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

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 Li ...

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 named ...

(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 administr ...

). According to the Teutonic chronicler Wigand of Marburg 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 Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...

, warned the Prussian Marshal Henning Schindekop 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 Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

, Samogitians,

Ruthenia Ruthenia or , uk, Рутенія, translit=Rutenia or uk, Русь, translit=Rus, label=none, pl, Ruś, be, Рутэнія, Русь, russian: Рутения, Русь is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin as one of several terms ...

ns, 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 as ...

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 (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 Vaišvilas (Polish: ''Wojszwił'') (14th century) was a Lithuanian noble and sometimes is considered one of the sons of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1358 Kęstutis and Masovian princes formed a commission to settle border disputes. The Lit ...

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 h ...

(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 komturs. 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 Hans von Sagan was a heroic figure from East Prussian folklore. Hans was said to be a journeyman shoemaker from the Königsberg town of Kneiphof. At a crucial point during the 1370 Battle of Rudau between the Teutonic Knights and the Grand Duchy ...

replaced the fallen standard-bearer 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 o ...

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