Niklot or Nyklot (1090 – August 1160) was a

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

of the Slavic

Obotrites The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavs, West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in norther ...

and an

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

. He became chief of the Obotrite confederacy, including the

Kissini The Kessinians, also known as Kessini, Chizzini, ''Kcynianie'' and ''Chyżanie'', were a medieval West Slavic tribe in what is now northeastern Germany. They inhabited the territory between the Warnow and Recknitz rivers, today split between the ...

and the

Circipani Circipania (german: Circipanien, Zirzipanien) was a medieval territory in what is now northeastern Germany. The name derives from Latin ''circum'' (around) and ''Pane'' (the Peene River). The region was enclosed roughly by the upper Recknitz, Treb ...

, between the years 1130 and 1131. He remained in this position until his death in 1160. At the same time he was

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

of (''Herr zu'')

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

, Quetzin and

Malchow Malchow () is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Geography It is situated on the river Elde, 25,5 km west of Waren, and 35 km north of Wittstock. History The site ...

. For nearly 30 years he resisted

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 ...

princes, especially

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 ...

during the

Wendish Crusade The Wendish Crusade (german: Wendenkreuzzug) was a military campaign in 1147, one of the Northern Crusades and a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Sl ...

Resistance

Niklot began his open resistance when the German King (later Emperor)

Lothar III Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed List of rulers of Saxony, Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected List o ...

granted the Obotrite realm to his

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 a ...

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

Canute Lavard Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord) (12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position ...

. Together with

Pribislav of Wagria Pribislav ( 1131–d. after 1156) was an Obotrite prince who ruled Wagria as "Lesser king" (''regulus'') and resided in Liubice, governing one half of the Obotrite lands, the other half being governed by Niklot. Life Pribislav was the son of Budiv ...

, son of

Budivoj Budivoj, Buthue, or Butue ( Polish Budziwoj) (died 1075) was the eldest son of Gottschalk, an Obotrite prince, by a mistress. He allied with the dukes of Saxony in order to recover the power and position of his father, lost since Gottschalk's death ...

and nephew of

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, Niklot fought Lothar and Canute. After the murder of Canute in 1131, Niklot and Pribislav partitioned the Obotrite territory, with Niklot receiving the eastern lands. In order to weaken Pribislav in the following years, Niklot allied with Saxon lords, especially Count

Adolf II of Holstein Adolf II of Holstein ( – 6 July 1164) was the Count of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1130 until his death, though he was briefly out of Holstein from 1137 until 1142. He succeeded his father Adolf I under the regency of his mother, Hildewa. ...

, allowing Slavic pirates to attack the Danes.

Wendish Crusade

The prince's Saxon allies turned against him during the 1147

. Although Niklot resisted the siege of his fortress at

Dobin Dobin am See is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Villages #Alt Schlagsdorf #Buchholz #Flessenow #Liessow #Neu Schlagsdorf #Retgendorf #Rubow History The community of Dobin am See has existe ...

, he was forced to pay tribute to the Christian crusaders. He subsequently arranged peaceful terms with Adolf of Holstein, Duke

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and

Henry of Ratzeburg Henry of Badewide (or Badwide) (german: Heinrich von Badewide) (died ca. 1164) was a Saxons, Saxon Count of Botwide (after 1149) and Count of Ratzeburg (after 1156). Henry came from a knightly family from Lüneburg. He took his name from Bode nea ...

Religion

After the death of Obotrite Prince Henry, a Christian, Niklot allegedly renounced Christianity in favor of traditional pagan beliefs. However, this is uncertain; according to

Helmold Helmold of Bosau (ca. 1120 – after 1177) was a Saxon historian of the 12th century and a priest at Bosau near Plön. He was a friend of the two bishops of Oldenburg in Holstein, Vicelinus (died 1154) and Gerold (died 1163), who did much to ...

's ''

Chronica Slavorum The ''Chronica Sclavorum'' or ''Chronicle of the Slavs'' is a medieval chronicle which recounts the pre-Christian culture and religion of the Polabian Slavs, written by Helmold (ca. 1120 – after 1177), a Saxon priest and historian. It describe ...

'', Niklot promised to Christianize his lands as part of the peace agreement, and in the late 1150s he wrote to Henry the Lion:

Let the god, who is heaven, be your God; you be our god, and it sufficeth us. You honor Him, and in turn we shall honor you.

Death

By 1158, King

Valdemar the Great 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 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

began to pay Henry the Lion for assistance, leading Niklot to retaliate. The Danish king and the Saxon duke then allied in 1160. While the Danes harried the coast and distracted 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 ...

, the Saxons killed Niklot at his stronghold of Burg Werle; the Obotrite territory was largely partitioned by the Christians. Niklot's death ended Slavic control in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

up to the

Peene The Peene () is a river in Germany. Geography The Westpeene, with the Ostpeene as its longer tributary, and the Kleine Peene/Teterower Peene (with a ''Peene '' without specification (or ''Nordpeene'') as its smaller and shorter affluent) flo ...

River. His son Pribislav recovered his inheritance as Prince of Mecklenburg in 1167 as a Saxon vassal. His other son Wertislaw was the father of

Nicholas I, Lord of Mecklenburg Nicholas I, Lord of Mecklenburg (also known as ''Niklot I''; before 1164 – 25 May 1200, near Waschow, now part of Wittendörp), was the ruling Lord of Mecklenburg from 1178 until his death. He was the son of Wertislaw of Mecklenburg, Wertis ...

Footnotes

References

* * * {{Authority control 1090 births 1160 deaths Converts to pagan religions from Christianity Obotrite princes Slavic warriors People of the Northern Crusades Pagans of the Wendish Crusade Military personnel killed in action House of Mecklenburg Pagan martyrs