Mestwin I ( pl, Mściwoj I gdański or , csb, Mscëwòj I; c. 1160 – 1/2 May 1219 or 1220) was Prince of

Pomerelia Pomerelia,, la, Pomerellia, Pomerania, pl, Pomerelia (rarely used) also known as Eastern Pomerania,, csb, Pòrénkòwô Pòmòrskô Vistula Pomerania, prior to World War II also known as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pome ...

(styled himself as ''princeps Pomoranorum'') from about 1205 until his death. Mestwin was a member of the

Samborides The Samborides () or House of Sobiesław () were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerelia. They were first documented about 1155 as governors (''princeps'') in the Eastern Pomeranian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Poland, a ...

dynasty, the son of Duke Sobiesław of Gdańsk and younger brother of

Sambor I Sambor I, ''princeps Pomoranorum'' ( csb, Sambór I) (c. 1150 – c. 1207) was regentLoew PO: Danzig. Biographie einer Stadt, Munich 2011, p. 32: "Sambor ..styled himself 'princeps Pomoranorum,' .. but not 'dux,' which was the privilege o ...

, whom he succeeded in

. In the tables of

Oliwa Oliwa ( la, Oliva; csb, Òlëwa; german: Oliva) is a northern district of the city of Gdańsk, Poland. From east it borders Przymorze and Żabianka, from the north Sopot and from the south with the districts of Strzyża, VII Dwór and Brętowo, ...

Abbey, outside Danzig, he is recorded as ''pacificus'' ("the Peaceful"). As Mestwin I, ''dei gracia princeps in Gdanzk'', he had founded a convent of nuns (probably the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

abbey of

Żukowo Żukowo ( csb, Żukòwò, german: Zuckau, la, Sucovia) is a town in the Kartuzy County, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland, in the geographical region of Kashubia, with 6,236 inhabitants (2005). It is located along the Radunia ri ...

), the castellany of

Białogarda Białogarda (; csb, Biôłogarda, german: Belgard an der Leba) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wicko, within Lębork County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is situated east of the Łeba river in the histori ...

at the border with the Pomeranian

Lands of Schlawe and Stolp The Schlawe and Stolp Land, also known as Słupsk and Sławno Land, is a historical region in Pomerania, centered on the towns of Sławno (''Schlawe'') and Słupsk (''Stolp'') in Farther Pomerania, in present-day Poland. The area is of some his ...

on the

Łeba river Łeba (pronounced: , Kashubian, Pomeranian and German: ''Leba'') is a seaside town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is located in the Pomerelia sub-region, near Łebsko Lake and the mouth of the river Łeba on the coast of th ...

, and several villages between the rivers

Radunia The Radunia (german: Radaune; csb, Reduniô) is a small river in Kashubia ( Pomerelia) in northern Poland, which issues from a lake and falls into the Motława near the city of Gdańsk. A part of its water is conveyed into the city via the 13.5& ...

and

Słupia Słupia () is a river in north-western Poland, a tributary of the Baltic Sea, with a length of 138 kilometres and the basin area of 1,623 km². Towns: * Słupsk * Ustka See also: Rivers of Poland, List of rivers of Europe This articl ...

. After King

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

had conquered the southern coast of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

with ''Gdanzk'' during a

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

against the

Old Prussians Old Prussians, Baltic Prussians or simply Prussians (Old Prussian: ''prūsai''; german: Pruzzen or ''Prußen''; la, Pruteni; lv, prūši; lt, prūsai; pl, Prusowie; csb, Prësowié) were an indigenous tribe among the Baltic peoples that in ...

, Duke Mestwin in 1210 had to accept

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

overlordship, but was able to free himself again the next year. He was married to Swinisława (d. 1240), formerly referred to as a daughter of Duke Ratibor I of Pomerania. They had eight children: #

Hedwig Hedwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist * Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist * Romanus Adol ...

, married Duke

Władysław Odonic Władysław Odonic, nicknamed Plwacz or the Spitter, ( – 5 June 1239) was a duke of Kalisz 1207–1217, duke of Poznań 1216–1217, ruler of Ujście in 1223, ruler of Nakło from 1225, and duke of all Greater Poland 1229–1234; from 1234 unti ...

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania Swietopelk II, also Zwantepolc II or Swantopolk II, (1190/1200 – 11 January 1266), sometimes known as the Great ( pl, Świętopełk II Wielki; Kashubian: ''Swiãtopôłk II Wiôldżi''), was the ruling Duke of Pomerelia-Gdańsk from 1215 un ...

, succeeded his father as Duke of Pomerelia, from 1227 of Pomerelia-Gdańsk # Mirosława, married Bogislaw II, Duke of

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

# Witosława, prioress of Żukowo Abbey # Warcisław, Duke at

Świecie Świecie (; german: Schwetz) is a town in northern Poland with 25,968 inhabitants (2006), situated in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999); it was in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. It is the capital of Świecie County. Locatio ...

from 1227 # Sambor II, Duke at Lubiszewo from 1233 # Ratibor, Duke at Białogard from 1233 # Milosława, nun at Żukowo Abbey

References

:;Specific: :;General: * *

Literature

* Theodor Hirsch, Max Töppen, Ernst Gottfried Wilhelm Strehlke: Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum:
Die Geschichtsquellen der preussischen Vorzeit
' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mestwin I, Duke Of Pomerania 1160s births 1220 deaths Dukes of Pomerania Samborides