De edificacione castri Potterbergk.
The Founding of Potterbergk
Master Poppo builds the fortress of Potterbergk on a strategic mountain between Kolberg and the old castle, garrisoning it with twelve brothers and men-at-arms to prevent Duke Swantepolcus from seizing the high ground and to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Brother Poppo, the master, recognizing the cunning of the said duke in this—that he was fortifying himself on all sides with castles, guarding against dangers in the future—built a fortress on a mountain situated between the city now called Kolberg and the old castle, which he named Potterbergk from the name of the mountain, placing there twelve brothers along with many men-at-arms.1 This fortress was built so that Swantepolcus would not seize the said mountain with his own buildings, and so that the latest mistake would not turn out worse than the previous one.✦2 [The single character 'w' in the source is uncertain—possibly an abbreviation or scribal mark with no clear meaning.]3
Read the original Latin
Frater Poppo magister considerans dicti ducis astuciam in hoc, quod se castris undique firmaret, precavens periculis in futurum, in monte, sito inter civitatem nunc Colmensem et antiquum castrum, edificavit castrum, quod a no mine montis Potterbergk nuncupavit, locans ibi xii fratres, cum multis armigeris. Hec edificacio facta fuit, ne Swantepolcus dictum montem edificiis occuparet, et factus fuisset error novissimus pejor priore. w
Scripture echoes
- ↩Matt.27.64 — Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come, steal him away, and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead.' And the last deception will be worse than the first.
Notes
- 1 ↩The source reads 'a no mine montis' as a split compound for 'a nomine montis' ('from the name of the mountain'); the translation follows the corrected reading.
- 2 ↩The phrase 'error novissimus pejor priore' ('the last error worse than the previous') may echo scriptural language (cf. Matthew 12:45, 27:64), but no direct quotation is certain; treated as a free historical statement.
- 3 ↩The source consists of a single character 'w', likely an abbreviation, scribal mark, or fragment. No confident translation is possible without further context.
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