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“Lithuania [Lectonia] is a province of Scythia, and its people are called Lithuanians. They are towering and strong, warlike and savage people. Lithuania is a land of fertile soil; much of it is swampland and covered with forests, watered with rivers and lakes; there are many beasts and animals there. The forests and swamps protect it; other than the lakes, forests and swamps, they have few fortified places [settlements]. And this is why it is doubtful whether this area could be conquered in summer, perhaps only in winter, when the rivers and other bodies of water are frozen over.”
A Lithuanian swamp in modern times
A Lithuanian swamp in modern times

This was written in the 13th century encyclopedic work De proprietatibus rerum ("On the Properties of Things") Bartholomeus Anglicus (~1203–240). The description of Lithuania as a "land of forests and swamps" given by Bartholomeus proved to be long-standing. This was repeated by various authors

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