Grand Duchy of Livonia Groussherzogtum Livland
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Status | Grand duchy of the Holy Roman Empire |
Capital | Riga |
Common languages | German, Livonian, Estonian, Latvian |
Religion | Roman Catholicism (Official) Jungism, Eastern Orthodoxy |
Government | Feudal monarchy |
Grand Duke | |
• 1351-1382 |
Winrich I (first) |
• 1530-1595 |
Charles II |
Historical era | Middle Ages |
• Established |
1351 |
• Přemyslid union |
1461 |
The Grand Duchy of Livonia (German: Groussherzogtum Livland), also known simply as Livonia was medieval state within the Holy Roman Empire that existed along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. Founded in 1351 from the remnants of the State of the Teutonic Order and the secularization of its Livonian territory, Livonia would become one of the most important nations of Eastern Europe.
The nation was declared by Winrich von Kniprode, a former landmeister within the Teutonic Order, after the near disintegration of the Teutonic state. After the 1341 Treaty of Thorn, the Teutonic Order's territory in the Baltic became a de jure vassal of Poland-Lithuania, which Livonia rejected. The nation was led by the House of Kniprode from 1351 to 1361, after which point it was inherited by the Přemyslid dynasty of Bohemia. The nation became more interconnected with the rest of the Empire during the reigns of Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor and his son, Marek Ironside, with Livonia championing the Catholic cause during the early years of the Protestant Reformation. The nation produced one Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, whose death contributed to the onset of the Forty Years' War.
History[]
Teutonic Period[]

The victorious German coalition at the Battle of Lublin, 1297.
In 1296 the Fourth Mongol Invasion of Poland began, which saw Nogai Khan of the Golden Horde launch an invasion west to take advantage of the death of Przemysł II. The fragmentation of Poland and its ongoing succession crisis allowed the Mongols to make staggering gains into Poland, with the aid of a number of Russian levies. Wenceslaus II of Bohemia emerged as the dominant claimant and most powerful nobleman intervening against the Mongols, who attracted Teutonic support. Grand Master Gottfried von Hohenlohe was pressured into resigning by the Teutonic leadership, after he took a passive stance toward further military expansion or intervention in Poland. Under Siegfried von Feuchtwangen the Order zealously joined the campaign against the Mongols, playing an important part in the Battle of Lublin. However, in 1298 the Order’s army was caught in the disastrous Battle of the Pilica, which saw the death of Siegfried von Feuchtwangen and the majority of the Teutonic leadership in the field of battle. The Mongol invasion would end soon after, with the Teutonic Order detached from the remainder of the war.
After the ascension of Wenceslaus II in Poland was confirmed, the Teutonic Order allied with him against several rebellious nobles, most notably Władysław I Łokietek, who the Teutonic Order helped expel from Poland. A few years later Władysław returned from exile and in 1304 managed to seize large portions of Lesser Poland with the aid of a peasant army and Hungarian noble Amadeus Aba. By 1305 he had seized the castles of Wiślica and Lelów, and in June Wenceslaus II died unexpectedly before he could mount a proper response. In 1306 the city of Gdańsk and the surrounding region, which had defected to Władysław’s alliance, switched their allegiance instead to Waldemar of Brandenburg. Władysław appealed to the Teutonic Order for help in crushing the usurpation in Gdańsk, who succeeded in driving out the Brandenburgers and their supporters. However, the Order seized control over the territory they occupied, claiming Gdańsk for themselves. When Władysław refused to recognize this, the order besieged his garrison at Świecie and captured the castle.
The Teutonic Order had effectively seized control over Pomerelia under dubious circumstances, gaining the ire of neighboring principalities and leading the Poles to petition the Papacy to investigate the Order. This damaged the Order’s reputation and strained its resources, a loss which was only partially offset by the acquisition of the wealthy city of Gdańsk. A tentative relationship was established with the Hanseatic League, although disputes arose regarding the autonomy of the Teutonic Order’s Baltic cities as part of the Hansa. Upon Wenceslaus III’s consolidation as King of Poland, he disputed the Teutonic conquests and ultimately led Poland to war against them. Wenceslaus’ position as King of Bohemia was far more dangerous than the threat offered by Władysław, as Wenceslaus sought to cut off support to the Teutonic Order from Germany and seized numerous territories in Bohemia.
Lawsuits in the Papal court ruled in favor of Poland in their disputes against the Teutonic Order, and hoping to attract Bohemian support in the ongoing Western Schism, Gregory XI ordered harsh condemnation against the Order. Bohemia-Poland subsequently invaded and the Polish–Teutonic War of 1314–1320 proved highly costly for the Teutonic Order. The war saw the loss of Gdańsk and several other territories, but more importantly it bankrupted the Order’s territory, turned much of the German princes against them, and depleted their manpower significantly. Throughout the 1320s the Teutonic Order was forced to sell several territories in the Baltic to the Hanseatic League and other powers to pay their debts and rebuild their army. The feud with the Přemyslid dynasty proved particularly damaging for the Teutonic Order, especially as the Přemyslids came to inherit Brandenburg and later ascended to the imperial throne. Even after the separation of Bohemia and Poland, the new Polish regime united with another one of the Order’s enemies, Lithuania, and became a particularly dangerous foe to the south.

The relief force at the Siege of Marienburg is repulsed, 1340.
During the Polish–Teutonic War of 1336–1341, the nation faced rebellion internally and invasion from both Poland-Lithuania and the emerging Russian power of Novgorod, which ultimately led to the disintegration of the Teutonic state. After the Siege of Marienburg in 1340, the Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order was captured, leading to confusion among the order’s ranks. In this chaos the Polish seized control over Pomerelia and Samogitia, and in Prussia established a number of client states. With central authority deteriorating, several of the nation’s prominent cities or territories were seized upon by the German-led nobility or former Teutonic knights, who in the name of self preservation capitulated to the Polish and received recognition as Polish vassals. The Landmeister of Livland, Winrich von Kniprode, refused to accept Polish suzerainty, but he quickly found himself isolated from the rest of the former Teutonic Order.
Establishment[]
The remaining territory of the Teutonic Order in Prussia had surrendered in 1341 and had been recognized as a fief and protectorate of the Polish Kingdom. In accordance with the Treaty of Thorn, each Grand Master was obligated to swear allegiance to the Polish king within six months of taking the office, and any new territorial acquisition by the Teutonic Order was to also be incorporated into Poland. Subsequently the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order became a prince and advisor to the Polish king. Livonia had resisted Polish invasion and refused to submit to the puppet Grand Master, de facto breaking away from the Teutonic Order in 1341. Additionally, Livonia comprised its powerbase from the emerging nobility and merchant classes, which chafed at the Teutonic Order’s historic high taxation and poor representation. With support from these classes, Winrich declared the creation of a secular duchy recognized by Emperor Charles IV. The majority of the Teutonic Order’s remaining leaders and knights relented to this system, and in exchange became members of the nobility, while those that protested were few in number and defeated. In 1351 Winrich von Kniprode entered negotiations with the Polish, receiving recognition of Livonia’s independence in exchange for several concessions to the Polish.
Having been heavily damaged by the Polish war, Winrich sought to rebuild the nation by appealing to the German states in a manner similar to the Teutonic Order. He recruited knights, adventurers, and mercenaries from around Europe, attracted by the promise of land and “crusading”, and in time inherited most of the remaining knights of the Teutonic Order. In time this would evolve into a new nobility with vast estates concentrated in the hands of relatively small numbers, in what became known as the Junkers. Winrich also sought to incorporate his domain firmly in the landscape of the Holy Roman Empire and legitimize his state among the ancient aristocracy. To this end he spent handedly on endeavors to endear himself to the reigning House of Luxembourg and intermarry with other German principalities. He established a positive relationship with the Hanseatic League, who had a mutual interest in combating Poland-Lithuania.
These changes were not without resistance, and Livonia fought numerous civil wars throughout the period. Between 1296–1330 and 1313–1330 the region had seen two struggles for supremacy between the Church, the Teutonic Order, the secular German nobility, and the Hanseatic towns such as Riga. In 1343 the Saint George’s Night Uprising occurred, in which native Estonians revolted against German rule and were only narrowly crushed two years later. In response the Livonian Diet or Landtag was created at the initiative of the Archbishop of Riga, which sought to create a representative body for all the various parties within the Livonian state. By the end of the century Livonia was in a position to take a side in an ongoing war in Poland, which saw Poland and Lithuania temporarily separated. Livonia briefly allied with Poland under Louis of Anjou, but upon the defeat of the Anjous in 1409 this left Livonia in a poor position with their southern neighbors. Livonia also supported the creation or continued existence of autonomous fiefs in northern Poland such as Prussia and Courland, establishing close connections to them.

The Battle of Vistula Lagoon in 1423 was a decisive Livonian victory over the Polish-Lithuanian navy.
In 1411 the Prussian Confederation was formed as an alliance of Prussian cities, nobility, and clergy, which sought to undermine Polish authority in the region. The inclusion of Elbing and Danzig brought the Hanseatic League firmly on the side of the Confederacy, beginning the Thirteen Years’ War in 1418. Under James I of Livonia the nation saw great success on the side of the Prussian Confederacy, effectively liberating the majority of the former Teutonic state’s territory from Polish-Lithuanian control. Later James II would put down a minor rebellion of the Teutonic knights in 1428. The number of Teutonic knights in Prussia had been steadily depleted, and under James I the majority of those that remained sought to marry into the nobility and integrate into Livonian society. However, Cronberg’s Revolt saw 55 knights and their supporters attempt to overthrow Livonian authorities in Königsberg. After the revolt failed Walter von Cronberg fled to Germany and continued to lead the Teutonic Order there, retaining a claim to the Duchy of Livonia’s territory.
Přemyslid Era[]
In 1461 James II of Livonia died without a clear successor, with his closest male relative being Sigismund II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Duchy of Livonia was quickly claimed by the Emperor against a coalition of Polish-backed nobles. The inheritance greatly increased the power of the Přemyslid dynasty, who had only recently acquired the imperial throne in 1423, leading to a rival faction supported by the House of Lenzburg which temporarily succeeded in dislodging them with the election of Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor in 1472. Under Sigismund II the local nobility was kept intact, although an influx of Brandenburgers and Bohemians began. The Livonians would retain their own army, self governance and a provincial assembly, and substantial autonomy.
After the death of Sigismund II in 1470, the Duchy of Livonia was inherited by his son Henry, who later was elected Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor, and became known as “Henry the Great”. He further strengthened Livonia’s ties to the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, granting Livonia nobles prominent positions in his government. During a peasant revolt in Sambia after the Lenzburg-Premyslid War, catalyzed by rising taxes from the Landtag, the rebels claimed to be revolting against their local nobles and not against Henry himself. The peasants demanded to see the Emperor where they would swear allegiance to him. Henry traveled to Livonia and received the peasants’ demands, granting clemency to most but having the leaders executed.

Marek Ironside at the Battle of Mühlberg.
With Henry VIII’s growing empire becoming increasingly hard to manage, he promised to divide his realms among his children, and the personal union between Livonia and Bohemia ended. In Bohemia Ottokar, Holy Roman Emperor ascended, while Livonia fell to his younger brother Marek Ironside, who became known as “Marek Ironside”. Although Marek was the eleventh child of Henry VIII and considered unsuspecting and unimposing, he became one of the Empire’s greatest military commanders. After the Reformation, Marek remained Catholic and became the foremost Catholic leader on behalf of the Emperor, defeating Jungist rulers such as Hugh the Heir of Thuringia. To this end he modernized and expanded the Livonian army, and sought to dissuade conversion to Jungism. Later Dukes of Livonia would institute harsh inquisition, although Jungism was nonetheless appealing to large portions of the nobility.
In 1564 Duke Charles II was elected Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, which came after a turbulent election and year-long interregnum. The previous emperor, Henry X had controversially converted to Jungism in an effort to keep hold over Bohemia in the War of the Three Henrys, becoming the first Jungist emperor. The Catholic League had been organized as a united, militarized front against further Jungist emperors, and successfully deadlocked the electorate initially. Charles had been nominated by Henry X unexpectedly, but he soon became a logical compromise candidate. Although he was Catholic, he was highly moderate in comparison to the Catholic League and tolerant of both religions. He was now one of the few Catholic rulers among his family, and so had a vested interest in protecting Jungists as well to advance the position of Bohemia or France. As such, Charles V was elected and kept a careful balance that lasted until his death.
After his election as Emperor, Charles V and Livonia became involved in the Brothers' Quarrel, a series of disputes and feuds which weakened the Přemyslid dynasty. Charles ultimately managed to negotiate a peaceful resolution, but discontent remained. Upon Charles’ death in 1595 another contentious election began, which was unable to be resolved peacefully. Instead the electors became split along sectarian lines, with Catholics choosing to elect Frederick V, and Jungists choosing to elect Joktan. This would spark the outbreak of the Forty Years' War.
Footnotes[]
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