Natangia

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

• Farms and hillforts south of the Pregel round Bagrationovsk, Kreuzburg and Zinten

How things stand that morning

Free and pagan.

Wealth

Farming, cattle and horses; river trade on the Pregel.

Military

Free levies; hillforts. No numbers.

Threats

• Later, the Teutonic Order (from 1239)

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.

In 1200

1. During 1200 (nothing dated)No event in this land is recorded for 1200.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1239-1260 (after this year)Conquered by the Order in the 1240s; rises under Herkus Monte in 1260.Depends on: the conquest

Where the sources disagree

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