Courland

The Bishopric of Courland was a scattered ecclesiastical state based at Piltene in western Livonia. In 1337 Bishop Johan ruled as a client of the Livonian Order.

In 1521 Courland became a prince-bishopric of the Empire. During the Livonian War its last bishop sold it to Denmark in 1560, and Duke Magnus received it. The Treaty of Kronborg sold it to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1585, after which it survived as the semi-autonomous District of Pilten.