Curonian kings

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Coat of arms of the Lipaiken municipality (Turlavas pagasts) based on the historical model of the Curonian kings.
Position of up to 8 places of the Curonian kings, drawn in a section of Rücker's map from 1890
Plicken (Pliķuciems): On May 6, 1320, the master of the order Gerhard von Jork testified that Tontegode and his descendants were enfeoffed with 2 hooks of land at the confluence of the “rivus Zerenda” (Bach Jāmaņupe) into the “lacus Syp” (Lake Vilgale ).
Wilhelm Siegfried Stavenhagen: New album of Baltic views. With the drawing of the village "Kurschkönig" from 1861
Postcard from the beginning of the 20th century. shows "Curonian Kings" with a heraldic plaque.
Clothing of the Curonian Kings, 1839. Drawing (detail) by Friedrich Kruse.
Curonian queens, approx. 1810. Watercolor by R. Kalniņš after Otto Huhn.
This publication in "Das Inland" on November 8, 1854 shows the ukase of June 22, 1854 with the changes to the traditional rights of the Curonian kings.
Klete (granary) to the Dižgailis house in the village of Kurschkönig 1921. View from the north drawn by J. Biķis and detailed drawing of the door by H. Kundziņš. The log cabin has a porch with posts that the pitched roof of thatch carry.
Population census in the villages of the Curonian kings according to official sources from 1853: 343 inhabitants were counted as Curonian kings. 464 inhabitants were counted as “non-kings”, including 86 Germans, 252 Latvians and 126 Jews. [Misprint corrected]

Curonian kings is a name for the inhabitants of several villages in western Latvia , today's part of Kurland (Kurzeme). These are places between Goldingen (Kuldīga) and Hasenpoth (Aizpute). For many centuries, in some cases as early as the first half of the 14th century, its inhabitants had special privileges such as property rights, free hunting and exemption from taxes and recruitment. However, in 1854 they lost parts of these privileges. First the Curonian kings are mentioned in a loan document of the master of the order Gerdt von Jocke from 1320, later they are also called free farmers, in contrast to the serfs . In 1863 the number was 405. They spoke a Latvian dialect, claimed to be descended from prehistoric Curonian kings, and only married one another.

Origin of the designation

In modern Latvian, the word "ķēniņš" is synonymous with the German word "König". A document from 1230 shows the exchange of land for privileges between the order and King Lammechin (Lameiķis) of Courland. The term "Cursk konyngh" was first used in 1504 in the Low German feudal deeds. This gave rise to the ancient name “kuršu ķoniņi” in the Latvian language, which has since been used in this plural form for the descendants of the tenants.

Historical evidence

The participation of the Curonian kings in the battle of the order against the Russians is already described in the Livonian Histories of Johann Renner (1525–1583).

In his Livonian Histories , Johann Renner reports from the time of the Livonian War
page Original text translation
8th Van Curlandt. This landt has been its own koningkrike as Eestlandt and Livelandt and still a Curischen koningk, that is a buhr and foret the Boer fans in kriges tiden, is all complaining frig. From Courland. This country was a kingdom of its own like Estonia and Livonia and also has a Curonian king who is a peasant who wears the peasant flag in times of war and is free from all taxes.
15th Do bleven de lande special koninge, but is all tidt dar na in Curlandt a hoevet blew, which se the Curischen koning nomeden, and as de Dudesche order dat lant under itself, blef de Curische koning (so a look buhr something, averst but from oldem originate from) frig van aller schattinge, muste averst darjegen in kriges tiden the hermester follow with the curlanders and foerde de fane, inside there is a louwe, like the king's king in curlant wapen van oldings was here. The countries remain without kings, but there has remained a court in Courland for all time, which they called the Curonian King, and when the Teutonic Order subjugated the country, the Curonian King remained (who was a simple peasant, but still sprouted from an old trunk) free from all burdens, but had to follow the army master with the Kurlanders in times of war and carried the flag, in it stood a lion, which had been the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Kurland from ancient times.
266 October 22nd as the Russians ore casual between Dorpte and Nuggen had beaten, togen de Dutschen up and beat de fiende uth dem leger, dat orer vele bleven and all 2 Dudsche boys umbquemen. The Russians defend themselves, slogen the Curian king vam perde, de entlep with the fanen to bush and quam the other day healthy wedder int leger. Disse koning is a bur uth Curlandt, whose voroldern, do se heiden weren, were koninge to Curlandt; do averst de lande tom Christen enlivened, do hadde dat koningrike an end, but bleven de erven and nakomlinge frig van aller borden, wanen by Goldingen and het de overste huszvader nor de Curische koning, is fenrich aver de Curischen buren, wen krich before fold, dat wapen is a louwe. In the last krige by tiden Wolters van Plettenberch vormanede he den sulven der tidt koning, dat he manly and unprompted hero, then where he lopen wanted to plead, so he wanted to take em the louwen and set a hare against it in his coat of arms; so de sulve koning hedde very well. On October 22nd [1559] when the Russians had set up their camps between Dorpat ( Tartu ) and Nüggen ( Nõo ), the Germans moved here and beat the enemies out of the camp, so that many of them remained and only two German servants perished . The Russians defended themselves, knocked the Curonian king from his horse, who escaped with the flag into the bushes and the next day came back safe to the camp. This king is a peasant from Courland whose forefathers were kings of Courland when they were pagans; But when the country was forced to the Christian faith, the kingdom came to an end, but the heirs and descendants remained free of all burdens, live with Goldingen and the head of the house is still called the Curonian king, is an ensign over the Curonian peasants, if the War breaks out, the coat of arms is a lion. In the last war at the time of Wolter von Plettenberg, he warned the then king that he should keep himself manly and undaunted, because if he wanted to run and flee, he wanted to take the lion from him and put a hare on the coat of arms against it; after that the king had behaved very well.
The seven frequently cited places of the Curonian kings and the inhabitants
Coordinates German name today's Latvian name Family name / housefather Fief from the year Size [ha] in 1920 Individual farms after the division in 1929
22 ° 05'E 56 ° 53'N Dragons Dragūnciems Dragūns / Vidiņš 1501 444 7th
21 ° 47'E 56 ° 48'N Kalejzeem Kalējciems Kalējs / Šmits 1538 440 12
21 ° 45'E 56 ° 49'N Kurschkönig Ķoniņciems Penis 1439-1504 707 13
21 ° 47'E 56 ° 53'N Peck Pliķuciems Tontegode 1320 431 9
21 ° 53'E 57 ° 02'N Sausgallen Sausgaļciems Bartolts / Bergholz 1546 202 10
21 ° 46'E 56 ° 51'N Sea stools Ziemeļciems Šmēde / Šmēdiņš before 1500 273 6th
22 ° 01'E 55 ° 52'N Weesalgae Viesalgciems Tontegode 1333 356 9

As a rule, the Latvian landscape is populated with individual farmsteads. Central points are churches, manors and small towns. Villages like in Western Europe are the exception. Bielenstein therefore emphasizes: “The eight villages of the so-called Curonian kings (free farmers since ancient times) between Goldingen and Hasenpoth are remarkable, the largest of which has 13 farms; in total there are 42 courtyards. ”Various sources indicate between 5 and 8 of these“ free villages ”. In particular, the Kumberneek homestead near Schnepeln (in today's Snēpeles pagasts) is not always counted. If the somewhat remote places Draguhnen and Sausgallen are also not counted, the number of bees is 5. Possart counts 7 places. The residents of these villages received hereditary property rights and other privileges as early as 1318-1333 for the services rendered to the Teutonic Order . The reason for the privileges is her service in the order's army, with Draguhnen with the "fire-breathing weapon" (lat. Draco, draconis). Also Sacred groves in circles VARME and Turlava were under the influence of the Curonian Kings.

The rights of the Curonian kings date back to the time the area was conquered by the Order of the Brothers of the Swords . The first surviving documents must have been preceded by earlier loan letters because the existing documents are based on extensions of existing rights. The privileges were confirmed by later rulers up to the governor of the former Russian governorate of Courland . However, there were always voices who doubted the legitimacy of the privileges. The ukase of June 22, 1854 on the one hand confirmed the rights that had been inherited, but restricted them with regard to taxation and conscription. It was only when the independent Republic of Latvia was founded after the First World War that the term Curonian kings only had historical significance.

The Curonian kings had their own coins from 1597 to 1607: shillings made of billon and marks made of silver .

The free villages also had German and Jewish residents in the 19th century. The “royal” families were described by Bielenstein as having a Liv influence in language and customs .

There were free farmers in free villages or open farms in other regions of the Russian Governorate of Courland. With a few exceptions, however, they lost their privileges early on. The legal term of the free peasant appears for the first time in the Livonian Chronicle of Balthasar Russow from 1584 with the expression "Landfrye".

Other places of the Curonian kings and other passed farmers
Coordinates German name today's Latvian name comment
21 ° 51'E 56 ° 51'N Kumberneek Kumbri also Kumbernieks / Kumbri / Kammern: 8th place of the Curonian kings. (not to be confused with Kumbri in Saldus).
21 ° 46'E 56 ° 51'N Lipaiken Castle Hill Lipaiķu pilskalns Cult and burial place of the Curonian kings and 1 km north of "Elku birzs" (king's grove).
21 ° 46'E 56 ° 52'N Plickens Grove Pliķu elku birzs Sacred grove southeast of the abandoned Freidorf Pliķuciems near the exit of the Rīva River from Lake Vilgale
21 ° 46'E 56 ° 50'N King's Grove Ķoniņu elku birzs Sacred grove between Ķoniņciems and Ziemeļciems (preserved to this day and signposted)
22 ° 05'E 56 ° 52'N Elkewalke Elka valks Sacred grove at Vārmes mežniecība at the mouth of the Ēda in the Venta
22 ° 15'E 56 ° 52'N Wormen Vārme also Wormsate / Wormsahten: with the holy grove of the Curonian kings "from the pagan times".
21 ° 46'E 56 ° 51'N Lipaiken Lipaiķi also Lippaicken: today's Turlava with the church "Lipaiķu baznīca", which still contains two of the four coats of arms of the Curonian kings.
23 ° 18'E 56 ° 19'N Butkuhnen Butkūnai (lit.) Free village south of Bauska, which lost its privileges early on (now part of Lithuania).
22 ° 58'E 56 ° 57'N Bugull Brīvbūguļi Freigesinde near Tuckum, enfeoffed in 1396 and confirmed as Freigesinde in 1813.
22 ° 57'E 56 ° 57'N Muischneek Muižnieki also Mischeneek: Freigesinde near Tuckum, enfeoffed in 1394, fought for his privileges.

Cultic places from the Middle Ages

The settlement area of ​​the Curonian kings lies in the historical district of Bandowe (Bandava). Before Christianization by the Order of the Brothers of the Sword, castle hills with wooden buildings existed and were ruled by local rulers. These hills were used for the defense and cultic worship of the ancient gods. There were also sacred groves , which were strictly protected. The Latvian name of such a grove is svētbirzs , elka vieta , elka birzs or elka ( holy grove , place of deities , god's grove or deity ). Although the Christian church fought against the worship of ancient deities as idol worship , some of these places were maintained until the beginning of the 20th century. Kaspars Klaviņš shows that sacred groves were not only known in the sphere of influence of the Curonian kings. The Königsberg councilor Reinhold Lubenau (1556–1631) reported on his trip that took him from Königsberg to Riga at Christmas time 1585 to see the Curonian kings. He took up quarters in the jug of Kurschkönigen and witnessed the ceremonies in the nearby holy grove. "[...] because it was true on Christagk, they went to their holy forest to hunt, in which they otherwise cut no game all year round, nor cut a stick from it; whatever deer, deer and rabbits they caught there, they striped and roasted, put them on a long table and a heap of waxes glued around the table in front of their parents, grandparents, children and relatives and then standing up and down, eaten and drunk, compelled us to do so too; afterwards brought a single beer keg, hit it with two clubs, and man and woman danced around the table, both the children who fought all night [...] "

Historical coats of arms of the Curonian kings

  • Lipaiķi church with stained glass Ziemeļciems and Kalējciems .

  • Stained glass in the Lippaiken church from 1664 with the coat of arms of the free village of Kalējciems

  • Coat of arms of the village Ziemeļciems of the “Curonian kings” from 1664 in a window of the Lipaiķi church.

  • Coat of arms of the village of Ziemeļciems. Drawing by the Lipaik pastor W. Eschen from 1887.

  • Seal imprint of the "Curonian King" Peniķis on a seal of the village Ķoniņciems.

  • Seal of the free village Ķoniņciems (Kurschkönig) with coat of arms (mirror-inverted)

  • Seal impression with hammers and anvil in the coat of arms of the village Kalējciems (smithy) of the "Curonian kings".

  • Seal imprint based on newer models in the coat of arms of the village Dragūnciems (Draguhnen) of the "Curonian kings".

  • Seal of the open village Sausgaļciems (Sausgallen) with coat of arms and post horn (mirrored)

  • Seal of the free village of Sausgallen (Sausgaļciems) with post horn

  • Seal of the free village Viesalgciems (Weesalgen) with coat of arms and order cross (mirror-inverted)

Curonian kings after the First World War

After the establishment of the independent state of Latvia, an agrarian reform came into force that initially did not affect the Curonian kings. In contrast to the German landlords, they were allowed to continue to operate largely unmolested. It was not until 1929 that the Saeima passed a law on the division into individual farms, which also repealed the historical peculiarities of the Curonian kings. The law came into force on May 4, 1929 and it took until 1933 to implement it. With that, 600 years of privilege came to an end.

Passed pawns in politics

The Curonian kings were comparable to the German-speaking feudal recipients because of their land holdings and privileges . However, due to their isolation in the villages and their marriages in their own circles, they remained excluded from the political organs. In contrast, some other freelance farmers succeeded in gaining access to the nobility and knighthood through German-speaking education and marriage into the neighboring estates.

Muntis Auns lists two families of passed farmers who converted to the nobility ("dižciltība"):

  • Ansis Gailis (Hans Gayl or Hahn) from Tukums , who has been mentioned in a document since 1494, is the progenitor of a number of noble Polish and Prussian officers. Wilhelm von Gayl (1879–1945), who was German interior minister in the Weimar Republic, is descended from him in the twelfth generation .
  • Hermanis Dumpjānis (Hermann Dumpiate or Dumpians) from Kandava , mentioned in a document since 1498 , acquired neighboring goods. His descendants married into noble families and thereby achieved seats in the knighthood and in the state parliament.

Only after the privileges of the Curonian kings were finally abolished did one of their descendants reach the highest military offices of the Republic of Latvia during the period between the two world wars:

  • A descendant of Andrejs Peniķis (Andreas Penneck) enfeoffed in 1504 began training in the Imperial Russian Army . Later Mārtiņš Peniķis (1874-1964), son of a farmer of the village Kurschkönig, Latvian general and commander in chief of the Latvian army.

See also

literature

  • Exhibition in the Latvian National Library in 2012: Kuršu ķoniņi
  • Ernests Brastiņš: Latvijas pilskalni 1: Kuršu zeme (1923). [Latvia's Castle Mountains, Volume 1: Courland]
  • Karl Wilhelm Cruse: Curland among the dukes . Reyher Publishing House, Mitau 1833.
  • Karl Wilhelm Cruse: Mitauscher pocket calendar for 1828 . (Detailed investigation of the Curonian kings on the basis of documents).
  • Agris Dzenis: Kuršu ķoniņi un citi lēņavīri Rietumlatvijā . (Curonian kings and other feudal men in Western Latvia) Domas spēks publishing house, Riga 2014, ISBN 978-9934-839-52-8 .
  • Hans Feldmann, Heinz von zur Mühlen (ed.): Baltic historical local dictionary . Part 2: Latvia (South Livland and Courland) . Böhlau, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-412-06889-6 .
  • Astrīda Iltnere (ed.): Latvijas Pagasti, Enciklopēdija. Preses Nams, Riga 2002, ISBN 9984-00-436-8 .
  • Kolonists (Jānis Vidiņš): Four-part article Ķoniņi in the journal Mēnešraksts :
  • Inita Peniķe, Janīna Kursīte, Agris Dzenis, Liene Peniķe: Kuršu Ķoniņi cauri paaudzēm (Curonian kings through generations). Madris Publishing House, Riga 2019. ISBN 978-9984-31-220-0
  • Liene Peniķe: Ķoniņu identitātes garīgā un materiālā mantojuma aspekti (aspects of the identity of the Curonian kings, taking into account their spiritual and material heritage). Master's thesis at the University of Latvia, 2017.
  • Johann Renner 's Livonian Histories , edited by Richard Hausmann and Konstantin Höhlbaum. Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1876 ( digital version , PDF, 730 MB)
  • Arveds Švābe: Kuršu ķoniņu un novadnieku tiesiskais stāvoklis . With an appendix: The legal status of the “Curonian kings” in: P. Šmits (ed.): Rakstu krājums (Travaux du Comité letton des Lettres et des Sciences, vol. 21: Humanitāri raksti). Latvju Kultūra Publishing House, Rīga 1933, pp. 23 to 138. Digitized
  • Arveds Švābe: Kuršu ķoniņi un novadnieki in Straumes un avoti , volume 1. Verlag A. Gulbis, Riga 1938 (contains detailed maps of the places Ķoniņciems, Pliķuciems and Viesalgciems)
  • Arnold v. Tideböhl: The Curonian Kings. In: Messages from the area of ​​the history of Liv, Estonia and Courland. 8, (1855), pp. 302-323.
  • Vēstures enciklopēdiskā vārdnīca Ķoniņi (Conig's passed pawns).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Herder Institute OM. G [erhard von Jork] enfeoffs Tontegoden and his heirs with 2 hooks of land that his predecessor Christian once owned, within the limits described and to the rights of the other vassals of the order in Courland. Dünamünde, 1320 May 6.
  2. ↑ a b V. Dzērvis, V. Ģinters: Ievads latviešu tautas tērpu vēsturē (= Izdevniecība Grīnbergs. Riga 1936) digitized
  3. ↑ materiali par Latvijas būvniecību III. Publishing house Latvijas Universitātes architektūras fakultātes izdevums, Riga 1923. Digitized
  4. ↑ Jānis Vidiņš (1908)
  5. ↑ Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 2, pp. 170–171 Art. Freidörfer .
  6. ↑ Supplement to Das Inland 1838, No. 53 ( periodika.lv );
    The Inland 1839, No. 16: Documents in the possession of the Curonian kings: Master of the Order Gerdt von Jocke lends 2 hooks of Landes to Tontegode in 1320 ( periodika.lv ).
  7. ↑ The specific dialect of the Curonian kings is highlighted in two sources:
    • Janīna Kursīte: Neakadēmiskā latviešu valodas vārdnīca jeb novadu vārdene. Izdevniecība Madris, Riga 2007 ISBN 978-9984-31-457-0 , pp. 161 f., 526.
    • Ilmārs Mežs / Lidija Leikuma: Viena zeme, vieni ļaudis, nav vienāda valodiņa. Latviešu valodas izlokšņu paraugi. Izdevniecība Mantojums, Riga 2015; EAN 4-751007-692762; therein: sound recording A16 (1996) with Austra Tontegode (dz. 1927 Pliķos; Kuršu Ķoniņiene).
  8. ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 4th edition. from 1888 to 1890.
  9. ↑ Švābe (1933), p. 135.
  10. ↑ Balduin, monk of Alna as envoy of Bishop Otto von S. Nicolaus in Carcere Tulliano. William Guthrie / John Gray: Allgemeine Weltgeschichte, volume forty-sixth, Verlag FA Schrämbl, 1788 , page 410 describes the contents of the contract in more detail: [...] The Pope appointed his commissioners to investigate this dispute and in 1230 they made the verdict for Nicolaum. This made two comparisons with different regions of Courland, by which the king Lammechin and all who would accept Christianity with him, in the name of the Rigian church, the order and the council and the rest of the citizenship of Riga, protection, security of their property and defense it was promised against the kings of Denmark and Sweden, but that they should pay a certain fee against it, provide their priests with the necessary maintenance, and fight with the Germans against the infidels.
  11. ↑ Herder Institute: Document text Bauer354: Ordensmeister Wolter von Plettenberg enfeoffed the Curonian King Andreas Penneck and his heirs with a hook country in the area and parish Goldingen within the limits described as well as a hayloft called Maternis (?) On the Rīva brook [Priewe, river, flows into the Baltic Sea about 20 km southwest of Windau] and allows him to build a mill on a stream near his land, under fiefdom law. Neuermühlen, 1504 Aug. 23 ( herder-institut.de ).
  12. ↑ a b All the places mentioned can be found on the official Latvian maps on a scale of 1: 100,000
  13. ↑ Cruse (1833), p. 133 f.
  14. ↑ Švābe (1933), p. 134. The information in hooks (arkli) known from the loan deeds are inaccurate information that apparently does not relate solely to the area.
  15. ↑ Dzenis (2014), p. 198, "sadalīšana"
  16. ↑ Cruse (1833), p. 134.
  17. ↑ Kurzemnieks magazine from July 2, 2004 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Pliķu ciems no longer has a house, only the Pliķu kapi cemetery still exists.) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / old.kurzemnieks.lv
  18. ^ August Bielenstein : The wooden buildings and wooden tools of the Latvians. St. Petersburg 1907, p. 142.
  19. ↑ Māris Mičerevskis: Kuršu ķoniņu dzimtas saglabājušās līdz Musu dienām. ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / apollo.tvnet.lv
  20. ↑ H. v. Bee trunk: Geographical outline of the three German Baltic Sea provinces of Russia or the governorates of Ehst, Livonia and Courland. Deubner, Riga 1826, p. 435: “The 5 villages of the Curonian kings, names: Kurisch-Königen-Dorf, Kalleiendorf, Seemeln and Lauke-Seemeln, Plikkendorf and Wesalgen, which together contain 33 servants and 3 bush weavers. The so-called Curonian kings (ltt. Kohpiņi) are Latvian free farmers who, in addition to the hereditary property of their lands, have noble privileges that they had already acquired at the time of the order, since 1320. They used to have their own coats of arms, but these have been lost for a long time. They also have their own church, called St. Petrikirche, which is funded by their congregation and a branch of the church in Hasenpot. Incidentally, they do not differ in customs, clothing and language from the other Latvians in this area. "
  21. ^ Paul Anton Fedor Konstantin Possart: Das Kaiserthum Russland. Volume 1 (1840) reports on page 119 of the residents of Courland, among other things: “The Curonian kings are at home in the Goldingen Hauptmannschaft, which is intended to be a province, where they live in 7 special villages that are, as it were, isolated from the rest of the population. They are actually free farmers of Latvian ancestry, whose ancestors probably acquired significant privileges over their other housemates through special services rendered to the army masters, which are almost equal to those of the nobility, and have been granted to them since 1320, when the order was in the Baltic provinces dominated, ascribes. The provincial history gives no definite reliable information about their present name, by which they are already known from ancient times throughout Courland, and about their actual origin. According to a guaranteed tradition, when the Germans arrived, their earliest ancestors were the regents of Courland, which is where their current name may come from, which first appears in a certificate from the order master Plettenberg, which attached this title to a certain Andreas Pennecke. "
  22. ↑ Draguhnen = "Dragoon" according to the Baltic historical local dictionary. Volume 2, p. 119.
  23. ↑ Theodor Kallmeier junior (Pastor von Landsen and Hasau in Courland): Some remarks about the origin and the current situation of the “Kurish kings”. in: Works of the Courland Society for Literature and Art, Volume 3 (1847). P. 28: Description of coat of arms; P. 30: "to Andreas Penneck, the Kursten Konyngk" (1504); P. 34: Documents older than 1320 must have existed because the documents received deal with additions.
  24. ↑ In 1791 the classical philologist Karl August Küttner (1749–1800) dedicated his writing Kuronia or: Seals and Paintings from the Oldest Courland Times to Duke Peter von Biron and judged the Curonian kings with the words “their existence is not old Latvian, but new and one Farce of the Cross “.
  25. ^ Baltic Historical Commission of the Curonian Kings: Latvian free farmers in the Goldingen and Hasenpoth districts in Courland, who settled in so-called free villages. In the 14th century they received privileges from the Teutonic Order that guaranteed them freedom and independence. Nevertheless, most of the "kings" became dependent on the surrounding estates over time. The village of Kurschkönigen maintained its freedom the longest. Lean 80, 142; Hahn 62 ff .; Stavenhagen 318 ff .; Švābe, Kuršu ķoniņi un novadnieki ( Straumes un avoti I , Riga 1938, 115–348).
  26. ↑ Ersch-Gruber: General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts , 2nd Section 2, Th 40, pp 350-351.. K. Lohmeyer on Curonian Kings ( uni-goettingen.de ).
  27. ↑ Cruse (1833), p. 135.
  28. ^ About municipal property in Courland . An experience report on the living conditions in the villages of the Curonian kings. In: Libausche Zeitung No. 163 (July 21, 1894) heading “Das Inland”.
  29. ^ August Bielenstein : The limits of the Latvian people and the Latvian language in the present and in the 13th century . Verlag v. Hirschheydt, Hannover-Döhren 1973, (reprint of the St. Petersburg edition: Eggers, 1892) ISBN 3-7777-0983-2 . On p. 342 Bielenstein shows the influence of the Liv language and customs in the Latvian population in the area between the mouth of the Windau up to the villages of the Curonian kings. At the time of the order, the Liv language was predominant in this area; the Curonian kings are likely to have been of Liv origin.
  30. ↑ Balthasar Russow: Nye Lyfflendische Chronica. 1584, p. 28b.
  31. ↑ Dzenis (2015) lists in his detailed monograph many passed farmers in Courland who lost their privileges early on. There were also passed farmers in Livonia and Estonia.
  32. ↑ Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 2, p. 160.
  33. ↑ Brastiņš (1923), p. 95.
  34. ↑ a b c d folklore.ee Sandis Laime: The Sacred groves of curonian ķoniņi: Past and present. (Sacred Groves of the Curonian Kings)
  35. ↑ Sigurds Rusmanis / Ivars Vīks: Kurzeme , Izdevniecība Latvijas Enciklopēdija, Rīga 1993, Chapter 6, Position 217: “Elku Birzs” designated holy grove, which was only entered at the winter solstice. No branch was allowed to be removed during the year.
  36. ↑ Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 2, p. 715.
  37. ↑ Vitolds Maškovskis: Latvijas luterāņu Baznīcas. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-9984-9948-4-0 . Page 456 describes the church of Lipaiken with the two coats of arms of the Curonian kings and the bell, which was replaced by a new one in 1927. The lost original is described as follows: Paul Campe: The church bells of Latvia from the earliest times to 1860 and their founders . In: Latvijas Universitātes raksti, architektūra fakultātes serija, pirmais sējums 1930. No. 157: Around 1678. Lippaiken [Lipaiķi]. On the bell, yeomaners hunted, chasing hares and wolves in their national costume on horseback with dogs on a leash and spears in their hands. The bell was given to the church by free farmers, the so-called Curonian kings.
  38. ↑ The leisure village Butkuhnen / Nowadneeken southwest of Bauska in Kurland now part of Lithuania.
  39. ^ Hermann Graf Keyserling : Articles and news on the history of the passed farmers in Courland. In: Works of the Courland Society for Literature and Art. Volume 5, Mitau, 1848, pp. 10-34. Quotation p. 12: “As can be seen from the following communications, there used to be a not inconsiderable number of free farmers in the Tuckum area, of which, however, only two families have survived in their old estates. These are the so-called Freigesinde Bugull and Mischeneek, which are located in the Tuckum parish between the private property Neu-Sahten and the former ducal office, now knighthood property Grendsen not far from the dismantling, the former from the Arndt family, the latter from the Koch family for almost 400 years, initially as a loan, but since the general allodification of the backrest it has been hereditary and peculiarly possessed. "
  40. ↑ Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 2, p. 93.
  41. ↑ Agris Dzenis: Divi dokumenti par Kurzemes latviešu zemturiem 18th gs. otrajā pusē. (PDF) with a coat of arms from the Lipaiken church
  42. ↑ Karl Eduard v. Napiersky: The land free and their enfeoffment. In: Works of the Courland Society for Literature and Art. Volume 5, Mitau, 1848, pp. 82-86.
  43. ↑ Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 2, p. 405.
  44. ^ Friedrich von Klopmann: Kurländische Güter-Chroniken according to documented sources. Mitau 1856, p. 184 ( reader.digitale-sammlungen.de ).
  45. ^ August Bielenstein: The limits of the Latvian people and the Latvian language in the present and in the 13th century. A contribution to the ethnological geography and history of Russia . Eggers / Imperial Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 1892 (reprint: v. Hirschheydt, Hannover-Döhren 1973, ISBN 3-7777-0983-2 ), p. 200 ff.
  46. ↑ The Latvian word elks can with idol , idol , deity and generally regarded as cult objects are interpreted and stands as a homonym for fate . Etymologically, it is related to Old Lithuanian alkas and Old Prussian ālkan . The Gothic equivalent is Allah . See Konstantīns Karulis: Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca . Volume 1: A-O. Avots Publishing House, Riga 1992, ISBN 5-401-00411-7 .
  47. ^ Kaspars Kļaviņš: Sacred Forests and Trees in Latvia and in the Latvian Mind. In: Environmental philosophy and landscape thinking in the Baltic cultural area. collegium litterarum 24, Tallinn, Underi ja Tuglase Kirjanduskeskus 2011, pages 259 to 267 ( digitized version ).
  48. ^ Willhelm Sahm (ed.): Description of the travels of Reinhold Lubenau. Volume 1, Königsberg 1914, p. 51.
  49. ↑ Sigurds Rusmanis, Ivars Vīks: Kurzeme. Izdevniecība Latvijas Enciklopēdija, Rīga 1993, Chapter 6, Position 214: In the section on the Lipaiķi Church, art historians only describe the window with the Kalējciems coat of arms from 1664, which they consider to be one of the oldest stained glass in Latvia.
  50. ↑ a b c d e Švābe (1933)
  51. ↑ Latvijas Padomju Enciklopēdija. Volume 5.1 Galvenā Enciklopēdiju Redakcija, Rīga 1984.
  52. ↑ Published in Wilhelm Neumann : Outline of a history of fine arts and applied arts in Liv, Estonia and Courland from the end of the 12th to the end of the 18th century. Reval, 1887.
  53. ↑ a b c "Latviešu heraldika" in Laikmets No. 9 from Feb. 26, 1943 The seals with the coats of arms of Kurschkönig, Kaleien and Freidorf Draguhn.
  54. ↑ Švābe (1933), p. 94.
  55. ↑ Debate on the submission “Likums par Kuldīgas apriņķa brīvciemu sadalīšanu viensētās” (law on the division of the free villages into individual farms in the Goldingen district) at the meeting of the Saeima on April 30, 1929. The deputy Wilhelm von Fircks (also chairman of the cooperative of owners of the by the agricultural law expropriated goods) reports on the issue: minutes of meetings, pp. 388 to 393 ( periodika.lv ).
  56. ↑ Dzenis (2015) p. 198.
  57. ^ Latvian free farmers were classified as non-Germans in the estates of the Russian Baltic provinces.
  58. ↑ Muntis AuNS: Kuršu Konini. In: U. Placēns et al .: Kurzeme un Kurzemnieki . Latvijas Enciklopēdija Publishing House, Riga 1995.
  59. ↑ Edgars Dunsdorfs: ANSA Gaila pēcteči - Prūsijas un Vācijas Generali. In: Archives. Raksti par Latviskāmproblemēmām. 25. sējums, Melbourne 1985, p. 26 ISBN 0-9595891-3-9 ( gramatas.lndb.lv ).
  60. ↑ Eduard Frhr. von Fircks: New Courlandish Goods Chronicles. Verlag Steffenhagen, Mitau 1900 ( gramatas.lndb.lv ).
  61. ↑ A nephew of the general lives today as the only representative of the Curonian kings at the place of his ancestors: Juris Peniķis and Inita Peniķe live in the rest of the village Ķoniņciems. Gerda Kohl: Audience with the reigning Curonian King. In: Messages from Baltic life. 64th volume, issue 3, November 2018.
  62. ↑ Kuldīgas galvenā bibliotēka The journalist, publicist and translator Jānis Vidiņš (1862-1921) was a resident of the free village Ķoniņciems and used the pseudonyms Ķoniņš, Džons, colonists and Juris .