Gotthard Kettler

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gotthard Kettler

Gotthard Kettler , also Ketteler (* 1517 possibly at Schloss Eggeringhausen near Mellrich , Westphalia ; †  May 17, 1587 in Mitau , Duchy of Courland and Semgallia , today Latvia ) was the last Landmeister of the Teutonic Order in Livonia from 1559 and first Duke of Courland and Semigallia .

Life

His father of the same name came from the Westphalian noble family Kettler zu Neu-Assen and Hovestadt , his mother was born from Nesselrode .

At the age of twenty, Kettler joined the Teutonic Order. In 1551 he became the conductor (asset manager) and joined the Lutheran doctrine. In 1554 he became Commander of Daugavpils , and in 1557 of Fellin . During the Livonian War he was elected coadjutor to Landmeister Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg . In the dispute as to which alliance would be more conducive to saving the order, he urged Fürstenberg, who wanted to maintain the alliance with Sweden, to abdicate and became landmaster himself. In the same year he negotiated an alliance treaty with the Polish King Sigismund II August in Krakow, according to which Poland should take over the protection of the order against Russia against the cession of territory on the Daugava and the pledging of important castles . Despite this, the Order lost large parts of its land and its troops to Ivan the Terrible in 1560 . Fürstenberg was also taken prisoner by Russia. The religious state collapsed and was dissolved on March 5, 1562.

After the division of Livonia Kettler was on 28 November 1561 by Poland in the Treaty of Vilnius with the raised to the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia invested . On the same day that he resigned his position as Landmeister of the Teutonic Order, he took the feudal oath. He received Mitau as his residence and had to allow the former vassals of the order to receive a considerable increase in power as co-ruling classes . As a Polish vassal, Livonia had some protection, but it was a relatively weak object of the great powers' desires. In the years that followed, Kettler fought successfully for independence, but in vain for the expansion of his tiny empire. He organized this on the model of Prussia and hired German lawyers as administrative officials. In 1570 he carried out the Reformation . He promoted the building of churches and the printing of a Latvian worship manual and brought numerous Lutheran preachers into the country. He also expanded the school system and poor relief.

Gotthard Kettler died on May 17, 1587 in Mitau. His descendants ruled Courland until 1737.

Marriage and offspring

Kettler had been married to Anna, daughter of Duke Albrecht VII of Mecklenburg , since March 11, 1566 . He had seven children with her, three of whom died early. His sons Friedrich Kettler and Wilhelm Kettler succeeded him as dukes. The daughter Anna Kettler married the Lithuanian prince Albrecht Radziwiłł, the son of Mikołaj Radziwiłł Czarny , the daughter Elisabeth Kettler married the duke Adam Wenzel von Teschen .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ August Seraphim : The history of the Duchy of Courland , 1904, p. 5.
predecessor Office successor
Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg Landmaster in Livonia of the Teutonic Order
1559–1561 		---
--- Duke of Courland
1561–1587 		Friedrich Kettler
personal data
SURNAME Kettler, Gotthard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gotthard from Ketteler
BRIEF DESCRIPTION last Master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia and first Duke of Courland and Semgallia
DATE OF BIRTH 1517
PLACE OF BIRTH uncertain: Eggeringhausen Castle , Soest , Westphalia
DATE OF DEATH May 17, 1587
Place of death Mitau