Terra Mariana

By the end of the 12th century, the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea remained the last non-Christianized corner of Europe. In 1193, Pope Celestine III declared a crusade against the Baltic pagans. At the beginning of the XIII century, the crusaders from Gotland and from the northern parts of the Holy Roman Empire conquered lands along the rivers Western Dvina and Gauja . In 1201, the fortification of Riga was founded, in 1202 the Order of the Swordsmen was formed (as a branch of the Templar Order ). In 1218, Pope Honorius III gave Danish King Valdemar II permission to seize as much land in Estonia as he could conquer. After the crusade was successfully completed, the territories captured by the Germans and Danes were divided by the papal legate Guillaume Modensky into 6 feudal possessions.

The division of land by Guillaume of Modena in 1228 was the result of a compromise between the Roman Catholic Church and the Order of the Swordsmen (both of which consisted mainly of Germans). In fact, since 1237, the lands of Terra Marian were ruled by knight-swordsmen (later the Livonian Order ). In the middle of the XIV century, after the purchase of the Estonian Duchy from Christopher II , under the authority of the Livonian Order there were about 67,000 km² of land, and under the authority of the Church about 41,000 km². The lands of the Order were divided into approximately 40 districts governed by the Vogts . The largest church estate was the Riga Archbishopric (18,000 km²), followed by the Courland Bishopric (4,500 km²), then the Derpt Bishopric and the Ezel-Vick bishopric . The nominal head of Terra Marian and the city of Riga was the Riga Archbishop as the highest spiritual person.

In 1240, Waldemar II created the Revel diocese in the Duchy of Estonia, retaining (in contradiction with the usual order) the right to appoint a bishop in Revel after himself and the Danish kings inheriting from him. This Danish kings right to appoint Revel bishops was even recorded in an agreement on the sale of the Duchy of Estonia to the Teutonic Order in 1346.

In medieval Livonia there was a constant struggle for power between the Church, the Order, secular feudal lords of German origin and the inhabitants of the Hanseatic city of Riga. Large civil wars took place in 1296–1330 and 1313–1330, in addition, in 1343–1345, a major uprising took place in Estonia, which led to the transfer of the Danish Estonian Duchy to the state of the Teutonic Order.

From a formal point of view, the archbishop of Riga was both secular and spiritual overlord. However, he was not the dominant political force; order knights tried to unite the country under their own power.

The most important ally of the Livonian Order were feudal lords of German descent in the Danish Estonian Duchy. At the beginning of the XIV century, Denmark weakened, and the German feudal lords gained power on the ground. After the Estonians revolted in 1343, the Teutonic Order occupied the Duchy of Estonia. The fall of Danish power occurred two days after the Order crushed the Estonian uprising: with the help of pro-German Danish vassals, the Danish viceroy was captured and thrown into prison. On May 16, 1343, the Germans gave the Order castles in Revel and Wesenberg, and in 1345 - the castle in Narva. In 1346, Estonian territories were sold by the Danish king to the Teutonic Order for 19,000 Cologne marks. The transfer of power from Denmark to the Teutonic Order occurred on November 1, 1346.

After the defeat of the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwal in 1410, the Livonian Order began to exist independently, since it did not participate in the battle and did not suffer losses. In 1418, Pope Martin V appointed Riga Archbishop Johann Ambundi , who became the creator of the Livonian Confederation.

To resolve the constant conflicts between the Order, bishops and powerful Hanseatic cities, at the initiative of Archbishop Ambundi, a landtag was convened in Valka in 1419, formed from representatives of the Livonian Order, bishoprics, their vassals and Hanseatic cities.

The defeat at the battle of Vilkomir on September 1, 1435, which claimed the lives of a master and a number of high-ranking knights, made the Livonian Order think about rapprochement with its neighbors. On December 4, 1435, in Valka, the archbishop of Riga, bishops of Courland, Derpt, Ezel-Wick and Revel, as well as representatives of the Livonian Order, his vassals and representatives of the city authorities of Riga, Revel and Derpt, signed an agreement on the creation of the Livonian Confederation ( eiine fruntliche eyntracht ).

The states that joined the Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the Livonian War (1558-1582). In 1559, Bishop Ezel-Wick sold his lands to Danish King Frederick II for 30,000 thalers. The Danish king transferred this territory to his younger brother Magnus , who landed with an army in Saaremaa in 1560.

In 1561, the Swedish army landed in Revel and took control of the northern part of medieval Livonia. The Livonian Order was dissolved in 1561 according to the Union of Vilnius . The following year, the Livonian Landtag decided to ask for protection from Sigismund II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. At the end of the reign of the last archbishop, William of Brandenburg , Riga became an imperial city . The remaining territories were divided between the Duchy of Courland and Semigale and Zadvinsk Duchy .

• Endre Bojtár, Foreword to the past: a cultural history of the Baltic people, Central European University Press (Budapest), 1999, ISBN 963-9116-42-4