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Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia.
By the end of the 13th century, the name was extended to most of present-day Estonia and Latvia, which the Livonian Brothers of the Sword had conquered during the Livonian Crusade (1193–1290). Medieval Livonia, or Terra Mariana, reached its greatest extent after the Saint George's Night Uprising (1343–1345), which forced Denmark to sell the Duchy of Estonia (northern Estonia conquered by Denmark in the 13th century) to the State of the Teutonic Order in 1346. Livonia, as understood after the retreat of Denmark in 1346, bordered on the Gulf of Finland in the north, Lake Peipus and Russia to the east, and Lithuania to the south.
As a consequence of the Livonian War (1558–1583), the territory of Livonia was reduced to the southern half of Estonia and the northern half of Latvia.
The indigenous inhabitants of Livonia were various Baltic Finns tribes in the north and Balts tribes in the south. The descendants of the crusaders formed the nucleus of the new ruling class of Livonia after the Livonian Crusade, and they eventually became known as Baltic Germans.
Pope Gregory IX asked the Brothers to defend Finland from Novgorodian attacks in his letter of 24 November 1232; . In Latin. Hosted by the National Archive of Finland. See and Diplomatarium Fennicum from the menu. however, no known information regarding the knights' possible activities in Finland has survived. (Swedish Empire eventually took over Finland after the Second Swedish Crusade in 1249.) In the Battle of Saule in 1236 the Lithuanians and Semigallians decimated the Order. This disaster led the surviving Brothers to become incorporated into the Order of Teutonic Knights in the following year, and from that point on they became known as the Livonian Order. They continued, however, to function in all respects (monastic rule, clothing and policy) as an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, headed by their own Master (himself de jure subject to the Teutonic Order's Hochmeister).
At that point, Livonia was divided into two camps: Baldwin's Bishopric of Semigallia, the Bishopric of Dorpat and the late Albert of Riga's Buxhöveden family plus several monasteries, most Estonians and Curonians, versus the Livonian Sword Brothers, Nicholas' Bishopric of Riga, and the city of Riga. Previous generations of historians have argued that Baldwin attempted to make the whole Baltic region an ecclesiastical state, but (1993) refuted this idea as "fanciful speculation". Similarly, the traditional assertion that Baldwin had extensive plans to conquer and convert eastwards into parts of Pskov and Novgorod do not stand up under scrutiny, showing that papal correspondence with Baldwin was primarily concerned with ending the internal conflict in Livonia on terms favourable to Rome. Therefore, no Livonian faction was allowed to form an alliance with an external power, be they pagan or Novgorodian, to prevent the internal conflict from spilling over and threaten Livonia's external security.
In 1234, the pope recalled Baldwin, and replaced him with William of Modena. The pope did not give a verdict until April 1236, when the Sword Brothers were tasked to return Reval to the Danish king. The terms of the agreement were not finalised until the Treaty of Stensby (7 June 1238), when the Livonian Sword Brothers, crushed at Saule and now submitted to the Teutonic Order, relinquished their claims to Reval and much of northern Estonia to Denmark, and to share future territorial gains with two-thirds for the Danish king and one third for the Livonian Order.
From the 14th to the 16th centuries, Middle Low German – as spoken in the towns of the Hanseatic League — functioned as the established language of the Livonian lands, but High German subsequently succeeded it as the official language in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Once Eric XIV of Sweden became king in September 1560 he took quick actions to get involved in the war. He negotiated a continued peace with Muscovy and spoke to the burghers of Reval city. He offered them goods to submit to him as well as threatening them. By 6 June 1561,they submitted to him contrary to the of Kettler to the burghers. King Eric's brother and future King Johan married the Polish-Lithuanian princess Catherine Jagiellon in 1562. Wanting to obtain his own land in Livonia, he loaned Poland money and then claimed the castles that they had pawned as his own instead of using them to pressure Poland. After Johan returned to Finland, Erik XIV forbade him to deal with any foreign countries without his consent.
Shortly after that, Erik XIV quickly lost any allies that he was about to obtain, either in the form of Magnus or of the Archbishop of Riga. Magnus was upset that he had been tricked out of his inheritance of Holstein. After Sweden occupied Reval, Frederick II of Denmark made a treaty with Erik XIV of Sweden in August 1561. Magnus and his brother Frederick II were in great disagreement, and Frederick II negotiated a treaty with Ivan IV on 7 August 1562 to help his brother obtain more land and to stall further Swedish advances. Erik XIV did not like this, and the Northern Seven Years' War (1563–1570) broke out, with Sweden pitted against the Free City of Lübeck, Denmark, and Poland-Lithuania. While only losing land and trade, Frederick II and Magnus were not faring well. But in 1568 Erik XIV became insane and his brother Johan took his place as King John III of Sweden.
Johan III, due to his friendship with Poland-Lithuania, began a policy against Muscovy. He would try to obtain more land in Livonia and to dominate Denmark. After all parties had been financially drained, Frederick II let his ally, King Sigismund II Augustus of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, know that he was ready for peace. On 15 December 1570, the Treaty of Stettin concluded the Northern Seven Years' War.
It is, however, more difficult to estimate the scope and magnitude of the support Magnus received in Livonian cities. Compared to the Harrien-Wierland gentry, the Reval city council, and hence probably the majority of citizens, demonstrated a much more reserved attitude towards Denmark and towards King Magnus of Livonia. Nevertheless, there is no reason to speak about any strong pro-Swedish sentiments among the residents of Reval. The citizens who had fled to the Bishopric of Dorpat or had been deported to Muscovy hailed Magnus as their saviour until 1571. Analysis indicates that during the Livonian War a pro-independence wing emerged among the Livonian gentry and townspeople, forming the so-called "Peace Party". Dismissing hostilities, these forces perceived an agreement with Muscovy as a chance to escape the atrocities of war and to avoid the division of Livonia. Thus Magnus, who represented Denmark and later struck a deal with Ivan IV, proved a suitable figurehead for this faction.
The Peace Party, however, had its own armed forces – scattered bands of household troops ( Hofleute) under diverse command, which only united in action in 1565 (Battle of Pärnu and Siege of Reval), in 1570–1571 (Siege of Reval; 30 weeks), and in 1574–1576 (first on Sweden's side, then came the sale of Ösel–Wiek to the Danish Crown, and the loss of territory to Tsardom of Russia). In 1575, after Muscovy attacked Danish claims in Livonia, Frederick II dropped out of the competition, as did the Holy Roman Emperor. After this Johan III held off on his pursuit for more land due to Muscovy obtaining lands that Sweden controlled. He used the next two years of truce to get in a better position. In 1578, he resumed the fight, not only for Livonia, but also for everywhere due to an understanding that he made with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1578, Magnus retired to the Commonwealth and his brother all but gave up the land in Livonia.
During the many years of the Livonian War (1558–1582), the Livonian Order suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of troops of Muscovite Russia in the Battle of Ergeme in 1560 and continued living under great threat. Letters to the Holy Roman Emperor arrived from many European countries, warning that Moscow has its eyes on much more than only a few harbors or the province of Liefland ... the East Sea (Ostsee-Baltic Sea) and the West Sea (Atlantic) are equally in danger. Duke Barnim the Elder, 50 years duke of Pomerania, warned, that never before did he experience the fear than now, where even in his land, where people send by Moscow are everywhere. At stake was the Narva-trade-route and practically all trade in the North, and with that all of Europe. Due to the religious upheavals of the Reformation the distant Holy Roman Empire could not send troops, which it could not afford anyway. The Duchy of Prussia was not able to help for much of the same reason, and Duke Albrecht () was under continuous ban by the Empire. The Hanseatic League was greatly weakened by this and the city state of Luebeck fought its last great war. The emperor Maximilian II () diffused the greatest threat by remaining on friendly terms with Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (), but not sending Ivan IV troops as requested in his struggles with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In 1570, Tsar Ivan IV of Russia installed Duke Magnus as King of Livonia. The other forces opposed this appointment. The Livonian Order saw no other way than to seek protection from Sigismund II Augustus (King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania), who had intervened in a war between Bishop William of Riga and the Brothers in 1557. After coming to an Wilno Pact with Sigismund II Augustus and his representatives (especially Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł), the last Livonian Master, Gotthard Kettler, secularized the Order and converted to Lutheranism. In the southern part of the Brothers' lands, he set up the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia for his family. Most of the remaining lands were seized by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Denmark and Swedish Empire re-occupied the north of Estonia.
Based on a guarantee by Sigismund II Augustus from the 1560s, the German language retained its official status.
In the next phase of the conflict, in 1577, Ivan IV took advantage of the Commonwealth's internal strife (called the war against Gdańsk in Polish historiography), and during the reign of Stefan Batory in Poland, invaded Livonia, quickly taking almost the entire territory, with the exception of Riga and Reval. In 1578, Magnus of Livonia recognized the sovereignty of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (not ratified by the Sejm of Poland-Lithuania, nor recognized by Denmark). The Kingdom of Livonia was beaten back by Muscovy on all fronts. In 1578, Magnus of Livonia retired to The Bishopric of Courland, and his brother all but gave up the land in Livonia.
Livonia remained within the Russian Empire until the end of World War I, when it was split between the newly independent states of Latvia and Estonia. The United Baltic Duchy, alternately known as the "Grand Duchy of Livonia", proclaimed by the Baltic German nobility on 12 April 1918, was never recognised by any state, and dissolved at the German surrender in November 1918. Livonia had ceased to exist. From 1918 to 1920, both Soviet troops and German Freikorps fought against Latvian and Estonian troops for control over former Livonia, but their attempts were defeated.
The unofficial anthem of the Livonians, "Min izāmō", shares the melody of the Maamme and Estonian .
== Gallery ==
Kingdom of Livonia (1570–1578)
The armies of Ivan the Terrible were initially successful, taking Polotsk (1563) and Parnawa (1575) and overrunning much of Grand Duchy of Lithuania up to some proximity of Vilnius. Eventually, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569 under the Union of Lublin. Eric XIV of Sweden did not like this, and the Northern Seven Years' War between the Free City of Lübeck, Denmark, Poland, and Sweden broke out. While only losing land and trade, Frederick II of Denmark and Magnus von Lyffland of the Œsel-Wiek did not fare well. But, in 1569, Erik XIV became insane and his brother John III of Sweden took his place. After all parties had been financially drained, Frederick II let his ally, King Zygmunt II August, know that he was ready for peace. On 15 December 1570, the Treaty of Stettin was concluded.
Swedish Livonia (1629–1721)
Swedish Empire was given roughly the same area as the former Duchy of Livonia after the 1626–1629 Polish–Swedish War. The area, usually known as Swedish Livonia, became a very important Swedish dominion, with Riga being the second largest Swedish city and Livonia paying for one third of the Swedish war costs. Sweden lost Swedish Livonia, Duchy of Estonia and Swedish Ingria to the Russian Empire almost 100 years later, by the Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710 and the Treaty of Nystad in 1721.
Livonian Voivodeship (1620s–1772)
The Livonian Voivodeship (; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Duchy of Livonia, part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, since it was formed in the 1620s out of the Wenden Voivodeship till the First Partition of Poland in 1772.
Riga Governorate (1721–1796)
The Russian Empire conquered Swedish Livonia during the course of the Great Northern War and acquired the province in the Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710, confirmed by the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. Peter the Great confirmed German as the exclusive official language. Russia then added Polish Livonia in 1772 during the Partitions of Poland.
Governorate of Livonia (1796–1918)
In 1796, the Riga Governorate was renamed as the Governorate of Livonia ( / Liflyandskaya guberniya, , ). From 1845 to 1876, the Baltic governorates of Estonia, Livonia, and Courland — an area roughly corresponding to the historical medieval Livonia — were administratively subordinated to a common Governor-General. Amongst the holders of this post were Count Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov Suvorov A.A. governor-general in 1861–66 :: ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SAINT PETERSBURG and Count Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov.
Legacy
The historical land of Livonia has been split between Latvia and Estonia ever since 1918. The Livonian language is spoken by fewer than 100 individuals as a second language, and is understood to be fast approaching dead language. The last native Livonian speaker died in June 2013.
See also
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