![Bertold](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Bertold.jpg)
Berthold of Hanover (died 24 July 1198) was a German
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
and
Bishop of Livonia, who met his death in a crusade against the pagan
Livonians
The Livonians, or Livs ( Livonian: ''līvlizt''; Estonian: ''liivlased''; Latvian: ''līvi'', ''lībieši''), are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to northern and northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language c ...
.
Life
He was Abbot of the Cistercian
monastery of Lockum in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. At the death of
Saint Meinhard
Saint Meinhard (b. 1134 or 1136 - died August 14 or October 11, 1196) was a German Augustinian canon regular and the first Bishop of Livonia. His life was described in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia. His body rests in the now-Lutheran Riga C ...
, the first Bishop of Livonia (c. 1196),
Hartwig of Uthlede
Hartwig of Uthlede (died 3 November 1207) was a German nobleman who – as Hartwig II – Prince-Archbishop of Bremen (1185–1190 and de facto again 1192–1207) and one of the originators of the Livonian Crusade.
Biography
Coming from a family ...
,
Archbishop of Bremen
This list records the bishops of the Archdiocese of Bremen, Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (german: link=no, Bistum Bremen), supposedly a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were ...
, to whose province belonged the newly converted countries along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, appointed Abbot Berthold successor. Damberger asserts that when Meinhard came to
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
in 1186 to obtain help with his mission in Livonia, Berthold joined the band of missionaries who accompanied him there.
The Livonian pagans were fanatically opposed to Christianity. Berthold's predecessor, assisted by merchants from Bremen and
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
and a few converts, had built fortifications along the
River Düna, where Christians held their religious services and could protect themselves. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Berthold tried to gain confidence and good will by kindness. At first the pagans appeared to become less hostile, but soon their old hatred revived. When Berthold attempted to bless the Christian cemetery at
Holm, they decided either to burn the bishop together with his church at Holm or to drown him in the Düna. The Christians fled to their strongholds at
Üxküll and Holm, while the bishop escaped in a ship to Lübeck.
Pope Celestine III, shortly before his death, was preparing to send a fleet of crusaders to protect the Christians of the Baltic Provinces, and his successor,
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...
, continued the work. Berthold gained the financial assistance of Archbishop Hartwig and many merchants of Bremen and Lübeck. In a short time a large fleet was ready for departure, well equipped and loaded with crusaders and many German peasants who were to settle permanently in Livonia. It put to sea at Lübeck and crossed the Baltic, entering the River Düna from what is now called the
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.
The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main c ...
. Near the mouth of the Düna the German peasants landed with the purpose of making their homes in the vicinity, and laid the foundations of the city
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
. Berthold, accompanied by the crusaders, sailed up the river as far as Holm, where the Livonians had gathered with the intention of attacking the fleet.
Having failed to come to a peaceful agreement with them, Berthold and his companions sailed some distance down the river, with the Livonians in pursuit. The pagans agreed to a truce, to gain time, but they attacked the Christians who ventured outside their fortifications, and hostilities were resumed. The crusaders were victorious, but Berthold's horse became intractable and galloped into the midst of the fleeing Livonians. A pagan by the name of
Ymaut (wrongly read as
Ymant)
Krusta kaŗi Baltijā
. Latvju enciklopēdija. 3. sējums, 2647-2661.lpp. thrust his lance into Berthold's back, inflicting a wound that caused speedy death.
The bishop's body was buried by the crusaders at Üxküll, and was later transferred to Riga by Albert of Riga
Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia or Albrecht (german: Albert von Buxthoeven, lv, Alberts fon Buksthēvdens; c.1165 – 17 January 1229) was the third Bishop of Riga in Livonia. In 1201 he allegedly founded Riga, the modern capital of Lat ...
, whom Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen had appointed Berthold's successor. After the death of Berthold some of the conquered pagans asked to be baptized. The final conversion of Livonia was effected by Bishop Albert, who was assisted in by the newly founded Order of the Brothers of the Sword, which in 1237 was affiliated with the Teutonic Order
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
.
See also
*Chronicle of Henry of Livonia
The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' ( la, Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) offers a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland Estonia and the northern part of Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was ...
References
;Attribution
* The entry cites:
**GRUBBER, Origines Livoniæ sacræ et civiles (Frankfort and Leipzig, 1740);
**DAMBERGER, Synchronistische Geschichte der Kirche und der Welt im Mittelalter (Ratisbon, 1856), IX, 328-336, 437-438;
**SEITERS, in ''Kirchenlexikon
''Wetzer and Welte's Kirchenlexikon'' is an encyclopedic work of Catholic biography, history, and theology, first compiled by Heinrich Joseph Wetzer and Benedict Welte. The first edition in 12 volumes was published from 1847 to 1860, by Verlag ...
'', s.v.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthold Of Hanover
1198 deaths
German Cistercians
Prince-bishops in Livonia
Year of birth unknown
12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Livonia