Bishopric of Courland
In 1230, Lamekinas, Duke of West Courland, signed an agreement with the vice-legat Baldwin of Alna (Baudoin d’Aulne)[2] of the Pope Gregory IX about the voluntary conversion of his people to Christianity and receiving the same rights as the inhabitants of Gotland.In 1242 the area of Courland passed under the influence of the Teutonic Knights owing to the amalgamation of this order with that of the Brethren of the Sword in 1237.In 1559 the Bishop of Courland and Ösel-Wiek Johann V von Münchhausen sold his lands to King Frederick II of Denmark for 30,000 thalers.In 1577, having lost Ivan's favor and receiving no support from his brother, Magnus called on the Livonian nobility to rally to him in a struggle against foreign occupation.After Magnus of Livonia died in 1583, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth invaded his territories in the Duchy of Courland and Frederick II of Denmark decided to sell his rights of inheritance.