Pribislav ( 1131–d. after 1156) was an Obotrite prince who ruled Wagria as "Lesser king" (''regulus'') and resided in

Liubice Liubice, also known by the German name Alt-Lübeck ("Old Lübeck"), was a medieval West Slavic settlement near the site of modern Lübeck, Germany. Liubice was located at the confluence of the Schwartau with the Trave across from Teerhof Island, ...

, governing one half of the Obotrite lands, the other half being governed by

Niklot Niklot or Nyklot (1090 – August 1160) was a chief or prince of the Slavic Obotrites and an ancestor of the House of Mecklenburg. He became chief of the Obotrite confederacy, including the Kissini and the Circipani, between the years 1130 an ...

Life

Pribislav was the son of Budivoj, and nephew of Henry. After the murder of

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 positio ...

in 1131, the Obotrite lands were partitioned between Pribislav and

, with the former receiving Wagria and Polabia and the latter

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, Schwer ...

until 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; Pribislav received the title ''regulus'', or lesser king and resided in

. A follower of

Slavic paganism Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The So ...

, Pribislav was described by Emperor Lothair III, whom he was dependent upon, as an enemy of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

and an idolater. After the death of Lothair in 1137, Lothair's son-in-law Henry the Proud and Margrave

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (german: Albrecht der Bär; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Bal ...

fought over the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settlement geography, settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and in ...

. Pribislav took advantage of the struggle to rebel against the authority of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

by destroying the new castle of

Segeberg Segeberg (; frr, Segebärj) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Ostho ...

and invading

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label= Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germ ...

in Summer 1138. Saxons from Holstein and Stormarn under the command of Henry of Badewide led a massive counterattack the following winter. Another Holsatian campaign in Summer 1139 devastated the Slavic inhabitants of Wagria and placed the territory under German control. The Slavs under Pribislav's rule were reduced to living in the northeastern corner of Wagria. The prince complained to the Bishop of Oldenburg that the taxation and oppression of the Saxon lords were essentially driving the Wagrians to 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 fr ...

. The Slavs retained their old religious practices, such as worship of the god

Porewit Porevit, Porovit or Borovit (, , , , , ) is a Slavonic god with unknown functions mentioned in only two sources: ''Gesta Danorum'' and in ''Knýtlinga saga''. The only historical information about this god is a description of a statue depicting ...

, near Oldenburg. On Tuesdays Pribislav held court with pagan priests and representatives of the Slavic population. 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 ...

ultimately won over Pribislav through gifts, and Pribislav converted to Roman Catholic Christianity in 1156.

References

*{{cite book, last=Herrmann, first=Joachim, title=Die Slawen in Deutschland, year=1970, publisher=Akademie-Verlag GmbH, location=Berlin, pages=530 Obotrite princes 12th-century monarchs in Europe 12th-century deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions Year of birth unknown