The Livonian Brethren of the Sword
Outside of Europe in particular, it is often not realized the extent to
which the crusades and the military religious orders that fought in them
were largely national affairs. This may be partly because many people
ignore the crusades that were not aimed at retaking the Holy Land as
those were probably the most ‘inter-national’ of the crusades, yet,
still more than I think most people realize, largely French. The Knights
Templar, which is most famous for fighting in the crusades in the Holy
Land, had a multinational membership but were, likewise, predominately
French.
The crusade to retake the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims
was, on the other hand, an almost entirely Spanish and Portuguese
affair. The military religious orders that sprang up to fight in that
crusade, the longest war in history, were likewise Spanish. Perhaps the
least talked about is the largely German-driven crusade against the
pagans of northeastern Europe on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Those who
do know about this arduous and bitterly fought struggle will likely
recall the Order of the Teutonic Knights (ancestor of the later Kingdom
of Prussia and originator of the oldest families of the Prussian
nobility, more about them
here)
but less well known was another German military religious order known
the Livonian Brethren of the Sword. They should not be forgotten.
Unlike their fellow Germans of the Teutonic Knights, the Livonian
Brethren of the Sword were not founded in the Holy Land but right on the
spot in Livonia, specifically in Riga, the capital city of what is now
Latvia. The order was founded by the Bishop of Riga, also known as the
Prince-Bishop of Livonia, in 1202 and gained official recognition from
Pope Innocent III in 1204. Their initial aim was to convert and or
conquer the pagan tribes of the region and defend the Christian
community from their attacks. The groups most often engaged by the
Brethren of the Sword were the Latgalians, Selonians and Livonians in
the area around Riga and more broadly the coastal region of what is
today Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, a region referred to at the time as
Courland. As such, the order was known by several different variants of
their official name. Their official name in Latin was Fratres Militiae
Christi Livoniae but they were also known the Sword Brethren, The
Militia of Christ of Livonia, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, the
Courland Brethren of the Sword, Christ Knights or the Order of the
Porte-Glaive Knights (“Glaive” in this case likely referring back to the
French for gladius or sword). Their symbol was a cross pattée over a
sword, pointing down.
The knights were based at Fellin, which is today Viljandi in Estonia and
they established other castles in the surrounding area with the
commanders of these castles acting as the entourage of the Grand Master
of the Sword Brethren. Officially, they were subject to the Catholic
bishops, beginning with their founder Bishop Albert of Riga, however the
Sword Brethren were an extremely hard fighting and strong-willed group
of warriors so it soon became the case that their submission to the
bishops was rather nominal as they often acted on their own. In the
course of the Livonian Crusade, they quickly gained quite a reputation
for ferocity and reckless courage as well as being rather unruly and
difficult to control. They would also, at times, make agreements with
neighboring monarchies as the situation dictated such as in 1218 when
Bishop Albert called on King Valdemar II of Denmark for assistance,
though in the end this amounted to little more than the Danes conquering
northern Estonia for themselves. In 1232 Pope Gregory IX called on the
Sword Brethren to aid in the defense of Finland from attacks by the
Republic of Novgorod though no accounts of their activities on this
front have survived. Ultimately this would result in a Swedish-led
crusade that would see Finland united with the Kingdom of Sweden for the
first time.
Over time, the many hard fought battles of the Sword Brethren saw
threats from the east decreased and their focus moved toward the south
and the Lithuanians and Semigallians (aka the Samogitians). This
resulted in what was, in many ways, the Waterloo of the Sword Brethren
with the Battle of Saule on September 22, 1236. Grand Master Volkwin led
between 50 to 60 knights along with other troops amounting to 3,000 men
against 5,000 pagan Samogitians led by their Duke Vykintas. The
Christian forces were defeated and lost almost their entire army, some
estimates putting losses at 2,700. Grand Master Volkwin died in battle
and the Sword Brethren were wiped out as an effective, independent
fighting force. Likewise, in the aftermath, other groups, previously
conquered by the Brethren, saw their chance and rose up in rebellion.
Latvia and Lithuania still mark the anniversary of this battle as a
national holiday, not long ago jointly declaring it the ‘Day of Baltic
Unity’.
This was, practically speaking, the end of the Livonian Brethren of the
Sword. They would never be an independent military religious order
again. However, those who survived the ordeal carried on, faithful to
their vows, and were absorbed into the Teutonic Knights, retaining their
traditions and leaders. As a branch of the Teutonic Knights they were
known as the Livonian Order and still had their own Master though he was
subject to the Teutonic Grand Master. Thirty years of fighting by the
Sword Brethren had been brought to ruin by their defeat at Saule,
however, as the autonomous Livonian Order within the Teutonic Knights,
they reconquered Courland, Livonia and Semigallia, eventually buying the
Duchy of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark after a devastating
loss north of Riga at the hands of the Lithuanians, including, again,
the death of their Master Bruno in 1298. As a result, two groups emerged
and, due to their autonomy, they survived the secularization of the
Teutonic Knights by Albert of Brandenburg fallowing his adoption of
Lutheranism in 1525.
The Livonian Order was pushed farther back towards Estonia, where their
comrades were based, and in 1453 joined together in the Livonian
Confederation. This gave the Catholic remnant in the region some measure
of unity and hope for self-defense but their enemies were many and
increasing. The pagans may have been gone but Lutherans to the south and
the Russian Orthodox to the east were constant threats. In 1560 they
were again almost wiped out by a massive attack by Muscovite Russia, yet
some still remained and, determined as ever, they still tried to carry
on, seeking out and ultimately obtaining the patronage of Sigismund II
Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. However, not long
after, the Livonian Order went the way of the Teutonic Knights when
their Master, Gotthard Kettler, converted to Lutheranism and thereafter
secularized the order. That proved the final end of the last remnants of
what had once been the Brethren of the Sword. The lands they retained
were quickly taken over by neighboring states and the order ceased to
exist.
