was established on 28 November 1561 in the
Treaty of Vilnius between the Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke
Sigismund II Augustus and the last
Landmeister in Livonia
Landmeister in Livland was a high office in the Teutonic Order. The Landmeister administered the Livonia of the Teutonic Order.
These lands had fallen to the Teutonic Order in 1237 by the incorporation of the former Livonian Brothers of the Swor ...
Gotthard Kettler, contractually negotiated and granted
privilege, which sets the ratio of the
Livland Estates Order on the Polish crown and sealed the end of the
Teutonic Order and the
Livonian Confederation
Terra Mariana (Medieval Latin for "Land of Mary") was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia ( nds, Oolt-Livland, liv, Jemā-Līvõmō, et, Vana-Liivimaa, lv, Livonija). It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, a ...
. For the
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...
the ''Pacta Subiectionis'' was additionally signed, which in addition to the privileges governed the relationship of the nobility to the duke, the Polish king and the Reichstag.
The privileges
Gotthard Kettler was the last national champion of the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...
. He subordinated himself to the remains of the Order and its vassals Poland-Lithuania. After negotiations with King Sigismund Augustus, he granted the Livonian nobility and Courland nobility special rights:
# Guarantee of the Evangelical-Lutheran faith
# Guarantee of the official German language
# Guarantee of self-government ("German authorities", "German law")
# Codification of (Livonian) land law
# Assurances of the indigenous people (offices in Livonia and Courland only to locals).
The autonomy rights set in this form served the German upper class also with later changes of rule as basis for negotiations and retained essentially up to the year 1919 (Imperial Russian
Baltic governorate Livland) their validity.
[HALTZEL, MICHAEL H., C. LEONARD LUNDIN, ANDREJS PLAKANS, and TOIVO U. RAUN. Russification in the Baltic Provinces and Finland, 1855-1914. Edited by THADEN EDWARD C. Princeton University Press, 1981. ]
References
Literature
* Burchard von Klot: '' Jost Clodt and the privilege Sigismundi Augusti. '' Harro Hirschheydt, Hanover 1977, ('' Contributions to the Baltic History '', Vol. 6).
External links
{{Commonscat , State of the Teutonic Order
The "Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti" and the "Pacta Subiectionis" or: the November 1561 in the Baltic history History of the bishoprics in the Teutonic Order
Teutonic Order
1561 treaties
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
Grand Duchy of Lithuania