Medieval prince-bishopric in Livonia
The
Bishopric of
Dorpat
[1]
was a medieval
prince-bishopric
, i.e. both a
diocese
of the
Roman Catholic Church
and a temporal principality ruled by the bishop of the diocese. It existed from 1224 to 1558, generally encompassing the area that now comprises
Tartu County
,
Polva County
,
Voru County
, and
Jogeva County
in
Estonia
. The prince-bishopric was a sovereign member of the
Holy Roman Empire
(formally from 6 Nov 1225) and part of the
Livonian Confederation
until its dissolution in 1561.
[2]
History
[
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]
Tartu Cathedral
, today in ruins, was the seat of the Bishop of Dorpat (
Tartu
).
The first Bishop of Dorpat (the current
Tartu
) was
Hermann von Buxhovden
, the brother of
Albert von Buxhovden
,
Bishop of Riga
and leader of the
Livonian Crusade
. The Estonian Diocese was established by the Bishop of Riga in 1211 and its first nominal seat was
Leal (Lihula)
in western Estonia. In 1224, Bishop Hermann took possession of parts of what is today southeastern Estonia and chose Dorpat as his new seat. On 6 November 1225 he was enfeoffed with his principality by
Henry VII of Germany
,
King of the Romans
, and on 1 December Dorpat was created a
March
of the Holy Roman Empire.
[
citation needed
]
The principality was founded mainly on territories of the
Ugaunian
tribe of ancient
Estonians
. In 1242, Bishop Hermann with his Ugaunian subjects was defeated by
Novgorod
's prince
Alexander Nevsky
in the famous
Battle on Lake Peipus
.
During 1268, Fredrik, the then Bishop of Dorpat, is known to have called himself also as the "Bishop of
Karelia
", the background of the short-lived title remaining open.
[3]
The Bishopric of Dorpat was an important
Hanseatic
trade center.
At the end of the 14th century, former Dietrich Damerow became the Bishop of Dorpat. He was the archenemy of the
Livonian Order
and made a coalition against it with
Lithuania
,
Mecklenburg
, and the
Victual Brothers
(notorious pirates of the
Baltic Sea
). He even asked King
Richard II of England
to take Dorpat under his protection. The Order invaded the bishopric in 1379 with no success. After settling the conflict the Livonian Order lost its right to demand that vassals of bishoprics take part in military campaigns.
During its last years, the Bishopric of Dorpat had a dispute with Russia which became later the main pretext of the
Livonian War
. Tsar
Ivan the Terrible
demanded that the bishopric pay a huge tribute of 40,000 talers. Ivan insisted that the Dorpat was the ancient Russian fortress of
Yuryev
(referring to the short-lived Rus' rule of the area after its conquest by
Yaroslav I the Wise
, 1030?61(?)). The rulers of Dorpat tried to negotiate a smaller amount in the interest of extending the truce, but Ivan dismissed the diplomats and started the war. In 1558 Tartu was conquered by Russian troops and the Bishopric of Dorpat ceased to exist.
Beside Dorpat (Tartu) there were five more stone castles in the Bishopric:
- Odenpah
(
Estonian
:
Otepaa
) as the ancient centre of Ugandi and the first stone stronghold of bishopric;
- Kirrumpah
(
Kirumpaa
) and
Neuhausen
(
Vastseliina
) by the important ancient Dorpat?Pleskau (Tartu?Pihkva) road;
- Oldentorn (Vana-Kastre) and Warbeke or Caster (Uue-Kastre) by the
Emajogi
river which runs from Dorpat to
Lake Peipus
.
There was also an outstanding
Cistercian
monastery,
Karkna Abbey
(also Valkena or Falkenau) near Dorpat.
The former Bishopric today
[
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]
The center of the bishopric was the Tartu (Dorpat) castle (
Estonian
:
Toomemagi
). The castle was damaged during the Northern War and was dismantled during the 18th century. Later (at the beginning of 19th century) an observatory was built on the site. The seat of the bishopric,
Dorpat Cathedral
, was damaged during the
Protestant Reformation
and has been in ruins since the 17th century.
Bishops of Dorpat
[
edit
]
- Hermann von Buxhowden
1224?48
- Alexander 1263?68
- Friedrich von Haseldorf 1268?88
- Bernhard I 1289?1302
- Dietrich I Vyshusen 1302?12
- Nikolaus 1312?23
- Engelbert von Dolen 1323?41
- Wescelus 1342?1344
- Johannes I Viffhusen 1346?73
- Heinrich I von Velde 1373?78
- Dietrich II Damerow 1378?1400
- Heinrich II Wrangel 1400?10
- Bernhard II Bulow 1410?13
- Dietrich III Resler 1413?41
- Bartholomaus Savijerwe 1441?59
- Helmich von Mallinckrodt 1459?68
- Andreas Pepler 1468?73
- Johannes II Bertkow 1473?85
- Dietrich V Hake 1485?98
- Johannes III von der Rope 1499?1505
- Gerhard Schrove 1505?13
- Johannes IV Duesborg 1513?14
- Christian Bomhower 1514?18
- Johannes V Blankenfeld 1518?27
- Johannes VI Bey 1528?43
- Jodokus von der Recke 1544?51
- Hermann II Wesel
1552?60
References
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]
Sources and external links
[
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]
58°23′N
26°43′E
/
58.383°N 26.717°E
/
58.383; 26.717