Bishopric of Courland

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The Bishopric of Courland (Latin: episcopatus vai diocesis Curoniensis, Low German: Bisdom Curland) was an independent bishopric established in 1234.

Contents 1 History 2 Chronology 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] History

In ancient times the Curonians, a Baltic tribe, inhabited Courland. The Brethren of the Sword, a German military order, subdued the Curonians and converted them to Christianity in the first quarter of the 13th century. In 1237 the area passed into the influence of the Teutonic Knights owing to the amalgamation of this order with that of the Brethren of the Sword. During the Livonian War (1558–1582), under the increasing pressure of Muscovy, the Livonian Confederation dissolved. On the basis of the Union of Wilno, Livonia were ceded to The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and formed into the Ducatus Ultradunensis (Curonian: Pārdaugawas hercogiste). The land between the west bank of the Daugava River and the Baltic Sea formed another new region, The Duchy of Courland and Semigalia (Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste). It depended on the Grand Prince of Lithuania, later on The King of Poland and The Grand Prince of Lithuania. Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of The Livonian Brothers of the Sword, became the first Duke of Courland. Several parts of the Courland area did not belong to the bishopric. The Order of Livonia had already loaned the Grobiņa district (on the coast of Baltic Sea) to the Duke of Prussia. Another district, the Bishopric of Pilten, also called the "Bishopric of Courland" (on the Venta River in western Courland), belonged to Magnus, the King of Livonia. He promised to transfer it to The Duchy of Courland after his death, but this plan failed and only later Wilhelm Kettler did regain this district. When Gotthard Kettler died in 1587, his sons, Friedrich and Wilhelm, became the dukes of Courland.

[edit] Chronology

• September 1234 : Bishopric of Courland (Bistum Kurland) established (formally declared in 11 February 1232), consisting of three separate enclaves after numerous distributions of the Curonian lands among the Bishops of Courland, and of Riga, and the Teutonic Order.

Note: the bishops were also rulers of the island of Runö (now Ruhnu in SW-Estonia) from at least 1341.

• 1290 : The cathedral chapter is incorporated into the Teutonic Order lands, the bishopric is subjected to the Order.
• 1520 : Made a sovereign principality (prince-bishopric) of the Holy Roman Empire (formally from Jan 1521), but style of prince not used.
• 20 May 1560: Sold to the King of Denmark, given as an appanage (Stift Kurland) to the brother of the King, Magnus Herzog von Holstein.
• 1578 :Bishop Magnus accepts sovereignty of The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (not ratified by the Sejm of Poland-Lithuania, or recognized by Denmark).
• 20 April 1585 :Sold by Denmark to Poland-Lithuania.

Bishops of Courland
Bischöfe von Curland

Name	since	until
Bishops
Engelbert OP	1234	1236/37
N. N.	1245	1250
Heinrich von Lützelburg OFM	1251	1263
Edmund von Werth OT	1263	1292
Burkhard OT	vor 1300	1321 ?
Paul OT	1322	1330/32?
Johann I.	1328	1331 /32
Johann II. OT	1332	1353
Ludolf OT	1354	1359?
Jakob OT	vor 1360	1371 ?
Otto OT	1371	1398?
Rutger von Brüggenei OT	1399	1404 ?
Gottschalk Schutte OT	1405	1424
Dietrich Tanke OT	1424	1425
Johann Tiergart OT	1425	1456
Paul II. Einwald	1457	1473
Martin Lewitz	1473	1500
Michael Sculteti	1500	1500
Heinrich II. Basedow	1501	1523
Hermann II. Ronneberg	1524	1540
Johann IV. von Münchhausen	1540	1560
Magnus Herzog von Holstein	1560	1583

[edit] See also

• Archbishopric of Riga
• Bishopric of Dorpat
• Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
• Bishopric of Reval
• Courland
• Courland colonization
• Courland colonization of the Americas
• Duchy of Courland
• Kingdom of Livonia
• Livonian Order

[edit] External links

• Courland by Herman Rosenthal
• Courland Geography and Natural History
• Die Kurländische Ritterschaft
• Duchy of Courland, 1561-1795
• Liepājas un Kurzemes bīskapa