Glappo (or Glappe) (baptized as ''Charles'' or ''Carolus'') was the leader of

Warmians Warmians (also ''Warmi'') were a Prussian tribe that lived in Warmia ( pl, Warmia, la, Varmia, german: Ermland, lt, Varmė), a territory which now mostly forms part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland, with a small northern portion l ...

, one of the Prussian clans, during the

Great Prussian Uprising The Prussian uprisings were two major and three smaller uprisings by the Old Prussians, one of the Baltic tribes, against the Teutonic Knights that took place in the 13th century during the Prussian Crusade. The crusading military order, suppo ...

(1260–1274) against 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 ...

. In 1249 Pope Urban IV had installed the papal legate Jacob Pantaleon to aid the Teutonic Order and after the battle at the Durbe, the pope called for a crusade against the Prussians and sent knights who were on their way against the

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

back to the crusades against the Prussians. During those crusades and as a result the unbaptized parts of the Prussians began uprisings and Glappo and his men successfully captured

Braunsberg Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capita ...

. When Glappo ambushed and killed forty people who left the castle to gather firewood and fodder, the

Bishop of Warmia This is a list of Bishops and Prince-Bishops of the Diocese of Warmia ( pl, link=no, Diecezja warmińska, la, link=no, Dioecesis Varmiensis, german: link=no, Bistum Ermland), which was elevated to the Archdiocese of Warmia in 1992. The Bisho ...

decided against trying to defend the town and abandoned it. In 1266 large reinforcements for the Teutonic Knights, led by Otto III and John I, co-rulers of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, arrived to Prussia. They built a castle on the border of Warmian and Natangian lands between

Balga Balga (russian: замок Бальга; german: Burg Balga; lt, Balga; pl, Balga) was a medieval castle of the Teutonic Knights in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The castle ruins are located on the shore of the Vistula Lagoon, north of Mamonovo ...

and

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 ...

and named it Brandenburg (now Ushakovo). When a native woman informed Glappo that most of the soldiers were away on a raid and the place is practically unguarded, Warmians attacked and captured the outer walls and the towers. When Teutonic soldiers returned, they did not try to recapture the castle. The very next year Duke Otto was back to rebuild the castle. Glappo was killed trying to recapture Brandenburg. In 1273, at the very end of the uprising, Warmians besieged Brandenburg, but did not put sufficient guards on the road from Königsberg. This allowed the Knights to attack the Prussians from the rear. Warmians suffered a crushing defeat and Glappo was captured. He was later hanged on a hill outside Königsberg that is sometimes referred to as "Glappo's hill" (''Glappenberg'').Urban, William. ''The Prussian Crusade'', 331–332. He was the last important Prussian leader, and after his death only

Pogesanians Pogesanians were a Old Prussians, Prussian tribe, which lived in the region of Pogesania ( pl, Pogezania; lt, Pagudė; german: Pogesanien; la, Pogesania), a small territory stretched between the Elbląg River, Elbląg and Pasłęka rivers, now l ...

were left fighting.

References

{{Prussian leaders 1273 deaths Old Prussian people People from Prussia proper Pagans of the Prussian Crusade Executed German people Year of birth unknown People executed by hanging People executed by the Holy Roman Empire Pagan martyrs