Oceania composition. Where is oceania located on the world map

The Order of the Swordsmen, under the pretext of baptizing local Balts and Ugro-Finnish tribes, led a successful policy of conquest, founding castles, churches and monasteries on the occupied lands. Here the crusaders had to overcome not only the armed resistance of the Balts and the Finno-Ugric, but also fight with the squads of the neighboring Slavic states - Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk, who also sought to dominate the eastern Baltic region. Nevertheless, by the mid-1220s, the Swordsmen conquered almost the entire territory of modern Latvia and Estonia, creating their own state here.

Lithuanian tribes managed to defend their independence. By the middle of the 13th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was formed, uniting the neck by the beginning of the 15th century under its rule, in addition to the Lithuanian lands, the territories of modern Belarus, most of Ukraine, and the western regions of Russia. Lithuanian princes repeatedly attacked the possessions of the sword-bearers, sometimes uniting for this purpose with Russian princes, Livs and Semigallians. In 1236, Pope Gregory IX announced a crusade against Lithuania. On September 22 of the same year, in the battle of Saul (now the city of Siauliai, Lithuania), the ancestors of modern Lithuanians and Latvians, united, utterly defeated the army of the crusaders. The Grand Master of Swordsmen, Volguin von Namburgh, was also killed. Material from the site

Union with the Teutonic Order

The weakened Order of the Swordsmen in 1237 submitted to the supreme power of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, but retained significant independence. From that time on, it was called by the location in the ancient lands of the Livs conquered by him. Livonian Order.

Considering the Teutonic Order, it is impossible to ignore one event that increased its territory two and a half times - this is the accession to it of the Livonian Order of the Swordsmen, also German. We should know this order from the history of Russia - it was his knights who went to Russia with crusades and for the most part suffered failures. Also, the Livonian order organization became forerunner state entities Estonia and Latvia, so it will be interesting to figure out what and where they got there.

Everything started as usual - with attempts Christianize the local population... Lived there at the time Do you- a tribe related to the Estamians (modern Estonians). Their territory was located along the coast of the Gulf of Riga, they were mainly engaged in fishing and handicrafts. However, the first attempts at Christianization turned out to be unsuccessful- Livs won and killed visiting missionaries in battle. After the death of several high-ranking priests, Pope Celestine III approved at the beginning of the 13th century Livonian Crusade.

The first success in the development of the Baltic lands by the Germans awaited the bishop Alberta Bustovena... He personally recruited volunteers from Saxony for the annual spring campaigns in the lands of the Baltic pagans, achieved the papal bull for the forgiveness of all sins to the settlers. As his support, he chose the place where the Dvina (Daugava) river flows into the Baltic Sea, where the Riga river finally flows into it. This is how the Episcopal Castle Riga appeared... To ensure the protection of displaced persons, it was the Order of the Swordsmen is created... Its distinguishing feature from other orders was its direct subordination to the local Bishop. Albert himself began to successfully fight the local Livs, as well as the Baltic Latgalian tribe to the east. He gave a third of the conquered lands to the Order of the Swordsmen, and used two-thirds for church needs. He founded bishoprics throughout the Baltics, which made it possible for the Viceroy of the Pope of Rome to be called the Archbishop.

A map that allows you to better understand what is happening. We are interested in red arrows describing the path of the Order of the Swordsmen and the Bishop of Riga.

The main obstacle to the final conquest of the Latgalians was the prince Vladimir Polotsky, from Rurikovich. The population along the Dvina River is already gradually and voluntarily adopted Orthodoxy and paid tribute to Polotsk. The Livs also paid tribute to Polotsk, but they were indifferent to Orthodoxy. This prompted them at first join to the German colonialists, their tribal leader Kaupo even converted to Catholicism. But when the oppression of the Germans on the local Livonian population became unbearable, they raised an uprising, which was easily suppressed. Do you asked for help from Vladimir of Polotsk, since they did not want to depend on the Germans, and the Latgalians joined the Riga Bishopric, as they wanted to get rid of Russian patronage. This was followed by a series of sieges of German fortresses by Russian squads, as well as a series of sieges of Russian fortresses in the Dvina region by German knights. In 1209 Vladimir lost his vassal fortress Gersik along with his relatives who ruled there, and was forced to go to peace. The negotiations were attended by Bishop Albert with the order, Vladimir with a retinue, as well as representatives of the Livonians and Latgalians. The result was loss of Russian influence in Livonia... After that, Vladimir began to gather an alliance of Russian princes against Livonia, but in the process he died, and Polotsk was mired in feudal squabbles. Livonia went to the Bishopric of Riga.

Further advance of the Germans changed direction to the north, to the lands of the Estonians, which, like their southern neighbors, were fragmented into different tribes. Originally when the forces of the Germans and Estonians were equal, after a series of battles, a truce was concluded between them for three years. During these three years, the Order and the Bishopric managed to annex many more lands and replenish their composition with converted Latgals and Livs, and the Estonian leaders did not could not agree on the education of a more centralized states, or at least about joint defense. As a result, the entire territory of the Estonians began to be divided among themselves by the Germans, Danes and Swedes. And if at first the Estonians turned to the Germans for help against the Novgorod princes, then after 1219 they turned to Novgorod for help against the Order. But this help only increased the time it took the south of Estonia was conquered by the Germans, and the north by the Danes.

The third stage of the conquest of lands in the Baltic by the Germans was the territory of the Curonians, Semigallians and mudflows, located farther south... However, here the Germans ran into rivalry with the nascent By the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, under the control and protection of which the above tribes began to gradually pass. Therefore, the Order managed to conquer only their northern lands.

On this era of success for the Riga Archdiocese ended... After the conquest of most of the pagan tribes, it remained in the vicinity of Novgorod and Great Lithuanian principalities that have already understood the intentions of the Germans. As part of the Northern Crusade in 1233, the Livnos Order invaded the territory of the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. The decisive battle took place near the city of Yuryev, on the Omovzha River. Heavy knights fell through the ice and the battle was lost... At this time, from the south, the Order successfully attacks the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, enjoying the support of the Livs, Semigallians and Russian princes. On February 9, 1236, Pope Gregory IX declared a Crusade against Lithuania, and on September 22 of the same year, the decisive battle at Saul took place, which the Order of the Swordsmen lost to smithereens, having lost in battle his master Volkwin von Winterstatten. After such a defeat, local tribes revolted throughout the territory of the Archdiocese of Riga.

This state of affairs has led to the accession of the Order of the Swordsmen to more successful, but smaller in area Teutonic Order as the Livonian Landmaster (local branch). As a result, the lands of the united Teutonic Order acquired a length from Pomerania in the west to Russian principalities in the east, from the former Polish Kulm in the south to Estonian lands in the north, which allowed it at that time to become a state of regional significance.

Original taken from

Brotherhood of soldiers of Christ(lat.Christi de Livonia), better known under the name order of the sword or order of the brothers of the sword(German Schwertbrüderorden) - German Catholic spiritual-knightly order, founded in 1202 in Riga by Theodoric of Turaida, who was replacing Bishop of Riga Albert Buxgewden at that time, to protect property and missionary activity in Livonia, which was mainly carried out at that time with fire and sword ... The existence of the order was confirmed by the papal bull in 1210, but as early as 1204 the formation of the Brotherhood of the Warriors of Christ was approved by Pope Innocent III. The common name of the Order comes from the image on the cloaks of the knights of the red sword with the Templar cross. In contrast to the large spiritual and knightly orders, the sword-bearers retained a nominal dependence on the bishop.

Political significance

History

The order was guided by the charter of the Knights Templar. The members of the order were divided into knights, priests and ministers. Knights most often came from families of small feudal lords (most often from Saxony). Their uniform was a white cloak with a red cross and a sword. Servants (squires, artisans, servants, messengers) were recruited from free farmers and townspeople. The head of the order was the master, the most important affairs of the order were decided by the chapter.

The first master of the order was Wynno von Rohrbach (1202-1209), the second and last was Volquin von Naumburg (1209-1236).

In the occupied territories, swordsmen built castles. The castle was the center of the administrative unit - castelatura. By agreement of 1207, 2/3 of the captured lands remained under the authority of the order, the rest was transferred to the bishops of Riga, Ezel, Derpt and Courland. This was approved by the bull of Pope Innocent III on October 20, 1210.

Chronology

  • 1202: Bishop Albert builds a Cistercian monastery of St. Nicholas at the mouth of the Western Dvina, which was named Dinamünde (literally - “the mouth of the Dvina”). Albert's associate, Theodoric of Turaida, was appointed abbot of this monastery.
  • 1203, 1206: campaigns of Prince Vladimir of Polotsk against the sword-bearers.
  • 1207: capture by the troops of the Order of the fortress of Kukeinos in the middle reaches of the Western Dvina. The defense of the fortress was headed by Prince Vyacheslav Borisovich (Vyachko). In the same year, the order received, not without the intervention of the Pope, from the bishop the right to own a third of all conquered lands.
  • 1207: Siegevold Castle (Siegwald) is founded by the sword-bearers - German. Sieg Wald "Victory Forest" (now Sigulda).
  • 1208: An unsuccessful trip to Lithuania is organized.
  • 1209: Bishop Albert conquers Jersica. In the same year, Master Winno von Rohrbach was beheaded, and Volquin von Winterstatt took his place.
  • October 20, 1210: Bishop Albert and Master Volquin receive from Pope Innocent III the privilege to partition Livonia ( Livonia) and Semigalia ( Semigallia), as well as a new absolution. It is in this bull that the actual confirmation of the order by the Pope takes place.
  • In the winter of 1212, Mstislav Udatny, with a 15,000-strong army, led a campaign against the Germans in Estonia.
  • January 6, 1217: the order raids the Novgorod land. Around March 1, after a three-day siege, the order surrendered the castle of Odempe (Odenpe, Bear's Head, present-day Otepää) to Prince Vladimir of Pskov, the son of Mstislav Rostislavich the Brave.
  • 1219: together with the Danish troops who came to the aid of the knights of the order, the sword-bearers found the Revel fortress (now Tallinn). In the same year, 16 thousand Novgorodians led by Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich won the battle and laid siege to Wenden for two weeks.
  • 1221: 12 thousand Novgorodians led by Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich make a campaign against Wenden.
  • 1223: 20 thousand Novgorodians led by Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich make a campaign against Revel. On August 15, after a two-week assault, the Swordsmen take Fellin. According to Henry of Latvia, "the remaining Russians were hanged in front of the castle for fear of other Russians."
  • 1224: after a long siege by the troops of the order, Yuryev (Dorpat) was taken, Prince Vyachko died during the defense of the city. No help came from Novgorod due to a conflict with Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich. Until the end of the third decade of the 13th century, the order captured part of the lands of the Semigallians, Selonians and Curonians, but most of the pagan lands remained under the rule of Lithuania. The Order, violating the peace treaty with Lithuania in 1225, organized a campaign to Lithuania in 1229. After that, the Lithuanians began to support the Semigallians even more.
  • May 1226: Emperor Frederick II approved their possessions for the sword-bearers, as a holdover from the Riga and Derpt bishops.
  • 1233: A new Northern Crusade is organized (1233-1236). In 1234, in the battle on Omovzha near Yuryev (now the Emajõgi river and the city of Yuryev), the troops of the order of the sword-bearers were defeated by the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (the knights fell through the river ice). The advance of the order to the east was suspended.
  • Until 1236, the order did not attack Lithuania. At this time, Lithuania itself organized campaigns against the Order and the bishops, or participated in them together with the Livs, Semigallians and Russian princes. In order to conquer Lithuania, or at least weaken it, as well as to prevent the help of the Lithuanians to the defeated tribes of the Balts, on February 9, 1236, Pope Gregory IX announced a Crusade against Lithuania. On September 22 of the same year, the Battle of Saul took place, which ended in the complete defeat of the sword-bearers. In it, the master of the Order of the Volguin von Namburg (Volkwin von Winterstatten) was killed.
  • On May 12, 1237, in Viterbo, Gregory IX and the Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order Hermann von Salz performed the rite of annexing the remnants of the Order of the Swordsmen to the Teutonic Order. The Teutonic Order sent its knights there, an offshoot of the Teutonic Order on the lands of the former Order of the Swordsmen (that is, in the present Latvian and Estonian lands) began to be called Livonian Landmaster of the Teutonic Order(see Livonian Order).
  • The final formation of the Livonian Order on the site of the Order of the Swordsmen and the delimitation of the spheres of influence of the Livonian Order and the Danish kingdom in the Eastern Baltic was secured by the Treaty at Stensby, concluded on June 7, 1238 on the island of Zealand in Denmark between the Danish king Waldemar II and the master of the Livonian order Hermann von Balck through the mediation of the papal Legate William of Modena.

Notes (edit)

Literature

  • Map. Novgorod land in the XII-early XIII century and the Order of the Swordsmen // site of Natalia Gavrilova
  • Friedrich Benninghoven: Der Orden der Schwertbrüder: Fratres milicie Christi de Livonia; Böhlau, Köln, 1965
  • Alain Demurger: Die Ritter des Herrn. Geschichte der geistlichen Ritterorden; Beck, München 2003, ISBN 3-406-50282-2
  • Wolfgang Sonthofen: Der Deutsche Orden; Weltbild, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89350-713-2
  • Dieter Zimmerling: Der Deutsche Ritterorden; Econ, München 1998, ISBN 3-430-19959-X
  • Selart, A. Livonia, Rus' and the Baltic Crusades in the Thirteenth Century. - Leiden: Brill, 2015 .-- ISBN 978-9-004-28474-6.(English)

Links

  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
  • Konoplenko A.A. Order of the Swordsmen in the Political History of Livonia (unspecified) ... DEUSVULT.RU website. - Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences. Retrieved July 14, 2012. Archived August 4, 2012.

The idea of ​​the Crusades, seemingly directed against the Muslims who seized the Holy Sepulcher, perfectly suited for almost any conquests waged by Western European feudal lords, any events in which the papal curia saw its benefit. This is how the Crusades began in Europe. They were directed against both heretics like the Albigensians and pagans in Eastern Europe. The Germans were interested in the Eastern Baltic lands. Rome was also interested in the Christianization of these territories. While in Asia the crusaders were fighting against the Saracens, their colleagues were already fighting in full force in the Baltics. Here the knights received from the pope the same privileges as the "soldiers of Christ" in Palestine.

In 1200, Canon Albert landed at the mouth of the Dvina River with German crusaders. Having defeated the Livonian detachments, the Germans built their fortress here - Riga. Albert became the local bishop. In 1202 he established the spiritually-knightly order of the sword-bearers. In 1207, the swordsmen won the right to a third of all captured lands. (The rest was ruled by the bishops of Riga, Ezel, Dorpat and Courland.)

The orders were needed by the church in order to have in its direct subordination a disciplined (as opposed to the usual feudal army), morally stable army. Members of the order took vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Their main task was to spread Christianity and fight the "pagans". The order was headed by the Grand Master (grandmaster), individual provinces were ruled by landmasters. A clear hierarchy and discipline, religious zeal, financial and legal support from the pope, the transfer of the property of the brothers who came into the possession of the orders allowed them to seize significant territories and accumulate enormous wealth.

The Swordsmen, unlike the Templars or Hospitallers, obeyed the local bishop, although they constantly fought for independence from him. They wore white cloaks with a red sword and a cross. The residence of the Master of the Order was the Wenden Castle (present-day Cesis in Latvia). The knights fought for the lands of the Livs, Estonians, Latgallians, Semigallians, etc. In 1229 the Bishop of Riga Albert died. Even then, the master of the Order of the Swordsmen, Folkvin, decided to get rid of his dependence on the Riga bishops and suggested that Hermann von Salze unite the orders. The reason for this was not only the struggle with the bishop. The Teutonic Order was much more popular and, being closer to Germany, with which it bordered by land, received constant reinforcements. The knights of the Order of the Swordsmen, with great difficulty, involved new compatriots in their actions, suffered heavy losses in battles with local population and felt that the fate of German Livonia was constantly in the balance. However, Salze refused to accept the offer of Folkwin, in particular due to the fact that the sword-bearers did not have the proper discipline.

The Teutonic Order, which began to operate in the south of the Baltic States a little later than the sword-bearers appeared to the north, was established during the Third Crusade. Then the merchants from Lubeck created a hospital fraternity, which cared primarily about the wounded Germans. In 1198 this organization became the spiritual-knightly Teutonic Order of the Virgin Mary. The Teutons wore white cloaks with black crosses. The Order did not disintegrate with the end of the Crusade, but transferred its actions to Europe. At the request of the Hungarians, the Teutons settled in Semigradie in 1211 in order to defend the borders of the kingdom from the Polovtsians. But in the 1220s, King Andrew II, convinced that the Teutons were more interested in Hungary itself, expelled them from the country.

In 1226, the Polish prince Konrad Mazowiecki appealed to the Grand Master Herman Salze, offering his order to settle on the Vistula in the Helminskaya and Dobrin regions and fight against the Prussians and Lithuanians who bothered Konrad, on the condition that all the occupied lands would retreat to the order. This was a fatal step on the part of the prince. The Poles themselves invited people with whom they would have to wage an irreconcilable struggle until the middle of the 20th century. In 1230 Salze sent a detachment of knights to the Helminsk region - the bloody conquest of the Prussian land began. In 1231 the Teutons crossed to the right bank of the Vistula and erected here the castles of Thorn (Torun) and Kulm (Chelmno).

In 1234, the Teutonic Order received from the Pope the right to own the entire Prussian and Kulm land for the obligation to pay tribute to the Pope personally, who thus became the overlord of the order. The order regularly paid tribute, but the pope's power over him remained nominal. Soon the pontiff announced a Crusade against the Prussians. They were completely conquered in 1283. A talented politician and diplomat, the Grand Master of the Salze Order, made a significant contribution to strengthening the position of the Teutons. He sought appropriate letters and privileges from both the German Emperor Frederick II and the Pope. They regularly invited the Teuton as a mediator in resolving various disputes. Salze participated in the imperial council as a prince.

By the beginning of the 40s of the XIII century. the Teutons were firmly entrenched in the lands of Pomezania, Poghezania, Warmia and along the coast of West Prussia. They also owned lands and castles in Slovenia, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Romania and Greece. The mouths of the Vistula, Dvina and Neman rivers were in the hands of the Germans, and therefore, a significant part of the entire Baltic trade was under their control.

However, the knights met with fierce resistance from the Russians and Lithuanians. The latter united and strengthened their state under the leadership of Prince Mindaugas. On September 22, 1236, at the Battle of Saul (Siauliai), the Lithuanians utterly defeated the sword-bearers. The success of the battle was facilitated by the timely transition of the Semigallian troops to the Lithuanian side. Under Saule, the Master of the Swordsmen Falquin Winterstatt died, and in general the losses of the order were significant. The Germans were driven back west of the Dvina, losing almost everything they had gained over the past 30 years. This defeat was the reason for the unification of the two orders. A delegation of swordsmen went to the Pope in Rome with a corresponding request. As a result of lengthy negotiations with the active participation of the papal curia, an agreement was reached on the union of the Order of the Swordsmen and the Teutonic Order. The treaty was signed on May 14, 1237 at the residence of Pope Gregory IX in Viterbo near Rome. The Order of the Swordsmen became a semi-autonomous part of the Teutonic Order - the Livonian Order, its master became the Land Master of the Teutonic Order (he was the Teutonic Hermann Balcke). The Livonian Order managed the previously seized lands in Latvia and Estonia. At the same time, the Livonian landmaster was also subordinate to the Riga archbishop.

Did you like the article? Share it
Print article
Up