Curonian Discussion

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The Curonians were a fierce Baltic tribe living on the shores of parts of Latvia and Lithuania from the 5th to 16th centuries. They gave their name to the region of Courland and spoke the Curonian language. They were fierce and warlike known for seafaring skills and raids on neighboring lands. They were polytheists and worshipped a variety of gods including Perkunas, the god of thunder and lightning - Perkelete was also the original name of the ancient Finnish thunder god. Curonians had close ties to Gotland and relations between Gotlanders and Curonians are well documented during the early Medieval and Late Viking Age. Curonians even had an outpost on Gotland and Gotlanders had settlements in the East Baltic right next to Curonian settlements. Eventually these fierce Baltic tribes were conquered by the Teutonic Order in the 13th century but retained their language and culture for centuries later.