Nameisis or Namejs (also Nameise, Nameyxe) was a Semigallian duke in the second half of the 13th century. He ruled in the western part of Semigallia , with his capital at Tērvete (present-day Latvia ). In 1279–81, he led a Semigallian uprising against the Livonian Order , a crusading military order . Very little is known about his life. He is mentioned only in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and in some documents from the 14th century. For this reason he is sometimes referred as semi legendary ruler in Latvian historiography .
16-595: Nameisis was mentioned for the first time in 1272 when he was one of Semigallian nobles who signed a peace treaty with the Livonian Order and the Archbishop of Riga . In 1279, after the crusader defeat in the Battle of Aizkraukle , Nameisis led a Semigallian revolt against the crusaders. Nameisis made an alliance with Traidenis , Grand Duke of Lithuania , recognizing him as his suzerain , and managed to defeat
32-706: Is no mention of Nameisis after that, it is presumed that he was killed there. Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order , formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation . The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) . They were incorporated into
48-572: The Battle of Święta (Wiłkomierz) on September 1, 1435, which claimed the lives of the master and several high-ranking knights, brought the order closer to its neighbors in Livonia . The Livonian Confederation agreement ( eiine fruntliche eyntracht ) was signed in Walk on December 4, 1435, by the Archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland , Dorpat , Ösel-Wiek and Reval ; the representatives of
64-564: The Brothers in 1557. After coming to an agreement with Sigismund II, Augustus and his representatives (especially Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł ), the last Livonian Master, Gotthard Kettler , secularized the order and converted to Lutheranism . In the southern part of the Brothers' lands he created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia for his family. Most of the remaining lands were seized by
80-603: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The north of Estonia was taken back by Denmark and Sweden . From the 14th to the 16th centuries, Middle Low German as spoken in the towns of the Hanseatic League was the established language, but was subsequently succeeded by High German as official language in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Livonian Master, like the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order,
96-552: The Livonian Order and vassals, and the deputies of Riga, Reval and Dorpat city municipal councils. During the Livonian War , however, the order suffered a decisive defeat by troops of Muscovite Russia in the Battle of Ergeme in 1560. The Livonian Order then sought protection from Sigismund II Augustus , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania , who had intervened in a war between Bishop William of Riga and
112-661: The Livonian Order tried to take the city of Novgorod . However, they were defeated by Alexander Nevsky in the Battle on the Ice . Fortresses as Paide in land ceded by Denmark in the Treaty of Stensby allowed the order to contain the threat of Russian troops. For that reason, the order focused on its southern borders and Semigallia . Semigallia was a strategic territory for the Livonian Order. Lithuanians passed through Semigallia to raid settlements in Livonia, and they took advantage of
128-554: The Livonian garrison in the Tērvete castle. In short time, Semigallians captured other castles and the crusaders were forced to leave Semigallia, except the Mežotne hillfort . In summer 1279, the crusaders made several attempts to conquer back their lost positions. They pillaged lands around Dobele and Tērvete but were unable to conquer the castles. In autumn 1280, Nameisis attacked Riga ,
144-637: The Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237. In the summer of that year, the Master of Prussia Hermann Balk rode into Riga to install his men as castle commanders and administrators of Livonia. In 1238, the Teutonic Knights of Livonia signed the Treaty of Stensby with the Kingdom of Denmark . Under this agreement, Denmark would support the expansion ambitions of the order in exchange for northern maritime Estonia . In 1242,
160-701: The help of the Lithuanians, were defeated. In the autumn, a united crusader army (about 14,000 men) attacked Tērvete with war machines. The Semigallians were unable to resist such a force and Nameisis signed a new peace treaty with the Livonian Order. According to the treaty, the Semigallians were forced to pay a tribute and accept German judges but kept their castles and lands. After the treaty, Nameisis went to Lithuania to fight crusaders in Christburg , East Prussia together with duke Traidenis. Since there
176-542: The history of Livonia, especially the decline of the Livonian Order and the period of the Livonian War (1558–83). The chronicle was first printed in Rostock in Mecklenburg in 1578 and quickly sold out. The revised edition was printed in 1584. In his work Russow was highly critical of the squander and immorality of the Livonian upper classes. He also complained about the superstitious beliefs and pagan traditions of
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#1732791978698192-529: The main crusader stronghold. The attack failed because the crusaders managed to summon a great force of their Latgalian allies and set up defensive positions in front of the city. However, the Semigallians managed to capture several prisoners, including order's marshal who was sent to duke Traidenis and eventually killed in Kernave . In 1281, the Livonian army again attacked the Dobele Castle but, with
208-541: The order bought the Duchy of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark . Life within the order's territory is described in the Chronicle of Balthasar Russow ( Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt ). 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 of Brandenburg in 1525, while the Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence. The Livonian Order's defeat in
224-617: The winter ice pack in the Gulf of Riga to reach Oesel Island. Also, this territory kept the Livonian Branch of the Teutonic Order separated from the Prussian Branch. Between 1237 and 1290, the Livonian Order conquered all of Courland , Livonia , and Semigallia . In 1298, Lithuanians took Karkus Castle north of Riga, and defeated the order in the Battle of Turaida , killing Livonian Land Master Bruno and 22 knights. In 1346,
240-3484: Was elected by his fellow knights for a life term. The grandmaster exercised supervisory powers and his advice was considered equal to a command. The grandmaster of Teutonic knights did not limit local autonomy, he rarely visited Livonia or sent ambassadors for oversight. ● Hermann Balk 1237–1238 ● Dietrich von Grüningen 1238–1242 ● Dietrich von Grüningen 1244–1246 ● Andreas von Stierland 1248–1253 ● Anno von Sangershausen 1253–1256 ● Burkhard von Hornhausen 1256–1260 ● Werner von Breithausen 1261–1263 ● Konrad von Mandern 1263–1266 ● Otto von Lutterberg 1266–1270 ● Walther von Nortecken 1270–1273 ● Ernst von Rassburg 1273–1279 ● Konrad von Feuchtwangen 1279–1281 ● Wilken von Endorp 1281–1287 ● Konrad von Herzogenstein 1288–1290 ● Halt von Hohembach –1293 ● Heinrich von Dinkelaghe 1295–1296 ● Bruno 1296–1298 ● Gottfried von Rogga 1298–1307 ● Gerhard van Joeck 1309–1322 ● Johannes Ungenade 1322–1324 ● Reimar Hane 1324–1328 ● Everhard von Monheim 1328–1340 ● Burchard von Dreileben 1340–1345 ● Goswin von Hercke 1345–1359 ● Arnold von Vietinghof 1359–1364 ● Wilhelm von Vrymersheim 1364–1385 ● Robin von Eltz 1385–1389 ● Wennemar Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1389–1401 ● Konrad von Vietinghof 1401–1413 ● Diderick Tork 1413–1415 ● Siegfried Lander von Spanheim 1415–1424 ● Zisse von Rutenberg 1424–1433 ● Franco Kerskorff 1433–1435 ● Heinrich von Bockenvorde 1435–1437 ● Heinrich Vinke von Overbergen 1438–1450 ● Johann Osthoff von Mengede 1450–1469 ● Johann Wolthuss von Herse 1470–1471 ● Bernd von der Borch 1471–1483 ● Johann Freytag von Loringhoven 1483–1494 ● Wolter von Plettenberg 1494–1535 ● Hermann Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1535–1549 ● Johann von der Recke 1549–1551 ● Heinrich von Galen 1551–1557 ● Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg 1557–1559 ● Godert (Gotthard) Kettler 1559–1561 Across modern territory of Estonia and Latvia Balthasar Russow Balthasar Russow (1536–1600)
256-738: Was one of the most important Livonian and Estonian chroniclers . Russow was born in Reval, Livonia (now Tallinn , Estonia ). He was educated at an academy in Stettin, Pomerania (now Szczecin , Poland ). He was the Lutheran pastor of the Estonian congregation at the Holy Spirit Church in Reval from 1566 until his death. Russow is most famous for his Low German -language chronicle Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt describing
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