View source for Archbishopric of Riga

{{Short description|Medieval Catholic state in present-day Latvia (1186-1561)}}
{{distinguish|text=the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia#Archbishop of Riga|Lutheran Archbishop of Riga]] or the current [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga]]}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = {{native name|la|Archiepiscopatus Rigensis}}<br />{{native name|nds|Erzbisdom Riga}}
| conventional_long_name = Archbishopric of Riga
| common_name            = Riga
| status                 = [[Prince-Bishop]]ric of [[Terra Mariana]]
| era                    = [[Middle Ages]]
| p1                     = Ancient Estonia
| p2                     = Principality of Jersika
| p3                     = Principality of Koknese
| p4                     = Tālava
| s1                     = Duchy of Livonia
| s2                     = Free City of Riga
| year_start             = 1186
| 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
| image_flag             = 
| image_coat             = Rigasiebmacher new.png
| other_symbol_type      = Seal
| other_symbol           = [[File:Archbishopric of Riga.svg|80px]]
| image_map              = Medieval Livonia 1260.svg
| image_map_caption      = Archbishopric of Riga (in yellow), shown within [[Terra Mariana]]
| government_type        = [[Theocracy]]
| legislature            = 
| common_languages       = {{ubl|[[Latin]]|[[Low German]]|[[Livonian language|Livonian]]|[[Latvian language|Latvian]]}}
| capital                = [[Riga]]
| religion               = [[Roman Catholic]]
| currency               = Livonian [[Penny]]<br />Livonian [[Austrian schilling|Schilling]]
| today                  = [[Latvia]]
}}
{{History of Latvia}}

The '''Archbishopric of Riga''' ({{langx|la|Archiepiscopatus Rigensis}}, {{langx|nds|Erzbisdom Riga}}) was a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] diocese and civil government in [[Terra Mariana|Medieval Livonia]], subject to the [[Holy See]]. It was established in 1186 and ended in 1561.

== History ==
{{see also|Livonian Confederation|Livonian Order|Conquest of Estonia|Northern Crusades}}
The diocese was established in 1186 as the Bishopric of Livonia at [[Ikšķile]]; after its [[Episcopal see|seat]] was moved to [[Riga]], it became the Bishopric of Riga in 1202 and was elevated to an archbishopric in 1255.

The archbishops of Riga were also the secular rulers of [[Riga]] until 1561 when during the [[Reformation]] the territory converted from [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] to [[Lutheranism]] and all church territories were secularized. The [[Episcopal see|see]] was restored as a [[diocese]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in 1918 and raised into an [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga|archdiocese]] in 1923.
== Bishops and Archbishops of Riga ==
{|class="wikitable"
!colspan="2"|Bishopric of Livonia<br>(Bishopric of [[Ikšķile|Üxküll]])<br>1186–1255
|-
| 1186–1196|| [[Saint Meinhard]]
|-
| 1196–1198|| [[Berthold of Hanover]]
|-
| 1199–1202|| [[Albert of Riga]]
|-
!colspan="2"|Bishopric of Riga<br>1202–1255
|-
| 1202–1229|| [[Albert of Riga]]
|-
| 1229–1253|| [[:de:Nikolaus von Nauen|Nikolaus von Nauen]]
|-
| 1245–1255|| [[Albert Suerbeer]]
|-
!colspan="2"|Archbishopric of Riga<br>1255–1561
|-
| 1255–1273|| [[Albert Suerbeer]]
|-
| 1273–1284|| Johannes I of Lune
|-
| 1285–1294|| Johannes II of Vechten
|-
| 1294–1300|| Johannes III of Schwerin
|-
| 1300–1302|| Isarnus Tacconi of Fontiès-d'Aude
|-
| 1303–1310 || [[Jens Grand]]<br/>''titular, never came to Riga''
|-
| 1304–1341|| [[Friedrich von Pernstein]]
|-
| 1341–1347|| [[Engelbert von Dolen]]
|-
| 1348–1369|| Bromhold von Vyffhusen
|-
| 1370–1374|| Siegfried Blomberg 
|-
| 1374–1393|| Johannes IV von Sinten
|-
| 1393–1418|| Johannes V von Wallenrodt
|-
| 1418–1424|| [[Johannes Ambundii|Johannes Ambundi]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Das Stift Neumünster in Würzburg |last=Wendehors |first=Alfred |year=1989 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-012057-7 |page=503 |language=de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnkB23QthD8C&pg=PA503 |access-date=2009-07-22 }}</ref>
|-
| 1424–1448|| Henning Scharpenberg
|-
| 1448–1479|| Silvester Stodewescher
|-
| 1479–1484|| [[Sede vacante]] ''(empty seat)''
|-
| 1484–1509|| [[Michael Hildebrand]]
|-
| 1509–1524 || Jasper Linde<ref>due to [[deflation]], no coins were minted during the reign of Jasper Linde; biographical data exists in alternate formats</ref>
|-
| 1524–1527 || Johannes VII Blankenfeld<ref>due to deflation, no coins were minted during the reign of Johannes VII Blankenfeld; biographical data exists in alternate formats</ref>
|-
| 1528–1539|| [[Thomas Schöning]]
|-
| 1539–1563|| [[Wilhelm von Brandenburg]]
|}

A new [[Diocese of Inflanty|Bishopric of Livonia]] was established in [[Latgalia]] in 1621 during the [[Inflanty Voivodeship]] of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]].

== Coinage ==

The Archbishops of Riga were innovators in the field of [[Mint (coin)|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 [[penny|pennies]] excavated at archaeological sites. In many cases, this is the only biographical data available. No Livonian pennies before 1418 have been found.

== See also ==
*[[Bishopric of Courland]]
*[[Bishopric of Dorpat]]
*[[Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek]]
*[[Bishopric of Reval]]
*[[Livonian Crusade]]
*[[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]]
*[[Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights]]

== External links ==
* 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]
*[http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5539/archriga/archriga.html Archbishopric of Riga] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20091022185435/http://geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5539/archriga/archriga.html Archived] 2009-10-25)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070223134832/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]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Crusader States}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Riga, Archbishopric of}}
[[Category:Prince-bishoprics in Livonia]]
[[Category:History of Livonia]]
[[Category:History of Riga]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Latvia]]
[[Category:Gulf of Riga]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1186]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1561]]
[[Category:1186 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:1561 disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Former theocracies]]