Prussian Warmia stretches from the Pasłęka east to the Frisching (Prokhladnaya) and the hills above the Łyna, and from the Vistula Lagoon south to the country round Olsztyn.
Its chief stronghold is Honeda on a steep bank above the lagoon, which the Teutonic Order takes in 1239 and rebuilds as Balga. The name passes in 1243 to one of the four Prussian bishoprics, whose land is much larger. In 1200 it is a free pagan land.
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
- Honeda on the lagoon (see Honeda)
- Farms and hillforts round Braniewo, Pieniężno, Orneta, Lidzbark and Dobre Miasto
How things stand that morning
Free and pagan.
Wealth
Farming, cattle, lagoon fishing; some amber on the lagoon shore.
Military
Free levies; hillforts, Honeda the strongest. No numbers.
Threats
- Later, the Teutonic Order (Honeda falls in 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
- During 1200 (nothing dated)No event in this land is recorded for 1200.
Later, on the likely course
- 1239-1241 (after this year)The Order takes Honeda (Balga, 1239) and founds Braunsberg (Braniewo) by the Pasłęka.Depends on: the conquest
Places of note
- Honeda: Warmia's chief hillfort (later Balga).
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
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: Old Prussians
- Wikipedia: Treaty of Christburg
- 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.