Between Admiration and Defamation: Reimagining the Knightly Ideal in the Wars Against Lithuanians

CMRS Roundtable

Completed in 1326, Peter of Dusburg’s Chronicon terrae Prussiae is the earliest known history of the Teutonic Order, its military victories against the Baltic pagans, and its wars against the Lithuanians. As many scholars have demonstrated, Dusburg’s chronicle was intended to provide legal and theological justification for the continuation of the Order’s wars at a time when its military practices had come under widespread criticism. In this Roundtable talk, Dr. Kristina Markman (History, UCLA) shows that Dusburg’s chronicle is much more than just a bold attempt to justify the Order’s activities; it skillfully reimagines the knightly ideal drawing on a combination of theology, history, and chivalric values. The chronicler’s polemic against the Lithuanians and his careful choice of qualities to praise and condemn set in juxtaposition to the knights promotes the Baltic campaigns as one of the last theaters of just war, where righteous knights, free from the pageantry and formalistic concerns developing elsewhere in Europe, can follow in the footsteps of their forefathers and fight for God and honor.

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No fee. Limited seating. Self-pay parking in lots 2, 3, and 4. Parking information at https://main.transportation.ucla.edu/campus-parking/visitors

Funding for CMRS Roundtables is provided by the Armand Hammer Endowment for the UCLA Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies.