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 and became an autonomous "sub-order".