Chronicon terrae Prussiae

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Cover of a copy of Chronicon terræ Prussiæ from 1679

Chronicon terræ Prussiæ (

Teutonic Order in Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, completed some 100 years after the conquest of the crusaders into the Baltic region. It is a major source for information on the Order's battles with Old Prussians and Lithuanians
.

The chronicle is written in

and witnessed some events himself.

The chronicle contains some ethnographic data about the Old Prussians, the indigenous people conquered by the Order. It provides numerous chapters in the styles of religious visions, miracles, and hagiography, aimed at the glorification of the mission of the Order. The war against pagans is sacred and all knights who perish go to heaven. Peter takes no interest in domestic policy of the Order; he does not describe cities, trade, or colonization.[1] Rather the chronicle describes minor raids and clashes with great detail. While narratives of events and battles are considered to be reliable, ethnographic data is ideologically charged. As a priest Peter tried to teach the reader. Pagan Prussians and Lithuanians are presented as a moral example. They are pious in their own way, and Christians should be ashamed of their disobedient and sinful ways.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Ivinskis, Zenonas (1939). "Dusburg, Petras". In Vaclovas Biržiška (ed.). Lietuviškoji enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Vol. VII. Kaunas: Spaudos Fondas. pp. 251–254.
  2. ^ .