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← Chronicon Terrae Prussiae (Chronicle of the Prussian Land)/Book 4 · Tercia pars: De bellis fratrum domus Theutonice contra Pruthenos
Chapter 46ChrP.4.46

De quoclam miraculo.

The Dead Pilgrim Raised at the Cemetery

A dead Prussian pilgrim is miraculously raised from his grave during a cemetery consecration, reveals his unjust seizure of a field, and is laid to rest again after his son promises restitution.

Around this time, a certain crusader from Miśnia, having completed his pilgrimage vow, had spent a year in the land of Prussia; on his journey home he died along the road. His son, anxious over his father's long absence, went looking for him in Prussia but didn't find him; but as he was making his way back, he came to a certain village where a bishop was consecrating a cemetery. During that consecration, as the bishop was sprinkling blessed water over the tombs of the dead, the body of a certain deceased person leaped out from its grave and propped itself against the wall of the church. At first the bishop alone saw this, but at last, through prayer, he obtained that the whole people who had been present at the consecration saw it plainly.1 The bishop therefore conjured the dead man to say who he was and why he had leaped from the grave.2 He answered that he had been a pilgrim in the land of Prussia for a year, and had died on the journey home and been buried there; and that on account of one field, which he had unjustly taken from his neighbor while he had lived, he had been condemned — but that on account of his pilgrimage vow, he himself [was named] Cris.34 … whose injury He avenged, changing eternal punishment to temporal — namely, that he would be punished in purgatory until one of his kinsmen should restore the said field.56 When this had been done, the bishop asked whether anyone had knowledge of him.7 The son answered him that the dead man was his father, and promised in good faith that he himself would restore the said field.

The Grace of Pilgrims and the Campaign in Pomerania

The narrator reflects on the grace shown to pilgrims, then recounts the Teutonic brothers' devastating raid into Pomerania and Swantepolcus's pursuit, culminating in an ambush on the plunder train and the cowardly flight of Drusigerus.

When this had been said, the bishop ordered the dead man to return to his grave, and he did so. See what great grace Christ himself grants to living and dead pilgrims alike — those who grieve for his sake in the disgrace of his cross and who do not fear to defend holy Church from the oppression of the unfaithful, risking their possessions and their very lives.8 Likewise, concerning the brothers' victory, in which once again five hundred Pomeranians were killed.9 After the papal legate had preached the cross in person and ordered it to be preached by others appointed for this purpose throughout kingdoms and provinces, the duke of Austria, roused to action, came to the aid of his steward Drusigerus with a large force of soldiers and battle-hardened men. Henry of Lichtenstein, a knight, also came, along with many other pilgrims.1011 With these forces and with Duke Casimir, the master and his brothers entered the land of Pomerania and, sweeping through with force and hostility over nine days and nights, laid it waste so thoroughly that there was not a corner of it they did not visit with plunder and fire. During the time these events were taking place, Swantepolcus gathered an exceedingly great army from among his subjects and the converts of the Prussian land. Following the brothers as they withdrew with his army, he camped each night in the very place where the brothers had pitched their tents, tethering his warhorses where the brothers' horses had been stationed before. By noting the number of tents and the layout of the paths, he reckoned that his army was more than twice the size of the brothers' force. He rejoiced with great joy and, encouraging his men, spoke these words to comfort them: 'Tomorrow we will see to it that the Pomeranians and Prussians are freed from the yoke of the Teutonic Order forever.'1213 When morning came and the brothers were withdrawing, some of Swantepolcus's army fell upon the plunder — which was very great, for it covered a distance of two leagues — and of the men assigned to guard it, they killed thirty.1415 But Drusigerus, who had been sent by the master to aid them, seeing that many had already been killed, fled in a panic — a coward.16

The Battle and the Victory of the Christians

Lord Henry of Lichtenstein restores the plunder, a fierce battle ensues in which fifteen hundred of the enemy fall, the Christians return in triumph, and false news of their defeat gives way to great rejoicing.

When Lord Henry of Lichtenstein saw this, he suddenly charged the enemy and restored the plunder they had carried off to its proper place. When Swantepolcus learned of this, he came to the aid of his men with three squadrons; and the Poles, seeing them, were terrified and all fled except for a certain knight, Martin of Cruczewicz, the standard-bearer, and Duke Casimir, by whose counsel a message was at once sent for Lord Henry of Lichtenstein. Meanwhile, the brothers drew up their forces for battle. But Swantepolcus, realizing that the brothers would not flee, ordered a thousand of the best men from their army to dismount from their horses, instructing them to fall upon the brothers with a great din and shouting, and that standing back with shields hidden, they should run their lances through the Christians' horses, saying: "They are weighed down with heavy arms and cannot fight on foot."17 After both armies had been drawn up for battle, Lord Henry returned, and looking upon the enemy said to the brothers: "Danger lies in delay — let's move against them." And they charged the enemy at full force, and a terrible clash broke out between them; and from Swantepolcus's army, fifteen hundred men fell dead on the field of combat. Of the Christians, none was mortally wounded, except for ten of their warhorses, which were pierced by the enemy's lances and killed. And so the brothers and the pilgrims returned in glorious victory with sixteen hundred of the enemy's warhorses and an abundance of other plunder, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.18 Drusigerus the steward, who had earlier withdrawn from the battle with his men as though in fear, reported in the city of Thorn that the brothers and the pilgrims and the entire army of the Christians had fallen in battle; and there was such mourning in the land of Culm and Poland among the faithful as had not been heard since the beginning of the world. But the next day around the hour of vespers, as the brothers returned victorious with their army, there was great rejoicing among the Christian people — so great that it surpassed even the grief spoken of the day before.

Read the original Latin

Hoc tempore quidam de Misna crucesignatus, dum completo peregrinacionis sue voto stetisset per annum in terra Prussie, in reditu versus patriam suam mortuus est in via. Cujus filius sollicitus de diuturna patris absencia, querens patrem in Prussia non invenit, sed, dum rediret, venit ad quandam villam, ubi episcopus cimiterium consecravit. In qua consecracione dum episcopus aquam benedictam aspergeret super tumulos defunctorum, cujusdam mortui corpus de sepulcro exiliens appodiavit se ad parietem ecclesie, quod primo solus episco pus vidit, sed tandem oracione impetravit, quod totus populus, qui consecracioni interfuit, vidit manifeste. Conjuravit itaque episcopus illum mortuum, ut diceret, quis esset, et quare de sepulcro exiliisset. Qui respondit, quod fuisset in terra Prussie ppregrinusc per annum, et in reditu mortuus et ibi sepultus, et propter unum agrum, quem vicino suo, dum vixerat, injuste abstulit, damnatus fuisset, sed propter Votum peregrinacionis, ipse Cris. tus, cujus injuriam vindicavit, penam eternam in temporalem commutavit, ut scilicet in purgatorio puniretur, quousque aliquis de propinquis suis redderet dictum agrum. Quo facto episcopus quesivit, sid aliquis noticiam haberet ejus? Cui respondit filius, quod ille mortuus esset pater ejus, et promitteret bona fide dictum agrum se redditurum.

Quo dicto episcopus jussit dictum mortuum redire ad sepulcrum quod et ipse fecit. Ecce quantam graciam confert ipse Cristus et vivis et mortuis peregrinis, qui vicem ejus dolent in opprobrio sue crucis, et ecclesiam sanctam ab oppressione infidelium exponendo res et corpora defendere non formidant. Item de victoria fratrum, in qua iterum md de Pomerania sunt occisi. 55 (54) Postquam legatus seclis apostolice crucem in propria persona predicavit, et jussit per alios in regnis et provinciis ad hoc deputatis predicari, commoti dux Austrie in subsidium Drusigerum" dapiferum suum cum multa milicia et viris exercitatis in bello, venit eciamb Henricus de Lichtenstein miles, et cum eo plures peregrini. Cum hiis et duce Casimiro magister et fratres cum suis intraverunt terram Pomeranie et potenter et hostiliter pertranseundo ix diebus et noctibus vastaverunt, sic quod non erat in ea angulus aliquis, quem non rapina et incendio visitassent. Medio tempore, quo hec agerentur, Swantepolcus cum suis subditis et neophitis terre Prussie congregavit exercitum grandem nimis, et fratres cum suo exercitu recedentes sequens, singulis noctibus mansit in eo loco, in quo fratres fixerant tentoria sua, ligans dextrarios suos, ubi fratrum equi erant prius locati, et sic notans numerum tentoriorum et viarum diversitatem consideravit, quod exercitus suus in duplo fratrum exercitu major esset, et gavisus est gaudio magno valde, et confortans suos consolatus est in hec verba: crastina die faciemus, quod Pomerani et Prutheni a jugo Theutonicorum in perpetuum absolventur. Mane facto dum fratres recederent, quidam de exercitu Swantepolci invaserunt spolium, quod multum fuit nimis, occupavit enim duas leucas, et de viris, qui ordinati fuerunt ad custodiam ejus, xxx occiderunt. Sed Drusigerus missus a magistro eis in auxilium, videns jam plures interfectos, fugit tanquam meticulosusd.

Quod considerans dominus Henricus de Lichtenstein repente irruit in hostes, et predam, quam abstulerant, restituit in locum suum. Quo percepto Swantepolcus cum tribus turmis venit in auxilium suis, quos videntes Poloni perterriti omnes fugerunt, preter quendam militem Martinum de Cruczewicz vexilliferum et ducem Casimirum, ad cujus consilium statim missum fuit pro domino Henrico de Lichtenstein. Medio tempore fratres ordinaverunt se ad pugnam. Sed Swantepolcus considerans, quod fratres nollent fugere, mandavit mille viris pocioribus de exercitu suo, ut de equis descei\dcrent, informans eos, ut cum magno strepitu et clamore fratres invaderent, et stantes retro occultatie clipeis cum lanceis suis equos Cristianorum transfigerent, dicens: gravibus onerati sunt armis et pedestres bellare non-possunt. Post ordinacionem utriusque exercitus ad prelium, dominus Henricus reversus fuit, et intuens hostes ait ad fratres: periculum est in mora, accedamus ad eos; et irruerunt, cum impetu in hostes, factusque est conflictus horribilis inter eos, et de exercitu Swantepolci in loco certaminis mille quingenti viri mortui ceciderunt, de Cristianis nullus fuit letaliter vulneratus, preter x dextrarios eorum, qui transfixi lanceis hostium occubuerunt. Sicque fratres et peregrini cum mille sexcentisa dextrariis adversariorum, et preda alia multa nimis et gloriosa victoria redierunt, cooperante domino nostro Jesu Gristo, qui est benedictus in secula seculorum Amen. Drusigerus dapifer, qui prius tanquam formidolosus a bello cum suis recesserat, nunciavit in civitate Thorun, fratres et peregrinos et tot um exercitum Cristianorum1' in prelio cecidisse, et factus fuit tantus planctus in terra Colmensi et Polonie a cristifidelibus, quantus a seculo est auditus. Sed crastina die circa horam vesperarum, dum fratres cum suo exercitu victoriose redirent, facta est leticia magna in populoCristiano et tanta, quod eciam hesterne dici mesticiam excedebat.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The source reads 'episco pus' (visibly split/truncated); normalized to 'episcopus' for translation.
  2. 2 ↩'Conjuravit' here means the bishop solemnly charged or adjured the dead man (in an exorcistic or authoritative sense), not 'swore an oath.'
  3. 3 ↩'ppregrinusc' is a corrupted form, normalized to 'peregrinus' (pilgrim).
  4. 4 ↩The sentence breaks off at 'ipse Cris' — the dead man gives his name (Cris/Crispus?), but the syntax is incomplete. The translation preserves the abrupt ending.
  5. 5 ↩The sentence begins abruptly with 'tus' (likely a truncated word from the preceding line in the manuscript). The subject of 'vindicavit' and 'commutavit' is God (Christ), understood from context.
  6. 6 ↩The passage teaches that the dead man's eternal damnation was commuted to temporal punishment in purgatory because of his pilgrimage vow, conditioned on restitution by his relatives.
  7. 7 ↩'sid' is a variant spelling of 'si' (if/whether).
  8. 8 ↩vicem ejus dolent: literally 'who suffer in his place/vicarious role'; rendered as 'grieve for his sake' to capture the participatory sense of sharing in the reproach of the cross.
  9. 9 ↩md = quingenti (500), expanded from the manuscript numeral.
  10. 10 ↩seclis apostolice = sedis apostolicae (of the apostolic see); normalized reading followed.
  11. 11 ↩eciamb = etiam (also); normalized reading followed.
  12. 12 ↩neophitis: newly converted Christians (to the faith in Prussia); rendered as 'converts.'
  13. 13 ↩in duplo: 'twofold / double'; rendered as 'more than twice the size' for natural English.
  14. 14 ↩leucas: a league (approx. 1.5 miles); rendered with explanatory phrasing.
  15. 15 ↩xxx = triginta (30), expanded from the manuscript numeral.
  16. 16 ↩meticulosusd = meticulosus (fearful, cowardly); normalized reading followed.
  17. 17 ↩The Latin contains apparent scribal errors ("descei\dcrent", "occultatie") that have been normalized for translation.
  18. 18 ↩"sexcentisa" interpreted as 1,600 (mille sexcentis = 1,600 dextrariis). "Gristo" is a scribal variant of "Christo."

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