The Livonian Brothers of the Sword: The History of the Medieval Catholic Military Order that Fought Pagans in Eastern Europe

Although many have heard of the Crusades and some of the more famous orders like the Templars, few know about the Livonian Crusade or the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. This organization was one of many Catholic military orders that sprung up during the Middle Ages in response to the papacy’s call for holy war, and the Livonian Crusade is the term used to group together dozens of military actions undertaken by German knights in Eastern Europe.

In essence, the Holy Roman Empire sought to control influential trade routes throughout the region by subjugating the native peoples and forcefully converting them to Christianity, and in this regard, the differences between the Livonian Crusade and those taking place further east, where crusaders attempted to retake the Christian Holy Land of Jerusalem, are readily apparent. In particular, there was no actual religious justification for the Livonian Crusade, and many of the knights deciding to join were often more interested in the political and economic benefits gained from the war. When it comes to understanding the history of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, scholars have their work cut out for them, as few primary sources survived the conflict, and the order has had many different names over the years, including the Swordbrothers, the Livonian Order, and the Swordbrothers.

All that said, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword bore many similarities to their counterparts in other countries, including being affiliated with the Catholic Church. Many of the knights took vows of celibacy and poverty, and the internal structure of the organization could be compared to the Knights Hospitaller or the Templars. Moreover, while relatively few people know of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword by their original name, the order would go on to become one of the most influential of religious knighthoods by incorporating into the Teutonic Knights.