Originally from
Naumburg,
Germany, Volkwin succeeded
Wenno von Rohrbach, the first master of the order. Volkwin led the Sword-Brothers in the
Northern Crusades in
Latvia and
Estonia against the
Samogitians,
Curonians,
Semigallians, and
Selonians. He was ultimately killed by the
Samogitians during the course of the
Battle of Saule in 1236. The surviving Sword-Brothers were subsequently assimilated into the
Teutonic Knights led by
Hermann Balk, becoming its autonomous branch, the
Livonian Order. ==References==