Curonian

The Curonians were Baltic sailors and pirates settled on the Baltic coast from the fifth century, in lands still bearing their name: Courland in western Latvia and the Curonian Spit, Grobiņa their early centre. Norse sources record raids on Sweden with Estonians; in 854 they resisted Swedish tribute, defending Apuolė for eight days.

They resisted the Livonian Crusade, attacking Riga in 1210 and again in 1228 with the Semigallians. Northern Curonians made peace in 1230 under ruler Lammekinus, but the south fought on; at Durbe in 1260 Curonian troops deserted the Livonian Order and helped the Samogitians win. Resistance ended in 1266 with Courland divided between the Order and the Archbishop of Riga.

Northern Curonians merged into the Latvians, southerners into the Samogitians; their language was extinct by the sixteenth century, leaving traces in Samogitian and Latvian dialects.