The Battle of Rudau (german: Schlacht bei Rudau, lt, Rūdavos mūšis) was a medieval

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

fought between the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

and the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

on 17 or 18 February 1370 near Rudau village, north of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

(now Melnikovo village in the

Kaliningrad oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

). According to the Teutonic chronicler

Wigand of Marburg Wigand of Marburg (german: Wigand von Marburg)Note that ''von Marburg'' is a purely descriptive title added to his original name of Wigand by later historians, rather than a proper surname. Also the ''von'' should not be confused with a preposition ...

and the Livonian chronicle of

Hermann de Wartberge Hermann von Wartberge (died ca. 1380) was a chronicler of the Livonian Order. Born in Westphalia, Wartberge was a Catholic priest and author of the valuable Latin chronicle ''Chronicon Livoniale'' covering the history of the Livonian Crusade from ...

, the Lithuanians suffered a great defeat.

Background

The Teutonic Knights had waged a crusade against the pagan Lithuanians since the 1290s in order to Christianize the country. Each side would organize military expeditions against each other and then retaliate. In August 1369 the Knights burned a Lithuanian fort in the mouth of the

Nevėžis River The Nevėžis () is the sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Nemunas. Its length is , and it flows only within the geographical confines of Lithuania.Kęstutis Kęstutis ( la, Kinstut, ; – 3 or 15 August 1382) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila ...

, brother and right-hand man of the Grand Duke Algirdas, warned the Prussian Marshal

Henning Schindekop Henning Schindekop (also Schindekopf) (ca. 1330 – 17 February 1370) was a high-ranking official of the Teutonic Knights. A native of Westphalia in the Holy Roman Empire, Schindekop was mentioned as a Teutonic brother in Königsberg in 1348 ...

that he would organize a retaliation. This gave time for the Knights to prepare for an attack and they organized their army in Königsberg.

Battle

Kęstutis and Algirdas led their army, composed of Lithuanians,

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

ns, Ruthenians, and

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, to Prussia earlier than anticipated by the Knights. The Lithuanians took and burned Rudau Castle. Grand Master

Winrich von Kniprode Winrich von Kniprode was the 22nd Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. He was the longest serving Grand Master, holding the position for 31 years (1351–1382). Winrich von Kniprode was born in 1310 in Monheim am Rhein near Cologne. He served a ...

decided to take his army from Königsberg to meet the Lithuanians near Rudau. Contemporary Teutonic sources do not give details about the course of the battle, which is somewhat unusual. Details and battle plans were later provided by

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

(1415–1480), but his sources are unknown. The Lithuanians suffered a defeat. Algirdas took his men to a forest and hastily erected wooden barriers while Kęstutis withdrew into Lithuania. Marshal Schindekopf pursued the retreating Lithuanians, but was injured by a spear and died before he reached Königsberg. The Lithuanian noble Vaišvilas is presumed to have died in the battle.

Losses and aftermath

Teutonic sources exaggerate the Lithuanian losses, claiming that 1,000 to 5,500 men perished due to wounds, freezing weather, and starvation. That such numbers were exaggerated is shown by several robust Lithuanian military campaigns in the same year: a raid to

Ortelsburg Szczytno (german: Ortelsburg) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,970 inhabitants (2004). Szczytno is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship (since 1999), but was previously in Olsztyn Voivodship (1975-1998). It is located within the ...

(Szczytno), large advances in the

Galicia–Volhynia Wars The Galicia–Volhynia Wars were several wars fought in the years 1340–1392 over the succession in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as Ruthenia. After Yuri II Boleslav was poisoned by local Ruthenian nobles in 1340, both the Grand ...

, and the second raid to Moscow. The Teutonic Knights also suffered heavy losses: they lost several of their officers, including the marshal and two

komtur Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

s. That the victory was not so one-sided as claimed by official Teutonic sources is also supported by a local legend that at a critical moment, when the Knights were about to give in to Lithuanian pressure, apprentice shoemaker Hans von Sagan replaced the fallen

standard-bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

of Marshal Schindekop and led the Knights to victory. The victory was attributed to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and in her honor Kniprode established the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

convent at

Heiligenbeil The term Heiligenbeil can refer to: *The German name of Mamonovo, Russia * Heiligenbeil concentration camp built near Mamonovo *Heiligenbeil Pocket The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron (german: Kessel von Heiligenbeil) was the site o ...

(Mamonovo). The battle marked the last serious threat from the Lithuanians in Prussia in the 14th century.

References

{{reflist, 2 Rudau Rudau Rudau 1370 in Europe