Livonian Brothers of the Sword

Origins

Bishop Albert of Riga and the Cistercian Theoderich founded the Brothers of the Sword in 1202 to provide a permanent army for the Livonian crusade, modelled on the Templars. Pope Innocent III approved it in 1204, and its knights wore a white mantle with a red sword and cross.

Rule and society

The Order's knight-brothers, mostly from Saxony and Westphalia, lived under a monastic rule and governed conquered land from castles such as Wenden (Cēsis) and Fellin. The bishop granted them a third of conquered territory. Under masters Wenno and Volquin they subdued the Livs, Latgalians and Estonians, often quarrelling with the bishops and with Denmark over the spoils.

Decline and legacy

In 1236 a crusade against Lithuania ended in disaster at the Battle of Saule, where Samogitians and Semigallians killed Master Volquin and about fifty brothers. The survivors were incorporated in 1237 into the Teutonic Order as its Livonian branch, the Livonian Order.