De morte Pomeranorum plurium et Pruthenorum.
The Siege of Christburg and Swantopolk's Rout
The Prussians and Swantopolk conspire to destroy Christburg, but the Teutonic brothers repel their forces in successive engagements, routing the Pomeranian army.
Once the castle of Christburg had been built, the foolish in heart were thrown into turmoil — the new converts and Swantopolk — and they plotted together in unison how they might overthrow and destroy it, attempting their assault by various means. At last they formed a mutual conspiracy among themselves, so that they would simultaneously besiege the castle of Christburg and not withdraw from the siege until they had leveled it to the ground on the other side.1 Having gathered a great army, the Prussians sent ahead many men-at-arms to lead the carts and wagons carrying provisions and arms, and to guard them. The brothers attacked these advance forces in battle and killed them all, then led the carts and wagons back to their own castle. When the Prussians learned of this, they were enraged and returned to their own lands. But Swantopolk came with his army to the castle of Santir, where he measured out a camp and sent ahead many soldiers and men-at-arms to investigate more diligently whether the castle of Christburg was under siege. The brothers from Christburg also attacked these soldiers, and after killing many of them, the rest fled with loud shouting back to the army of their lord Swantopolk. When the Pomeranian army learned of this, they were so thoroughly terrified that every one of them turned tail and fled.
The Nattangian Ambush and the Brothers' Capitulation
Swantopolk's son blockades the brothers' routes; a Teutonic raid into Nattangia ends in encirclement, and the brothers surrender on terms — despite Brother John's courageous counsel to fight.
When the brothers saw this, they pursued them, killed some, and captured others; the rest threw themselves into the Vistula and drowned. But the leader, with a few men, barely escaped by boat. And so Swantepolk was defeated, because the whole strength of his army had been sapped, and from that point on he rested. Concerning the battle in Nattangia, where 54 brothers along with many Christians were killed. After this curse, that son of Swantepolk set himself against the brothers, blocking their passage — neither by land nor by water to the lower regions, nor the reverse — unless it be with a heavy force of fighters. So the master sent many brothers and men-at-arms, who gathered to themselves the brothers from Elbing and Balga, and entering the land of Nattangia with armed force, they laid it waste with fire and plunder. Having made a great slaughter of men, they tried to withdraw but found every road held by the enemy, who powerfully blocked their exit — so that the brothers were forced to fall back to the village called Crucke. When the Prussians saw this, they besieged them so thoroughly that neither did the brothers dare go out to them, nor did the Prussians dare come out to the brothers for battle. At last, as the crowd of Prussians grew, the brothers were forced to accept these terms. For they gave as hostages Brother Henry, called Botel, the marshal, and three other brothers, just as the Prussians demanded — so that the others who had been captured might nevertheless remain safe in body. These terms were displeasing only to that God-beloved brother John, the vice-commendator of Balga, who counseled in good faith that the brothers, trusting in the Lord, should go out fearlessly to battle.
The Martyrdom at Nattangia and Unprecedented Cruelty
The Prussians treacherously break the truce and massacre fifty-four brothers; the narrative lingers on the horrific martyrdom of one brother and the desecration of the dead, invoking Scripture over the unburied slain.
So when the advice of others prevailed and hostages had been given, as was said, the Prussians broke the terms of the agreement and attacked the others, killing fifty-four brothers and all the rest, in the year of the Lord 1249. After this slaughter, a certain man from Nattangia — — fixed the head of Brother Joapnis, the aforementioned vice-commendator, on a lance, and lifting it high, said: 'If your brothers had agreed to your sound counsel, they certainly would not have been killed.' Among those captured, a certain brother was martyred with a sword — the Prussians tied him up alive by his hands to a tree, and having cut out the navel of his belly, to which the entrail was attached, they fastened it to the tree, and having done this, with many blows they forced him to circle the tree until all his entrails clung to it, and so, in the confession of the true faith, rendering his spirit to God, he breathed his last. Turn and turn over all the writings of the martyrology — such a kind of martyrdom will not be found in them. Nor did Tarquinius the Proud, the first inventor of all torments, devise any kind of punishment like this. So it is clear that this was extraordinary and unheard of in all of history. See how the Lord has shut up his people in the sword. The nations have poured out their blood like water all through the countryside, and there was no one to bury them. They left their flesh for the beasts of the earth and the wild animals.✦✦
A Psalm-Lament for Vengeance and Mercy
The chapter closes with scriptural prayers pleading for God's mercy, demanding that the blood of His servants be avenged and that the nations learn He is their God.
How long, O Lord, will you be angry?✦ Have mercy on us at last, O Lord, have mercy on us, so that the vengeance for the blood of your servants, which has been poured out, may come before your sight. Pour out your wrath upon the nations that have not known you, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your name; and for the glory of your name, be gracious to us, lest the nations say, 'Where is their God?'✦✦
Read the original Latin
Edificato Castro Cristburgk turbati sunt insipientes corde, neophiti et Swantepolcus, et cogitaverunt unanimiter, quomodo ipsum deicerent et delerent, impugnacionem modis variis attemptantes. Tandem fecerunt inter se mutuam conspiracionem, ut simul obsiderent castrum Cristburgk, necs recederent ab obsidione, quousque terre alteri coequarent. Congregati igitur Prutheni cum magno exercitu, premiserunt multos armigeros, qui currus et quadrigas ducentes victualia et arma custodirent. Quos premissos invaserunt fratres in prelio et omnes occiderunt, currus et quadrigas ad castrum suum deducentes. Quo percepto, Prutheni indignati ad propria redierunt. Sed Swantepolcus cum exercitu suo venit ad castrum Santirium 5 *, ibique castra metatus est, et premisit multos milites et armigeros, qui, utrum castrum Cristburgk obsessum esset, diligencius explorarent. Quos milites invaserunt eciam fratres de Cristburgk, et occisis pluribus ex eis, alii fugientes cum clamore valido venerunt ad exercitum domini sui Swantepolci. De quo idem exercitus Pomeranorum tantum territus fuit, quod omnes terga verterunt.
Quo viso, fratres sequebantur eos, et quosdam occiderunt, aliquosk ceperunt, reliqui se in Wisela submerserunt, sed dux cum paucis navigio vix evasitE Sicque Swantepolcus devictus, quia tota virtus exercitus sui fuit enervata, ammodo conquievit. De conflictu in Nattangia, ubi liiii fratres cum multis Cristianis fuerunt 66 (65) occisi. Postquam maledictionis iste fdius Swantepolcus opposuit se fratribus, et nec per terram nec per aquas ad partes inferiores, nec e converso, nisi in gravi multitudine pugnatorum. Unde magister multos" fratres et armigeros misit, qui fratres de Elbingc et Balga sibi assumpserunt, et armata manu intrantes terram Nattangie per incendium et rapinam vastaverunt, factaque magna strage hominum dum recedere vellent, invenerunt omnes vias per hostes occupatas, et potenter exitum b prohibentes, sic quod coacti fratres retrocesserunt ad villam, que dicitur Crucke. Quod videntes Prutheni obsederunt eos, ita quod nec isti audebant intrare ad eos, nec illi ad istos exire ad pugnam. Tandem crescente turba Pruthenorum coacti sunt fratres subire hec pacta. Dederunt enim fratrem Henricumc dictum Botel marscalcum et tres aliosd fratres in obsides, sicut Prutheni petebant, ut alii capti, salvi tarnen in corpore permanerent. Hec pacta solum illi deo dilecto fratri Joanni vicecommendatori de Balga displicuerunt, qui consuluit bona fide, ut fratres confisi in domino intrepide exirent ad pugnam.
Prevalente ergo consilio aliorum et datis obsidibus, ut dictum est, Prutheni rupto federe pactie irruerunl in alios, et liiii fratres et omnes alios occiderunt, anno domini mccxlix. Post hanc cedem quidam vir de Nattangia 3. ^IJNoveniber caput fratris Joapnis vicecommendatoris predicti fixit in lanceam et elevans in altum, ait: si tue sano consilio acquievissent fratres tui, occisi utique non fuissent. Inter istos quidam frater sica martirium fuit passusb, Prutheni ligaverunt eum vivum per manus ad arborem, et excisum umbilicum ventris sui, cui adherebat viscus, affixerunt arbori, quo facto plagis multis compulerunt eum ut circuiret arborem quousque omnia viscera ipsiusc arbori adheserunt, et sic in confessione vere fidei reddens deo spiritum expiravit. Volve et revolve omnia scripta martirologiid, non occurret tibi tale genus martirii. Nec Tarquinius superbus primus inventor omnium tormentorum genus hujusmodi invenit. Unde patet, quod fuit insolitum et a seculo inauditum. Ecce quomodo conclusit do minus in gladio populum suum, effuderunt enim gentes sanguinem ipsorum tanquame aquam in circuitu terre, et non erat, qui sepiliret, sed carnes eorum terre bestiis reliquerunt.
Usque quo, domine, irasceris? In finem miserere nostri, domine, miserere nostri, ut ulcio sanguinis servorum tuorum, qui effusus est, introeat in conspectu tuo. Effunde iram tuam in gentes, que te non noverunt, et in regna, que nomen tuum non invocaverunt et propter gloriam nominis tui propicius esto nobis, ne forte dicant gentes, ubi est deus eorum?
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.79.2-Ps.79.3 — They have given the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the sky, the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth. Ps.79.3 — They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.
- ↩Jer.7.33 — And the dead bodies of this people will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will frighten them away.
- ↩Ps.7.12 — God is a righteous judge, and God is indignant every day.
- ↩Ps.78.6 — so that the next generation would know—children yet to be born—they would rise and tell their own children
- ↩Ps.113.2 — Blessed be the name of the LORD, from this time forth and forever.
Notes
- 1 ↩The form 'necs' is unusual; the normalized text preserves it. It is taken here as a form of neco ('they might kill'), though the syntax is compressed — the sense appears to be that they would not withdraw until they had killed (all within) and leveled the place.
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