Albert of Riga

Life

Albert of Buxthoeven / Buxhoevden / Bekeshovede (also Albert of Buxhoeveden, Buxhoeveden, Buxhöwde; Albert Appel Dern is unlikely) was from 1199 to 1229 Bishop of Riga. He helped the Latin Church in Livonia to enforce its claim to validity and founded the German colony in Livonia. The most important source is regarding the life and work of Albert Henry Buxthoeven Livonian Chronicle ( Chronicon Livoniae ), written by Henry of Latvia.

Buxthoeven comes from a Bremen ministerial family. He was canon and head of the cathedral school in Bremen until he was ordained in 1199 by his uncle Hartwig II, Archbishop of Bremen, bishop of Livonia.

Work in Riga

Mid-year 1200 reached Buxthoeven as Bishop of Livonia with merchants, missionaries and a host of pilgrims, supported by one of Pope Innocent III. issued crusade cop who Dünamündung. Twenty kilometers of that, he founded Riga in 1201 and moved the bishopric of Üxküll there. From that point on, he held the title of Bishop of Riga.

1207 he was appointed by King Philip of Swabia to the princes of the empire and invested with Livonia. The 1202 he initiated Livonian Order, meanwhile, was his biggest competition for supremacy in Livonia. In the war against the Latvians 1208 Albert involuntarily cooperated with the Danish King Waldemar II Estonians as the Livs were subjected to short periods 1219-1227 and subordinate to the Danish king. However, a confederation in Livonia, objected to the Danish claim and obtained as 1222 independence from the Kingdom of Denmark, and Valdemar II had to do without Livonia. Albert planned in Livonia a uniformly ruled Christian state, which should be similar to the Holy Roman Empire. Estonia should remain the Danes reserved. To realize this plan, Albert campaigned for his time exceptionally often many pilgrims and settlers in the empire. The plan failed, however, because Albert was not appointed Archbishop and the Curia sought a balance of power between him and the Livonian Order. We are informed a few records about Albert and his work mainly by the Livonian Chronicle of Henry of Latvia, Arnold's Chronica Slavorum as well.

Aftereffect

Albert of Buxthoeven went down in history as one of the most important mission bishops of his time. He distinguished himself particularly by the fact that he convinced thousands of volunteers to go with him as a crusader in the eastern Baltic, there to proselytize the Livs with word or sword. Through his rhetorical talent as a preacher and his advertising efforts, a rule to build and expand and conquer territories, he made a name for himself.

Until the Reformation, Albert was venerated as a saint in Riga. In 1999 it and the 800 limitation period of its establishment were minted as Bishop in honor of coins with his image.

Literature sources

  • Henricus lettus: Livonian Chronicle. Edited by Albert Bauer, Darmstadt 1959.
  • Bernhard Schmeidler: Holds helmet slave Chronicle. Hannover 1937 ( Monumenta Historica Germaniae, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum; 14) ( online here ).
  • Leonid Arbuzov: Bishop Albert of Livonia. In: Baltic Monthly Journal 60 (1929 ), pp. 1-7.
  • Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm Albert of Buxhoevden. In: Biographic- bibliographic church encyclopedia ( BBKL ). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2, unchanged edition Hamm, 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1, Sp 81 (Articles / Articles beginning possibly in the Internet Archive )
  • Gisela Gnegel - Waitschies: Bishop Albert of Riga. A Bremer canon as prince of the Church in the East ( 1199-1229 ). In: Northern and Eastern European history studies. Vol 2 Hamburg 1958.
  • Hausmann, Richard Albert I., bishop of Riga. In: General German Biography (ADB ). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, pp. 196-202.
  • Manfred Hellmann: Albert I, bishop of Riga. In: Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages ( LexMA ). Volume 1, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1980, ISBN 3-7608-8901-8, 285-286 Sp.
  • Manfred Hellmann: The beginnings of Christian mission in the Baltic countries. In: Studies on the beginnings of the mission in Livonia. Edited by Dems. Sigmaringen 1989, p 7-36.
  • Laakmann, Heinrich Albert I of Buxhoevden. In: New German Biography ( NDB ). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6, p.130 ( digitized ).
  • Heinrich Wittram: Albert of Livonia. Bearers of culture, conqueror, statesman. In: Yearbook of the men of the morning star. Vol 80 (2001 ), pp. 53-70.
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