Livonian Confederation

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Livonian Confederation

The Livonian Confederation was established in 1418 ^[1] covering the territories of present day Estonia and Latvia. It was created in the aftermath of Livonian Crusade from five Baltic principalities of the Holy Roman Empire: Archbishopric of Riga, Bishopric of Courland, Bishopric of Dorpat, Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek and the Livonian provinces of the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. The confederation was rivalry ruled by the autonomic branch of Teutonic knights called Livonian Order and the Roman Catholic Church. By the mid 14th century, after buying Danish 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 Archbishopric of Riga (18,000 km²) followed by Bishopric of Courland (4500 km²), Bishopric of Dorpat, Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek and Bishopric of Reval. The nominal head of the Livonian Confederation as well as the city of Riga was the archbishop of Riga as the apex of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. ^[2]

This divisions were created by Papal Legate William of Modena in 1228 as a compromise between the church and the Livonian Order, 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. In theory, one-third of the land was to be controlled by the Order and the remaining two-thirds by the church. But in reality, most of Livonia's territory was controlled by the Order, and conflicts between the Order, the bishops, and the powerful Hanseatic cities were common throughout the existence of the Confederation. To solve internal disputes, the Livonian Diet or Landtag was formed in 1419. 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.

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 landed on Saaremaa with an army in 1560. ^[3] 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.