Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Latin Fratres militiae Christi [literally, the ‘brothers of Christ's militia’]), also known as the Christ Knights, Sword Brethren or The Militia of Christ of Livonia, was a military order started in 1202 by Albert von Buxhövden, bishop of Riga, and composed of German "warrior monks". It was primarily based on the rules of the Templars. Since its founding, the order tended to ignore its supposed vassalage to the bishops. In 1218 the bishop asked for help from the Danish king, Valdemar II – but he instead made an agreement with the Sword Brothers order and conquered the north of Estonia. The Sword brethren headquarters were at Viljandi (Fellin) in Estonia. The walls of the Grandmaster's castle are still standing. Other strongholds include: Cesis (Wenden), Sigulda (Segewold) and Aizkraukle (Ascheraden). The commanders of Viljandi (Fellin), Kuldiga (Goldingen), Aluksne (Marienburg), Tallinn and the bailiff of Paide (Järva) belonged to the 5-membered entourage of the Order's Grandmaster. The Lithuanians and Semigallians defeated the Brothers at the Battle of Siauliai in 1236. They are reported as having suffered fifty deaths from amongst their ranks. Next year the order joined with the Teutonic Knights of Prussia, switching to their rules but maintaining administrative independence in their conquered lands. Between 1288 and 1290 they managed to conquer all of Courland and Livonia. In 1346 the united orders bought the rest of Estonia from Valdemar IV Atterdag, king of Denmark. With the decline of the Teutonic Order by the middle of the fifteenth century, the Sword Brothers decided to resume their independence. In 1557 the Polish king Sigismund II Augustus intervened in a war between the bishop of Riga and the Brothers. After an agreement with the Polish king and his representatives (especially Mikołaj 'Czarny' Radziwiłł) the last grandmaster of the order, Gotthard Kettler secularized the order and converted to the Lutheran Church. In the south part of the Brothers' lands he created a Duchy of Courland and Semigalia. Most of the other lands were seized by Poland-Lithuania. The north of Estonia was taken back by Denmark and Sweden. Masters of the order include: Wenno 1204-1209 Volquin 1209-1236 Hermann Balk 1237-1238 Dietrich von Grüningen 1238-1242 Dietrich von Grüningen 1244-1246 Andreas von Stierland 1248-1253 Anno von Sangershausen 1253-1256 Burchard von Hornhausen 1256-1260 Werner von Breithausen 1261-1263 Konrad von Mandern 1263-1266 Otto von Lutterberg 1266-1270 Walther von Nortecken 1270-1273 Ernst von Rassburg 1273-1279 Konrad von Feuchtwangen 1279-1281 Wilken von Endorp 1281-1287 Konrad von Herzogenstein 1288-1290 Halt von Hohembach 1290-1293 Heinrich von Dinkelaghe 1295-1296 Bruno 1296-1298 Gottfried von Rogga 1298-1307 Conrad von Jocke 1309-1322 Johannes Ungenade 1322-1324 Reimar Hane 1324-1328 Everhard von Monheim 1328-1340 Burchard von Dreileben 1340-1345 Goswin von Hercke 1345-1359 Arnold von Vietinghof 1359-1364 Wilhelm von Vrymersheim 1364-1385 R. von Eltz 1385-1389 Wennemar Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1389-1401 Konrad von Vietinghof 1401-1413 Diderick Tork 1413-1415 Siegfried Lander von Spanheim 1415-1424 Zisse von Rutenberg 1424- 1433 Franco Kerskorff 1433-1435 Heinrich von Bockenvorde 1435-1437 H. Vinke von Overbergen 1438-1450 Johann Osthoff von Mengede 1450-1469 Johann Wolthuss von Herse 1470-1471 Bernd von der Borch 1471-1483 Johann Fridach von Loringhofe 1483-1494 Wolter von Plettenberg 1494-1535 Hermann Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1535-1549 Johann von der Recke 1549-1551 Heinrich von Galen 1551-1557 Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg 1557-1559 Godert (Gotthard) Kettler 1559-1561 See also Courland, Livonia, Latvia, Estonia, Teutonic Knights, Order of Dobrin Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html for use of this content. To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livonian_Brothers_of_the_Sword