Barnim VIII, Duke of Pomerania (between 1405 and 1407 – between 15 and 19 December 1451)
at www.ruegenwalde.com was Duke of

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

–

Wolgast Wolgast () is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast that can be accessed ...

– Barth. Barnim VIII was the son of Duke

Wartislaw VIII Wartislaw VIII (1373 – 20 or 23 August 1415) was a duke of Pomerania from the House of Griffins house. He ruled in Pomerania-Wolgast from 1394 together with his brother Barnim VI. After Barnim died in 1405, he ruled alone. Life Wartis ...

of Pomerania-Wolgast. After his father's death in 1415 his widow, Agnes of Saxe-Lauenburg, initially held the guardianship of her sons Barnim VIII and Swantibor IV, and as well as the sons of her brothers-in-law

Barnim VI Barnim VI, Duke of Pomerania ( – 22 September 1405 in Pütnitz, near Ribnitz-Damgarten) was duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1394 to 1405. He was the son of Wartislaw VI of Pomerania-Wolgast. Barnim is known for his engagement in piracy. He e ...

Wartislaw IX Duke Wartislaw IX of Pomerania-Wolgast ( – 17 April 1457, Wolgast) was the eldest son of the Duke Barnim VI, Duke of Pomerania ( dynasty of Griffins) and Veronica of Hohenzollern, daughter of Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg. He reigned f ...

, and Barnim VII. Agnes was assisted by a regency council led by Kord Bonow. When the various sons came of age, Pomerania was split in 1425. Barnim VIII and Swantibor IV received

Pomerania-Barth Duchy of Pomerania-Barth was a Feudalism, feudal duchy of the Holy Roman Empire located in Western Pomerania that existed in the Middle Ages between 1376 and 1478, and between 1569 and 1625. The state consisted of its capital, Barth, Germany, B ...

. During the Danish-Hanseatic war Barnim VIII took part in the privateering by Denmark against the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. In 1427, he and his relative, the Danish king

Eric of Pomerania Erik of Pomerania ( 1381/1382 – 24 September 1459) ruled over the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-aunt Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret I until her death in 1412. Erik is known as Erik III as King of ...

, led a combined Danish-Swedish Fleet defeating the Hanseatic fleet in a battle in the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...

. They captured a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

or Hanseatic trading ships en route into the Baltic Sea.Konrad Fritze: ''Pommern und die Hanse'', in ''Beiträge zur Geschichte Vorpommerns: Die Demminer Kolloquien 1985–1994'',

Thomas Helms Verlag The Thomas Helms Verlag is a specialist publisher for North German culture, monument preservation, local and regional history, history, church and art history and is based in Schwerin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. History In 1994, the publi ...

, Schwerin, 1997, , Barnim VIII also participated in

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

s. During a tournament in 1434, he was thrown from his horse by the alderman and later mayor of Stralsund, Arnd Voth. Swantibor and Barnim divided their part of the duchy among themselves in 1435, with Swantibor receiving the island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

and city of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

and the Barnim receiving mainland part except Stralsund. When Swantibor died in 1440, Rügen and Stralsund fell back to Barnim. In 1441, Barnim conquered the

Zingst Zingst (; Polabian language, Polabian ''Sgoni'') is the easternmost portion of the three-part Fischland-Darß-Zingst Peninsula, located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, between the cities of Rostock and Stralsund on the southern shore of ...

peninsula from the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

St. Nicholas Abbey at

Hiddensee Hiddensee () is a Auto-free zone, car-free island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Germany's largest island, Rügen, on the Germany, German coast. The island has about 1,000 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East Germany, East Germ ...

. With the consent of his cousins, he later pledged the dominions of Barth, Zingst and Damgarten to his niece Catherine of Werle for . In 1445, Barnim VII and Barnim VIII defended the city of

Pasewalk Pasewalk () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. Located on the Uecker river, it is the capital of the former Uecker-Randow district, and the seat of the Uecker-Randow-T ...

against Elector Frederick II of Brandenburg.Pasewalk in history
(PDF 345 kB) Barnim VIII died in 1451 from the plague and was buried in the Neuenkamp Abbey.

Marriage and issue

He was married to Anna of Wunstorf. They had a daughter Agnes (1434–1512); she married firstly, in 1449, Margrave Frederick III "the Fat" of Brandenburg (-1463), and secondly, in 1478 Prince George II of Anhalt-Dessau.

References

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnim 08 Pomerania Barth Dukes of Pomerania House of Griffins 15th-century German nobility 1400s births 1451 deaths Year of birth uncertain 15th-century deaths from plague (disease)