Bishopric of Courland

The Bishopric of Courland was a small ecclesiastical state in the Livonian Confederation, founded after the Livonian Crusade. Its first bishop, the Dominican Engelbert, was appointed in 1234, and in 1253 the lands of Courland were divided between the bishopric and the Teutonic Order. The bishopric was one of the smallest states of the confederation, with an area of about 4,500 square kilometres, and its capital was Piltene, where the bishops had their castle and cathedral chapter. The bishops were also lords of the island of Ruhnu from at least 1341. In 1520 the bishopric became a sovereign prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. During the Livonian War it was sold in 1559-60 to King Frederick II of Denmark, who gave it to his brother Magnus of Holstein; after Magnus's death Denmark sold its rights to Poland-Lithuania in 1585. The territory was later absorbed into the Duchy of Courland. Its history reflects the fragmented ecclesiastical principalities of the Baltic crusader frontier.