De occisione lxxx Lethowinorum.
The Ambush of Eighty Lithuanians
Brother Frederick of Libencele led a surprise attack that killed eighty Lithuanian guards at Bisene castle during a change of garrison, with only five escaping.
At this time Brother Frederick of Libencele, vice-commander of Cristmemela, set out toward Lithuania with twenty brothers and sixty men, at the very moment when eighty Lithuanians assigned to guard the castle of Bisene were due to withdraw and others were due to arrive in their place — and he and his accomplices killed them all, except five who threw down their arms and escaped under cover of flight.1
Read the original Latin
Hoc tempore frater Fridericus de Libencele vicecommendator de Cristmemela cum xx fratribus et lx viris, versus Lethowiam est profectus eo tempore, quo lxxx Lethowini deputati ad custodiam castri Bisene debebant recedere, et alii supervenire, quos ipse et sui complices omnes occiderunt, preter quinque, qui rejectis armis fuge presidio evaserunt.
Notes
- 1 ↩fuge presidio: the ablative phrase is rendered 'under cover of flight' — fuga may mean 'flight' (the act of fleeing) and praesidium 'protection/provision,' together suggesting they escaped by means of fleeing, with the flight itself as their cover.
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