Theodoric of Estonia

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Theodoric of Estonia (also Theodoric of Treyden , often the form of the name Dietrich is used) († June 15, 1219 in the camp near Reval ) was a Cistercian monk , bishop of Estonia and founder of the Order of the Brothers of the Swords . He was killed in the battle of Lyndanisse .

Life

Theodoric of Estonia was initially a Cistercian monk. It is possible that he came from the Loccum monastery . He followed Meinhard von Segeberg , Bishop of Uexküll , to Livonia in 1187 . Theodoric began to evangelize and preach in the area of Treiden . He was successful and named the elder of the Livs Kaupo .

The bishop sent Theodoric to Rome in 1193 . There Pope Celestine III told him . promoting live mission too. Around 1195/96 he traveled again to Rome and received the assurance of the forgiveness of sins for the crusade in Livonia. He undertook another trip on behalf of Bishop Albert von Buxthoeven 1200. From Pope Innocent III. he received confirmation that the Crusades to Livonia were equivalent to those to Jerusalem.

In 1202 he founded the Order of the Brothers of the Sword in absentia, but with the approval of the bishop. This received the rule of the Knights Templar . He then stayed in Germany for a time and did not return to Livonia until 1204. He used these and later trips to promote the mission in Livonia. In some cases he met resistance from his own order because this was contrary to the order's loyalty to the place.

He made another trip to Rome in 1203. He was accompanied by Caupo, the elder he had baptized. The Pope gave him gifts for Bishop Albert and called on the Archdiocese of Bremen to encourage the people to come to Livonia. Back in Riga he initially represented the absent bishop. He then became abbot of the new Cistercian monastery in Dünamünde and began construction there. In 1206 he traveled to the Prince of Polotsk as envoy. In the same year the mission of the Livs ended with their baptism. The violent proselytizing was now directed against other tribes, such as the selenium. Dietrich also took part in the war campaign against them in 1208. In the summer of the same year, a convent moved into the Dünamünde monastery.

Bishop Albert appointed him Bishop of Estonia in 1211, although Estonia was not yet conquered. He himself took part in the struggles for the conquest. However, there was no success and he was de facto unable to take up his episcopate. He was also unable to take the planned bishopric in Leal.

From 1213, Dietrich stayed in Germany again. He first lived at the court of the Bishop of Paderborn and then went to the Archdiocese of Cologne . There Dietrich I von Hengebach was excommunicated at that time , so that Dietrich von Estonia acted as auxiliary bishop. In this function he consecrated an altar in the new choir of the church in Xanten . He also served as the bishop's representative in the Diocese of Liège .

In 1213 he traveled to Rome, where he received a papal letter by which he and his diocese were protected. The diocese was declared exempt and should not be subordinate to any archdiocese. In 1214 he temporarily returned to Livonia. In 1215 the German knights were militarily successful and Theodoric and Bishop Albert were already planning the division of the country when the Estonians, with Russian support, drove the Germans out of Estonia again.

In the same year Theoderich traveled to Germany accompanied by Bishop Philipp von Ratzeburg . In Dortmund he consecrated the Premonstratensian Monastery of Saint Catharinae . From there he traveled to Rome, where he attended the general council in Lateran . In Cologne he consecrated the St. Pantaleons Church in 1216 , after which he traveled back to Livonia.

Together with Bishop Albert and Abbot Bernhard von Dünamünde, he traveled to Denmark in 1218. The aim was to get support from King Waldemar II in the fight against the Estonians . The king pledged his support on the condition that the conquered land should be under his control. Dietrich paid homage to the king and accompanied him on the war expedition to Estonia in 1219. The Danish fleet landed near the later Reval and a battle broke out in the course of which Dietrich was killed.

literature

predecessor Office successor
Fulk of Estonia Bishop of Reval
1211-1219 		Wesselin
personal data
SURNAME Theodoric of Estonia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dietrich of Estonia, Theodoric von Treyden
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Reval
DATE OF BIRTH 12th Century
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 1219
Place of death Reval