set out as a missionary to preach to the inhabitants near Prussia. Bolesław I, Duke (and, later, King) of Poland, sent soldiers with Adalbert on his mission to the Prussians. The Bishop and his companions, entered Prussian territory and traveled along the coast of the Baltic Sea to Gdańsk. At the borders of the Polish realm, at the mouth of the Vistula River, his half-brother Radim (Gaudentius), Benedict-Bogusza (who was probably a Pole), and at least one interpreter, ventured out into Prussia alone, as Bolesław had only sent his soldiers to escort them to the border. Adalbert achieved some success upon his arrival, however his arrival mostly caused strain upon the local Prussian populations. Partially this was because of the imperious manner with which he preached, but potentially because he preached utilizing a book. The Prussians had an oral society where communication was face to face. To the locals Adalbert reading from a book may have come off as a manifestation of an evil action. He was forced to leave this first village after being struck in the back of the head by an oar by a local chieftain, causing the pages of his book to scatter upon the ground. He and his companions then fled across a river. In the next place that Adalbert tried to preach, his message was met with the locals banging their sticks upon the ground, calling for the death of Adalbert and his companions. Retreating once again Adalbert and his companions went to a market place of Truso (near modern-day Elbląg). Here they were met with a similar response as at the previous place. On the 23 April 997, after mass, while Adalbert and his companions lay in the grass while eating a snack, they were set upon by a pagan mob. The mob was led by a man named Sicco, possibly a pagan priest, who delivered the first blow against Adalbert, before the others joined in. They removed Adalbert's head from his body after he was dead, and mounted on a pole while they returned home. This encounter may also have taken place in Tenkitten and Fischhausen (now Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia). It is recorded that his body was bought back for its weight in gold by King Boleslaus I of Poland. Veneration and relics A few years after his martyrdom, Adalbert was canonized as Saint Adalbert of Prague. His life was written