Albert of Riga
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Albert of Riga | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1165 Bexhövede, Lower Saxony, Germany |
Died | 17 January 1229 |
Nationality | German |
Other names | Albert of Bexhövede, Albert of Buxhoeveden |
Occupation | Bishop of Riga |
Known for | Founding the city of Riga, Livonian Crusade |
Title | Prince-Bishop of Livonia |
Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia
Albert headed the armed forces that forcibly converted the pagan indigenous population of the eastern Baltic region to Christianity as a result of the Northern Crusades.
Early life
Albert was born in Bexhövede, a part of Loxstedt, Lower Saxony, Germany. He and his brother Hermann were members of the powerful Buxhoeveden family from Bexhövede. Because of this he has also been known as Albert of Buxhoeveden (or Bexhövede, Buxhövden, Buxhöwde, Buxthoeven, Appeldern).
Albert was a
In 1200, Bishop Albert led a crusade in Livonia, providing the starting point to create an ecclesiastical State.[1] Albert arrived in his diocese in Ikšķile (Üxküll) with a sizeable army. He was able to send reinforcements without asking permission from the Pope. These rights led him to create an annual summer expedition from Lübeck to Livonia called the "perpetual crusade".[2]
Foundation of Riga
When Albert realized that the diocese of Uexküll was located far away from the Daugava river to be effective, he founded a castle nearer the sea, where a small stream joined the Daugava creating a natural harbor. This castle would be the start of the foundation of Riga.[2]
Together with merchants from the Baltic Sea island of Gotland, Albert founded Riga in 1201,[3] where a small community of Hanseatic traders from Lübeck held a tentative trading encampment.[4] In 1204, he received a papal bull to sign up crusaders.[1]
He successfully converted many
Albert created a
A first-hand account of Albert is in the contemporary Livonian Chronicle of Henry by Henry of Latvia.[2]
Albert died in Riga in 1229. As a Catholic bishop, he left no descendants. He was venerated as a Catholic saint until the Protestant Reformation. The present-day von Buxhoeveden are descendants of his cousin Johannes von Buxhoeveden. Albert's brother Theodoricus married a niece of the prince of Novgorod Mstislav Mstislavich[6] and is the progenitor of the family de Raupena (de Ropa, known today as "von der Ropp") that founded manors in Livonia and Courland.
Albert Street in Riga is named after Bishop Albert.
Notes
References
- ^ ISBN 0674023870.
- ^ OCLC 56426711.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Albert (Albrecht), Bishop of Riga". newadvent.org. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- OCLC 906842818.
- ^ Woodgate, Mik (29 December 2017). "History of the Crusades heads north with the first Northern Crusade silver coin". AgAuNEWS. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ISBN 978-5-91852-183-0.
External links
- Albert von Buxhoeveden (in German)
- James A. Brundage, The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia Archived 17 June 2004 at the Wayback Machine: edited and translated, 2003
- Catholic Encyclopedia article