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| Livonian Brothers of the Sword | |
|---|---|
| Latin:Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae German:Schwertbrüderorden | |
 
| |
| Active | 1204–1237 |
| Country | Terra Mariana |
| Allegiance | Catholic Church |
| Garrison/HQ | Wenden (Cēsis),Fellin (Viljandi),Segewold (Sigulda).Ascheraden (Aizkraukle),Goldingen (Kuldīga),Marienburg (Alūksne),Reval (Tallinn),Weißenstein (Paide) |
| Battle honours | Livonian Crusade |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | |
TheSword Brethren or theOrder of Sword Brothers (German:Schwertbrüderorden), formally known asThe Military Brothers of Christ of Livonia (Latin:Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae)[1] was aCatholicmilitary order ofGermancrusadingknights established in 1202 inLivonia byAlbert, the thirdbishop ofRiga.[2][3][4]PopeInnocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204 for the second time.[5]
The membership of thecrusadingorder comprisedwarriormonks, mostly from northern Germany, who foughtBaltic andFinnicpagans in the area of modern-dayEstonia,Latvia andLithuania.
Following their defeat by theSamogitians andSemigallians in theBattle of Saule in1236, the remnants of the order were disbanded by the Pope in1237 when some of the surviving sword brethren were allowed to return to Germany and those who opted to stay in"Terra Mariana" (Livonia) were accepted into thelocal branch of theTeutonic Order.
The Sword Brethren had a set of rules adapted from theKnights Templar, requiring them to be of noble birth and to take vows of obedience, poverty, andcelibacy. The order also included soldiers, artisans, and clerics as members. The Knights made up a general assembly, which selected a grand master and other officials.[5]
The grandmaster served for life in the order. He chose a council and a military chief for each district castle, where the order's knights were living.[5]Wenno von Rohrbach was the first master of the order (1204–1209),[6] followed byVolkwin Schenk von Winterstein, who died in theBattle of Schaulen in 1236.
In the beginning, the main duty of the Sword Brothers was to protect priests and missionaries.[7] The characteristics of the territory brought a moral challenge for the crusaders because the land of the Livs and Letts had not previously been Christian. Therefore, they did not have any justification to attack them. The division of conquered territory also was a problem faced by the order. Swordbrothers were to garrison the built castles to maintain control along theDaugava. However, garrison duties did not 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.[7]
Albert, Bishop ofRiga (also calledPrince-Bishop ofLivonia) (or possibly Theoderich von Treyden)[8] realised that a 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-term stance, Albert founded the Brotherhood in 1202 to aid theBishopric of Livonia in the conversion of thepaganLivonians,Latgalians andSelonians living across the ancient trade routes from theGulf of Riga eastwards.[7]
The Brotherhood had its headquarters atFellin (Viljandi) in present-dayEstonia, where the walls of the Master's castle still[update] stand. Other strongholds includedWenden (Cēsis),Segewold (Sigulda) andAscheraden (Aizkraukle). The commanders of Fellin,Goldingen (Kuldīga),Marienburg (Alūksne),Reval (Tallinn), and thebailiff ofWeißenstein (Paide) belonged to the five-member entourage of the Order's Master.[citation needed]
In 1205, the first battle of the Livonian brothers occurred. TheSemigallian dukeViesthard visited Riga to request the help of the Swordbrothers after a local Semigallian tribe was devastated by theLithuanians. The brotherhood was reluctant to go to war due to the absence of bishop Albert. However, Viesthard successfully persuaded the Swordbrothers. They prepared an ambush against the Lithuanians that were returning with the booty, where the Lithuanian leader was beheaded.[7]
In 1206, the Duke Vladimir of Polozk demanded tribute from the inhabitants of the Daugava when the terms of service of the crusaders expired. The Swordbrothers, with the help of the remaining crusaders, beat the Russian troops that arrived suddenly to Daugava.[7]
In 1207, the Swordbrothers faced an attack from Lithuania launched during the winter. The Swordbrothers and allies stayed at the castle ofLennewarden on the north of the Daugava. The Lithuanian army challenged the order to battle and was defeated by the Order. This victory served to show the value of the castle line along the river. The chain of castles allowed successful communication. Meanwhile, the local militia could assemble at the nearest fort to the raiders' return route and attack them.[7]
The Swordbrothers had superiority in heavy cavalry. For that reason, natives tried to avoid pitched battles during the Livonian crusade. Most of the confrontations consisted of raids. The Order built a fortified line along the Daugava that created a peaceful time in the region. Livonian people began to consider the Swordbrothers as efficient protectors. Despite that, some native leaders felt that the Order represented a challenge to their authority, as the case ofKing Vetseke, the original owner of thefortress of Koknese. King Vetseke massacred German workers who were rebuilding the fortress. He was punished after that.[7]
In 1211, several threats around Livonian prompted Albert of Riga to reinforce the defences. For safeguarding the northern flank, Albert organised an invasion of southern Estonia. The Swordbrothers were the core of the crusader army, allied with Russians, loyal Livs and Letts, and led byEngelbert von Thisenhusen, brother-in-law of Albert of Riga. After a siege, they tookFellin and negotiated a settlement with the condition that pagans accept baptism. The following year the order destroyed theSaccalian resistance in a battle where 2,000 Saccalians fell.[7]
Between 1211 and 1212, the Swordbrothers realised that winter was the best season for warfare due to frozen swamps, weak undergrowth, and difficulty of their enemies to cover their tracks. Also, the knights could use frozen rivers as high-speed paths. The Order used these advantages in their campaigns until 1218, when they conquered southern Estonia, meanwhile they beat off counter-attacks from Russians and Lithuanians.[7]
In 1230, Kurland was conquered and converted by the order.[7]
From its foundation, the indisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposedvassalage to the bishops.[citation needed] The desires of the Swordbrothers to expand to the north of the Daugava river, along theLivonian Aa stream, brought the Order into a confrontation with Bishop Albert. Albert wanted to extend to the south of the river and did not have an interest inEstonia, previously promised to King Valdemar II of Denmark.
Master Wenno advanced to the north without the permission of Bishop Albert. First, the Order took and occupied thefortress of Treiden. In 1208, they founded thecastle of Segewold in the Aa valley, and thecastle of Wenden further upstream. The last one grew as a fortress and Master Wenno located the Headquarters of the Order there. Wickbert, a man loyal to Albert of Riga, was placed to manage the Wenden castle. Master Wenno removed him, but Wickbert fled to the protection of Albert of Riga and killed Wenno with an axe.[7]
In 1219, KingValdemar II of Denmark conquered thenorth of Estonia with the help of Bishop Albert. In 1222, Estonia was partitioned between Valdemar II and Albert of Riga in an agreement unsatisfactory to the Swordbrothers. After that, they exploited the peasants until a revolt arose. The Pope rebuked the Order for the way they managed the conflict. Then, they tried to seize Danish land in Estonia until a papal legate made them give it back. When the papal legate left, the Swordbrothers took the Danish land again. They also invaded the territory of Bishop Albert and levied tolls on traffic on the Daugava.[7]
After the death of Albert of Riga in 1229, ecclesiastical authorities considered that the Order was no longer useful. The papal legate Bernard of Aulne decided that they should be suppressed, and he tried to recapture the Danish Castle atReval. However, the Order defeated him and took him as a prisoner.[7]
Pope Gregory IX asked the Brothers to defendFinland from theNovgorodian attacks in his letter of November 24, 1232.[9] However, no known information regarding the knights' possible activities in Finland has survived. (Sweden eventually conquered Finland following theSecond Swedish Crusade in 1249.)[citation needed]
The Order was decimated in theBattle of Schaulen (Saule) in 1236 againstSamogitians andSemigallians.[10] This disaster led the surviving Brothers to become incorporated into the Order ofTeutonic Knights in the following year, and from that point on they became known as theLivonian Order.[10] They continued to function in all respects (rule, clothing and policy)[citation needed] as an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, headed by their own Master (himselfde jure subordinate to theHochmeister (Grand Master) of the Teutonic Order).[citation needed]
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