Courland

historical region, Europe
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Also known as: Kurland, Kurzeme
Also spelled:
Kurland
Latvian:
Kurzeme
Major Events:
Partitions of Poland
Key People:
Ernst Johann, Reichsgraf von Biron
Related Places:
Latvia

Courland, region on the Baltic seacoast, located south of the Western Dvina River and named after its inhabitants, the Latvian tribe of Curonians (Kurs, Cori, Cours; Latvian: Kursi). The duchy of Courland, formed in 1561, included this area as well as Semigallia (Zemgale), a region located east of Courland proper. After the Order of the Brothers of the Sword (from 1237 the Livonian Knights, or Order of the Teutonic Knights of Livonia) conquered the Latvian lands north of the Western Dvina, it mounted a crusade (c. 1220s) against the Curonians, who had established their own tribal kingdom by the end ...(100 of 523 words)