their pontificalia. At the same time the' pope IX. in 1234, and [nnocent IV, In 1244, declared the present and future conquests of the n f< Is of the papal see ('tii jut et i roprietatem B. Petri u ipimua et earn mtb
toliccem 1 erpetuo
tempore permanere sancimns, . . . Te Conrade magister
ejus doraus annulo nostra de terra investimus, ita quod
ipsa. . . nnllius nnquam snbjiciatnr dominio potestatis ;
in futnrnm . . . de terra pnganornm in eadem
,os contigeril adipisci, Anna et illibata voids
i i ibus siih /ui c i ( proprd tat I
niodo statuimns perniaiienda'i. An annual trib- ute was promised to the Roman court. At the same time the pope Btipulated that in the newly acquired territories
churches should be built, C hop- and prelates appointed
at hie will, thai n portion of the land should be granted to the latter dignitaries, etc. The grand mastei Hermann Balk to be the leader ofthe knights he intended
to send to Prussia, and the administrator of the land given to the order by duke Conrad; llermaun, probably
' of Westpbalian birth, was not only a distinguished war- rior, but a man full of wisdom and experience in all worldly matters: a pious knight, too, who during a space of ten years had administered the possessions ofthe or- der in Germany, and gained by his remarkable aptitude the full confidence ofthe grand-master. All other high functions were intrusted to equally distingui-' sons. who. with a few knight- and a considerable bodv of
cavalry, set out on their way to Prussia. They arrived id 1228 in the dominions of c onrad of Masovia. ' Numerous
as was their host, yet the Prnssians counted a thousand warriors where they counted one. Conrad could assist them, but hardly make them formidable, by the addition Of his forces, his weakness being the verv ca
had made their expedil lesirable. Poland was torn
by its unceasing troubles, and. I - l in per-
petual warfare with her neighbors. Pomerania itself of- fered no prospeel of help, as duke Swantepolk entertained but hostile relations with Conrad, and with Poland in general. It was a heroic daring in the Teutonic Order to engage in their expedition under such unfavorable cir- cumstances, They began the warwithont delay, assisted by bands of Crusaders (l'j:;V , Gregory IX preaching the crusade against Prussia with unabatfng zeal. The land of Culm was occupied, with the lnlp of Swantepolk of Pomerania, in spile of the desperate resistance of the Prussians. The order, at the same time that it construct- ed fort- to insure the new conquests, hel] ed German col- onists in building cities in well - protected and fertile places. Thorn was reared first, soon afterwards Culm, both in 12:!'..', and M alien werder in 1233. The Prussians, dismayed by the large body of troops arrayed on their frontier, and knowing perhaps thai the crusaders were engaged for the space of a year only, pretended to be un- willing to tight and inclined to receive baptism. Bishop Christian forthwith repaired to the district of Pomesania, in order to preach and to baptize. But a few days after- wards be was attacked by the pagans, bis companions all killed, and the bishop himself led into captivity. The pope now recommended caution to the Dominicans in Prussia, and bade them beware ofthe wily stratagems of the heathens. A spell of cold weather having made the moorlands of Pomesania easy of access, the whole Chris- tian army invaded that country at the beginning of 1234. The poniesaniatis were defeated near the Sirgune River, iu the neighborhood of a consecrated wood, after victory bad been passing for several hours from host to host. The battle was a most bloody one, and the spot where it had raged was, hmg after the event, called 'The Field of the Dead.' As its final gain by the Christians was due to Swantepolk, an army of Pomesanians crossed the Vistula and laid waste the whole land of Pomerania. The mon- astery of Oliva, which had been recently put under papal protection, was stormed and reduced to ashes. To pro- tect the land of Culm against the vengeance of the infuri- ated invaders, Hermann Balk erected the fori Of Linden in 1234, which was the origin ofthe city of Rheden. This kind of precaution was indispensable', as the crusaders dispersed after a year's service, and the knights had to hold the country with their side resources. There came other difficulties: the order and bishop Christian could not agree; there were grievous dissensions between the oi der and duke i ion i ad . a contest arose between Swante- polk of Pomerania and Henry of P.reslau, and cut off, for the knights, all prospect of help from those quarters. The pope, informed of this state of affairs, sent his legate, bishop William Of Modena, with most extensive powers, especially for the constitution to be given to the churches and for the distribution of bishoprics in the northern countries ; and he announced the arrival of his legale and the object of his mission to the < hriBtian£ iu Livonia. Prussia, Gothland, Finland. Ksihoiiia. Semgallen, and Con Hand. The legate arrived in Prussia al the I eginning of summer in 1234, and exerted himself at one- m com- pounding the dispute between bishop Christian and the order. The bishop had made a division ofthe land, taking two thirds as his share, and left only one third to the or- der; he had further expressed the opinion that the coun- tries recently conquered for tin- Church were lawfully his. The legate did not approve of these virus : he decided, ill conformity with his instructions, that of all territories Occupied and still to be occupied, two ih