Henry Monte and Prussian uprising of 1260

As i have noticed many AE furomers have little knowledge about the crusades which were held in Northern Europe in 13th century. In this writing i offer you small insight in the crusade against last pagan regions of Europe. It will be about Henry Monte - the greatest hero of the Prussian rebellion which lasted from 1260 to 1274.

Little is known about the man who led his people for twelve years against the Teutonic Knights and their crusarder alleid from Germany and Poland. The chronicles inform us only about the historical figure Henry who was best known and most succesful warrior to fight for prussian freedom in its last days.

Henry Monte was born between 1225 and 1230, the son of Nattangian noble. The Nattangians were one of Prussian tribes that lived on the southeastern coast of the Baltic, protected against other neighbours by forest barriers and formidable military reputation. The dozne Prussian tribes had no political unity, and therefore the Nattangians had little to do with powerful Sambians and Barthians who were to the north and  to the south, or to the Warmians who were to the west of them.

The Nattangians could raise 2000 horseman in time of war and many thousand mounted infantry, because in medieval Baltic society almost every man was a warrior. The cavalry were the nobles and their retainers. These lived in log and earth forts, supporting themselves by taxes, tribute, and presumably their own labor, but succesful warfare was necessary to obtain a great reputation and wealth. The tribe was pre feudal state, there was no single political leader; decisions were made by councils of important nobles who represented the clans.

The Prussian religion was not identical to Germanic or Scandinavian paganism, but it had much in common with them. They maintained sacred groves where religious services were conducted by priests; and on the southern border was a spot sacred to all Prussians. There a high priest named Criwe conducted services and oversaw religios functions for the tibes.

The pagans held the dead in terror. Therefore, on the raids the first prisoner taken was tied to the tree and shot with an arrow. If the blood ran freely, the raid could continue, because the gods predicted success, if it ran slowly, the raiders returned home. War was the means of obtaining slaves and wives. The rich married several wives. Drinking was the main entertainment for man, as it was among all northern Europeans. Because these practises were so oposed to what Christian missionaries required of their converts, the missionaries met little success in their efforts and often earned martyrdom. For many decades Polish kings had tried to convert the Prussians by force, but each crusading attempt had ended in failure and ultimately the Poles found themselves on the defensive. Then the Duke of Masovia called the Teutonic knights to his aid.

Until 1238 the Nattangians had lived quietly. Being considerably distant from those provinces pf Prussia where Polish and German crusarders were helping Teutonic Knights to establish themselves, they took little interest in those wars. The western tribes surrendered one by one. the crusarder advance continued.

The Nattangians had been alerted to the danger that the newcomer rpresented. They had survived Viking raids- but these attacks were different. They were uncertain how to deal with invaders who came not to raid but to conquer, determined man who lived in strong castle. Siege warfare was not an art of war among the Prussians. The enemy had crossbows that could shoot down the man at an unexpectedly long range, rode strong war horses which wheeled in the formations that the Prussians had never seen before.

In 1240 a great army of knights came from Germany. Led by Duke Otto of Braunschweig. In the course of his year on crusade Duke Otto pacified entire region and collected many hostages from the nobles. He took the hostages back to Germany with him, and among them was Henry Monte.

The object of taking the hostages to Germany was to educate them in western ways, so that when they returned home they could teach gospel and the prectices of western men to their relatives and subjects. Like other hostages, Henry Monte learned German and observed life among his hosts, but he  did not grasp the essential ideas underlying western civilization, or if he did , he rejected them. He was not to use the knowledge in the way that the crusaders expected.

The year after he had been taken away to Magdeburg his countrymen revolted. The Teutonic Knights had moved too fast and too ruthlessly. They had gathered the natives from their farmsteads into villages and required them to work the fields communaly. they gave monopolies to the merchants who settled there, and distrubited priviledges to the millers and other artisans who were imported into the country from Germany and Poland.

The revolt lasted a decade. Although most of Prussians surrendered by 1249, the Nattangians still resisted. Late in 1249 they surrounded a large force of Teutonic Knights and accepted an offer to surrender on terms. The Nattangians broke their word and slaughtered fifty of these knights and all their hundreds of troops. The Teutonic Knights raised new armies; and in 1252 crusarding expeditions from Germany crushed Nattangians and forced the tribe to surrender.

Like other Christianized nobles, Henry Monte must have served in the wars that Teutonic Order conducted in Sambia between 1252 and 1255 and against Nadrovians, Sudovians, Scalovians in  the following 5 years. Because military service was required of all converts, particularly of the nobles, Henry had a formidable military reputation by 1260 when he was chosen to lead his people in revolt against the Teutonic Order. Later he showed himself to be a gifted comander, with thorough  knowledge  of the crusaders' mentality and methods of warfare. This was the fruit of his military experience during his youth and early manhood, fighting beside one of the best warriors of western Europe.

The Teutonic Order had strived to win the loyalty of the Prussian nobles and to integrate them into their feudal government. German-born advocates lived among the Prussians to train there army and to preside court trials. Many Germans spoke native tongue fluently. Some Prussians responded to this well and adopted to the feodal customs; others did not. Henry Monte was among the latter.

In 1260 in the battle of Durbe the Samogithians defeated the large crusarder army from Livonia and Prussia which included levies from Prussia. Many loyal native nobles stood beside Teutonic Knights to face certain death when disaffected Curonians from Livonia withdrew from the fighting and attacked Crusader army form rearward. This battle was largest Crusader defeat in all 13th and 14th century till the battle of Tannenberg. Other nobles among whom was Henry Monte fled and allowed the others to die fighting for the time that permitted fugitives to escape. The disaster was so complete that Coronians and Semigallians  from Livonia rebelled against the order.

Soon the Prussians orginazed a conspiracy against the crusarder goverment. Too astute to attempt a wild, uncordinated insurrection, the nobles chose leaders and set a date when everyone would attack at once. In September of 1260 the conspiracy matured in a tremendously succesful und coordinated revolt in Sambia, Nattangia, Barta and Warmia. The rebels slaughtered the priests, the merchants, and other Germans who were in the country , and massacred those natives they suspected of being loyal to regime.

Each tribe besieged those castles located in its part of Prussia. Henry Monte led attack on Kreuzberg, building three forts around the castle to prevent the garrison from either reaping the crops ar sallying out in raids on the rebel communities. Since the castles could not be stormed successfully, the Prussians besieged them. the siege of Kreuzberg was long and weary.

In January of 1261 the first crusarder armies arrived in Prussia to relieve the bebeaguered castles. One of these, composed of Polish and German crusaders came to Nattangia. Henry Monte know how to resist inexperienced warriors, he withdrew into forests, offering no opposition ar all. Soon the crusarders divided into two bodies, as was customary, one sallying out to raid and the other guarding the camp and the booty. Not having seen any Prussians, the troops at camp were not on their guard when Henry Monte suddenly attacked. He killed or captured every man and frightened the surviving part of army into retreat. Then he disposed of the prisoners. the first duty of a religious Prussian was to offer a proper sacrifice to the gods. the native priests drew lots to see which prisoner would be chosen. A german chronicle told the story:
Twice the lot fell upon a certain citizen of Magdeburg, a noble and cleric named Hirtzhals, who in fear pleaded with Henry Monte, asking in memory of all he done for him when he was in Magdeburg, to free him from this. Hearing this Henry had pity, and freed him from the first two drawings. But when it fell on him the third time, he would not release him, but willingly offered him after his confession to God, tied him upon his horse and burned him.
Henry was not so devout pagan that he would not set aside the will of the goods twice, but he did not dare to defy the repeated divine choice of a victim.

Nattangians continued the siege of Kreuzberg. By 1262 the garrison was reduced tp eating cattle and horse tides and many knights lost their teeth from diet. In 1263 garrison abondoned the castle, slipping away secretly. Henry Monte alertly followed the starving escapees, forced them to fight and killed all but two who made their way to safety.

Once that dangerous castle had been destroyed - pagans never considered garrisoning it themselves - he hurried to Konigsberg where the siege was going badly for the Sambians. When his army arrived, the Sambians had given up a close watch of the castle, allowing Teutonic Knights to reopen water communication with the west. A German chronicler described the battle:
When the brothers came out with their troops to fight their opponents manly. Henry Monte seeing far off brother Ulenbusch drawing crossbow, rode up to him crying "Today i will send you to Heaven" and he ran him through his lance, wounded him badly, although he was later healed of his wound. Seeing this, a certain sergeant wounded Henry with a small lance, thus revenging him. Weakened from his wound, he withdrew with his army from this business.
The injury did not stop Henry Monte for long. Soon he led his man against Konigsberg again, and this time he captured the city below the castle and destroyed it. Later 1263 he led the Nattangians to distain Culm probably hoping to force the Teutonic Knights to keep more men there on garrison duty and thus weaken the frontier forces near Nattangia. the raid came as complete surprise:
With a big army he invaded land of Kulm and took an incalcuable booty of men and other things, which he took away with him, and burned every building outside fortified walls and colored Christian land with blood. When this came to Master Helmeric, he called all the men of his army and followed him to the land of Lubow, where he prepared his army for battle and attacked them strongly. The Prusians resisted strongly first, but then fled and the Christians dispersed in pursuit of them, and were killing many of them when the Prussians saw that there were only a few of them around the battle flag, and they joined together to return to the fight and began a new war that lasted until the God, whose justice is incomprehensible, permitted them to kill the master, the marshall, brother Theodoric, and forty knights, and the entire army of the Christians, and caused such loss among the people of God that it was considered greater than that conflict in Kurland; although the number of dead was not so great, these were all outstanding and skilful men, whose knowledge and energy in Prussia and in war were lost.

From that time on, Prussian raids into Culm were more frequent and more devestating, but they seem to have been cunducted by Sudovians and Lithuanians. Henry Monte is montioned only in one context- among those rebels educated in Germany who used their knowledge of the language and habits to lure small groups of crusaders into ambush. These met the Germans in the woods and volunteered to act as guides, then led the straingers straight to destruction.

Henry Monte was probably absent from fighting in Culm because of the need to aid the Sambians in 1264 and 1265, because that tribe was slowly succumbing to the relentless attacks of the Teutonic Order. But it was difficult for him to render meaningful aid to Sambians, because the Pregel river was defended by strong castles at Konigsberg, Tapiau and Wehlau and therefore could be crossed easily and safely only in winter time. Therefore, the Sambians had to fight alone during the warm halh of year.

Henry Monte was on the defensive in Nattangia in 1265-1266, when crusader Dukes of Brandenburg built a castle on the seashore in Nattangia. The Marshal of the order collected a large force of knights there in 1266 and raided deep into the countryside. But he took chances that provided Henry with opportunities to relaliate. On one expedition near Kreuzburg, the marhsal left so few men in he castle that Warmians were able to attack by surprise and owerhelm all the defenders except those who took refuge in the keep; those later escaped  by sea and allowed the rebels to destroy the fortification. Duke Otto of Brandenburg returned in early 1267 to rebuild the castle, which became a base for deadly attacks.

There is amost no record of Henry monte from 1267 to 1272, although other eastern Prussian tribes were raiding in the wetern provinces of Prussia and even into Poland. In 1272 Teutonic Knights near Nattangia were reinforced by large crusading army led by Count Dietrich of Meissen. In company with the master the crusaders stormed one pagan stronghold, killed 150 defenders, and for 3 days thereafter they killed pillaged and burned. Although 50 of the crusaders died in the scattered fighting, many more Nattangians perished. The expedition appears to have broken the Nattangian will to resist. Henry Monte and handful of followers fled into woods to continue the war from exile, but most of their people surrendered and acxepted resettlement in areas under Christian control. This was necessary because they now became targets of Sudovian and Lithuanian raids.

Henry did not survive long . He went to western Prussia to fight. There in 1273 the commander of Christburg found him in a tent, alone. His companions were out hunting, and no one was on watch. The chronicler's glee was apparent in his description of the incident:
And when they saw that they had caught Henry Monte, they rejoiced and tied him to a tree and ran him through with a sword. And so the devil's warrior died and recieved what he had earned.

Whether or not this peculiar form of execution was a parody of the pagan ritual of killing the first prisoner on each raid is not clear, but no other rebel leader died in this way. Others died fighting, or were hanged, or even burned. Henry's death was unique, and with his death the war in Nattangia was over.

Henry Monte became a mythic fugure. For future generations of Prussians and Lithuanians he was a symbol of resistance to German oppresion. Henry was Robin Hood, William Tell, of the Prussian revolt. He stood for all honor, courage, decency of the pagan way of life. The subject peoples did not considered the fact that it was a cruel and backward system; they only compared their former freedom and pride, their military glory and comparative riches, to the unhappy state of subjection to foreign law and a foreign God.

The divided, military pagan society was not equal to the challange presented by unified and productive western society which was also military capable. The crusaders did not win because thay were better warriors ar had better leaders, but because thay were able to organize the wealth and talent of their society better and bring it to bear in the distain swamps and forests of Prussia. The Lithuanians adapted, changed their barbaric habits, and became the rulers of vast reaches of Russia.

Source of article: www.lituanus.org, William Urban, Monmouth College


Edited by axeman

Yes, very interesting. 

Thanks for sharing that with us.

It's one of those flukes of history that the name Prussia only appeared in wider world history, after the original bearers of that name, the Old Prussians, had either become extinct or were assimilated into the German (or Polish) population that had replaced them.
I wonder what old Henry Monte had made of the fact that the "Prussian" military in its various incarnations were to become much later the scourge of Europe.