Archbishopric of Riga

Infobox Former Country
native_name= "Archiepiscopatus Rigensis" (la)
"Erzbisdom Riga" (nds)
conventional_long_name= Archbishopric of Riga
common_name = Riga
continent= Europe
status = Vassal | empire = Holy Roman Empire
era=Middle Ages
p1= Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
flag_p1= Teuton flag.svg
s1= Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
flag_s1= Choragiew Krakowska.pngyear_start= 1255
date_start=
event_start=
year_end= 1561
date_end=
event_end=
event1=
date_event1=
title_leader= Archbishop of Riga
leader1= Albert Suerbeer (first)
year_leader1 = 1245–73
leader2= Wilhelm von Brandenburg (last)
year_leader2 = 1539–63

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image_map_caption = Archbishopric of Riga (in yellow), shown within the Livonian Confederation
government_type= Monarchy
legislature =
common_languages= Latin
Low German
Livonian
Curonian
Latgalian
capital= Riga
currency= Livonian Penny
Livonian Schilling

The Archbishopric of Riga ( _la. Archiepiscopatus Rigensis, _nd. Erzbisdom Riga) was an independent archbishopric established in 1255.

Archbishops of Riga

The Archbishops of Riga (1202) 1255-1561 were the secular rulers of Riga, the capital of Livonia (now the capital of Latvia). It was abolished in 1561 due to the conversion of the territory of the Livonian Order from Catholicism to Lutheranism. The see was restored as a bishopric of the Catholic Church in 1918 and raised into an archbishopric in 1923.

Bishops and Archbishops of Riga

The Bishopric of Livonia (at Uexküll then Riga), 1186-1255

*Meinhard, 1186 - 1196
*Berthold, 1196 - 1198
*Albert of Buxhoeveden, 1199-1229
*Nikolaus von Nauen 1229 - 1253

The Archbishopric of Riga, 1255-1561

*Albert Suerbeer 1245 - 1273
*Johannes I von Lune, 1273 - 1284
*Johannes II von Vechten, 1285 - 1294
*Johannes III von Schwerin, 1294 -1300
*Isarnus Takkon, 1300 - 1302
*Jens Grand, 1303 – 1310 (titular, never came to Riga)
*Friedrich von Pernstein, 1304 - 1341
*Engelbert von Dolen, 1341 - 1347
*Bromhold von Vyffhusen, 1348 - 1369
*Siegfried Blomberg 1370 - 1374
*Johannes IV von Sinten, 1374 - 1393. 24.IX)
*Johannes V von Wallenrodt, 1393 - 1418
*Johannes VI Ambundi, 1418-1424
*Henning Scharpenberg, 1424-1448
*Silvester Stodewescher, 1448-1479
*Sede Vacante (empty seat), 1479-1484
*Michael Hildebrand, 1484-1509
*Jasper Linde, 1509-1524 (due to deflation, no coins were minted during the reign of Jasper Linde; biographical data exists in alternate formats)
*Johannes VII Blankenfeld, 1524-1527 (due to deflation, no coins were minted during the reign of Johannes VII Blankenfeld; biographical data exists in alternate formats)
*Thomas Schoning, 1528-1539
*Wilhelm von Brandenburg, 1539-1563

"See secularized 1563, restored 1918."

Restored Bishopric of Riga, 1918-1923

*Eduard Graf O'Rourke, 1918-1920

Archbishopric of Riga, 1923-present

*Antonijs Spingovics, 1920-1958"vacant"
*Jānis Pujāts, 1991-present

The coinage

The Archbishops of Riga were innovators in the field of minting currency, reviving techniques abandoned since the collapse of Rome. The names of individual archbishops after 1418, as well as the years of their respective reigns, are stamped on Livonian pennies excavated at archaeological sites; in many cases, this is the only biographical data available. No Livonian pennies before 1418 have been found.

More information about the role of the Archbishopric of Riga in the history of coinage is available at [http://department.monm.edu/history/urban/articles/COINS.htm "Medieval Livonian Numismatics" by William Urban]

ee also

*Bishopric of Courland
*Bishopric of Dorpat
*Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
*Bishopric of Reval
*Conquest of Estonia
*Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
*Kingdom of Livonia
*Livonian Brothers of the Sword
*Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
*United Baltic Duchy

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5539/archriga/archriga.html Archbishopric of Riga]
* [http://www.historia.lv/alfabets/R/ri/rigas_arhbisk/rigas_arhbisk.htm Rīgas arhibīskapija (1255-1562)]
* [http://www.historia.lv/alfabets/R/ri/rigas_arhbisk/encikl/rigas_arhbisk_lkv.htm Rīgas bīskapija un virsbīskapija]