Bishopric of Courland

Bishopric of Courland
Episcopatus Curoniensis Bisdom Curland
Prince-Bishopric of Terra Mariana
1234–1562
Bishopric of Courland (light orange).
Capital		Pilten
Languages		Latin, Low German, Curonian
Government		Principality
Bishop of Courland
•	1234–1236/37	Engelbert (1st)
•	1560–1583	Magnus (last)
History
•	Established	11 February 1234
•	Disestablished	20 April 1562
Currency		Ferding, Schilling
Succeeded by Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

The Bishopric of Courland (Latin: Episcopatus Curoniensis, Low German: Bisdom Curland) was the second smallest (4500 km²) ecclesiastical state in the Livonian Confederation founded in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade. During the Livonian War in 1559 the bishopric became a possession of Denmark, and in 1585 sold by Denmark to Poland-Lithuania.

In ancient times the Curonians, a Baltic tribe, inhabited Courland and had strong links with the maritime tribes in both sides of the Baltic sea. In 1230 Curonian king Lammechinus signed an agreement with the vice-legat Baldwin of Alna (Baudoin d’Aulne) of the Pope Gregory IX about the voluntary conversion of his people to Christianity and receiving the same rights as the inhabitants of Gotland. In 1234 Dominican monk Engelbert was appointed to be the first bishop of Courland. In 1242 the area of Courland passed under the influence of the Teutonic Knights owing to the amalgamation of this order with that of the Brethren of the Sword in 1237. In 1253 the territory of Courland was divided between the Bishopric of Courland and the Livonian branch of the Order of Teutonic Knights. After severe defeat of knights in the Battle of Durbe the Bishop Heinrich of Lützelburg left Courland in 1263 and the new bishop Edmund of Werth returned in his bishopric only after suppression of Curonian and Semigallian insurgencies in 1290.