover, the majority consisted of soldiers of the Bishop of Tartu. Be that as it may, this defeat weakened the ardor of the order in relation to Rus' for more than twenty years.
Brutal Samogitian Resistance
In the 50s of the 13th century, the Livonian Order brought Prince Mindaugas to power in Lithuania. In return, Samogitia was transferred to their jurisdiction. The alliance with the Lithuanian leadership significantly strengthened the order. At the same time, the inhabitants of the given territory were not going to obey and put up strong resistance to the new masters.
Enlisting the support of the people of Courland, whom the order had enslaved, in 1260 he decided to organize an attack on Samogitia. However, the latter managed to get ahead of them and attack first. The battle took place on the territory of the present city of Durbe, in the western part of Latvia. During the battle, the legionaries of the order from the conquered territories - Estonians, Latgalians, Courlanders - quickly left the place of the battle, leaving a few Livonians face to face with the Samogitians, who won an unconditional victory.
The defeat entailed the loss of Samogitia, the liberation of most of Courland, as well as Saaremaa.
The end of the crusade to the Baltic
Resistance in Estonia, which was formally conquered in 1227, did not subside until the end of the 1260s. With enviable regularity, uprisings broke out in Courland and Semgallia. In 1267, Courland fell, where almost all the land went to Bishop Albert, with the exception of one third, which was transferred to the Courland bishop.
This distribution of land significantly increased the influence of the Livonian Order. Memel Castle was built, which facilitated land communication with the Teutonic Order in Prussia. Settling in Courland allowed the crusaders to direct all their forces to the conquest of Semgallia, which was finally defeated only in 1291. Some of the Courlanders then fled to Lithuania, having assimilated with the Lithuanians. Those who remained after many centuries became Latvians.
Civil wars
The Livonian Order first came into open conflict with the Riga bishopric only in 1297, although earlier there were repeated attempts by the clergy to challenge the power of the order. The war with varying success lasted until 1330, when the order won a final victory and completely subjugated Riga. However, even before the middle of the 15th century, the city was alternately subordinate to the master of the order, then the archbishop, until in 1451 they were equalized in the rights of leadership of the city. This situation continued until the disappearance of the order.
Northern Estonia became the property of the Teutonic Order in 1346. The order bought the territory for real money from the Danish king Valdemar IV Atterdag. The ease of this acquisition was due to the successfully suppressed rebellion here in 1343, which went down in history as the St. George's Night uprising. However, a year after the acquisition, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order transferred the actual power over the lands to the Livonian Order. In the 15th century, when trying to separate from the mother order, it was here that the biggest problems arose.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the Livonian Order began to seek independence from its patron, the Teutonic Order. This was especially facilitated by the defeat of the latter in 1410 in the battle with the combined Polish-Lithuanian army. At that time, peace agreements that were disastrous for the Teutonic Order were concluded, as a result of which power over Samogitia was lost. The leadership of the Livonian Order was increasingly reluctant to support its patron in military campaigns, and then began to refuse altogether. The confrontation also intensified due to the internal contradictions of the Livonian Order itself.
Difficult relations with Russia
The history of the Livonian Order included a rather difficult relationship with the Russian state. Basically, all the clashes ended in defeat. Military confrontations, which took place with varying success, ended with peace treaties, which were quickly canceled. Due to the closed Hanseatic trading office in Novgorod in 1501, the Livonian-Muscovite War broke out. As an ally, the Livonian Order chose Lithuania, which was at war with Russia. However, this did not lead to anything, and in 1503 a peace was concluded, an agreement on which was regularly confirmed until the start of the Livonian War.
In 1551, the agreement could not be extended. The Russian side, successfully getting rid of the yoke of the khanates, reoriented its interests to the west. The negotiations dragged on for several years, until Ivan the Terrible delivered as an ultimatum the abolition of the payment of St. George's tribute for the lands of the Tartu bishopric, which, according to the tsar, was originally Russian land. The last negotiations between the parties, which were held in 1558, did not lead to anything. The Livonian War began. By the end of the year, Grozny's troops had captured eastern and southeastern Estonia.
Decline of the Order
It was from the war with the Russians that the defeat of the Livonian Order began. Seeing how rapidly the Russian troops were advancing through the lands of the order, Northern Estonia and Tallinn arbitrarily went into submission to Sweden. The nobles of the remaining lands were forced to join the Polish-Lithuanian state on the terms of complete submission. However, the last head of the order, Master Kettler, was able to defend the Duchy of Courland for himself, which he headed.
The famous Livonian Order, whose official collapse year was 1561, successfully implemented the official policy of the Catholic Church. The Crusades brought fame and fortune. However, internal contradictions and the desire for independence significantly weakened the order and eventually led to its disappearance.
The Livonian War became one of the largest military conflicts of the 16th century, engulfing Russia and northeastern Europe. On the territory of modern Estonia, Latvia and Belarus, the armies of the Livonian Confederation, Moscow, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Swedish and Danish kingdoms fought. Following the interests of the state, Ivan IV the Terrible, who became famous as an ambitious and wayward monarch, decided to take part in the upcoming redistribution of Europe in connection with the extinction of the once strong Livonian Order. As a result, the protracted conflict was not crowned with success for Moscow.
To begin with, you should briefly talk about the participants in this war and find out the strengths of the parties.
Livonian Confederation
The Livonian Order, or the Brotherhood of the Knights of Christ of Livonia, is a military-religious organization of crusader knights that settled in northeastern Europe as early as the 13th century. Relations between the Livonians and the Russian principalities did not work out from the very beginning; in 1242, the knights, still part of the Teutonic Order, took part in the campaign against Pskov and Novgorod, but were defeated in the battle known as the Battle of the Ice. By the 15th century, the order had weakened, and Livonia was a confederation of the Order and four principalities-bishoprics, which were in sharp competition with each other.
Map of the Livonian Confederation
By the 16th century, the internal political situation only worsened, social and political disunity in the order lands increased to a critical limit. Therefore, it is not surprising that the neighbors of Livonia, not distinguished by their peacefulness, namely Sweden, Denmark and Russia, circled like vultures over the Baltic, expecting an early prey. One of the predecessors of Ivan the Terrible, Grand Duke Ivan III, concluded a peace treaty with the Order at the beginning of the 16th century, according to which the Livonians paid an annual tribute to Pskov. Subsequently, Ivan the Terrible tightened the terms of the treaty, additionally demanding the abandonment of military alliances with Lithuania and Sweden. The Livonians refused to comply with such demands, and in 1557 the Order signed an agreement of vassalage with Poland. In 1558, the war began, which put an end to the Livonian Confederation.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The vast state, located on the territory of modern Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, was formed in the 13th century, and from the 16th century it existed as part of the Commonwealth. In the XV-XVI centuries, the Principality of Lithuania was the main rival of Moscow for dominance over the territories from Smolensk to the Bug and from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Therefore, the active participation of the Litvins in the Livonian War is not at all surprising.
Russian kingdom
As we have already mentioned, the initiator of the Livonian War was Ivan the Terrible, one of the most famous Russian sovereigns. From his father Vasily III, he inherited a strong state, albeit one that had been waging ongoing wars for the expansion of territory since the beginning of the 16th century. The Baltic states became one of the goals of the active tsar, since the Livonian Order, falling into insignificance, could not offer significant resistance to Russia. The entire strength of the Livonians lay in their medieval heritage - many fortified castles that formed a powerful defensive line capable of tying up the enemy forces for a long time.
Ivan the Terrible (parsuna of the late XVI century)
The basis of the army of Ivan the Terrible were archers - the first regular Russian army, recruited from urban and rural residents, armed with cannons and squeakers. Seemingly impregnable medieval castles could not protect their owners from the rapidly developing and improving artillery. Shortly before the start of the war, in 1557, the tsar gathered 40,000 troops in Novgorod for the coming campaign and was confident in the upcoming success.
The initial period of the war
The war began on January 17, 1558 with a reconnaissance raid of Russian troops on Livonian territory, led by the Kazan Khan Shah-Ali and the governors Glinsky and Zakharyev-Yuryev. The diplomatic justification for the campaign was an attempt to get the tribute due to Pskov from the Livonians, but the Order had no chance to collect the required amount of 60 thousand thalers.
Narva was a strong border fortress of the Livonian Order, founded by the Danes in the 13th century. On the other side of the border, to protect against a possible invasion, at the end of the 15th century, the Ivangorod fortress was erected. The distance between the fortifications was about two kilometers, which, after the start of hostilities, allowed the Narva garrison, commanded by the knight Focht Schnellenberg, to open fire on Ivangorod, provoking a long artillery firefight. By April 1558, Russian troops led by governors Daniil Adashev, Alexei Basmanov and Ivan Buturlin approached Narva. The siege began.
On May 11, the fortress was engulfed in a fire that grew due to strong winds. The defenders of Narva had to leave the walls and rush into an unequal battle with a more powerful enemy - a raging flame. Taking advantage of the panic in the city, the troops of Ivan the Terrible launched an assault and broke through the gates without hindrance. Rapidly capturing the lower city along with enemy artillery, they opened fire on the upper city and citadel. The besieged quickly resigned themselves to inevitable defeat and surrendered on the terms of a free exit from the city. Narva was taken.
Together with the fortress, Ivan the Terrible got a harbor with access to the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea - it was she who became the cradle of the Russian fleet.
In addition to the quick capture of Narva with little bloodshed, 1558 was crowned with a number of no less successful operations of the Russian army. At the end of June, despite the heroic defense, the Neuhausen castle fell, whose garrison was led by the knight Uexküll von Padenorm - the fortress successfully fought back for a whole month, but truly knightly courage was powerless against the artillery of the governor Peter Shuisky. In July, Shuisky captured Dorpat (modern Tartu) - for seven days, artillery destroyed the fortifications almost point-blank, after which the besieged could only negotiate surrender.
Gotthard von Ketler (portrait of the last third of the 16th century)
As a result, during the spring-autumn of 1558, the streltsy army captured two dozen fortresses, including those that voluntarily came under the rule of the Russian tsar. By the end of the year, the situation changed - the Livonians decided to go on the counterattack. By 1559, Gotthard von Ketler became the new head of the Order, who became the last in history to bear the title of Landmaster of the Teutonic Order in Livonia ...
Campaign of 1559
At the end of the year, when the Russian troops retreated to winter quarters, leaving garrisons in the captured fortresses, the new Landmaster, not without difficulty, managed to gather an army of ten thousand and approached the Ringen fortress, guarded by only a few hundred archers. Doomed to defeat, the defenders heroically defended themselves for five weeks, Governor Repnin came to the aid of Ringen, but his detachment of two thousand people was defeated by Ketler's army. When the archers ran out of gunpowder, the Livonians were able to capture the fortress. All her defenders were destroyed. However, the capture of Ringen can hardly be called a success for the Livonians - having spent more than a month and having lost a fifth of his troops during the siege, Ketler could not continue the offensive, and retreated to Riga.
After the capture of Ringen by the Livonians, Tsar Ivan the Terrible decided to give the Order an adequate response. At the beginning of 1559, the archers, led by the voivode Vasily Semyonovich Serebryany-Obolensky, crossed the Livonian border and on January 17 met with the army of the knight Friedrich von Felkerzam near the city of Tirzen (now Tirza in Latvia). The battle ended with a crushing defeat for the Livonians - Frederick himself and 400 knights (not counting ordinary soldiers) died, the rest were captured or fled. Taking advantage of the success, Russian troops marched through the Livonian lands through Riga to the Prussian border, capturing 11 more cities.
This operation caused the complete collapse of the Livonian army, the combat effectiveness of which decreased to a catastrophic level. By the spring of 1559, all the neighbors of the Order had significantly perked up, since not only Moscow had views of the lands of Livonia. Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark demanded that Ivan the Terrible stop the campaign, threatening to side with the Livonian Confederation.
An equally important factor was the anxiety of European monarchs about the strengthening of Moscow. So, the Lithuanian prince Sigismund II, not without panic notes, reported in a dispatch to the English Queen Elizabeth:
“The Moscow sovereign daily increases his power by acquiring goods that are brought to Narva, because here, among other things, weapons are brought here that are still unknown to him ... military experts come, through which he acquires the means to defeat everyone ... "
Another difficulty was the disagreements in Moscow itself. The lack of a common military strategy, when part of the boyars considered access to the Baltic the highest priority, while the other advocated the quickest liquidation of the Crimean Khanate, caused heated debate among the tsar's associates. If the emergence of Moscow-controlled ports in the Baltic reshaped the geopolitical and commercial map of Europe, significantly shifting the scales in favor of Ivan the Terrible, then a successful southern campaign would have protected the borders from constant raids and enriched the governors and boyars with new land acquisitions.
Sigismund II August, Grand Duke of Lithuania (portrait by Lucas Cranach, 1553)
As a result, the king made concessions and agreed to give the Livonians a truce from March to November 1559. The resulting respite was used by the Order to its maximum advantage. Being unable to cope with the king alone, the Livonians decided to invite more participants to the gambling table, drawing Poland and Sweden into a conflict with Ivan the Terrible. However, this intrigue did not help them much. Gotthard von Ketler concluded an agreement with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II, according to which the lands of the Order and the Archbishop of Riga fell under the protectorate of Lithuania. Later, Revel went to the king of Sweden, and the island of Ezel (Saaremaa) to the brother of the Danish king, Duke Magnus.
Having received external assistance, in the early autumn of 1559, the Livonians violated the truce and, with an unexpected attack, defeated the detachment of governor Pleshcheev near Derpt. However, by the time they reached the fortress, the head of the garrison, voivode Katyrev-Rostovsky, had managed to prepare for defense. 10 days of siege and mutual artillery salvos did not give a result, and Ketler was forced to retreat.
On the way back, Ketler undertook a siege of the Lais fortress, which the head of the Streltsy Koshkarov, together with a garrison of 400 people, bravely defended for two days, until the Livonians retreated again. The autumn campaign of the Order not only did not produce any results, but also provoked Moscow to resume hostilities.
Campaign of 1560
In the summer of 1560, Ivan the Terrible sent an army of 60,000 to Dorpat with 40 siege and 50 field cannons under the command of Ivan Mstislavsky and Peter Shuisky. The target of the subsequent attack was to be Fellin (modern Viljandi), the most powerful fortress of the Order in eastern Livonia.
According to intelligence, the Livonians were transporting a rich treasury to Gapsal (Hapsalu in northwestern Estonia), and the Russian vanguard of twelve thousand horsemen was in a hurry to block the road from Fellin to the sea. By August 2, the riders had set up camp a few kilometers from Ermes Castle (now Ergeme in Latvia). Meanwhile, the Livonian troops, led by the "last hope of Livonia" Land Marshal Philipp von Bell, gathered at the Trikata castle to repulse the enemy. Also on August 2, three dozen knights went for fodder, where they encountered a numerous enemy patrol.
Both sides opened fire, one Russian was killed, the rest preferred to retreat to the camp. The knights split up: 18 turned for reinforcements, 12 rushed after the retreating. When the first detachment returned to the camp, Belle ordered 300 horsemen to be sent against the Russians, since he had no idea about the size of the enemy, and the knights who arrived saw only a small detachment. The Livonian horsemen who set out were quickly surrounded, and when the battle began, many of them fled. As a result, more than 250 knights died, many were captured. Among them was Philip von Bell - the "last hope" did not justify itself, and the road to Fellin was now open.
Siege of Fellin (engraving from Leonhard Fronsperger's book, 16th century)
The army of Mstislavsky and Shuisky reached Fellin in August of the same year. The siege began. The fortress was defended by a garrison under the leadership of the former Master Firstenberg. For three weeks, Russian artillery continuously shelled the walls of the old but strong castle. Attempts by the Livonian troops to lift the siege were successfully repelled by archers. When the outer fortifications fell and a fire started in the city, Firstenberg, not wanting to negotiate and surrender, ordered to take up defense in an impregnable castle inside the fortress. However, the garrison, which had not received a salary for several months, was not ready for such heroism and refused to obey the order. On August 21, Fallin capitulated.
The defenders received the right to free exit from the city, important prisoners were sent to Moscow, and the soldiers of the garrison who reached Riga were hanged by the Livonians for treason. The fall of Fellin practically put an end to the existence of the Livonian Order. In 1561, von Ketler finally transferred his lands to the Polish-Lithuanian possession, which the neighbors counted on. According to the Vilna Treaty of November 1561, the Order officially ceased to exist, and Ketler received the Duchy of Courland. The division of rich booty began: Revel (Tallinn) recognized the citizenship of Sweden, Denmark made claims to the islands of Hiiumaa and Saaremaa. Thus, instead of one weakened Order, several European states stood in the way of Moscow, despite the fact that the tsar's army lost the initiative, not having time to capture the ports of Riga and Revel and get access to the sea.
But Ivan the Terrible refused to retreat. The real war had just begun.
To be continued
The Livonian Order, (late Latin domus sancte Marie Theutonicorum in Lyvonia; German Dutscher orden to Lyff land), a Catholic and military organization of German crusader knights that created its own state in the Eastern Baltic in the 13-16 centuries. The Order was formed in 1237 after the defeat of the Order of the Sword at the Battle of Saul (1236). The remnants of the swordsmen joined the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order became a branch of the Teutonic Order in Livonia and Courland. The territory of the Livonian Order included a significant part of the Latvian and Estonian lands.
At the head of the Livonian Order was a master elected for life with a residence in Riga or Venden (Cēsis). Fortified castles were ruled by commanders and vogts, who reported to the annual meetings (capitula) of the highest ranks of the order. By the end of the 14th century, a council of 5-6 senior officials of the order was formed under the master, which determined the political life of the order. Brothers (fratres) - full members of the Livonian Order, there were 400-500 people (until the 16th century, then their number was reduced to 120-150). In addition to the brothers, the Livonian Order included priests and half-brothers (artisans and employees). The army of the Livonians (about 4 thousand people at the beginning of the 15th century) consisted of brothers (with their armed bollards) and vassals; from the end of the 14th century, mercenary troops were also used. In the 13th century, the Livonian Order was the backbone of the Catholic Church in the Eastern Baltic. The defeat at the Battle of the Ice (1242) and at the Battle of Durba (1260) stopped the advance of the crusaders to the east.
From the end of the 13th century, the struggle of the order against the archbishops of Riga began for political hegemony in the Eastern Baltic; having won, the Livonian Order in 1330 became the feudal lord of Riga. But the defeat of the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald (1410) undermined the political influence of the Livonian Order. The Treaty of Kirchholm (Salaspils) (1452) formalized the power of two feudal lords (archbishop and order) over Riga. This position remained until the 1560s, despite the resistance of the city and the ongoing clashes of the lords. ;
In the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries, the main direction of the foreign policy of the Livonian Order was the struggle with Lithuania. From the second half of the 15th century, the order had another dangerous rival - the Russian state. The political position of the Livonian Order was weakened by the Reformation that began in the Eastern Baltic in the 1520s. During the Livonian War of 1558-1583, the order collapsed in 1561, and the Duchy of Courland was created on its territory. The last master of the Livonian Order, Gottgard Kettler, having converted to Lutheranism, became the first Duke of Courland. Part of the land was divided between Sweden, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Denmark. The Livonian Order was finally abolished on March 5, 1562.
Albert von Bekeshovede, the third Bishop of Livonia, enlisted the strong support of the crusaders for the duration of his thirty-year reign and founded the Order of the Sword in 1202. By 1229, Livonia, Estonia and part of Courland were conquered. These lands, as the possession of the Order, united under the name of Livonia.
The first master of the Order of the Sword, created in Riga, the knight Vinno von Rohrbach did not fall in battle with the pagans. Brother-knight Wikbert with a huge ax skillfully cut off his head with one blow. After that, in cold blood, he killed the order priest John. The first political assassination in Livonia was committed by an ideological idealist.
Riga was far from always made of stone: its founder, Bishop Albert, lived in a wooden city. The houses of the first merchants and artisans were built of wood, the first church of St. Peter was made of wood. A few years after the resettlement of the German colonists to the banks of the Daugava in Riga there was only one stone building - the castle of the defenders of the city of the Knights of the Order of the Sword. Riga merchants and artisans treated the soldiers in white cloaks with pity and irony. And not because in winter the walls in the poorly heated castle literally breathed cold.
Even the poorest city dweller at that time could sit by the stove in the evening, where firewood crackled comfortably, drink a few glasses of beer, chat with a neighbor, make love to his lawful wife. The knight brothers were deprived of such worldly joys. Entering the order was obliged to give a number of vows. He had no right not only to sleep with the lady, but even to look at her face. After the evening prayer, none of the brothers had the right to utter even a word until matins unless it was absolutely necessary. Fishing and hunting were strictly punished. And in order to easily check how the knight observes the vow of poverty, not a single chest in the Riga Castle should have had a lock. In general, the knight was obliged to remain silent, lead a monastic lifestyle and risk himself, protecting the interests of Riga merchants and artisans. Who agreed to serve on such onerous conditions? Mostly those who are called today ... homeless people!
From time immemorial, the concept of a “knight-errant” has come down to us. But few people know: many nobles wandered 800 years ago not for the love of travel, but due to the lack of a “permanent place of residence”. The fact is that Western land law, in order not to split up noble estates into small plots, introduced the concept of primacy. This means that the eldest son inherited the castle and estate in the family. And the rest put on armor, mounted a horse and went wandering. In the city, no one needed such a wanderer, because he owned only one craft - to hit the head with a sword. He was distinguished from a peasant not only by good manners, but also by his inability (and most importantly, unwillingness) to plow and milk cows. The Wanderer was glad to have the opportunity to become a member of a knightly order even under the most difficult conditions - which one would not do for the sake of a roof over one's head. To sleep in a castle, and not under a bush, you will make any vow.
But even if the knight was at first ready to keep his oaths, then, after observing the local customs, he began to doubt. Among the Livonian pagans, polygamy was practiced, Estonians, Livs, Latgalians invaded neighboring villages, robbed, forcibly took away other people's women with them. In the chronicle of Henry of Latvia ??? many facts of the type were recorded: the Estonians invaded the land of the Livs, tied one of the local leaders to a pole and began to rotate the pole around the fire, demanding money. Liv told him where his silver was hidden, but the treacherous Estonians still roasted it on a fire, like a pig on a spit. The knights of the sword were the children of their time.
In such an environment, the formal observance of the commandments of God would simply not be understood. The crusaders gradually entered into a normal medieval rhythm - they took hostages, considered other people's property their military booty, and often even indulged in the sin of drinking strong beer. It was to such a country that the knight Wikbert arrived from the small German town of Suzata, wishing to faithfully serve the Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was sent to Wenden Castle.
The knight brothers “worked” tirelessly: together with the baptized Livs, they invaded the land of the Estonians and killed everyone in a row in order to take revenge on the unreasonable pagans for the fields and villages and the violent raid. At the same time, one of the crusaders, who was instructed to judge the prisoners, took bribes from them in such amounts that even the other brothers (who usually looked at the misconduct of their colleagues with Christian mercy) outraged: several kilograms of silver were found in his chest!
History does not know what outraged Wickbert more: corruption, murder, or the desire of some brothers for alcohol. It is only known that the knight fled from Wenden to Judumea and begged the local priest to contact Bishop Albert so that he would transfer him to Riga and Wikbert could serve directly to the founder of the city. But on well-fed horses, the knights from Venden rushed to Judumea, seized the apostate, returned him to the castle, put him in chains and threw him into prison. By the way, the dungeon in the Venden (Cēsis) castle has survived to this day - and the temperature there, even in summer, does not exceed 8 degrees. On bread and water in such conditions you will not last even three months. An inglorious end would have come to the volunteer, but the bishop unexpectedly stood up for him. The fugitive was sent to Riga.
It is not known what Master Winno von Rohrbach talked about with the young idealist. The chronicle of Henry of Latvia only says: the master dropped the charge of desertion, but he did not know what to do with Wikbert. It would be pointless to start an investigation on his complaints - the entire order would have to be imprisoned in dungeons. The knight considered that, indulging the perjurers, Vinno thereby discredits the Blessed Virgin and destroys the immaculate souls of Christians. Soon a bloody drama broke out in Riga. Once, when almost all the brothers went to the cathedral for worship, Vikbert told the priest of the Riga Castle John and the master of the order that he wanted to reveal to them a secret that he had accidentally learned in the Wenden Castle. Tormented by curiosity, the master and the priest went to the knight's cell. There Wickbert grabbed the axe, which he never parted with, and masterfully deprived the master of his head. With the next blow, he finished off the inquisitive John.
Having fulfilled his own sentence, the knight left the cell and ran to the castle church. Apparently, he hoped that no one in the temple would dare to use violence. The brothers, however, rushed in, pulled the murderer out of the church and threw him into the dungeon. The court sentenced him to a terrible death - wheeling. Before Wickbert died, the executioner broke all his bones.
The bloody lesson, however, did not go for the future. Over time, the Order of the Sword-bearers turned from God-fearing warriors of the Lord into anarchist freemen. The revelry reached such proportions that the Archbishop of Riga himself blessed the inhabitants of Riga to deal with the Order. The townspeople went to storm the castle, captured it, the commander, before finishing off, dragged by the beard, like a naughty boy. And the monastery of the Crusaders was destroyed to the ground. Only in the next century a new castle was built in Riga. But he belonged not to the order, but to the Archbishop of Riga, while the crusaders no longer had castles within the city
Symbolism of the Order
The symbolism of the early Swordsmen is poorly understood. It is firmly known that on the white cloaks of the order brothers a small red cross with expanding ends was depicted, under it a vertical red sword. Sometimes artists of our time depict golden six-pointed stars instead of a cross or two crossed swords.
Modern scientists have practically proven that the yellow star with a sword was a symbol of the Polish knightly order of the Dobrzynski Brothers, created by Konrad Mazowiecki and who fought in the Baltics mainly with Lithuanians and Samogitians even before the Teutons appeared there. And the image of two swords by some scientists refers to the late period of the Livonian Order of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, allegedly after the formal exit from the jurisdiction of the Teutons, the Order introduced a modified early symbolism.
It is also known that, in addition to the white robes of the brothers, the knights wore black, including quilted armor. The presence of truncated crosses, as Dzys depicts, is not confirmed anywhere. More likely just an image of a cross without a sword. On the shields they depicted a red cross, the size of the entire shield (as if it crossed out the entire shield). Banners could carry images of just red crosses, but banners with full order symbols are not excluded.
Brief chronology of the Order of the Sword
- In 1202, the Catholic spiritual and knightly Order of the Sword was established. The name of the Order comes from the image on their cloaks of a red sword with a cross.
- In 1207, the unsuccessful defense of the Kukonas fortress in the middle course of the Western Dvina was led by Prince Vyacheslav Borisovich (“Vyachko”), the grandson of the Smolensk prince Davyd Rostislavich.
- In 1216, the Estonians asked Prince Vladimir of Polotsk to help in the fight against the Western knights, the Russian army went on a campaign, which was joined by a 16,000-strong Novgorod-Pskov army. At the request of Estonians, garrisons of Novgorodians were placed in Yuriev (founded in 1030, Derpt, now Tartu) and other fortresses.
- In 1219, the Danish troops, who came to the aid of the Germans, founded the Revel fortress (now Tallinn).
- In 1221, Vladimir Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich undertook a campaign and laid siege to Riga, but to no avail. In 1223, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich undertook a new campaign against the German knights.
- In 1224, after a long siege by the crusaders, the city of Yuryev (Derpt) fell, and Prince Vyachko died during the defense.
- In the 2nd quarter of the XIII century. on the territory conquered by the crusaders (Livonia), a confederation of 5 states was formed (the Livonian Order, the Archbishopric of Riga (bishopric from the end of the 12th century from 1251 - the archbishopric), Courland (from 1234), Derpt (from 1224) and the Ezel bishopric).
- In 1233 a new Crusade Northern Campaign (1233-1236) was organized. The knights are advancing towards the borders of the Pskov-Novgorod, Lithuanian and Galician-Volyn lands. Knights of the Order of the Swordsmen made an unsuccessful attempt to take the fortress of Izborsk
- In 1234 on the river. Emajyge near the city of Yuryev, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Novgorod won a victory over the troops of the Order of the Swordsmen. The advance of the knights to the east was suspended.
- In 1236, the Lithuanian prince Mindovg defeated the army of the Order of the Sword-bearers in the battle of Siauliai. The Master of the Order Volkvin was killed.
- In 1237, the remnants of the Order of the Swordsmen merge with the Teutonic Order of the Crusaders.
Source - www.skola.ogreland.lv
Posted by Malfis K.
