Difference between revisions of "Livonian Confederation" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox Military Conflict
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{{Infobox Former Country
|conflict = Hussite Wars
+
|native_name = <!--- Name in native language(s), in italics. --->
|partof =
+
|conventional_long_name = Livonian Confederation
|date = [[July 30]] [[1419]] [[May 30]] [[1434]]
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|common_name = Livonian Confederation
|place = [[Central Europe]], mostly in [[Bohemia]]
+
|
|casus = [[First Defenestration of Prague]] ([[30 July]]), burning of [[John Huss]] in 1415
+
|continent = Europe | region = Baltic | country = [[Estonia]] and [[Lativa]]
|result = Defeat of radical Hussites, [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor]] becomes [[King of Bohemia]]
+
|era      = Middle Ages
|combatant1 = [[Hussites]] 1419-1423, [[Radical Hussites]] (Taborites and Orebites) 1423-1434
+
|status    = Confederation | empire=Holy Roman Empire
|combatant2 = [[Holy Roman Empire]], Royalists, [[Pope]], moderated Hussites ([[Utraquists]])
+
|status_text= [[Confederation]] of [[ecclesiastic]] states
|commander1 = '''[[Jan Žižka]]''', '''[[Prokop the Great]]''', [[Jan Roháč z Dubé|John Horn-Beetle of Dubé]], [[Prokop the Lesser]], [[Jan Čapek of Sány]], [[Sigismund Korybut]], [[Hynek Krušina]]
+
|
|commander2 = '''[[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor]]''' (Crusaders); [[Diviš Bořek of Miletínek]] (Utraquist), [[Čeněk from Wartenberg]], [[Bohuslav of Svamberg]], [[Peter of Sternberg]], [[Henry of Hradec]] (Bohemian Catholics)
+
|year_start  = 1228
 
+
|year_end    = 1560
 +
|
 +
|event_pre  = Conquest of Estonia
 +
|date_pre    = [[1208]][[1227|27]]
 +
|event_start = <!--- Default: "Established" --->
 +
|date_start  = <!--- Optional: Date of establishment --->
 +
|event1      = [[Reval]] ([[Tallinn]]) gains [[Lübeck law|Lübeck Rights]]
 +
|date_event1 = 1248
 +
|event2      = Reval joins [[Hanseatic League]]
 +
|date_event2 = late [[13th century]]
 +
|event3      = [[St. George's Night Uprising]]
 +
|date_event3 = [[1343]][[1344|44]]
 +
|event3      = [[Landtag]] formed
 +
|date_event3 = 1419
 +
|event4      = Livonian War
 +
|date_event4 = [[1558]][[1582|82]]
 +
|event_end  = Wilno Pact
 +
|date_end    = <!--- Optional: Date of disestablishment --->
 +
|event_post  = Kingdom of Livonia
 +
|date_post  = [[1570]][[1578|78]]
 +
|
 +
|p1          = Ancient Estonia
 +
|image_p1    = [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px]]
 +
|s1          = Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
 +
|image_s1    = [[Image:Kurlandia.JPG|20px]]
 +
|s2          = Duchy of Livonia
 +
|image_s2    =[[Image:Coat of arms of Lithuania.png|20px]]
 +
|
 +
|image_coat  = Baltic coat of arms.gif
 +
|image_map  = Confederation of Livonia 1260.svg
 +
|
 +
|capital    = [[Walk, Livonia|Walk]]
 +
|latd=56 |latm=49 |latNS=N |longd=24 |longm=30 |longEW=E
 +
|
 +
|common_languages = Low German
 +
|religion        = Roman Catholicism
 +
|
 +
|legislature  = Landtag
 
}}
 
}}
{{Crusade}}
+
The '''Livonian Confederation'''  was a loosely organized confederation in present day
{{Campaignbox Hussite Wars}}
+
[[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]] ruled by the [[Teutonic knights|Order of Teutonic Knights of Livonia]] and which existed from [[1228]] to the [[1560s]]. It contained five small states: the [[Livonian Order]], [[Archbishopric of Riga]], [[Bishopric of Dorpat]], [[Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek]], and [[Bishopric of Courland]].  
{{reformation}}
 
The '''Hussite Wars''', also called the '''Bohemian Wars''' involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of [[Jan Hus]] in [[Bohemia]] in the period 1420 to ''circa'' 1434. The Hussite Wars were arguably the first European war in which hand-held [[gunpowder]] weapons such as [[musket]]s made a decisive contribution. The [[Hussite]] warriors were basically [[infantry]], and their many defeats of larger armies with heavily armoured knights helped effect the infantry revolution. In the end, it was an inconclusive war.
 
 
 
===Origins===
 
 
 
The Hussite movement assumed a revolutionary character as soon as the news of the execution of [[Jan Hus]] by order of the [[Council of Constance]] ([[6 July]] [[1415]]) reached [[Prague]].  The knights and nobles of [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]], who were in favour of church reform, sent a protest to the Council of Constance on ([[2 September]] [[1415]]), known as the ''protestatio Bohemorum'', which condemned the execution of Hus in the strongest language.  The attitude of [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor]], who sent threatening letters to Bohemia declaring that he would shortly drown all [[John Wyclif|Wycliffites]] and Hussites, greatly incensed the people.
 
 
 
Troubles broke out in various parts of Bohemia, and drove many Catholic priests from their parishes.  Almost from the first the Hussites divided into two groups, though many minor divisions also arose among them.  Shortly before his death Hus had accepted a doctrine preached during his absence by his adherents at Prague, namely that of [[Utraquism]], or the obligation of the faithful to receive communion in both kinds (''sub utraque specie'').  This doctrine became the watchword of the moderate Hussites known as the [[Utraquists]] or Calixtines, from the [[Latin]] ''calix'' (the chalice), in [[Czech language|Czech]] ''kališníci'' (from ''kalich''); while the more extreme Hussites soon became known as the [[Taborites]] (''táborité''), named after the city of [[Tábor]] that became their centre; or Orphans (''sirotci'') a name they adopted after the death of their beloved leader and general [[Jan Žižka]].
 
 
 
Under the influence of his brother Sigismund, King [[Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor|Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia]] endeavored to stem the Hussite movement.  A certain number of Hussites led by [[Nicolas of Hus]] &mdash; no relation of Jan Hus, though of the same town &mdash; left Prague.  They held meetings in various parts of Bohemia, particularly at Sezimovo Ústí (not to be confused with [[Ústí]] nad Labem), near the spot where the town of [[Tábor]] was founded soon afterwards.  At these meetings they violently denounced Sigismund, and the people everywhere prepared for war.
 
 
 
In spite of the departure of many prominent Hussites the troubles at Prague continued. On [[30 July]] [[1419]], when a Hussite procession headed by the priest [[Jan Želivský]] marched through the streets of Prague, anti-Hussites threw stones at the Hussites from the windows of the [[New Town Hall, Prague|town-hall of the ‘new town’]].  The people, headed by [[Jan Žižka]], threw the burgomaster and several town-councillors, who had instigated this outrage, from the windows (the first "[[Defenestrations of Prague|Defenestration of Prague]]"), whereupon the crowd killed them immediately.  King Wenceslaus died of natural causes a few days afterwards ([[16 August]] [[1419]]).
 
 
 
===The outbreak of fighting===
 
[[Image:Hussite Wars.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hussite War Wagons and Hand Cannoneers]]
 
[[Image:Wagonformation.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hussite War Wagons]]
 
 
 
The death of the king resulted in renewed troubles in Prague and in almost all parts of Bohemia.  Many Catholics, mostly Germans &mdash; for they had almost all remained faithful to the papal cause &mdash; suffered expulsion from the Bohemian cities.  In Prague, in November 1419, severe fighting took place between the Hussites and the mercenaries whom Queen Sophia (widow of Wenceslaus and regent after the death of her husband) had hurriedly collected. After a considerable part of the city had been destroyed, the parties declared a truce on [[13 November]]. The nobles, who though favourable to the Hussite cause supported the regent, promised to act as mediators with Sigismund, while the citizens of Prague consented to restore to the royal forces the castle of [[Vyšehrad]], which had fallen into their hands. Žižka, who disapproved of this compromise, left Prague and retired to [[Plzeň]]. Unable to maintain himself there he marched to southern Bohemia, and after defeating the Catholics at the [[battle of Sudoměř]] ([[25 March]] [[1420]]) in the first pitched battle of the Hussite wars, he arrived at Usti, one of the earliest meeting-places of the Hussites. Not considering its situation sufficiently strong, he moved to the neighbouring new settlement of the Hussites, called by the biblical name of [[Tábor]].
 
 
 
Tabor soon became the centre of the advanced Hussites, who differed from the Utraquists by recognizing only two sacraments - [[Baptism]] and [[Eucharist|Communion]] - and by rejecting most of the ceremony of the Roman Catholic Church. The ecclesiastical organization of Tabor had a somewhat puritanical character, and the government was established on a thoroughly democratic basis. Four captains of the people (''hejtmané'') were elected, one of whom was Žižka; and a very strictly military discipline was instituted.
 
 
 
===Wagenburg tactics===
 
{{main|Wagenburg}}
 
 
 
Depending on the terrain, Hussites prepared carts for the battle, forming them into squares or circles. The carts were joined wheel to wheel by chains and positioned aslant, with their corners attached to each other, so that horses could be harnessed to them quickly, if necessary. In front of this wall of carts a [[ditch]] was dug by camp followers. The crew of each cart consisted of 16-22 [[soldiers]]: 4-8 [[crossbow]]men, 2 [[handgun]]ners, 6-8 soldiers equipped with [[Pike (weapon)|pikes]] or [[flail (weapon)|flails]] (the flail was the Hussite "national weapon"), 2 shield carriers and 2 drivers.
 
 
 
The Hussites' battle consisted of two stages, the first defensive, the second an offensive counterattack. In the first stage the army placed the carts near the enemy army and by means of artillery fire provoked the enemy into battle. The artillery would usually inflict heavy casualties at close range.
 
 
 
In order to avoid more losses, the enemy knights finally attacked. Then the infantry hidden behind the carts used firearms and crossbows to ward off the attack, weakening the enemy. The shooters aimed first at the horses, depriving the cavalry of its main advantage. Many of the knights died as their horses were shot and they fell.
 
 
 
As soon as the enemy's morale was lowered, the second stage, an offensive counterattack, began. The infantry and the cavalry burst out from behind the carts striking violently at the enemy - mostly from the flanks. While fighting on the flanks and being shelled from the carts the enemy was not able to put up much resistance.  They were forced to withdraw, leaving behind dismounted knights in heavy armor who were unable to escape the battlefield.  The enemy armies suffered heavy losses and the Hussites soon had the reputation of not taking captives.
 
 
 
===The first anti-Hussite crusade===
 
After the death of his childless brother Wenceslaus, Sigismund had acquired a claim on the Bohemian crown, though it was then, and remained till much later, in question whether Bohemia was an hereditary or an elective monarchy. A firm adherent of the Church of Rome, Sigismund was successful in obtaining aid from [[Pope Martin V]], who issued a bill on [[17 March]] [[1420]] which proclaimed a [[crusade]] “for the destruction of the Wycliffites, Hussites and all other [[heresy|heretic]]s in Bohemia". Sigismund and many German princes arrived before [[Prague]] on [[30 June]] at the head of a vast army of crusaders from all parts of [[Europe]], largely consisting of adventurers attracted by the hope of pillage. They immediately began a siege of the city, which had, however, soon to be abandoned. Negotiations took place for a settlement of the religious differences. The united Hussites formulated their demands in a statement known as the “[[Hussite#The Four Articles of Prague|Four Articles of Prague]]". This document, the most important of the Hussite period, ran, in the wording of the contemporary chronicler, [[Laurence of Brezova]], as follows:
 
 
 
:"1. The word of God shall be preached and made known in the kingdom of Bohemia freely and in an orderly manner by the priests of the Lord.
 
 
 
:2. The sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist shall be freely administered in the two kinds, that is bread and wine, to all the faithful in Christ who are not precluded by mortal sin - according to the word and disposition of Our Saviour.
 
 
 
:3. The secular power over riches and worldly goods which the clergy possesses in contradiction to Christ’s precept, to the prejudice of its office and to the detriment of the secular arm, shall be taken and withdrawn from it, and the clergy itself shall be brought back to the evangelical rule and an apostolic life such as that which Christ and his apostles led.
 
 
 
:4. All mortal sins, and in particular all public and other disorders, which are contrary to God’s law shall in every rank of life be duly and judiciously prohibited and destroyed by those whose office it is." {{Fact|date=May 2008}}
 
 
 
These articles, which contain the essence of the Hussite doctrine, were rejected by Sigismund, mainly through the influence of the [[papal legate]]s, who considered them prejudicial to the authority of the Roman see. Hostilities therefore continued. Though Sigismund had retired from Prague, the castles of [[Vysehrad]] and [[Hradcany]] remained in possession of his troops. The citizens of Prague laid siege to the Vysehrad (see [[Battle of Vysehrad]]), and towards the end of October (1420) the garrison was on the point of capitulating through [[famine]]. Sigismund attempted to relieve the fortress, but was decisively defeated by the Hussites on [[1 November]] near the village of [[Pankrác]]. The castles of Vysehrad and Hradcany now capitulated, and shortly afterwards almost all Bohemia fell into the hands of the Hussites.
 
 
 
===The second anti-Hussite crusade===
 
 
 
Internal troubles prevented the followers of Hus from fully capitalising on their victory. At Prague a demagogue, the priest [[Jan Zelivsky]], for a time obtained almost unlimited authority over the lower classes of the townsmen; and at Tabor a religious communistic movement (that of the so-called Adamites) was sternly suppressed by Žižka. Shortly afterwards a new crusade against the Hussites was undertaken. A large German army entered Bohemia and in August 1421 laid siege to the town of [[Zatec]]. After an unsuccessful attempt of storming the city, the crusaders retreated somewhat ingloriously on hearing that the Hussite troops were approaching. Sigismund only arrived in Bohemia at the end of the year 1421. He took possession of the town of [[Kutná Hora]] but was decisively defeated by [[Jan Žižka]] at the [[battle of Nemecky Brod]] (Deutschbrod) on [[6 January]] [[1422]].
 
 
 
===Civil war===
 
 
 
Bohemia was for a time free from foreign intervention, but internal discord again broke out, caused partly by theological strife and partly by the ambition of agitators. Jan Želivský was on [[9 March]] [[1422]] arrested by the town council of Prague and decapitated. There were troubles at Tábor also, where a more advanced party opposed Žižka's authority. Bohemia obtained a temporary respite when, in 1422, Prince [[Sigismund Korybut]] of Lithuania (nephew of King [[Władysław II Jagiełło]] of Poland) briefly became ruler of the country. He was a governor sent by the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]], [[Vytautas]], who accepted the Hussite proposal to be their new king. His authority was recognized by the Utraquist nobles, the citizens of Prague, and the more moderate Taborites. Sigismund Korybut, however, remained a short time in Bohemia, as in 1423 he was called to come back to [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]], after Jagiello had made a treaty with Sigismund. On his departure, [[civil war]] broke out, the Taborites opposing in arms the more moderate Utraquists, who at this period are also called by the chroniclers the "Praguers", as Prague was their principal stronghold. On [[27 April]] [[1423]], Žižka now again leading, the Taborites defeated the Utraquist army under [[Čeněk of Wartenberg]] at the [[battle of Horic]]; and shortly afterwards an armistice was concluded at [[Konopilt]].
 
 
 
===The third anti-Hussite crusade===
 
 
 
Papal influence had meanwhile succeeded in calling forth a new crusade against Bohemia, but it resulted in complete failure. In spite of the endeavours of their rulers, Poles and Lithuanians did not wish to attack the kindred Czechs; the [[German people|Germans]] were prevented by internal discord from taking joint action against the Hussites; and the King of [[Denmark]], who had landed in Germany with a large force intending to take part in the crusade, soon returned to his own country. Free for a time from foreign aggression, the Hussites invaded Moravia, where a large part of the population favoured their creed; but, paralysed again by dissensions, they soon returned to Bohemia. The city of [[Hradec Králové]], which had been under Utraquist rule, espoused the doctrine of Tabor, and called Žižka to its aid. After several military successes gained by Žižka in 1423 and the following year, a treaty of peace between the Hussites was concluded on [[13 September]] [[1424]] at Liben, a village near Prague, now part of that city.
 
 
 
===Campaigns of 1426 and 1427===
 
 
 
In 1426 the Hussites were again attacked by foreign enemies. In June of that year their forces, led by [[Prokop the Great]] - who took the command of the Taborites shortly after Žižka's death in October 1424 - and Sigismund Korybut, who had returned to Bohemia, signally defeated the Germans at [[Usti nad Labem]]. After this great victory, and another at the [[Battle of Tachov]] in 1427, the Hussites repeatedly invaded Germany, though they made no attempt to occupy permanently any part of the country.
 
 
 
===Polish and Lithuanian involvement===
 
 
 
From 1421 to 1427 the Hussites  received military support from the Poles. Poland, though a devoutly Catholic nation, was supporting the Hussites on non-religious grounds. Poland's motive was revenge against Germany for the [[Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War (1409-1411)]]. Because of this, Jan Žižka arranged for the crown of Bohemia to be offered to [[Jagiello]],  the King of Poland, who, under pressure from his own advisors, refused it. The crown was then offered to Grand Duke [[Vytautas of Lithuania]] and Vytautas accepted it, with the condition that the Hussites reunite with the Catholic Church. In 1422, Žižka accepted the Polish king's nephew, [[Sigismund Korybut]], as regent of Bohemia for Vytautas. Korybut never managed to return the Hussites to the Catholic Church; and he even had to resort to force of arms when dealing with the various factions. Korybut did not tolerate the Protestant rebels breaking their promise of reuniting with the Catholic Church. On a few occasions, he even fought against both the [[Taborites]] and the [[Oreborites]] to try to force them into reuniting. Large scale Polish involvement was ended in 1427 when Korybut was arrested by the Hussites after Polish plans to hand over the Hussite forces to Emperor Sigismund were discovered. The Poles, however, did not really want to withdraw; the only reason they did is because the Pope planned to call a crusade against Poland if they did not.
 
 
 
===Beautiful rides===
 
 
 
''Spanilé jízdy'', or beautiful rides, as the Hussites called them, were undertaken in many different foreign lands. Throughout the Hussite Wars, especially under the leadership of Prokop the Great, invasions were made into [[Silesia]], [[Saxony]], [[Hungary]], [[Lusatia]], and [[Meissen]]. Every raid that the Hussites carried out was against a country that had supplied the Germans with men during the anti-Hussite crusades. These raids were made to try to strike enough fear in these areas to make sure that they would not help out the Germans again. However, the raids did not have the desired effect; these countries kept supplying soldiers to the crusade against the Hussites. During [[Polish–Teutonic War (1431–1435)|yet another war]] between Poland and the [[Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights]], some Hussite raiders helped the Poles. In 1433, a Hussite army of 7000 fighting men marched through Neumark into Prussia and captured [[Dirschau]] on the [[Vistula River]]. They would eventually reach the mouth of the Vistula where it enters the [[Baltic Sea]] near [[Danzig]]. There, they performed a great victory celebration to show that nothing but the ocean could stop the Hussites. The Prussian historian [[Heinrich von Treitschke]] would later write that they had "greeted the sea with a wild Czech song about God's warriors, and filled their water bottles with brine in token that the Baltic once more obeyed the Slavs."
 
 
 
===Peace talks and renewed wars===
 
 
 
The almost uninterrupted series of victories of the Hussites now rendered vain all hope of subduing them by force of arms.  Moreover, the conspicuously democratic character of the Hussite movement caused the German princes, who were afraid that such views might extend to their own countries, to desire peace.  Many Hussites, particularly the Utraquist clergy, were also in favour of peace.  Negotiations for this purpose were to take place at the ecumenical [[Council of Basel|council]] which had been summoned to meet at [[Basel]] on [[3 March]] [[1431]].  The Roman See reluctantly consented to the presence of heretics at this council, but indignantly rejected the suggestion of the Hussites that members of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Church]], and representatives of all Christian creeds, should also be present.  Before definitely giving its consent to peace negotiations, the Roman Church determined on making a last effort to reduce the Hussites to subjection. On [[1 August]] [[1431]] a large army of crusaders under Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg, whom Cardinal Cesarini accompanied as papal legate, crossed the Bohemian border and on [[14 August]] the crusaders reached the town of Domažlice. Upon the arrival of the Hussite army reinforced with some 6000 Polish hussites and under the command of Prokop or — as the legend has it — upon seeing the Hussite banners and hearing their battle hymn "[[Kdož jsou Boží bojovníci]]" ("Ye Who are Warriors of God"), the crusaders immediately took to flight.
 
 
 
On [[15 October]] the members of the council, already assembled at Basel, issued a formal invitation to the Hussites to take part in its deliberations.  Prolonged negotiations ensued; but finally a Hussite embassy, led by Prokop and including [[John of Rokycan]], the Taborite bishop [[Nicolas of Pelhrimov]], the ‘English Hussite’ [[Peter Payne]] and many others, arrived at Basel on [[4 January]] [[1433]].  It was found impossible to reach an agreement.  Negotiations were not, however, broken off, and a change in the political situation of Bohemia finally resulted in a settlement.  In 1434 war again broke out between the Utraquists and the Taborites. On [[30 May]] of that year the Taborite army, led by Prokop the Great and [[Prokop the Lesser]], who both fell in the battle, was totally defeated and almost annihilated at [[battle of Lipany|Lipany]]. An end to the Polish Hussite movement in Poland would arrive as well: the Polish Hussites, often reinforced by their Czech Slav brethren, had been raiding there for years, and the royal Polish forces under [[Władysław III of Varna]] would defeat the Hussites at the [[Battle of Grotniki]], bringing the Hussite Wars to an end.
 
 
 
===Peace agreement===
 
 
 
The moderate party thus obtained the upper hand; and it formulated its demands in a document which was finally accepted by the Church of Rome in a slightly modified form, and which is known as ‘the compacts.’ The compacts, mainly founded on the articles of Prague, declare that:&mdash;
 
 
 
I. The Holy Sacrament is to be given freely in both kinds to all Christians in Bohemia and Moravia, and to those elsewhere who adhere to the faith of these two countries.
 
 
 
2. All mortal sins shall be punished and extirpated by those whose office it is so to do.
 
 
 
3. The word of God is to be freely and truthfully preached by the priests of the Lord, and by worthy deacons.
 
 
 
4. The priests in the time of the law of grace shall claim no ownership of worldly possessions.
 
 
 
On [[5 July]] [[1436]] the compacts were formally accepted and signed at [[Jihlava]], in Moravia, by King Sigismund, by the Hussite delegates, and by the representatives of the Roman Catholic Church. The last-named, however, refused to recognize as archbishop of Prague [[John of Rokycan]], who had been elected to that dignity by the estates of Bohemia.
 
 
 
===Aftermath===
 
 
 
The Utraquist creed, frequently varying in its details, continued to be that of the established church of Bohemia until all non-Catholic religious services were prohibited shortly after the [[Battle of the White Mountain]] in 1620. The Taborite party never recovered from its defeat at Lipan, and after the town of Tabor had been captured by [[George of Podebrady]] in 1452, Utraquist religious worship was established there. The [[Unity of the Brethren|Bohemian brethren]], whose intellectual originator was [[Peter Chelcicky|Petr Chelčický]] but whose actual founders were Brother Gregory, a nephew of Archbishop Rokycan, and Michael, curate of Zamberk, to a certain extent continued the Taborite traditions, and in the 15th and 16th centuries included most of the strongest opponents of Rome in Bohemia.
 
  
J. A. Komensky ([[Comenius]]), a member of the brotherhood, claimed for the members of his church that they were the genuine inheritors of the doctrines of Hus. After the beginning of the German Reformation many Utraquists adopted to a large extent the doctrines of [[Martin Luther]] and of [[John Calvin]]; and in 1567 obtained the repeal of the compacts, which no longer seemed sufficiently far-reaching. From the end of the 16th century the inheritors of the Hussite tradition in Bohemia were included in the more general name of "Protestants" borne by the adherents of the Reformation.
+
This division was created by [[Papal Legate]] [[William of Modena]] in [[1228]] as a compromise between the church and the powerful Livonian Order, both factions led by Germans, after the German knights had conquered and subdued the territories of several [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] [[tribe]]s: [[Finnic languages|Finnic]]-speaking [[Estonians]] and [[Livs]], and [[Baltic languages|Baltic]]-speaking [[Latgalians]], [[Selonians]], [[Semigallians]] and [[Curonians]]. In theory, one-third of the land was to be controlled by the Order and the remaining two-thirds by the church. But in reality, most of [[Livonia]]'s territory was controlled by the Order, and conflicts between the Order, the bishops, and the powerful [[Hanseatic]] cities were common throughout the existence of the Confederation. To solve internal disputes, the Livonian Diet or ''[[Landtag]]'' was formed in [[1419]]. The city of [[Walk, Livonia|Walk]] was chosen as the site of the Diet. The Diet was composed of members of the Livonian Order, Livonian Bishops, [[vassal]]s and city representatives.  
  
All histories of Bohemia devote a large amount of space to the Hussite movement. See:
+
All five states of the Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the [[Livonian War]] ([[1558]]–[[1582|82]]). The Livonian Order was dissolved by the [[Wilno Pact]] in [[1561]]. The following year, the Livonian Diet decided to ask protection from [[Sigismund II of Poland]] (Zygmunt II August) and the Grand Duke of [[Lithuania]]. With the end of government by the last Archbishop of Riga [[William of Brandenburg]], [[Riga]] became a [[Free Imperial City]] and the rest of the territory was split between the Lithuanian [[vassal state]]s [[Duchy of Courland and Semigallia]] and the [[Duchy of Livonia]].
*Count Lützow, ''Bohemia; an Historical Sketch'' (London, 1896)
 
*František Palacký, ''Geschichte von Bohmen''
 
*Bachmann, ''Geschichte Bohmens''
 
*L. Krummel, ''Geschichte der bohmischen Reformation'' (Gotha, 1866)
 
*L. Krummel, ''Utraquisten und Taboriten'' (Gotha, 187 i)
 
*Ernest Denis, ''Huss et la guerre des Hussites'' (Paris, 1878)
 
*H. Toman, ''Husitské válečnictví'' (Prague, 1898).
 
  
''Original text from [[1911 Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
+
[[Image:LIVONIAE NOVA DESCRIPTIO 1573-1578.jpg|thumb|310px|left|[[Livonia]] as shown on the map of 1573<br>of Joann Portantius]]
 +
<br style="clear: left;" />
  
== See also ==
+
==See also==
* [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church]]
+
* [[Kingdom of Livonia]]
 +
* [[Ikšķile|Üxküll (Ikšķile)]]
 +
* [[Northern Crusades]]
  
==Further reading==
+
{{History Timeline of Estonia}}
*Kaminsky, Howard. ''A History of the Hussite Revolution''. University of California Press, 1967. ISBN 978-1592446315 (paperback, 2004).
 
*Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Hussite Wars (1419–36)'', Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-665-8
 
  
==External links==
 
* [http://www.husmuzeum.cz/eng/default.htm] '''Hussite Museum in Tabor''' -(English Version)
 
* [http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_letter_march_23_1430.html Joan of Arc's Letter to the Hussites] ([[23 March]] [[1430]]) &mdash; In 1430, [[Joan of Arc]] dictated a letter threatening to lead a crusading army against the Hussites unless they returned to "the Catholic Faith and the original Light".  This link contains a translation of the letter plus notes and commentary.
 
* [http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=hussite_wars#section_2 Tactics of the Hussite Wars.]
 
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/matthaywood/main/Hussites.htm The Hussite Wars]
 
* [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_bohemian.html The Bohemian War (1420–1434)]
 
*[[Wikia:crusades:Main Page|The Crusades Wiki]]
 
  
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Revision as of 02:50, 6 August 2008

Livonian Confederation
Confederation of ecclesiastic states
Sin escudo.svg
1228 – 1560 20px
 
20px

Coat of arms of Livonian Confederation

Coat of arms

Capital Walk
Language(s) Low German
Religion Roman Catholicism
Political structure Confederation
Legislature Landtag
Historical era Middle Ages
 - Conquest of Estonia 1208–27
 - Established 1228
 - Reval (Tallinn) gains Lübeck Rights 1248
 - Reval joins Hanseatic League late 13th century
 - Landtag formed 1419
 - Livonian War 1558–82
 - Wilno Pact 1560
 - Kingdom of Livonia 1570–78

The Livonian Confederation was a loosely organized confederation in present day Estonia and Latvia ruled by the Order of Teutonic Knights of Livonia and which existed from 1228 to the 1560s. It contained five small states: the Livonian Order, Archbishopric of Riga, Bishopric of Dorpat, Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, and Bishopric of Courland.

This division was created by Papal Legate William of Modena in 1228 as a compromise between the church and the powerful Livonian Order, both factions led by Germans, after the German knights had conquered and subdued the territories of several indigenous tribes: Finnic-speaking Estonians and Livs, and Baltic-speaking Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians and Curonians. In theory, one-third of the land was to be controlled by the Order and the remaining two-thirds by the church. But in reality, most of Livonia's territory was controlled by the Order, and conflicts between the Order, the bishops, and the powerful Hanseatic cities were common throughout the existence of the Confederation. To solve internal disputes, the Livonian Diet or Landtag was formed in 1419. The city of Walk was chosen as the site of the Diet. The Diet was composed of members of the Livonian Order, Livonian Bishops, vassals and city representatives.

All five states of the Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the Livonian War (1558–82). The Livonian Order was dissolved by the Wilno Pact in 1561. The following year, the Livonian Diet decided to ask protection from Sigismund II of Poland (Zygmunt II August) and the Grand Duke of Lithuania. With the end of government by the last Archbishop of Riga William of Brandenburg, Riga became a Free Imperial City and the rest of the territory was split between the Lithuanian vassal states Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the Duchy of Livonia.

Livonia as shown on the map of 1573
of Joann Portantius


See also

  • Kingdom of Livonia
  • Üxküll (Ikšķile)
  • Northern Crusades

Template:History Timeline of Estonia


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de:Livländische Konföderation et:Vana-Liivimaa fr:Confédération Livonienne it:Confederazione della Livonia lv:Livonijas Konfederācija hu:Ó-Livónia nl:Lijflandse Confederatie pl:Konfederacja Inflancka pt:Confederação da Livônia ru:Ливонская конфедерация tr:Livonya Konfederasyonu

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