Gotthard Kettler

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Gotthard Kettler

Gotthard von Kettler (also Ketteler; 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order

Livonian Order

The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561....
and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia is the name of a duchy in the Baltic states that existed from 1562 to 1791 as a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth....
.

Kettler was of an old Westphalia

Westphalia

Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Bielefeld, Bochum, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, M?nster, and Osnabr?ck and included in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony....
n noble family and the ninth child of the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
knight Gotthard Kettler zu Melrich (mentioned 1527–1556) and his wife Sophie of Nesselrode.

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Gotthard von Kettler (also Ketteler; 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order

Livonian Order

The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561....
and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

Westphalia

Germany

Komtur

Komtur was a rank within the Teutonic Knights. The Komtur was the commander within a specific region, or Commandry . A Komtur commanded Procurator ....
of Dünaburg, and in 1557 Komtur

Komtur

Komtur was a rank within the Teutonic Knights. The Komtur was the commander within a specific region, or Commandry . A Komtur commanded Procurator ....
of Fellin. In 1559, during the Livonian War

Livonian War

The Livonian War of 1558?1582 was a lengthy military conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and variable coalition of Denmark?Norway, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Kingdom of Poland , and Kingdom of Sweden for control of medieval Livonia, the territory of the present-day Estonia and Latvia....
(1558–1582) he succeed to Wilhelm von Fürstenberg as a Master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia

Livonia

Livonia was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida Castle....
. When the Livonian Confederation

Livonian Confederation

Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia that was formed in the aftermath of Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising the present day Estonia and Latvia....
came under increasing pressure from Tsar Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV of Russia

Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English language as Ivan the Terrible was Grand Duchy of Moscow from 1533. The epithet "Grozny" is associated with might, power and strictness, rather than poor performance, horror or cruelty....
, Kettler converted to Lutheranism

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century Germans Reformer Martin Luther....
and secularised Semigallia and Courland

Courland

Courland is one of the cultural and historical regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland....
. On the basis of the Union of Wilno

Union of Wilno

The Wilno Pact was an agreement reached on November 28, 1561 between Sigismund II Augustus and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The order was secularized, Courland and Semigalia became the Duchy of Courland and were granted to Gotthard Kettler....
(28 November 1561), he created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia as a vassal

Vassal

A vassal in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudal of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a monarch, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fiefdom....
state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until the 18th century. It was founded by Lithuanians, at the time one of the Lithuanian mythology Baltic tribes, whose initial lands covered Auk?taitija, the eastern part of present day Lithuania....
, which was soon merged into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th and 17th-century Europe, formed by a Union of Lublin of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569....
.

On 11 March 1566 Kettler married Anna, Duchess of Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
(1533 – 4 July 1602), the daughter of Duke Albert VII of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

Mecklenburg-Güstrow

Mecklenburg-G?strow was a North German state that existed on three separate occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg....
and Princess Anna of Brandenburg

Margraviate of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
.

Kettler died on 17 May 1587 in Mitau (Mitawa). His heirs ruled in Courland

Courland

Courland is one of the cultural and historical regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland....
until 1737.