Simon Grunau

The only personal information available is what he wrote himself in his work: that he was a Dominican priest from Tolkemit (Tolkmicko) near Frauenburg (Frombork) just north of Elbing (Elbląg) in the Monastic State of the Teutonic Order.

Its 24 chapters deal with Prussian landscape, agriculture, inhabitants, their customs, and history from earliest times to up to 1525 when the Protestant Duchy of Prussia was created.

[2] Grunau lived at the time of political division and fierce religious conflicts in Prussia, and as a Catholic priest, was biased against Protestants.

[4] For the history of more recent times Grunau used all available sources (such as chronicles by Peter von Dusburg, official documents of the Teutonic Knights, and especially works by Erasmus Stella)[3] and added his own imagination.

For example, he took a description of Prussian holy place Romove (Romuva temple) from Peter von Dusburg and improved it by adding an eternally green oak, decorated with portraits of three idols and guarded by vestal virgins.

[2] However, some Lithuanian researchers, including Gintaras Beresnevičius, believe such approach is overly critical and the chronicle should be more carefully analyzed to identify possibly valid information.