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The Brotherhood of Blackheads ((ドイツ語:Bruderschaft der Schwarzhäupter)) is an association of local unmarried merchants, ship owners, and foreigners that was active in Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia) from the mid 14th century till 1940, remaining active since in Hamburg in present day. The Brotherhood of Blackheads was founded as a military organization, however, the non-military aspects of the association gradually became more pronounced until the Brotherhood became a predominantly social organization after the end of the Great Northern War. == History == The brotherhood traces its origin to a group of foreign merchants who, according to the legend, had participated in the defense of Reval (present-day Tallinn in Estonia) during the St. George's Night Uprising between 1343 and 1345 when the indigenous population of Estonia unsuccessfully tried to exterminate all foreigners and eradicate Christianity from Estonia.〔Rannu, Elena. 1993. ''The Living Past of Tallinn.'' 3rd ed. Tallinn: Perioodika Publishers. pp. 23-29.〕 The earliest documented mention of the Brotherhood comes in an agreement with the Tallinn Dominican Monastery from 28 March 1400 that confirms the Blackheads' ownership of all the sacred church vessels that they had deposited in the St. Catherine's Church of the Dominicans. In the same agreement the Blackheads commit themselves to decorating and lighting the altar of St. Mary that the brotherhood had commissioned for the church, and the Dominicans in their turn undertake to hold services in front of this altar to bless the souls of the Blackheads.〔 (The House of Blackheads )〕 On 12 September 1407, the Tallinn City Council ratified the statutes of the Brotherhood, also known as the Great Rights.〔 The statutes of the Brotherhood in Riga date back to 1416. According to the Great Rights in Tallinn, the Brotherhood of Blackheads committed itself to defending the city from any enemy invasion. Among other duties, the Brotherhood provided the city with a cavalry detachment. The Blackhead cavalrymen patrolled the city wall and six of them made rounds inside the wall every evening after the city gates were locked at sunset. In 1526 the Brotherhood presented the city council of Tallinn with 8 rock-hurling machines, 20 cannon-carriages, and 66 small-caliber guns. Money was donated for making cannons for Narva, and it was stipulated that the Blackheads' coat of arms be on all the guns.〔 During the 25-year-long Livonian War (1558-1583), members of the Brotherhood of Blackheads in Tallinn participated in many battles and successfully helped to defend the city against the Russians who unsuccessfully besieged Tallinn in 1570–1571 and again in 1577. After the end of the Great Northern War of 1700-1721, Livonia became part of the Russian Empire. The Hanseatic towns in Livonia lost much of the importance that they had enjoyed during the Middle Ages and the Brotherhood of Blackheads gradually transformed from a military society to a predominantly social organization. Although the chivalric code of honor the Brotherhood subscribed to and the rules governing close combat were mostly preserved, the military importance of Blackheads gradually diminished. However, in Tallinn the cavalry detachment with its own uniform survived until 1887. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the local brotherhoods of Blackheads were important as social organizations that sponsored social events, such as parties and concerts, and collected objects of fine art. In Tallinn and Riga, the houses of the Brotherhood, along with the medieval traditions still practiced in them, became important cultural and social centers for social elites. In 1895, the Brotherhood of Blackheads in Tallinn was formally reconstituted into the Blackheads Club.〔 The brotherhoods in Tallinn and Riga carried on in independent Estonia and Latvia until the beginning of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States in 1940, when the occupation authorities dissolved the Brotherhood. Most of the members were able to flee to Germany, where they tried to continue their traditions. In 1961 the Brotherhood of Blackheads was officially registered in Hamburg, where it survives to this day.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brotherhood of Blackheads」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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