Die Prußen und der Konflikt des Universums in der Zeit der Eroberung
The Prussians and the Conflict of Universes in the Age of Conquest

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the problem of the Prussians’ cultural situation at the time of conquest (1230-1283) and the conflict of two opposing rival symbolic universes: the old, i. e. pagan, and the Christian one. The Teutonic Order appears as a representative of the Christian symbolic universe, universalist in nature, with one God, one Church and a single social system. The article focuses on the shift in the Prussian society’s religious practices and the transformation of the social space in which they took place, for these were the most contentious points of rivalry between the two universes. Over the course of the thirteenth century the conquered Prussian lands witnessed a re-structuring of social space through seizures of holy places (churches, sepulchres) which kept the community alive; religious figures appeared in a variety of new roles; keepers of the new universe came to fore; finally, there was a radical change in religious rituals (baptism, holy mass, burial). The cultural situation of the inhabitants of the Prussian territories at the time of the conquest is shown to have been extremely critical. The conflict placed the Prussians uneasily between the old and the new universe, subjecting them to a severe identity crisis. As Christians, they were cutting ties with their former gods. They could not observe the old cult, but at the same time had no fitting replacement for it. In the thirteenth century, churches as places of worship were scarce in the Prussian territories, as were cemeteries and priests in their role as religious experts. The situation was critical from the standpoint of the Prussians’ religious needs. Christianization eliminated the traditional points of contact with the sacred, with next to nothing to offer in exchange. Having abandoned their old beliefs and broken links with the old gods, Prussian converts did not know where or how to address their prayers to the new god.

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