Tetzlav, also known as ''Tezlaw'', ''Tetzlaw'' and ''Tetislaw'' (before 1163 – between 1170 and 1181) was a Prince of Rügen.

Life

According to the

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 ...

n chronicler,

Thomas Kantzow Thomas Kantzow (died 1542) was a chronicler in the Duchy of Pomerania. He studied at the universities of Rostock and Wittenberg, and was a secretary of the Pomeranian dukes. His manuscripts, rediscovered in 1729, 1832 and 1973, are written in Low ...

, he was a son 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 ...

king, Ratislaus of Rügen (1105−1140). Even before the first recorded mention of Tetzlav in 1164 as King of the island territory 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 ...

by the writer,

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...

, the Rani tribe were the object of several campaigns by the Danish king, Valdemar I and the Saxon 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 ...

. Tetzlav and his co-regent brother, Jaromar, had to acknowledge the

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

of their conquerors each time. For example, they took part in 1162 in Valdemar's military campaign against

Wolgast Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) 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 coast that can be ...

and in 1163 in the consecration of

Lübeck Cathedral Lübeck Cathedral (german: Dom zu Lübeck, or colloquially ''Lübecker Dom'') is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck World Heritage Site. It was started in 1173 by Henry the Lion as a cathedral for ...

by Henry the Lion. After the Danes under Valdemar I and Bishop Absalon of Roskilde conquered the Jaromarsburg in 1168, Tetzlav and Jaromar surrendered their main residence and temple site at

Charenza Charenza, also Karentia or Karenz, later also Gharense, was a medieval ''Slavic burgwall'' on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. It was the administrative centre of the Rani tribe and of the Principality of Rugia. Today, the remnants are cal ...

, following negotiations, without a fight. By recognizing the suzerainty of the Danish king and converting to Christianity, they secured their lordship over Rügen. This was manifested in particular through the disempowerment of the Sventovit priests who hitherto had enjoyed the status of secular rulers. Tetzlav was henceforth called the Prince of Rügen. As

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 ...

s of the Danes, the Rani soon took part in military expeditions again against the Pomeranians, including the siege of

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 ...

by Valdemar I in 1170. In 1170 Tetzlav is mentioned for the last time in the written records.Whether Tetzlav and his presumed son, Dubislav (Dubislaw) went back to

Wittow Wittow is the northernmost peninsula of the island of Rügen. Wittow was a separate island until the High Middle Ages, but since then has been connected to the Jasmund peninsula of Rügen by the Schaabe spit. Wittow is most famous for Cape Arko ...

and founded the families of ''von '' or ''von der '', resident there, is not recorded. In 1181 his brother, Jaromar I, became the sole Prince of Rügen. The street ''Tetzlawstraße'' in

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

is named after him.

References

External links

The Vitzlavs − the Slavic princely house of Rügen
Private homepage of Jens Ruge.

Information about Pomerania at the time of Bogislav I at the private homepag
The Greifen. The ducal line of Pomerania
of Udo Madsen. {{Authority control Princes of Rügen 12th-century births 12th-century deaths

Life

References

Further reading

External links