De vastacione territorii Oukaym.
The Ambush at Junigedamb
Brother Henry Zutswert leads a force toward Junigedamb, springs an ambush, and nearly inflicts heavy losses on the defenders before breaking off too soon.
Around the feast of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul in that same year, Brother Henry Zutswert, the aforementioned commander of Balga, rode with twenty brothers and fifteen hundred men toward the castle of Junigedamb; and after laying an ambush, three brothers from Raganita with their armed retainers, banner raised, advanced on said castle, in which many settlers were at that time. These men, deeply enraged by this, pursued them hostilely with armed force; but the brothers would have inflicted heavy losses on them if they had not broken off their ambush too soon.
The Devastation of Oukaym
After resting and resolving not to return empty-handed, the brothers ravage the territory of Oukaym with fire and plunder, then defeat foot soldiers blocking their retreat.
After this was done, the brothers, withdrawing with their force, rested in a certain place for some time; and after many discussions had been held, it pleased all of them that they should certainly not return empty-handed. So they entered the territory of the castle of Oukaym and laid it waste with fire and plunder. Having therefore captured and killed many men, they returned with great spoil. But because the cavalry of that territory had gone the day before in response to the alarm the brothers had raised around the castle of Junigedam, only foot soldiers followed them, blocking the road in a certain forest. The brothers, passing swiftly through it, came out onto a plain and fell upon them there, killing twenty; the rest turned to flight and did not dare to show themselves afterward.
The Lithuanian Invasion of Poland
King Pucuwerusd of Lithuania sends his son Vithenus to ravage Poland; the Polish dukes appeal to the Teutonic master for aid, but flee before battle is joined.
On the devastation of the land of Poland. Pucuwerusd, king of Lithuania, also in this year sent his son Vithenus with a great army toward Poland, to the land of Brest; and after much damage had been done there in the killing and capture of people, by fire and plunder, Casimir and Lochoto, dukes of Poland, anxious for the safety of their people, begged Brother Meneko, master of Prussia, for aid. He came with a great army, and just as he was about to begin attacking the aforesaid infidels, the aforementioned dukes, with all their Poles, turned tail.
The Brothers' Retreat in Peril
Seeing the Polish dukes flee, the outnumbered brothers withdraw under great danger, with many brothers and Christians wounded before they can pull back.
When they saw this, the brothers, terrified and unable to resist so great a multitude, withdrew as well — but not without great danger to their own, because many brothers and other Christians were seriously wounded before they could pull back honorably from the battle.12
Read the original Latin
Circa festum beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum ejusdem anni, frater Ilenricus Zutswert predictus commendator de Balga, cum xx fratribus et mille quingentis viris equitavit versus castrum Junigedamb, et ordinatis insidiis, fra tres de Raganita cum suis armigeris erecto vexillo processerunt ad dictum ca strum, in quo tune multi hospites fuerunt, qui ex hoc multum indignati, armata manu ipsos hostiliter sequebantur; sed fratres magnam stragem fecissent in eis, si nimis mature suas insidias non rupissent. Quo facto fratres cum suo exercitu recedentes in quodam loco per tempus aliquod quieverunt, et post multos tractatus habitos, placuit omnibus, quod utique manu vacua non redirent. Unde intrantes territorium castri Oukaym, devastarunt illud incendio et rapina. Captis ergo et occisis pluribus hominibus cum magno spolio redierunt. Sed quia equites hujus territorii pridie iverunt ad clamorem, quem fratres circa castrum Junigedam excitaverant, solum pedites sequebantur eos, occupantes viam in quadam silva, quam fratres celeriter pertranseuntes in quadam campi planicie ipsos invadentes xu occiderunt, alii in fugam conversi non audebant postea coinparere. De clepreclacione terre Polonie. <24') Pucuwerusd rex Lethowie eciam hoc anno filium suum Vithenum cum magnoe exercitu misit versus Poloniam ad terram Bristensem et post multa damna ibidem facta in occisione et capcione hominum incendio et rapina, Casimirus et Lochoto duces Polonie anxii de salute suorum, supplicaverunt fratri Menekoni magistroPrussie pro subsidio. Qui cum magno exercitu veniens, dum dictos infideles inciperet impugnare, prefati duces, cum omnibus suis Polonis terga verterunt.
Quo viso fratres perterriti, non habentes potenciam resistendi tante multitudini, recesserunt eciam, sed non sine magno periculo suorum, quia multi fratres et alii cristifideles fuerunt graviter vulnerati, antequam honeste possent a dicto certamine declinare.
Notes
- 1 ↩cristifideles is a medieval compound (Christ + faithful); rendered as 'Christians' to capture the sense of 'Christ-faithful' in natural modern English.
- 2 ↩eciam (medieval spelling of etiam) rendered as 'as well' rather than 'also' to fit the narrative flow; it carries additive rather than emphatic force here.
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