Bogusław I (also Bogislaw and Boguslaus; – 18 March 1187), a member of the House of Griffins, was Duke of Pomerania from 1156 until his death. In 1181 he received the "Duchy of Slavinia" as a fief from Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

Life

Bogusław and his younger brother Casimir were sons of Duke Wartislaw I of Pomerania, the progenitor of the Griffin dynasty, probably from his second marriage with the Danish princess Ida. Minors upon their father's violent death, both first had to cede the rule to their uncle Ratibor. After Duke Ratibor died in 1156, his nephews Bogusław and Casimir ruled the Duchy of Pomerania jointly. In 1164 the brothers allied with the Obotrite prince

Pribislav of Mecklenburg Pribislav (german: Pribislaw; died 30 December 1178) was an Obotrite prince and the first Prince of Mecklenburg (1167–1178). Life Pribislav was one of three sons of the Obotrite chieftain Niklot, who was killed in 1160 during a joint campaign b ...

and supported his revolt against the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

. They were defeated in the

Battle of Verchen The Battle of Verchen (german: Schlacht bei Verchen) was a battle between Saxons and West Slavic Obotrites on 6 July 1164. The Obotrites were attacked by Saxons and Danes in 1160, resulting in the death of the Obotrite prince, Niklot, and the par ...

, but allowed to keep their duchy as a fief from Henry. As his loyal vassals, Bogusław and his brother participated in the defeat of the

Rani ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

principality on the island of

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) 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 city of Stralsund, where ...

in 1168, led by the allied King

Valdemar I of Denmark Valdemar I (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( da, Valdemar den Store), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zen ...

, and suffered another defeat at the

battle at Julin Bridge The Battle at Julin Bridge was a naval and land conflict fought around 1170 between the kingdom of Denmark and the Pomeranians. It took place in modern-day Wolin, Poland. The Danish fleet was led by Valdemar I and Absalon and fought the army and ...

in 1170. As neither Henry nor the Pomeranian dukes received any rewards from Valdemar, a lengthy conflict followed whereby Danish forces repeatedly plundered the Griffin estates. Peace was made in 1177, won by the payment of large tributes to the Danish king. When Casimir was killed in 1180, presumably fighting against the invading troops of the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

margrave

Otto I of Brandenburg Otto I (c. 1128 – July 8, 1184) was the second Margrave of Brandenburg, from 1170 until his death. Life Otto I was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Albert I ("Albert the Bear"), who founded the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1 ...

at Demmin, Bogusław went on to rule the Pomeranian duchy alone. One year later, Emperor Barbarossa, who had overthrown his revolting

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

rival Henry the Lion, granted Bogusław the Duchy of Slavinia (''Slawia'') as a fief. The duchy's territory as well as Bogusław's status as a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire remains uncertain. The conflicts with Denmark continued, when in 1184 Bogusław campaigned against the Danish Principality of Rügen on the Emperor's behalf. Yet, this failed, when the Pomeranian navy was sunk in the

Bay of Greifswald The Bay of Greifswald Canute VI of Denmark Canute VI (; c. 1163 – 12 November 1202) was King of Denmark (1182–1202). Contemporary sources describe Canute as an earnest, strongly religious man. Background Canute VI was the eldest son of King Valdemar I and Sophia of Polotsk. H ...

in 1185. Duke Bogusław died in 1187 and was buried in Usedom Abbey. He was succeeded by his surviving sons Bogusław II ( – 1220) and Casimir II. In 1238

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

wrote about Bogusław ''duce Cassubie'' (

Gerard Labuda Gerard Labuda ( csb, Gerard Labùda; 28 December 1916 – 1 October 2010) was a Polish historian whose main fields of interest were the Middle Ages and the Western Slavs. He was born in Kashubia. He lived and died in Poznań, Poland. Life Lab ...

, 2006).

Marriage and children

He was first married to Walburgis of Denmark (d. 1177), daughter of King

and

Sophia of Minsk Sophia of Minsk or Sophia of Polotsk (died 5 May 1198) was a Danish queen consort by marriage to King Valdemar I of Denmark, and a landgravine of Thuringia by marriage to Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia. Life Origin Sophia was the daughter of ...

, and secondly to Anastasia of Greater Poland, daughter of Mieszko III, Duke of Greater Poland and

Eudoxia of Kiev Eudoxia Iziaslavna of Kiev (russian: Евдокия Изяславна, pl, Eudoksja Izjasławówna, italic=no; c. 1131 – c. 1187), was a Kievan Rus' princess member of the Rurikid dynasty and by marriage Greater Poland, Duchess of Greater Pola ...

. He had altogether 5 children. With Walburgis of Denmark: * Ratibor of Pomerania (1160–1183) *

Wartislaw II, Duke of Pomerania Wartislaw II ( ~ 1160 – ~ 1184) was a duke of Pomerania-Demmin. He either was a son of Bogislaw I and Walburga of Denmark, or Wartislaw of the Swantiboride sideline of the Griffins, castellan of Szczecin. Wartislaw II was a son of Bogisl ...

(1160–1184) With Anastasia of Greater Poland: *

Bogislaw II, Duke of Pomerania Bogislaw II ( – 23 January 1220) was Duke of Pomerania-Stettin from 1187 until his death. Life Bogislaw II was a son of Bogislaw I and his second wife, Anatasia, the daughter of Mieszko III of Poland. He was still a minor when his fathe ...

( – 1220) married Miroslawa of Pomerelia (d. 1233), the daughter of Mestwin I of Pomerelia and Swinislawa. * Casimir II, Duke of Pomerania ( – 1219), married Ingardis of Denmark. * Dobroslawa of Pomerania (before 1187 – )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boguslaw 01, Duke of Pomerania Dukes of Pomerania 1130s births Place of birth missing 1187 deaths

Life

Marriage and children

See also

References