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.

* February 28 – Wolter von Plettenberg, Master of Livonian Order ( b. 1450 )

* Gotthard Kettler ( 1571 – 1587 ), last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia

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.

Among those invited were Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Vasili II of Russia, the king of Denmark Eric of Pomerania, Grand Master of the Livonian Order Zisse von Rutenberg, Duke of Szczecin Kazimierz V, Dan II the Hospodar of Wallachia and Prince-electors of most of the countries of Germany.

Robin von Eltz served as Master of the Livonian Order from 1385 until 1389.

Volkwin ( Middle High German: Volkewîn ), also known as Folkwin, Volquin, and Wolquin, was the Master ( Herrmeister ) of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword from 1209 to 1236.

Wenno ( von Rohrbach ), also known as Winno, Vinno, and Winne, was the first Master ( Herrmeister ) of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, leading the Order from 1204 to 1209.

Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin.

# Wolter von Plettenberg – German Master of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword

Led by the Grand Master Konrad von Mander, the crusading Livonian Order constructed the castle in Mitau on a natural island fortification ( Pilssala ) in 1265 – 1266.

The castle of Wenden later became the residence of the Master of the Livonian Order.

Wolter ( or Walter ) von Plettenberg ( c. 1450 – February 28, 1535 ) was the Master ( Landmeister ) of the Livonian Order from 1494 to 1535 and one of the greatest leaders of the Teutonic knights.

Vytenis successfully invaded Livonia, destroyed Karkus castle north of Riga, and defeated the order in the Battle of Turaida, killing Livonian Land Master Bruno and 22 knights.

Burchard von Dreileben, the Livonian Master, sent one Brother to the Estonians “ who knew their language and whom they knew ” ( possibly an ethnic Estonian member of the order ) and asked them to send a delegation to Weissenstein to explain the reasons why they had renounced Christianity and killed all the Germans.

Among the many high-ranking members of the Livonian Order who came to Paide were the Livonian Master Burchard von Dreileben, the komturs of Fellin ( Viljandi ) and Riga, the vogt of Jervia ( Järva ), and many others.

The Livonian Master personally served as the spokesperson for the German side at the conference.

In the beginning of the winter the Master of the Livonian Order returned with these reinforcements to Harria and quelled the remaining resistance.

The castle served as residence of Master of the Livonian Order, but due to continuous conflicts with Rigans the residence was moved to Castle of Cēsis sometime before the castle was destroyed by Rigans in 1484.

Gotthard von Kettler ( also Ketteler, ; 2 February 1517, near Anröchte, Kreis Soest – 17 May 1587, Mitau ) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia.

In 1559, during the Livonian War ( 1558 – 1582 ) he succeed to Wilhelm von Fürstenberg as a Master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia.

All cultural expressions were prohibited and just like twenty years before, the inhabitants of the Livonian Coast were driven from their homes.

Some, like Edgar V. Saks and the writer Uku Masing have argued on the basis of contemporary documents that, contrary to claims in the chronicles, the uprising was not a fight against Christianity but only against the Livonian Order and that the crimes attributed to the insurgents were actually committed by the Order.

Around 1200 the port became the main point of departure for colonists leaving for the Baltic territories conquered by the Livonian Order and, later, Teutonic Order.

Today's capital, Riga, founded in 1201 by Teutonic colonists at the mouth of the Daugava, became a strategic base in a papally-sanctioned conquest of the area by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword.

In the early 13th century, two German religious orders, the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, conquered much of the area that is now Estonia and Latvia, in addition to parts of Lithuania.

The Lithuanians, led by Vykintas, soundly defeated the Livonian Brothers in the Battle of Saule in 1236, which forced the Brothers to merge with the Teutonic Knights.

Pagan Lithuania was a target of Christian crusades of the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania | Duchy of Lithuania in 1250 between the areas of the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights | Teutonic Order

In 1274, the Great Prussian Rebellion ended, and the Teutonic Knights proceeded to conquer other Baltic tribes, including the Yotvingians in 1283 ; the Livonian Order completed its conquest of Semigalia, the last Baltic ally of Lithuania, in 1291.

Following their defeat by Lithuania in the Battle of Saule in 1236, the surviving Brothers merged into the Teutonic Order as an autonomous branch and became known as the Livonian Order.

This disaster led the surviving Brothers to become incorporated into the Order of Teutonic Knights in the following year, and from that point on they became known as the Livonian Order.

* a state ruled by the Livonian Order founded by Albert in 1202, which was assimilated into the Teutonic Knights in 1237 ;

The Livonian Order was a largely autonomous branch of the Teutonic Knights ( or Teutonic Order ) and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1418 – 1561.

After being defeated by Lithuania in the 1236 Battle of Saule, the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights as the Livonian Order in 1237.

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, but the Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence.

The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were crusades undertaken by the Christian kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian and Teutonic military orders, and their allies against the pagan peoples of Northern Europe around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.

After their decisive defeat in the Battle of Saule by the Samogitians and Semigallians, the remnants of the Swordbrothers were reorganized in 1237 as a subdivision of the Teutonic Order, and became known as the Livonian Order.

At the Battle of Durbe in 1260 a force of Samogitians and Curonians overpowered the united forces of the Livonian and Teutonic Orders ; over the following years, however, the Crusaders gradually subjugated the Curonians, and in 1267 concluded the peace treaty stipulating the obligations and the rights of their defeated rivals.

When the Livonian knights were crushed by Samogitians in the Battle of Saule in 1236, coinciding with a series of revolts in Estonia, the Livonian Order was inherited by the Teutonic Order, allowing the Teutonic Knights to exercise political control over large territories in the Baltic region.

* 1298 – Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.

* 1260 – The Livonian Order suffers its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

During the Livonian Crusade, ancient Livonia was colonized by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, later called the Livonian Order, and the name Livonia came to designate a much broader territory: Terra Mariana on the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea, in present-day Latvia and Estonia.

Between 1237 and 1290, the Livonian Order conquered all of Courland, Livonia, and Semigallia, but their attack on northern Russia was repelled in the Battle of Rakvere ( 1268 ).