De hoc exercitu fugit occulte quidam armiger de Raganita, natus de terr.
The Traitor's Pact
A knight of Raganita, called a son of perdition, betrays his brethren by pledging to deliver the Scalowitae castle to the Lithuanian king under penalty of death.
To the Barthensi — a son of perdition — who came to the king of the Lithuanians and bound himself under penalty of death to hand over to him the castle of the Scalowitae.✦
The King's Credulous Aid
The Lithuanian king, believing the traitor's words, furnishes him with an army that same winter.
The king, lending a credulous ear to his words, gave him an army that same winter.
The Siege and Defense of the Castle
The Lithuanian army attacks the castle, killing Brother Lodewicus Osse, but Brothers Conrad and Albert manfully defend the gate in a fierce battle; the enemy, unable to prevail, burns the suburb and withdraws.
They came near the aforementioned castle and killed the brother called Lodewicus Osse. Then, when they advanced secretly all the way to the gate, Brother Conrad and Brother Albert of Indagine, with their own men-at-arms — though few in number — hearing the clamor of the army, set themselves against the enemy manfully; and after a long battle of fighting, they at last scarcely defended the castle from the assault of the infidels — though not without injury to many on each side. The Lithuanians, however, seeing that they could accomplish nothing more, burned the suburb and withdrew.
Read the original Latin
Barthensi, filius perdicionis, qui veniens ad regem Lethowinorum obligavit se sub pena capitis sui tradere ipsi castrum Scalowitarum. Cujus verbis rex aurem credulam*1 adhibens, dedit ei exercitum eadem hyeme. Qui venientes prope dictum castrum, fratrem Lodewicum dictum Osse interfecerunt, deinde cum occulte venirent usque ad portam, frater Conradus et frater Albertus de Indagine cum suis armigeris licet paucis, audientes strepitum exercitus, opposuerunt se viriliter, et habito longo altercacionis bello, tandem vix castrum ab im pugnacione infidelium defenderunt, non tarnen sine lesione plurium utriusque partis. Lethowini autem videntes, quod amplius agere non possent, combusto preurbio recesserunt.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.17.12;2Thess.2.3 — While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 2Thess.2.3 — Let no one deceive you in any way, because the rebellion must come first, and the man of lawlessness must be revealed—the son of destruction.
Chronicon Terrae Prussiae (Chronicle of the Prussian Land) companion
Keep reading the sources for yourself
The full 428-chapter chronicle — and 78+ other historic works — readable daily in the free Chosen Portion iOS app
The knights kept fixed daily hours of prayer alongside their campaigns; Chosen Portion keeps the fixed daily reading and drops the campaigning.
- The complete chronicle in modern English, in portions under 5 minutes
- Pericope headings that let you navigate 428 chapters by theme
- A daily reading habit that outlasts the 5-week course