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instrument (No. 270) and an attestation of a last will (No. 260). The Duke of Prussia is the addressee
of the largest number of letters (Nos. 171, 181, 183, 251, 261, 287, 315, 350, 351.), which as of 1530
among other things touch upon the appointment and status of Margrave Wilhelm of Brandenburg,
coadjutor of the Archbishop of Riga. The chapter also contains letters addressed to the officials of
the Town Councils of Riga (No. 145) and Tallinn (No. 148), the Livonian Master (No. 149), to the
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order about the oath to be sworn on behalf of the Prussian bishoprics
to an official representative of the Archbishop of Riga (1513, No. 146) and to the Bishop of Saare-
Lääne about the topical issues of the Reformation (1525, No. 162).
Chapter 4
The trends of the modern times and the last Archbishop of Riga
1539–1556
The age of post-Reformation ushered in changes in the religious sphere and public relations
and triggered the development of a new political system in Europe. Secular rulers concentrated
power in their hands thus lessening the influence of the large vassals and clergy. In the Baltic Sea
Region there began to emerge large centralised states which aspired to ever new territories. At
the eastern border of Livonia there was situated one of these states, the Grand Duchy of Muscovy,
which clearly showed interest in increasing its influence in Livonia. Poland also increased its influ
ence in the region; Poland was moving closer to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and held the liege
lordship over the Duchy of Prussia. The King of Denmark, too, was involved in the developments in
Livonia and the Holy Roman Emperor whom the Livonian players turned to as the highest judicial
arbitrator, also played a certain role there.
The last Archbishop of Riga Wilhelm of Brandenburg (1539–1563) was the brother of the Duke
of Prussia and came from a noble family of German princes. As to his religious beliefs he was closer
to Lutheranism than to Catholicism and this fact was reflected in his tense relations with the papal
curia in Rome and in his contacts with the evangelical town of Riga. His relations with the latter on
the whole were friendly although overshadowed by a dispute over the Archbishop’s properties in
the town and his status as its overlord. To strengthen his positions in relation to the town of Riga
and the Teutonic Order, the Archbishop resorted both to his kindred ties, his knowledge of history
and the writings of Albert Krantz (1543). In Wilhelm’s time, in 1554, the Livonian landtag acknowl
edged the freedom of faith in all of Livonia, although in the Archbishop’s lands the Lutheran Refor
mation was not carried out in full scale as had been intended.
At that time Turaida was an important administrative centre of the Archbishopric of Riga and
was under the charge of the reeves who were appointed from the ranks of the Archbishop’s vassals.
Georg von Rosen of Nabben (1537–1547) remained in office after the death of his previous lord and
was succeeded by trustees of the Duke of Prussia and representatives of influential vassal families
Johann von der Pale (1546–1550) and Georg Taube (1554–1556). In 1540s–1550s, the castellan of
Turaida castle and district was Reinhold Sachsen who earlier had been forced to leave Livonia
because of his involvement in political plots in Saaremaa on the side of Wilhelm of Brandenburg.
The chapter contains 109 texts. Two of these are documents of economic nature dealing with
the collection of duties and revenues in Turaida castle district (Nos. 325, 353), nine are documents
produced in Turaida: fief documents issued by the Archbishop of Riga, a transsumation (
trans-
sumt
), a court ruling and two notarial attestations. Apart from the cases pertaining to the granting
of fiefs and selling of lands, the sources also handle the issues of mortgaging of manors, litigation
about the division of inheritance, including those that involved women and their guardians, and
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