Editing Livonia (section)

=== Livonian Crusade and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (1198–1229) ===
{{main|Livonian Brothers of the Sword}}
The ''[[Livonian Chronicle of Henry]]'' from the 1220s gives a firsthand account of the Christianization of Livonia, granted as a [[fief]] by the [[Hohenstaufen]] (''de facto'' but not known as) the King of Germany, [[Philip of Swabia]] ({{reign|1198|1208}}), to Bishop [[Albert of Riga]] (Albert of Buxhoeveden), nephew of [[Hartwig of Uthlede|Hartwig II]], the [[Archbishop of Bremen]], who sailed (1200) with a convoy of ships filled with armed crusaders to carve out a Catholic territory in the east as part of the [[Livonian Crusade]]. Bishop Albert founded the [[Military order (society)|military order]] of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword ({{langx|la|Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae}}, {{langx|de|link=no|Schwertbrüderorden}}) in 1202; [[Pope Innocent III]] sanctioned the establishment in 1204. Albert did so in order to aid the [[Bishopric of Riga]] in the conversion of the [[paganism|pagan]] [[Curonians]], [[Livonian people|Livonians]], [[Semigallians]], and [[Latgalians]] living on the shores of the [[Gulf of Riga]]. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior [[monk]]s". Alternative names of the order include the Christ Knights, Sword Brethren, and the Militia of Christ of Livonia. From its foundation, the undisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed [[vassal]]age to the bishops. In 1215, Albert ordered the construction of a cathedral in [[Riga]]. In 1218, he asked King [[Valdemar II of Denmark]] for assistance, but Valdemar instead arranged a deal with the Brotherhood and conquered the [[Danish Estonia|north of Estonia]] for Denmark. The Brotherhood had its headquarters at [[Viljandi|Fellin (Viljandi)]] in present-day [[Estonia]], where the walls of the Master's castle {{As of|2008|alt= still}} stand. Other strongholds included [[Cēsis|Wenden (Cēsis)]], [[Sigulda|Segewold (Sigulda)]] and [[Aizkraukle|Ascheraden (Aizkraukle)]]. The commanders of Fellin, [[Kuldīga|Goldingen (Kuldīga)]], [[Alūksne|Marienburg (Alūksne)]], [[Tallinn|Reval (Tallinn)]], and the [[bailiff]] of [[Paide|Weißenstein (Paide)]] belonged to the five-member entourage of the Order's Master.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

[[Pope Gregory IX]] asked the Brothers to defend [[Finland]] from [[Finnish-Novgorodian Wars|Novgorodian attacks]] in his letter of 24 November 1232;<ref>
{{cite web|url= http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 |title= Letter by Pope Gregory IX |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070814083933/http://193.184.161.234/DF/detail.php?id=80 |archive-date= 14 August 2007}}. In Latin. Hosted by the [http://www.narc.fi National Archive of Finland]. See {{cite web|url= http://www.narc.fi/Arkistolaitos/sahkoiset/ |title= Arkistolaitos – Sähköiset palvelut |access-date= 29 May 2007 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070608003759/http://www.narc.fi/Arkistolaitos/sahkoiset/ |archive-date= 8 June 2007}} and ''Diplomatarium Fennicum'' from the menu.
</ref> however, no known information regarding the knights' possible activities in Finland has survived. ([[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] eventually took over Finland after the [[Second Swedish Crusade]] in 1249.) In the Battle of Saule in 1236 the [[Lithuanians]] and [[Semigallians]] decimated the Order. This disaster led the surviving Brothers to become incorporated into the Order of [[Teutonic Knights]] in the following year, and from that point on they became known as the [[Livonian Order]]. They continued, however, to function in all respects ([[monastic rule|rule]], clothing and policy) as an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, headed by their own Master (himself ''de jure'' subject to the Teutonic Order's [[Hochmeister|Grand Master]]).{{cn|date=November 2024}}