Editing History of Estonia (section)

==Terra Mariana==
{{Main|Terra Mariana}}
[[File:Narva Hermanni kindlus, 21. juuli 2011.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Hermann castle, Narva|[[Hermann Castle]], Narva, was one of the Teutonic Order's castles in Estonia.]]
In 1227 the Sword Brethren conquered the last indigenous stronghold on the Estonian island of [[Saaremaa]]. After the conquest, all the remaining local pagans of Estonia were ostensibly [[Christianity|Christianized]]. An ecclesiastical state [[Terra Mariana]] was established. The conquerors exercised control through a network of strategically located [[List of castles in Estonia|castles]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Harrison| first= Dick|title= Gud vill det! – Nordiska korsfarare under medeltid|year= 2005| publisher= Ordfront|language= sv| isbn= 978-91-7441-373-1|pages=573}}</ref>
[[File:Livland 15jh.png|thumb|Livonian Confederation in the 15th century]]
The territory was then divided between the [[Livonian Order|Livonian branch]] of the [[Teutonic Order]], the [[Bishopric of Dorpat]] (in Estonian: ''Tartu piiskopkond'') and the [[Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek]] (in Estonian: ''Saare-Lääne piiskopkond''). The northern part of Estonia – more exactly Harjumaa and Virumaa districts (in German: Harrien und Wierland) – was a nominal possession of [[Denmark]] until 1346. [[Tallinn]] (Reval) was given the [[Lübeck law|Lübeck Rights]] in 1248 and became the northernmost member city of the [[Hanseatic League]] at the end of the 13th century. In 1343, the people of northern Estonia and Saaremaa (Oesel) Island started a rebellion ([[St. George's Night Uprising]]) against the rule of their German-speaking landlords. The uprising was put down, and four elected Estonian "kings" were killed in [[Paide]] during peace negotiations in 1343. Vesse, the rebel King of Saaremaa, was hanged in 1344.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reuter |first=Timothy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOS1c0w91AcC&dq=Vesse+King+hanged+in+1344.&pg=PA719 |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 6, C.1300-c.1415 |date=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-36290-0 |language=en}}</ref> Despite the rebellions, and [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Muscovite]] invasions in 1481 and 1558, the [[Middle Low German]]-speaking minority established themselves as the dominating force in the society of Estonia, both as traders and the urban middle-class in the cities, and as landowners in the countryside, through a network of [[manorialism|manorial]] estates.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first= Mauno| editor1-last= Jokipii|title= Baltisk kultur och historia|year= 1992|language= sv| isbn= 91-34-51207-1|pages= 188| publisher= Bonniers}}</ref>

===The Reformation===
[[Protestant Reformation]], initiated in 1517 by [[Martin Luther]], spread rapidly to Estonia in the 1520s, with the name of Martin Luther officially mentioned for the first time at the Prelates' Conference at Ronneburg on July 28, 1521.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Laantee |first=Karl |date=1953 |title=The Beginning of the Reformation in Estonia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3161780 |journal=Church History |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=269–278 |doi=10.2307/3161780 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref> Early Estonian [[Lutheranism]] was most popular in larger towns with significant merchant classes,<ref name=":0" /> and soon contributed to the spread of literacy among the [[commoners]]. Many peasants were traditionalists and comfortable with [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] traditions, delaying the adoption of the new church;  despite this, after 1600, Swedish Lutheranism began to dominate the building, furnishing, and (modest) decoration of new churches. Church architecture was now designed to encourage congregational understanding of and involvement in the services. Pews and seats were installed for the common people to make listening to the sermon less of a burden, and altars often featured depictions of the [[Last Supper]], but images and statues of the [[list of saints|saints]] had disappeared.<ref>Krista Kodres, "Church and art in the First Century of the reformation in Estonia: Towards Lutheran orthodoxy," ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' (2003) 28#3 pp 187–203. online</ref> Church services were now given in the local vernacular, instead of [[Latin]], and the first books were printed in Estonian.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/reform.html| title=Protestant Reformation in the Baltic| last=Harrison| first=Rachelle| date=June 2000| publisher=[[University of Washington]]| access-date=2009-09-20| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903024306/http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/reform.html| archive-date=3 September 2009| df=dmy-all}}</ref>