The House of Lieven (Latvian: Līveni; Russian: Ливен; Swedish: Liewen) is one of the oldest and most aristocratic families of Baltic German and Nordic origin.
Lieven Līveni, Liewen, Ливен | |
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Noble family | |
Current region | Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania,Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom |
Place of origin | Livonia |
Founder | Caupo of Turaida |
Titles | Baron, Count, Knyaz (Prince) |
Traditions | Baltic Germans, Estonian Swedes, Rus' people |
Motto | “Si qua fors adiuvet” |
The family is descended from Caupo of Turaida (Latvian, Kaupo), the Livonian quasi rex who converted to Christianity in 1186, when Bishop Meinhard attempted to Christianize the region. The Livonian Chronicle of Henry tells that in the winter 1203–1204 Caupo went to Rome with Theoderich von Treyden, a Cistercian Monk who was later to become the founder of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and the first bishop of Estonia.[1] They were received in Rome by Pope Innocent III who supported their plans to Christianize Livonia, ennobled Caupo and granted him his coat of arms and the name Lieven. Caupo's grandson Nicholas was the first to spell his name Lieven.
According to feudal records, the Lieven ancestor Gerardus Līvo (1269) and his son Johannes (1296) entered service as vassals to the Archbishop of Rīga. One of Caupo's daughters married an ancestor of the barons, later Counts, of Ungern-Sternberg.
Thomas Lieven is the name of the fictional protagonist of the tongue-in-cheek spy novel "It Can't Always Be Caviar" by Austrian writer Johannes Mario Simmel.