PART SEVENTH: CHAPTER II
Prince and Princess Janusz had left with part of the court for the spring
fishing at Czerska, of which sport he was extremely fond, and loved it
above all others. The Bohemian got much important information from
Mikolaj of Dlugolas, treating of private affairs as well as of the war.
First he learned that Macko had apparently given up his intended route to
Zmudz, the "Prussian enclosure," that a few days ago he had left for
Warsaw where be found the princely pair. As to the war, old Mikolaj
informed him all that he had already heard in Szczytno. All Zmudz, as one
man, had risen in arms against the Germans, and Prince Witold not only
had refused to help the Order against the unhappy Zmudzians, but had not
yet declared war against them, and was negotiating with them; but
meanwhile he supplied the Zmudzians with money, men, horses and corn.
Meanwhile, he, as well as the Knights of the Cross, sent ambassadors to
the pope, to the emperor, and to other Christian lords, accusing each
other of breach of faith, and treachery. The ambassador carrying the
letters of the prince was the clever Mikolaj of Rzeniewa, a man of great
ability who could unravel the thread which was woven by the artifice of
the Knights of the Cross, convincingly demonstrating the great wrongs
done to the lands of Lithuania and Zmudz.
Meantime when at the diet in Wilno the ties between the Poles and
Lithuanians were strengthened, it acted like poison in the hearts of the
Knights of the Cross. It was easy to foresee that Jagiello as the supreme
lord of all the lands under the command of Prince Witold, would stand at
his side in time of war. Count Jan Sayn, the _comthur_ of Grudzia, and
Count Schwartzburg of Danzig, went, at the request of the grand master,
to see the king and asked him what might be expected from him. Although
they brought him falcons and costly presents, he told them nothing. Then
they threatened him with war, without really intending it, because they
well knew that the grand master and the chapter were terribly afraid of
Jagiello's forces, and were anxious to avert the day of wrath and
calamity.
All their schemes were broken like cobwebs, especially with Prince
Witold. The evening after Hlawa's arrival, fresh news reached Warsaw.
Bronisz of Ciasnoc, courtier of Prince Janusz, whom the prince had
previously sent for information from Lithuania, arrived, and with him
were two important Lithuanian princes. They brought letters from Witold
and the Zmudzians. It was terrible news. The Order was preparing for war.
The fortresses were being strengthened, ammunition manufactured,
soldiers, (knechts) and knights were gathering at the frontier, and the
lighter bodies of cavalry and infantry had already crossed the frontier
near Ragnety, Gotteswerder and other border strongholds. The din of war
was already heard in the forests, fields and villages, and during the
night the woods were seen on fire along the dark sea. Witold finally
received Zmudz under his overt protection. He sent his governors, and
wagons with armed people he placed under the most famous warrior
Skirwoillo. He broke into Prussia, burned, destroyed and devastated. The
prince himself approached with his army toward Zmudz. Some fortresses he
provisioned; others, Kowno, for instance, he destroyed, so that the
Knights of the Cross might find no support. It was no more a secret, that
at the advent of winter, when the swamps should be frozen, or even
earlier than that, if the season was dry, a great war would break out,
which would embrace all the lands of Lithuania, Zmudz, and Prussia. But
should the king rush to the assistance of Witold then a day must follow
in which the flood would inundate the German or the other half of the
world, or would be forced back for long ages into its original river-bed.
But that was not to happen yet. Meanwhile, the sighs of the Zmudzians,
their despairing complaints of the wrongs done to them, and their appeals
for justice were heard everywhere. They also read letters concerning the
unfortunate people in Krakow, Prague, in the pope's court and in other
western countries. The nobleman brought an open letter to Prince Janusz,
from Bronisz of Ciasnoc. Many a Mazovian involuntarily laid his hand on
his sword at his side and considered seriously whether voluntarily to
enroll under the standard of Witold. It was known that the great prince
would be glad to have with him the valiant Polish nobles, who were as
valorous in battle as the Lithuanian and Zmudzian nobility, and better
disciplined and equipped than they. Others were also impelled by their
hatred toward the old enemies of the Polish race, whilst others wanted to
go out of compassion.
"Listen! Oh listen!" They appealed to the kings, princes and to the whole
Zmudzian nation. "We are people of noble blood and free, but the Order
wants to enslave us! They do not care for our souls, but they covet our
lands and wealth. Our need is already such that nothing remains for us
but to gather together, or kill ourselves! How can they wash us with
Christian water when they themselves have unclean hands. We wish to be
baptized, but not with blood and the sword. We want religion, but only
such as upright monarchs shall teach,--Jagiello and Witold.
"Listen to us and help us, for we perish! The Order does not wish to
christen us for our enlightenment. They do not send us priests, but
executioners. Our beehives, our flocks, and all the products of our land
they have already carried away. We are not even allowed to fish or hunt
in the wilds.
"We pray you: Listen to us! They are just bending our necks under the
yoke and force us to work during the night in the castles. They have
carried off our children as hostages; our wives and daughters they ravish
in our presence. It behooves us to groan, but not to speak. Our fathers
they have burned at the stake; our lords have been carried off to
Prussia. Our great men, Korkucia, Wasigina, Swolka and Songajle, they
have destroyed."
"Oh listen! for we are not wild beasts but human beings. We earnestly
call upon the Holy Father to send us Polish bishops to baptize us, for we
thirst for baptism from the very depth of our heart. But baptism is
performed with water and not with shedding of human living blood."
This was the kind of complaint the Zmudzians made against the Knights of
the Cross, so that when they were heard by the Mazovian court, several
knights and courtiers immediately presented themselves ready to go and
help them; they understood that it was not even necessary to ask for
permission from Prince Janusz, even if only for the reason that the
princess was the sister of Prince Witold. They were specially enraged
when they learned from Bronisz and the noblemen, that many noble Zmudzian
young ladies, who were hostages in Prussia, but could not endure dishonor
and cruelty, had taken their own lives when the Knights of the Cross were
about to attack their honor.
Hlawa was very glad to learn of the desire of the Mazovian knights,
because he thought that the more men from Poland that joined Prince
Witold, the more intense would be the war, and the affair against the
Knights of the Cross would be more potent. He was also glad of his
chances of meeting Zbyszko, and the old knight Macko, to whom he was much
attached and whom, he believed, he was worthy to meet, and together see
new wild countries, hitherto unknown cities, and see knights and soldiers
never seen before, and, finally, that Prince Witold whose great fame
resounded then throughout the world.
Those thoughts decided him to undertake the long and hurried journey--not
stopping upon the road more than was necessary for the horses to rest.
The noblemen who arrived with Bronisz of Ciasnoc and other Lithuanians
who were present at the prince's court, and who were acquainted with the
roads and all passes, were to guide him and the Mazovian knights, from
hamlet to hamlet, from city to city and through the silent, immense, deep
wilderness which covered the greater part of Mazovia, Lithuania and
Zmudz.
Content of PART SEVENTH: CHAPTER II [Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel: The Knights of the Cross]
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