Theoderich von Treyden

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Theoderich von Treyden (about 1160 – 15 June 1219) was a Cistercian monk who became a church leader in what is now Estonia. He worked as a priest in Turaida from 1191 to 1202, and in 1202 he became the first abbot of the Daugavgrīva monastery, a role he held until 1211. In 1211 he was named Bishop of Estonia by Albert of Buxhoeveden, the Bishop of Riga, a position he kept until his death in 1219.

He was the second known missionary in Livonia after Saint Meinhard and founded the Order of the Brothers of the Sword in 1202. Theoderich supported King Valdemar II of Denmark and was killed by Estonians at the Battle of Lyndanisse. After his death, the title Bishop of Estonia fell out of use for a time and the region’s church leadership was reorganized into several dioceses. Much of what we know about him comes from contemporary documents and the Livonian Chronicle of Henry.