Baldwin of Alna ( or ''Alva''; died in 1243) was an envoy and later a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

in the

Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...

. He played a diplomatic role in both the

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the paganism, pagan Balts, Baltic, Baltic Finns, ...

and the

Barons' Crusade The Barons' Crusade (1239–1241), also called the Crusade of 1239, was a crusade to the Holy Land that, in territorial terms, was the most successful crusade since the First Crusade. Called by Pope Gregory IX, the Barons' Crusade broadly embodie ...

. He was a monk of the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, 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 Benedict, as well as the contri ...

Aulne Abbey monastery in the

Bishopric of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

Life

In Livonia

In 1230, Baldwin was appointed by cardinal

Otto of Tonengo Otto of Tonengo (c. 1190 – 1250/1251) was an Italian papal diplomat and cardinal, first as deacon of San Nicola in Carcere from 1227 and then as bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina from 1244. He is called in many English sources Otto Candidus, m ...

San Nicola in Carcere San Nicola in Carcere (Italian, "Saint Nicholas in prison") is an ancient titular church and minor basilica in Rome near the Forum Boarium in rione Ripa. It is constructed in the remains of the three temples of the Forum Holitorium and is one o ...

as the pope's envoy to the Archbishopric of Riga, tasked to settle disagreements arising after the death of Bishop

Albert of Riga Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia ( – 17 January 1229) was the third Catholic Bishop of Riga in Livonia. As the Bishop of Livonia, in 1201, he founded Riga, the modern capital city of Latvia, and the city was later made a bishopric. The bu ...

(von Buxhövden) in January 1229. Baldwin arrived in Riga in July 1230. The disagreement was between Albert Suerbeer, appointed by prince-archbishop Gerhard of Bremen and Hamburg, and , appointed by the cathedral chapter of Riga. By October 1230, Otto decided in favour of Nicholas, who arrived in Riga in summer 1231. Baldwin convinced the

Curonians :''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs (; ) were a medieval Balts, Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the 5th–16th centuries, in what are now western parts of Latvia and Lithuania. ...

to submit to the Bishopric of Riga in the winter of 1230–1231 in exchange for food aid addressing the famine in Livonia and Novgorod; due to disputes over the division and baptism of Courland, he had to flee to the monastery of

Daugavgrīva Daugavgrīva (; ; or ''Ust`-Dvinsk'') is a neighbourhood in North West Riga, Latvia on the left bank of the Daugava river. In this neighbourhood there is a Swedish-built fortress on the Daugava River's left bank, commanding its mouth. Fortre ...

(''Dünamünde''). In early 1232, Baldwin left Livonia. The pope appointed him Bishop of

Semigallia Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tri ...

, with authority of A Papal legation throughout much of Livonia. Baldwin returned by 1233. He set up his base in Wiek in western Estonia, and in summer 1233 demanded that the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...

hand over the castle of Reval (later

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

). The Brothers refused, and in subsequent fighting in August–September 1233, they defeated Baldwin, who

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

the Sword Brothers in retaliation. At that point, Livonia was in two camps: Baldwin's Bishopric of Semigallia, the Bishopric of Dorpat and the late Albert of Riga's Buxhöveden family plus several monasteries, most Estonians and Curonians, and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, Nicholas' Bishopric of Riga, and the city of Riga. Historians argued that Baldwin attempted to make the whole Baltic region an ecclesiastical state, but (1993) rejected this idea as "fanciful speculation". Papal correspondence with Baldwin was primarily concerned with ending the conflict in Livonia on terms favourable to Rome, rather than conquering part of Pskov and Novgorod. No Livonian faction was allowed to ally with an external power to prevent the internal conflict from spilling over and threatening Livonia's external security. In 1234, the pope called Baldwin to Rome, and sent his new envoy

William of Modena William of Modena ( – 31 March 1251), also known as ''William of Sabina'', ''Guglielmo de Chartreaux'', ''Guglielmo de Savoy'', ''Guillelmus'', was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat.

, who arrived in Livonia by August 1234.

In Thrace

In 1239, Baldwin accompanied Baudouin de Courtenay in the

and took over the responsibilities of the archbishop of Vizia in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, in the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control People from the Livonian Confederation Diplomats for the Holy See Belgian Roman Catholic clergy Cistercians Christians of the Livonian Crusade Christians of the Barons' Crusade 1243 deaths

Life

In Livonia

In Thrace

See also

References

Bibliography