Terra Mariana

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For an Estonian decoration, see Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana.
Terra Mariana
1207–1561
Flag of Old Livonia
Flag
Coat of arms of Old Livonia
Coat of arms
Confederation Agreement
4 December 1435
1561
 Succeeded by
Duchy of Estonia (1219–1346)
Swedish Estonia
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
Duchy of Livonia
Today part ofEstonia
Latvia

Terra Mariana (

Mary") was the formal name[1] for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia.[b][4] It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207,[5] as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire,[6] and lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See.[7]

The

king of Denmark);[8][9] the Archbishopric of Riga; the Bishopric of Courland; the Bishopric of Dorpat; the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek; and territories under the military administration of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. After the 1236 Battle of Saule, the surviving members of the Brothers merged in 1237 with the Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as the Livonian Order
. In 1346 the Livonian Order bought the Duchy of Estonia from Denmark.

Throughout the existence of medieval Livonia there was a constant struggle over supremacy, between the lands ruled by the Church, the Order, the secular German nobility, and the citizens of the

Reval. Following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, the Teutonic Order and the State of the Teutonic Order
fell into decline, but the Livonian Order managed to maintain its independent existence.

In 1561, during the

Duchy of Estonia, its southern territories became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – and thus eventually of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth – as the Duchy of Livonia and the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The island of Saaremaa became part of Denmark. Since the beginning of the 20th century Terra Mariana (Estonian: Maarjamaa) has been used as a poetic name or sobriquet for Estonia. In 1995 the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, a state decoration, was instituted to honor the independence of Estonia.[10] Terra Mariana (Latvian: Māras zeme) is also used as a poetic name for Latgale region.[11]

History

Livonian Crusade

Main article: Livonian Crusade

The lands on the eastern shores of the

Daugava and Gauja rivers. The stronghold of Riga (capital of modern Latvia) was established in 1201, and in 1202 the Livonian Brothers of the Sword was formed. In 1218 Pope Honorius III gave Valdemar II of Denmark free rein to annex as much land as he could conquer in Estonia. Additionally Albert of Riga, leader of the crusaders fighting the Estonians from the south, paid a visit to the German King Philip of Swabia and asked permission to attack the Estonians from the North.[8] The last to be subjugated and Christianised were Oeselians, Curonians and Semigallians.[citation needed
]

This crusade differed from many other crusades because, in this case, the Pope allowed people intending to go on a crusade to the Holy Land to go instead to crusade in Livonia. Members of this crusade were made to wear the insignia of the cross as well, which showed that they were legally bound to the crusade.[13]

After the success of the crusade, the German- and Danish-occupied territory was divided into feudal principalities by William of Modena.[14]

Establishment

Three Mighty Ladies from Livonia by Albrecht Dürer (1521)

This division of medieval Livonia was created by

Livs, and Baltic-speaking Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians and Curonians.[citation needed
]

Medieval Livonia was intermittently ruled first by the Brothers of the Sword, since 1237 by the semi-autonomous branch of

Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. The nominal head of Terra Mariana as well as the city of Riga was the Archbishop of Riga as the apex of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.[15]

Citizens (upper panel) and commoners (lower panel) in medieval Livonia, 16th century

In 1240

Duchy of Estonia by reserving (contrary to canon law) the right to appoint the bishops of Reval to himself and his successor kings of Denmark. The decision to simply nominate to the See of Reval was unique in the whole Catholic Church at the time and was disputed by bishops and the Pope. During this era, the election of bishops was never established in Reval, and the royal rights to the bishopric and to nominate the bishops were even included in the treaty when the territories were sold to the Teutonic Order in 1346.[16]

Livonian civil wars

Coins of Medieval Livonia, 15th–16th century

Throughout the existence of medieval Livonia there was a constant struggle for superiority in the rule over the lands by the Church, the order, the secular nobles of German descent who ruled the fiefs and the citizens of the Hanseatic town of

Estonian revolt resulted in the annexation of the Danish Duchy of Estonia within the Teutonic Ordensstaat.[17]

The most important ally of the Livonian Order was the German nobility in the Danish Duchy of Estonia.

marks to the Teutonic Order. The shift of sovereignty from Denmark to the Teutonic Order took place on 1 November 1346.[18]

Livonian Confederation

Old Livonia
, before the Livonian War:
  Livonian Order
  Bishopric of Courland
  Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek
  Bishopric of Dorpat
  City of Riga
  Archbishopric of Riga

The Teutonic Order fell into decline after Poland and Lithuania defeated it in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence, as it did not participate in the battle and suffered no casualties, having obtained a truce with Grand Duke Vytautas.[19]

In 1418 Pope Martin V nominated Johannes Ambundii to the position of Archbishop of Riga.[20] He became known as the organizer of the Livonian confederation.[21][22]

Conflict commonly occurred between the Order, the bishops, and the powerful Hanseatic cities throughout the existence of medieval Livonia. To solve internal disputes, the Livonian Diet or Landtag gathered in 1419[23][24] at the initiative of Archbishop Ambundii. The city of Walk was chosen as the site of the Diet. The Diet comprised members of the Livonian Order, Livonian Bishops, vassals and city representatives.[23]

On 1 September 1435 the Livonian Order's defeat in the Battle of Wiłkomierz, claiming the lives of the Master and several high-ranking knights, brought the order closer to its Livonian neighbours. The Livonian confederation agreement (eiine fruntliche eyntracht) was signed in Walk on 4 December 1435, by the archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland, Dorpat, Ösel-Wiek and Reval; the representatives of the Livonan Order and vassals, and the deputies of Riga, Reval and Dorpat city municipal councils.[25]

The states of the Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the

Ösel.[26]

In 1561 a Swedish army landed in

Duchy of Livonia (Lithuanian vassal).[28][29]

Livonian ConfederationTerra MarianaEstonian SSRDuchy of Livonia (1721–1917)Duchy of Livonia (1629–1721)Duchy of Livonia (1561–1621)Duchy of Estonia (1721–1917)Duchy of Estonia (1561–1721)Danish EstoniaDanish EstoniaEstoniaAncient EstoniaHistory of Estonia
Livonian ConfederationTerra MarianaLatvian SSRDuchy of Livonia (1721–1917)Duchy of Livonia (1629–1721)Duchy of Livonia (1561–1621)Courland GovernorateDuchy of Courland and SemigalliaLatviaHistory of Latvia

Nomenclature

According to

Henry of Livonia, Bishop Albert of Riga emphasized to Pope Innocent III the importance of his see as a crusading venue and its association with Mary, the Mother of Jesus when reporting to the Fourth Lateran Council
in 1215:

"Sicut", inquit, "pater sancte, terram sanctam Ierosolimitanum, que est terra filii, sanctitatis tue studio fovere non desinis, sic Lyvoniam, que est terra matris, [...] derelinquere non debes." "Holy Father", he said, "as you have not ceased to cherish the Holy Land of Jerusalem, the country of the Son, [...] so also you ought not to abandon Livonia, the land of the Mother [...][30]

In popular culture

"Terra Mariana" appears as an achievement in the historical strategy video game Europa Universalis IV.[31]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In administrative and liturgical use
  2. Livonian Governorate
    that was formed from part of its territories after its breakup.

References

  1. ^ a b "Terra Mariana". The Encyclopedia Americana. Americana Corp. 1967.
  2. ISBN 9780817928537
    .
  3. ISBN 9780810875135
    .
  4. Low German: Oolt-Livland, Livonian: Jemā-Līvõmō, Estonian: Vana-Liivimaa, Latvian
    : Livonija)
  5. ^ Bilmanis, Alfreds (1944). Latvian-Russian Relations: Documents. The Latvian legation.
  6. ^ Herbermann, Charles George (1907). The Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
  7. ^ Bilmanis, Alfreds (1945). The Church in Latvia. Drauga vēsts. 1215 proclaimed it the Terra Mariana, subject directly.
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-14-026653-4
    .
  9. ISBN 0-521-47299-7
    .
  10. ^ The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana. President of the Republic of Estonia, Estonian State Decorations. Retrieved 2011-01-22
  11. ^ "Māras zeme | Tēzaurs". tezaurs.lv. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  12. ISBN 0-313-33125-1
    .
  13. ^ a b c Brundage, James. Thirteenth-Century Livonian Crusade: Henricus De Lettis and the First Legatine Mission of Bishop William of Modena. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 1–9
  14. ^ a b William Urban.An Historical Overview of the Crusade to Livonia.
  15. ISBN 9780817993030
    .
  16. ISBN 87-88073-30-0
    .
  17. ^
    ISBN 0-8191-1683-1
    .
  18. ^ Skyum-Nielsen (1981), p. 129.
  19. ^ Christiansen (1997), p. 227.
  20. ISBN 3-11-012057-7
    .
  21. ISBN 978-1-4067-2870-5
    .
  22. ISBN 9780313323553
    .
  23. ^
    ISBN 0-8179-9302-9
    .
  24. ISBN 0-8108-4904-6
    .
  25. ISBN 978-9949-415-84-7
    .
  26. ISBN 9781576078006
    .
  27. ^ Vane, Charles William (1838). Recollections of a tour in the north of Europe in 1836–1837. p. 178.
  28. ISBN 90-6550-881-3
    .
  29. ^ Plakans, Andrejs (2011). A Concise History of the Baltic States. Cambridge University Press. p. 95.
    ISBN 978-0-521-54155-8
    .
  30. ^ Jensen, Carsten Selch (2009). "8: How to Convert a Landscape: Henry of Livonia and the Chronicon Livoniae". In Murray, Alan V. (ed.). The Clash of Cultures on the Medieval Baltic Frontier. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 165.
    ISBN 9780754664833
    . Retrieved 2017-07-12. 'Holy Father', he said, 'as you have not ceased to cherish the Holy Land of Jerusalem, the country of the Son, [...] so also you ought not to abandon Livonia, the land of the Mother [...]' [...] Sicut, inquit, 'pater sancte, terram sanctam Ierosolimitanum, que est terra filii, sanctitatis tue studio fovere non desinis, sic Lyvoniam, que est terra matris, [...] derelinquere non debes. [...]'
  31. ^ "Steam Community :: Europa Universalis IV :: Achievements". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
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