Livonia, also called Livland in older records, is a historical area located in the modern countries of Latvia and Estonia. The region is named after the Livonians, who lived along the coast of present-day Latvia.

By the end of the 13th century, the name "Livonia" was used for most of today’s Estonia and Latvia. These areas were taken over by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword during the Livonian Crusade, which lasted from 1193 to 1290. During the medieval period, Livonia, also known as Terra Mariana, covered its largest area after the Saint George’s Night Uprising (1343–1345). This event led Denmark to sell the Duchy of Estonia (a part of northern Estonia that Denmark had controlled in the 13th century) to the Teutonic Order in 1346. After Denmark left the region in 1346, Livonia’s borders included the Gulf of Finland to the north, Lake Peipus and Russia to the east, and Lithuania to the south.

Because of the Livonian War (1558–1583), the area of Livonia was reduced to the southern part of Estonia and the northern part of Latvia.

The original people of Livonia were Finnic tribes in the north and Baltic tribes in the south. After the Livonian Crusade, the descendants of the crusaders became the main group of rulers in Livonia. These people eventually came to be known as Baltic Germans.

History

Starting in the 1200s, Livonia became a place where Danes and Germans, especially members of the Hanseatic League and the Cistercian Order, sought to expand their influence. Around 1160, traders from Lübeck established a trading post near the future city of Riga. Bishop Albrecht von Buxthoeven later founded Riga in 1201.

The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, written in the 1220s, describes the Christianization of Livonia. This effort was supported by the Hohenstaufen rulers, who gave Bishop Albert of Riga (also known as Albert of Buxhoeveden) control over the region. Albert, the nephew of Hartwig II, Archbishop of Bremen, led a group of armed crusaders in 1200 to create a Catholic area in the east as part of the Livonian Crusade. In 1202, Albert founded the military order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, which Pope Innocent III approved in 1204. The order’s goal was to convert pagan groups like the Curonians, Livonians, Semigallians, and Latgalians living near the Gulf of Riga. Members of the order were German warrior monks, also called Christ Knights, Sword Brethren, or the Militia of Christ of Livonia.

The order often ignored its duty to follow the bishops’ rules. In 1215, Albert ordered the building of a cathedral in Riga. In 1218, Albert asked King Valdemar II of Denmark for help, but Valdemar instead made a deal with the Brotherhood and took control of northern Estonia. The Brotherhood’s headquarters was in Fellin (now Viljandi, Estonia), where the walls of the Master’s castle still remain. Other strongholds included Wenden (Cēsis), Segewold (Sigulda), and Ascheraden (Aizkraukle). Commanders in Fellin, Goldingen (Kuldīga), Marienburg (Alūksne), Reval (Tallinn), and the bailiff of Weißenstein (Paide) were part of the Order’s leadership.

In 1232, Pope Gregory IX asked the Brotherhood to defend Finland from attacks by forces from Novgorod, but no records of their actions in Finland survive. Sweden later took control of Finland after the Second Swedish Crusade in 1249. In 1236, the Lithuanians and Semigallians defeated the Brotherhood in the Battle of Saule, leading the surviving members to join the Teutonic Knights the next year. From then on, they were called the Livonian Order. Despite joining the Teutonic Knights, the Livonian Order remained largely independent, with its own leader (Master) who was officially under the Teutonic Order’s Grand Master.

In 1229, the death of Albert of Riga caused a conflict over leadership in the Archbishopric of Riga. Pope Gregory IX sent Baldwin of Alna to resolve the dispute. Baldwin secured control of Courland but later faced opposition in Livonia, fleeing to Dünamünde in early 1232. The pope made Baldwin bishop of Semigallia and gave him authority over much of Livonia. Baldwin returned in 1233 but failed to take Reval (modern Tallinn) from the Sword Brothers, who excommunicated many of their members in response.

At this time, Livonia was split into two groups: Baldwin’s Bishopric of Semigallia, the Bishopric of Dorpat, and the Buxhöveden family, along with some monasteries, Estonians, and Curonians, versus the Livonian Sword Brothers, the Bishopric of Riga under Nicholas, and the city of Riga. Some historians once believed Baldwin aimed to create a large religious state across the Baltic region, but this idea was later dismissed as incorrect. Similarly, claims that Baldwin planned to conquer areas like Pskov and Novgorod were proven false. The pope’s focus was on ending internal conflicts in Livonia and preventing alliances with external powers.

In 1234, the pope replaced Baldwin with William of Modena. The pope did not decide on the dispute until 1236, when the Sword Brothers were ordered to return Reval to the Danish king. The agreement was finalized in the Treaty of Stensby in 1238, which required the Livonian Sword Brothers, now part of the Teutonic Order, to give up claims to Reval and much of northern Estonia to Denmark. Denmark would receive two-thirds of future territorial gains, while the Livonian Order would get one-third.

The Livonian Order was an independent branch of the Teutonic Knights and part of the Livonian Confederation from 1418 to 1561. After the Battle of Saule in 1236, the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword joined the Teutonic Knights as the Livonian Order in 1237. Between 1237 and 1290, the Livonian Order conquered Courland, Livonia, and Semigallia but was defeated in the Battle of Rakvere (1268) when trying to attack northern Russia. In 1346, the Order bought the rest of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark. The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia and the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle describe life in the Order’s territory.

The Teutonic Order declined after its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and the loss of its Prussian lands to Albert of Brandenburg in 1525. However, the Livonian Order remained independent for longer. In 1418, Archbishop Johannes Ambundii of Riga formed the Livonian Confederation, uniting five religious

Legacy

The historical region of Livonia has been divided between Latvia and Estonia since 1918. The Livonian language is spoken by fewer than 100 people as a second language and is getting closer to disappearing. The last person who spoke Livonian as a first language passed away in June 2013.

The unofficial song of the Livonians, called "Min izāmō," uses the same music as the national anthems of Finland and Estonia.

Gallery

• Livonia in Europe, 1190.
• Europe, 1550.
• Livonia on a 1570 map.
• Europe, 1740.
• Europe, 1815.
• Livonia, 1898.