Livonian Confederation

Origins

Terra Mariana had long been divided among quarrelling powers. After the Livonian Order's crushing defeat by Lithuania at Wiłkomierz in 1435, the Order, the archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Dorpat, Ösel-Wiek and Courland, the vassal knighthoods and the towns agreed at Walk (Valga) to settle disputes peacefully and defend one another.

Rule and society

The confederation had no single ruler or treasury. Its main institution was the Landtag, a diet usually held at Walk or Wolmar, where the territorial lords and estates met to decide on war, peace, coinage and trade. The Livonian Order's master, especially Wolter von Plettenberg, was the leading military figure, and the Hanseatic towns of Riga, Reval and Dorpat had great weight.

Decline and legacy

Weakened by the Reformation and internal rivalries, the confederation could not withstand Ivan IV's invasion in 1558. Its members sought protection from Poland-Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark, and in 1561 it dissolved, giving way to the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, the Duchy of Livonia and the Swedish Duchy of Estonia (1561-1721).