Diocese of Courland

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The diocese of Courland existed from around 1234 to 1583 and, apart from Reval , was the smallest of the dioceses in the Livonian area.

In the state of the Teutonic Order

Ruins of the Piltene (Pilten) bishop's castle in Courland
Location of the diocese in the Teutonic Order

After the conquest of the northern part of Courland by the Teutonic Order , the papal legate Wilhelm von Modena divided the land of the diocese into three thirds in 1245, namely the Teutonic Order, the Bishop and the Cathedral Chapter . The diocese was incorporated into the church province of Riga in 1255 . The establishment of a cathedral chapter was first carried out by Bishop Edmund von Werth OT in 1290. It was - like the diocese - incorporated into the Teutonic Order , so only priest brothers of the order could belong to it. Its territory included Courland and consisted of three parts. Smaller urban centers developed only in Hasenpoth and Pilten . The cathedral chapter also moved to Hasenpoth in the 14th century, while the bishop resided at his castle in Pilten.

As part of Poland-Lithuania

The area ruled by the bishop did not become part of the Duchy of Courland in 1561 . Bishop Johann IV secularized the monastery between 1555 and 1560 and converted to Lutheranism . The last bishop of Courland, Magnus , died in 1583 without an heir. In 1585 Denmark renounced all legal claims for 30,000 thalers and Poland-Lithuania gained sovereignty. For lack of money, the Pilten district was pledged to Prussia until 1609 . From 1611 it was administered by Poland-Lithuania as part of the Duchy of Livonia , and from 1617 it was called the Catholic " Diocese of Pilten ". In 1656 the Duke of Courland bought the rulership rights over the Piltene district, which, however, retained a special legal status. In 1717 membership of Poland-Lithuania ( Livonia Voivodeship ) was enforced again before all of Courland became part of Russia in 1795.

See also

literature

  • Erwin Hertwich: The Courland Cathedral Chapter until 1561. Investigations into the personal composition of the chapter with regard to the origin and career of its bishops and canons . In: Radosław Biskup, Mario Glauert (ed.): The cathedral chapters of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and Livonia . Aschendorff, Münster 2004, ISBN 3-402-00541-7 , pp. 147-267.
  • Konstantin von Kurnatowski: Georg Friedrich Margrave of Brandenburg and the acquisition of the diocese of Courland. A contribution to the Courland history of the XVI. Century . Junge & Sohn, Erlangen 1903.
  • Gert von Pistohlkors : German history in Eastern Europe: Baltic countries . Siedler Verlag, Berlin, 2nd edition 2002, ISBN 3-88680-774-6 .
  • Jānis Turlajs: Latvijas vēstures atlants . Jāņa sēta, Riga 1998, ISBN 9984-07-122-7 , p. 16.

Footnotes

  1. Bogusław Dybas: pin Pilten or circle Pilten? A contribution to the denominational politics of Poland-Lithuania in Livonia in the 17th century . In: Joachim Bahlcke (ed.): Confessional plurality as a challenge. Coexistence and Conflict in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-86583-081-1 , pp. 507-520, here p. 516.