Editing Livonia (section)

=== Livonian Order, the Bishoprics and Riga from 1237 until 1418 ===
{{Further|Livonian Order}}
[[File:Medieval Livonia 1260.svg|right|thumb|200px|[[Medieval Livonia]] ca. 1260.]]
The Livonian Order was a largely autonomous branch of the [[Teutonic Knights]] (or Teutonic Order) and a member of the [[Livonian Confederation]] from 1418 to 1561. After being defeated by [[History of Lithuania (1219–1295)|Lithuania]]n forces in the 1236 [[Battle of Saule]], the remnants of the [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]] were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights as the Livonian Order in 1237. Between 1237 and 1290, the Livonian Order conquered all of [[Courland]], Livonia, and [[Semigallia]], but their attack on northern Russia was repelled in the [[Battle of Wesenberg (1268)|Battle of Rakvere]] (1268). In 1346, after the [[St. George's Night Uprising]] the Order purchased the rest of [[Estonia]] from King [[Valdemar IV of Denmark]]. The ''[[Chronicle of Henry of Livonia]]'' and the ''[[Livonian Rhymed Chronicle]]'' describe conditions within the Order's territory. The Teutonic Order fell into decline following its defeat in the [[Battle of Grunwald]] in 1410 and the secularization of its Prussian territories by [[Albert, Duke of Prussia|Albert of Brandenburg]] in 1525, but the Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence.