The Bartians (also ''Barthi'', ''Barthoni'', ''Bartens'', or ''Barti'') were an
Old Prussian
Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...
tribe who were among the last natives following a pre-Christian religion before the
Northern Crusades forced their conversion to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
at the cost of a high percentage of the native population. They lived in Bartia (also ''Bartenland'' or ''Barthonia''), a territory that stretched from the middle and lower flow of
Łyna river Łyna may refer to:
* Łyna River (Russian: Лава ''Lava'', German: ''Alle''), a river in Poland and Russia
* Łyna, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (German: ''Lahne''), a village in Poland near the source of the river
{{geodis ...
, by the
Liwna river, and
Lake Mamry
Mamry (, ) is a lake in the Masurian Lake District of Poland's Warmia-Mazury Province. It is the second largest lake in Poland, with an area of . The lake's maximum depth is with an average depth of .
It actually comprises six connected lakes: M ...
, up to the
Galindian woods. The territory is quite precisely known from description in ''
Chronicon terrae Prussiae
''Chronicon terræ Prussiæ'' () is a chronicle of the Teutonic Knights, by Peter of Dusburg, finished in 1326. The manuscript is the first major chronicle of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, completed some 100 yea ...
'', dated 1326.
The same description mentions two provinces, the Major Barta and the Minor Barta. The territory was quite densely populated, as confirmed by abundant archeological findings.
[ Before the wars with the ]Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
, the population was estimated to be at 17,000.
The Bartians, along with the other Prussians, were conquered by the Teutonic Knights, who Christianized them under duress, brought in settlers. The Prussians were forcibly assimilated by the invaders and the Old Prussian language
Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...
became extinct by the end of the 17th century.
History
Several years of conquest attempts by Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, aided by a number of crusades by the popes and by Konrad of Masovia
Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Dukes of Masovia, Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as List of Polish monarchs, High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and ...
, had been fairly successfully repelled by the Prussians. Then Konrad of Masovia called for further crusades and invited the Teutonic Knights, an Order of the Catholic Church, to settle in Chełmno Land
Chełmno land (, or Kulmerland) is a part of the historical region of Pomerelia, located in central-northern Poland.
Chełmno land is named after the city of Chełmno. The largest city in the region is Toruń; another bigger city is Grudziąd ...
in 1226. Receiving support from the rest of Christian Europe, the military order was able to expand their territory northeast. Their strategy was to conquer a territory and built a castle — a stronghold that would serve as the basis for further expansion. Castles at that time in Europe were built to serve as bases for colonial expansion.
The Bartians, together with the Warmians
Warmians (also ''Warmi'') were a Prussian tribe that lived in Warmia (, , , ), a territory which now mostly forms part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland, with a small northern portion located in neighbouring Russia. It was situated ...
and the Natangians, were conquered by the Teutonic Knights 1238–1240. In Bartia the Knights built major castles in Bartoszyce
Bartoszyce (pronounced ; , ) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
Geographical location
Bartoszyce lies on t ...
and Reszel
Reszel (; Prussian: ''Resel'' or ''Resl'') is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northeastern Poland. As of 2012 the population was 4,896. A small medieval town situated in the historical Warmia region, Reszel possesses many archite ...
. In 1242, just two years after their conquest, Bartians rebelled and managed to resist until 1252.[ 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, supp ...
(1260–1274), that started after the Knights suffered a major loss in the Battle of Durbe
The Battle of Durbe (, , ) was a medieval battle fought near Durbe, east of Liepāja, in present-day Latvia during the Livonian Crusade. On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians soundly defeated the joint forces of the Teutonic Knights from Prussia (r ...
, Bartians chose Diwane as their leader. The rebels managed to capture a few castles, including Bartenstein (Bartoszyce) in 1264. With help from other Prussian tribes, Diwane attacked Kulm (Chełmno
Chełmno (; older ; , formerly also ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Due to its regional importance ...
), Marienburg (Malbork
Malbork (German: ''Marienburg'') is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of Malbork County and has a population of 36,709 people as of 2024. The town is located on the Nogat river, in the historical region of Pomerelia.
Fo ...
), and Christburg (Dzierzgoń
Dzierzgoń (formerly also: ''Kiszpork''; ) is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. It is located in Sztum County east of Malbork and south of Elbląg on the river Dzierzgoń. Dzierzgoń has a population of 5,242, while the t ...
). However, the Prussians could not win a war of attrition
The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970.
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...
against the Knights, who could draw resources from the western Europe. In 1273 Diwane sieged another castle but was fatally wounded. Within a year, the uprising was over. Some of the rebels escaped to Grodno
Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
and other Lithuanian territories.[
Despite heavy losses during the uprising, Bartia did not become an uninhabited land and the Bartians continued to resist. Two more attempts were made, in 1286 and 1293, to fight against the Teutonic Knights. In 1286 Bartians asked help from Duke of ]Rügen
Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...
, and in 1293 from Vytenis
Vytenis was Grand Duke of Lithuania from to . He became the first monarch of the Gediminid dynasty to sustain a long-lasting reign, establishing the dynasty’s continuity and long-term governance of Lithuania. In the early 14th century, his ...
, Grand Duke of Lithuania
This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...
.[ In 1454, the region was incorporated by King ]Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...
to the Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385.
Background
The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
. After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War, the longest of all Polish–Teutonic wars, since 1466, it formed part of Poland as a fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
held by the Teutonic Order,[Górski, p. 96–97, 214–215] and after 1525 held by secular Ducal Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...
. The Bartians were forcibly assimilated by the Germans in the 16th or 17th century.[
They are most likely the ''Bartove'' mentioned in the ]Hypatian Codex
The ''Hypatian Codex'', also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis, is a compendium of three Rus' chronicle, Rus' chronicles: the ''Primary Chronicle'', ''Kievan Chronicle'' and ''Galician-Volhynian Chronicle''. It is the most important sou ...
(together with the Prussians
Prussia () was a German state that formed the German Empire in 1871.
Prussia or Prussian may also refer to:
*Prussia (region), a historical region on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea that lent its name to the later German state
Count ...
: "''Prousi i Bartove''").
References
{{prussian clans
Historical Baltic peoples
Old Prussians
People from Prussia proper
History of Kaliningrad Oblast
History of Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
lt:Barta