De bello navali.
Conrad's Naval Sortie
Brother Conrad courageously breaks through Swantepolk's blockade with provisions, trusting in the Lord and sinking enemy ships despite casualties.
Brother Poppo, the master, anxious for the safety of the faithful, sent Brother Conrad—called Bremer—with many men-at-arms, to lead three ships loaded with provisions into Eibingum. When Conrad was coming near Santirium, he found Swantepolk and many of his people with twenty ships lying in wait. When Brother Conrad saw them, not as a timid man trembling with fear, but as one of great courage who had put his trust in the Lord, he swiftly drove his ships forward with the strength of his rowers at full speed and charged them with a mighty assault—so that once several of the duke's ships had been sunk, the others were shattered. At this the enemy, seeing them close to shore, advanced and began hurling stones. They knocked out one of Brother Conrad's teeth and wounded several others, but the rest got safely through to Eibingum.
Return Under Attack
The ships are sent back from Elbing but attacked again by Swantepolk, resulting in single combat where Brother Frederick kills the enemy captain and rescues stranded brothers.
More about the same. The brothers from Elbing, who had long awaited the arrival of those ships with great weariness and want, once they had been informed about the situation in the land of Kulm, sent the ships back with their messengers. As these ships were approaching the fortress of Sweczam, Swantepolk with many men-at-arms and ten ships attacked them again.1 Indeed, the captain of the aforementioned duke attacked Brother Frederick of Wida, who was in command of the others, and pierced his jaw with a lance. But Brother Frederick, resisting from the opposite side, killed him. In the ship of the citizens of Elbing, which came rushing in and then sat motionless on the sand, two brothers were killed. But Brother Frederick, coming up in time, freed the others and placed them on his own ship, so that with two brothers and twenty men from the opposing side killed, the rest escaped.
Mercy in Famine
A nobleman from Cracow enters the Teutonic Order and sends abundant provisions to relieve the starving brothers, moved by divine compassion.
Concerning a certain nobleman who was received into the order of the Teutonic House. Not long afterwards, with provisions failing in the camp, the brothers and their household, already nearly wasted by starvation, cried out for help to the Lord, who always bears tender compassion for the afflicted.✦ Whence a certain nobleman from Cracow inclined his mind toward entering the religious life. He filled three great ships with wine and niedone or honeyed drink, and other things necessary for sustenance, and sent three hundred oxen and cows and many other beasts of burden ahead to the castle of Torun. He himself followed and was received with great reverence, and received the habit of the order of the Teutonic House —
Read the original Latin
Frater Poppo magister sollicitus de salute fidelium, misit fratrem Conradum dictum Bremer cum multis armigeris, ut tres naves oneratas victualibus duceret in Eibingum, qui cum veniret prope Santirium, invenit Swantepolcum et multos de populo suo cum xx navibus exspectantes. Quos cum frater Conradus videret, non tanquam meticulosus expavescens, sed velut magnanimus in domino confisus, navibus suis virtute remigancium velociter currentibus, cum magno impetu ipsos viriliter est aggressus, sic quod pluribus de navibus ducis submersis, alie fuerunt confracte. Unde hostes videntes eos vicinos litori accesserunt cum lapidibus, proicientes. Fratri Conrado unum dentem eruerunt, et plures alios leserunt, alii salvi in Eibingum pervenerunt. Item de eodem. 51 (50) Fratres de Elbingo qui adventum istarum navium diu cum magno tedio et defectu expectaverantb, instructi de statu terre Colmensis, naves cum suis nunciis remiserunt. Que dum venirent circa castrum Sweczam, Swantepolcus cum multis armigeris et x navibus iterum invasiU eos. Capitaneus vero dicti ducis fratrem Fridericum de Wida, qui aliis prefuit, est aggressus, et maxillam ejus lancea perforavit, sed frater Fridericus ex adverso se opponens ipsum interfecit.
In navi civium de Elbingo, que cum impetu veniens stetit immobilis super arena, occisi fuerunt duo fratres, sed frater Fridericus superveniens alios liberavit et in suam navem locavit, sic quod duobus fratribus et in viris et de parte adversa xx interfectis alii evaserunt. De quodam nobili viro, qui receptus fuit ad ordinem domus Theutonice. 52 (5i) Non longe postea deficientibus victualibus in castris, fratres cum familia sua jam pene inedia consumpti clamaverunt pro auxilio ad dominum, qui pia semper gestat viscera super afflictos. Unde cujusdam nobilis viri de Cracovia ad religionis ingressum animum inclinavit, qui tres magnas naves vino et niedone seu melicrato, et aliis, que ad victum sunt necessaria, replens, et ccc boves et vaccas et alia multa jumenta premisit ad castrum Thorun, sequutusque cum magna reverencia est receptus, et ordinis domus Theutopice suscepit habi-
Scripture echoes
- ↩Luke.1.78;Phil.1.8 — because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from on high Phil.1.8 — For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Notes
- 1 ↩The manuscript reads 'invasiu' (with a U); the normalized text treats this as 'invasit' (he attacked). Translation follows the corrected reading.
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