Galindia is the lake and forest country round modern Pisz, Szczytno, Mrągowo, Orzysz and Mikołajki, between Bartia, Sudovia, Sasna and Masovia; the Galindians are already named by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
It is thinly settled, its farms in clearings among lakes and forest, and its southern forests are the frontier with Masovia. Peter of Dusburg tells that Galindia had been emptied by famine and war before the Order came; in the 13th century it becomes part of the great wilderness between the Order and Lithuania.
Who holds it
- Name
- None named for 1200
- Title
- the nobles and elders of the land, with the assembly of its free men
- Since
- not applicable
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- Kin-groups of nobles; no ruling family is known.
- Confidence
- low
en.wikipedia (Old Prussians and the land's article); Peter of Dusburg as reported there.
Overlord
None. Polish dukes claim tribute from the nearer lands when they can enforce it (Casimir II, 1191-1194); no tribute is being paid that winter.
What it holds
- Farm clearings and hillforts among the Masurian lakes
How things stand that morning
Free and pagan; thinly peopled. South, across the forests of the Orzyc and the Narew, Masovia (maz).
Wealth
Forest produce (furs, wax, honey), fish, some farming.
Military
Free levies. No numbers.
Threats
- Polish expeditions from Masovia
- Depopulation (Dusburg)
Law and courts
No written law. Each land's free men meet in assembly under their nobles, who lead in war and judge disputes by custom; blood feud and compensation settle killings. The Treaty of Christburg (1249) shows nobles, free men and unfree servants, bride purchase, polygamy, funeral priests and the burning of the dead with horses, servants and arms.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- During 1200 (nothing dated)No event in this land is recorded for 1200.
Where the sources disagree
- Dusburg's story of Galindia's depopulation is not checked here; the date of the emptying is not pinned and may be later than 1200.
Evidence: No written source of 1200 describes this land; its bounds and strongholds come from the 13th-century conquest (Peter of Dusburg) and archaeology.
On the map: The bounds are a reconstruction from 13th-century evidence and modern maps; in 1200 lands were separated by forest, not lines.
Primary sources for The Prussians
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
- The annals of the Kraków chapter and the other Polish annals (kept from the 11th century; the Kraków chapter annals continued to 1266). Short dated entries that fix the chronology Kadłubek blurs: the deaths of dukes and bishops, Mieszko the Old's captures of Kraków, Prussian raids on Masovia, church consecrations. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: Galindians
- Wikipedia: Old Prussians
- Peter of Dusburg, Chronicon terrae Prussiae (1326), as summarised in Wikipedia: Peter of Dusburg
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.