The duchy of thePolans underMieszko I, which was the predecessor of theKingdom of Poland, first attempted to conquer and baptize the Baltic tribes during the 10th century, but repeatedly encountered strong resistance. Not until the 13th century were the Old Prussians subjugated and their lands conquered by theTeutonic Order. The remaining Old Prussians were assimilated during the following two centuries. TheOld Prussian language, documented only in a limited way, was effectively extinct by the 18th century.[4][5][6][7]
"Prussians" is anexonym for these peoples, i.e., they did not refer to themselves with this word.The words "Prussians/Prussia" may originate fromtoponymy, as the wordPrūsas (a Prussian) can be derived from the term for a body of water, an understandable convention in a coastal region dotted with thousands of lakes, streams, and swamps (Masuria). To the south, the terrain runs into the vast wetlands of thePripet Marshes at the headwaters of theDnieper River, which has been an effective natural barrier throughout the millennia.[8]
Writing in AD 98, Roman historianTacitus described the paganAesti who lived somewhere by the Baltic Sea coast and east of the Vistula estuary. It has been suggested that the nameAesti could be etymologically related to the modern toponymEstonia. On the other hand, theOld Prussian and modernLithuanian names for localities, such as theVistula Lagoon,Aīstinmari andAistmarės, respectively, also appear to derive fromAesti andmari ("lagoon" or "fresh-water bay"), which suggests that the area around the lagoon had links with theAesti.[9]
The original settlers tended to name their assets after surrounding localities (streams, lakes, seas, forests, etc.). The clan or tribal entity into which their descendants later were organized continued to use the names. This source is perhaps the one used in the very name ofPrusa (Prussia), for which an earlier Latin-language wordBruzi is found in theBavarian Geographer.[b][10] In Tacitus'Germania, theLugii Buri are mentioned living within the eastern range of the Germans.[citation needed] Lugi may descend fromPokorny's*leug- (transl. black swamp),[citation needed] whileBuri is perhaps the root on which the toponym'Prussia' is based.[11]
The name ofPameddi, the (Pomesania) tribe, is derived from the wordspa ("by" or "near") andmedian ("forest"), which can be traced to theProto-Indo-European adjective*médʰyos 'middle'.[c]Nadruvia may be a compound of the wordsna ("by" or "on") anddrawē ("wood"). The name of theBartians, a Prussian tribe, and the name of the Bārta river in Latvia are possiblycognates.
In the second century AD, the geographer ClaudiusPtolemy listed someBorusci living in European Sarmatia (in hisEighth Map of Europe), which was separated from Germania by theVistula Flumen. His map is very confusing in that region, but the Borusci seem further east than the Prussians, which would have been under theGythones (Goths) at the mouth of the Vistula. TheAesti recorded byTacitus, were 450 years later recorded byJordanes as part of the Gothic Empire.[12]
Prussian tribes and their borders around 1200.[13]Political and tribal fragmentation of the 12th-century Old PrussiansA fragment of the Pomesanian statute book of 1340. The earliest attested document of the customary law of the Balts.
The original Old Prussian settlement area in the western Baltics, as well as that of the eastern Balts, was much larger than in historical times. The archaeological documentation and associated finds confirm uninterrupted presence from theIron Age (fifth century BC) to the successive conquest by Slavic tribes, beginning in theMigration Period.[14][15][1]
Permanent recordedBaltic history begins in the 10th century with the failed Christianisation byAdalbert of Prague (997 AD), the first conquest attempts at the expense of the Old Prussians by the duchy of thePolans underMieszko I and theDuchy of Greater Poland under his sonBolesław, as a number of border areas were eventually lost.[16][17]
Around the year 1000 AD, theKashubians andPomeranians lived to the west of the Old Prussians, thePoles to the south, theSudovians (sometimes considered a separate people, other times regarded as a Prussian tribe) to the east and south-east, theSkalvians to the north, and theLithuanians to the northeast.
The smallest social unit in Baltic lands was thelaūks, a word attested in Old Prussian as "field", which were small family oriented settlements, households and the surrounding fields, only separated from one another by uninhabited areas of forest, swamp and marsh.[18][19] The word appears as a segment in Baltic settlement names, especially inCuronian,[d] and is found in Old Prussian placenames such as inStablack, fromstabs (stone) +laūks (field, thusstone field). The plural is not attested in Old Prussian, but the Lithuanian plural oflaukas ("field") islaukai.
Alaūks was also formed by a group of farms, that shared economic interests and a desire for safety, ruled by a male head of the family and centred on strongholds or hill forts.[18] The supreme power resided in general gatherings of all adult males, who discussed important matters concerning the community and elected the leader and chief; the leader was responsible for the supervision of the everyday matters, while the chief (therikīs) was in charge of the road and watchtower building, and border defense, undertaken byVidivarii.
The head of a household was thebuttataws (literally, thehouse father, frombuttan, meaninghome, andtaws, meaningfather). Larger political and territorial organisations, calledterrula in Latin (a small land), existed in the early 13th century in the territories which later comprised Prussia, Latvia and Lithuania and centred on strongholds or hill forts. Such a political territorial unit covered up to 300 km2 (120 sq mi) and could have up to 2,000 inhabitants. They were known aspulka, comprising a dozen or so laukses.[20]
Because theBaltic tribes inhabiting Prussia never formed a common political and territorial organisation, they had no reason to adopt a common ethnic or national name. Instead they used the name of the region from which they came –Galindians,Sambians,Bartians,Nadruvians,Natangians,Scalovians,Sudovians, etc. It is not known when and how the first general names came into being. This lack of unity weakened them severely, similar to the condition ofGermany during theMiddle Ages.[21]
The Prussian tribal structure is well attested in theChronicon terrae Prussiae of contemporary authorPeter of Dusburg, a chronicler of theTeutonic Order. The work is dated to 1326.[23] He lists eleven lands and ten tribes, which were named on a geographical basis. These were:
"The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan" describes a ninth century voyage by traveller and traderWulfstan of Hedeby[24][25] to the land of the Old Prussians. He observed theirfuneral customs.
Engraving of a Prussian warrior with aclub inChristoph Hartknoch's 1684 book "Old and New Prussia" (Alt- und Neues Preussen)
Characterized as a humble people, who dressed plainly, the Old Prussians were "distinguished for their valor and great bodily strength".[26] They generally rejected luxury, yet were very hospitable, and enjoyed celebrating and drinking excessively, usuallymead.Wulfstan of Hedeby, who visited the trading town ofTruso at theVistula Lagoon, observed that wealthy people drank fermented mare's milkkumis instead ofmead. According to Adam of Bremen, the Sambians are said to have consumed horse blood as well as horse milk. He also mentions that horse meat was eaten.[27]
Women held no powerful positions among the Old Prussians and, according to Peter von Dusburg, were treated like servants, forbidden to share the husband's table. Commercial marriage was widespread and after the husband's death, the widow fell to the son, like other inheritance. Polygyny, up to three wives, was widespread. Adultery was a serious crime, punishable with death. After the submission to theTeutonic Order, commercial marriage and polygyny were forbidden.[citation needed]
According to archaeological evidence, pre-Christian burial customs changed over the centuries.[14]
During the Iron Age (5th century BC – 1st century AD), the western Baltickurgan andbarrow culture was widespread among the Old Prussians. It was then that cremation in urns appeared. Grave mounds were raised over stone cells for up to 30 urns, or stone boxes for the urns were buried inBronze Age style barrows.
During the early phase of imperial Rome, shallow graves appeared in which the corpse was buried in tree coffins. Cremation with urns spread from the third century onwards. Except for the Samians and Sudauers, where shallow grave fields existed until Christianization, cremation pits without urns increasingly became the only form of burials among the Prussians. However, different forms of burial could occur side by side at the same time.[28]
TheStone babas, found all over Old Prussia, have for centuries caused considerable speculation and dissent among scholars. Beginning with a lack of confirmation about their original location and context, all subsequent questions on their age, the chronology of the objects, an exact definition of their function, their provenance, pointing to which cultural influence have not been addressed until the late 19th century. A majority of past and present researchers agree the babas were created between the 8th and 13th centuries as a "result of a long cultural process among the population of early Iron Age area of the south-eastern Baltic coast, which was affected by both the early traditions of the local craft and inspirations from countries already underChristian influence."[29]
An illustration of a Prussian goat sacrifice from the 16th centurySudovian Book
Because they did not know God, therefore, in their error, they worshipped every creature as divine, namely the sun, moon and stars, thunder, birds, even four-legged animals, even the toad. They also had forests, fields and bodies of water, which they held so sacred that they neither chopped wood nor dared to cultivate fields or fish in them.
Baltic paganism has been described as a form ofpolydoxy, a belief in the sacredness of all natural forces and phenomena, not personified but possessing their own spirits and magical powers. They thought the world inhabited by a limitless number of spirits and demons, believed in a soul and an afterlife, and practicedancestor worship. Some authors, by contrast, have argued for a well developed, sophisticated Old Prussian polytheism with a clearly defined pantheon of gods.[18]
The highest priestKriwe-Kriwajto was to be in permanent connection with the spirits of the dead ancestors. He lived in a sacred grove, theRomove, a place off limit for anyone but elite clergy. Each district was headed by itsKriwe, who also served as lawgiver and judge. TheKriwe-Kriwajto's next in rank, theSiggonen were expected to maintain the healthy spiritual connection with natural sacred sites, like springs and trees. TheWurskaiten – priests of lower rank – were supposed to superintend rites and ceremonies.[16]
With the submission to theTeutonic Order in 1231, the Old Prussians wereChristianised. How long the oldpaganism lived on cannot be inferred from the sources. Pagan customs are said to have lasted the longest with the remoteSudauers. In the 16th century, the so-calledSudovian Book (Sudauerbüchlein) was created, which described a list of gods, "pagan" festivals and goat sanctification. However, researchers argue that this little book misinterpreted traditional folk customs as 'pagan' in the context of theReformation.[31]
Cassiodorus'Variae, published in 537, contains a letter written by Cassiodorus in the name ofTheodoric the Great, addressed to theAesti:
It is gratifying to us to know that you have heard of our fame, and have sent ambassadors who have passed through so many strange nations to seek our friendship. We have received the amber which you have sent us. You say that you gather this lightest of all substances from the shores of ocean, but how it comes thither you know not. But as an author named Cornelius (Tacitus) informs us, it is gathered in the innermost islands of the ocean, being formed originally of the juice of a tree (whence its name succinum), and gradually hardened by the heat of the sun. Thus it becomes an exuded metal, a transparent softness, sometimes blushing with the color of saffron, sometimes glowing with flame-like clearness. Then, gliding down to the margin of sea, and further purified by the rolling of the tides, it is at length transported to your shores to be cast upon them. We have thought it better to point this out to you, lest you should imagine thatyour supposed secrets have escaped our knowledge. We sent you some presents by our ambassadors, and shall be glad to receive further visits from you by theroad which you have thus opened up, and to show you future favors.
The Old Prussians are calledBrus by theBavarian Geographer in the ninth century.
More extensive mention of the Old Prussians in historical sources is in connection withAdalbert of Prague, who was sent byBolesław I of Poland. Adalbert was slain in 997 during a missionary effort toChristianize the Prussians.[32] As soon as the first Polish dukes had been established withMieszko I in 966, they undertook a number of conquests and crusades not only against Prussians and the closely relatedSudovians, but against thePomeranians andWends as well.[33]
Beginning in 1147, the Polish dukeBolesław IV the Curly (securing the help ofRuthenian troops) tried to subdue Prussia, supposedly as punishment for the close cooperation of Prussians withWładysław II the Exile. The only source is unclear about the results of his attempts, vaguely only mentioning that the Prussians were defeated. Whatever were the results, in 1157 some Prussian troops supported the Polish army in their fight against EmperorFrederick Barbarossa.
In 1166, two Polish dukes, Bolesław IV and his younger brotherHenry, came into Prussia, again over the Ossa River. The prepared Prussians led the Polish army, under the leadership of Henry, into an area of marshy morass. Whoever did not drown was felled by an arrow or by throwing clubs, and nearly all Polish troops perished. From 1191 to 1193Casimir II the Just invaded Prussia, this time along the river Drewenz (Drwęca). He forced some of the Prussian tribes to pay tribute and then withdrew.
Several attacks byKonrad of Masovia in the early 13th century were also successfully repelled by the Prussians. In 1209Pope Innocent III commissioned theCistercian monkChristian of Oliva with the conversion of the pagan Prussians. In 1215, Christian was installed as the first bishop of Prussia. The Duchy of Masovia, and especially the region ofCulmerland, become the object of constant Prussian counter-raids. In response,Konrad I of Masovia called on thePope for aid several times, and founded a military order (theOrder of Dobrzyń) before calling on theTeutonic Order. The results were edicts calling forNorthern Crusades against the Prussians.
In 1224, EmperorFrederick II proclaimed that he himself and theEmpire took the population of Prussia and the neighboring provinces under their direct protection; the inhabitants were declared to beReichsfreie, to be subordinated directly to the Church and the Empire only, and exempted from service to and the jurisdiction of other dukes. TheTeutonic Order, officially subject directly to the Popes, but also under the control of the empire, took control of much of the Baltic, establishing their ownmonastic state in Prussia.
In 1230, following theGolden Bull of Rimini, Grand MasterHermann von Salza and DukeKonrad I of Masovia launched thePrussian Crusade, a joint invasion of Prussia to Christianise the Baltic Old Prussians. The Order then created the independent Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights in the conquered territory and subsequently conquered Courland, Livonia, and Estonia. The Dukes of Poland accused the Order of holding lands illegally.
During an attack on Prussia in 1233, over 21,000 crusaders took part, of which the burggrave of Magdeburg brought 5,000 warriors, Duke Henry ofSilesia 3,000, Duke Konrad of Masovia 4,000, Duke Casimir of Kuyavia 2,000, Duke Wladyslaw of Greater Poland 2,200 and Dukes of Pomerania 5,000 warriors. The main battle took place at theSirgune River and the Prussians suffered a decisive defeat. The Prussians took the Christian bishop and imprisoned him for several years.
A map of the Old Prussian tribes after the subjugation by the Teutonic Order in the 13th century. The indicated towns feature Teutonic fortifications or castles, built to facilitate the conquest.A translation of catechisms into Old Prussian published in 1545 inKönigsberg
Numerous knights from throughout Catholic Europe joined in thePrussian Crusades, which lasted sixty years. Many of the native Prussians from Sudovia who survived were resettled inSamland; Sudauer Winkel was named after them.Frequent revolts, including a major rebellion in 1286, were defeated by the Teutonic Knights. In 1283, accordingto the chronicler of the Teutonic Knights, Peter of Dusburg, the conquest of the Prussians ended and the war with the Lithuanians began.[34]
The monks and scholars of the Teutonic Order took an interest in the language spoken by the Prussians and tried to record it. In addition, missionaries needed to communicate with the Prussians in order to convert them. Records of the Old Prussian language therefore survive; along with little-knownGalindian and better-knownSudovian, these records are all that remain of the West Baltic language group. As might be expected, it is a very archaic Baltic language.
Old Prussians resisted the Teutonic Knights and received help from theGrand Duchy of Lithuania during the 13th century in their quest to free themselves of the military order. In 1525 Grand MasterAlbert of Brandenburg-Ansbach secularized the Order's Prussian territories into the ProtestantDuchy of Prussia, a vassal of the crown of Poland. During theReformation,Lutheranism spread throughout the territories, officially in the Duchy of Prussia and unofficially in the Polish province ofRoyal Prussia, while Catholicism survived in thePrince-Bishopric of Warmia, the territory of secular rule comprising a third of the thenDiocese of Warmia. With Protestantism came the use of thevernacular in church services instead ofLatin, so Albert had theCatechisms translated into Old Prussian.
Because of the conquest of the Old Prussians by Germans, the Old Prussian language probably became extinct in the beginning of the 18th century with thedevastation of the rural population by plagues and the assimilation of the nobility and the larger population with Germans or Lithuanians.[citation needed] However, translations of the Bible, Old Prussian poems, and some other texts survived and have enabled scholars to reconstruct the language.
^"Bruzi plus est undique quam de Enisa ad Rhenum"[citation needed]
^The nominalization 'the middle (one)' acquired, apparently via 'what is in the middle (between fields, villages or cultivated land in general)', the meaning 'border, boundary; balk (between fields); forest' in Balto-Slavic.
^It varies in spellings, including-laukas,-laukis, andlauks.
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