Wartislaw VII () (1363/1365 – 1394/1395) was one of the

Dukes of Pomerania This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...

. His full name was Henry Wartislaw.The King Who Became a Pirate
Story by Anja Klemp Vilgaard · Illustrations by Darya Malikova · Edited by Shawna Kenney · April 20, 2020, narratively.com.

Life

He was the son of

Bogislaw V Bogislaw V (, ) (c. 1318 – 23 April 1374), sometimes known as the Great (), was a Duke of Pomerania. Eldest son of Duke Wartislaw IV and Elisabeth of Lindow-Ruppin, Bogislaw had two brothers, Barnim IV and Wartislaw V. The brothers were ...

, brother of Casimir IV and Bogislaw VIII. He married

Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Marie of Mecklenburg, (born , died after 13 May 1402), was a duchess of Pomerania. She was the daughter of Duke Henry III of Mecklenburg (died 1383) and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (died 1370), elder sister of Queen Margrete I of Denmark. H ...

(daughter of

Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg ( 1337 – 24 April 1383) was Duke of Mecklenburg from 1379 until his death. Life Henry was the first son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and his wife Euphemia of Sweden, the sister of King Magnus IV of Sweden ...

) and was the father of

Eric of Pomerania Erik of Pomerania ( 1381/1382 – 24 September 1459) ruled over the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-aunt Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret I until her death in 1412. Erik is known as Erik III as King of ...

and Catherine of Pomerania. In 1377, he became a Duke of Pomerania, ruling in

Pomerania-Stolp The Duchy of Pomerania-Stolp, also known as the Duchy of Stolp, and the Duchy of Słupsk, was a Feudalism, feudal Teilherzogtum, duchy in Farther Pomerania. Its capital was Słupsk. It was ruled by the House of Griffin, Griffin dynasty. It existe ...

; at times he was its co-ruler with his brother, Bogislaw VIII. He maneuvered between two local powers, the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

and the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. In 1386 he allied himself with the Knights; but in 1390, by the Treaty of Pyzdry, he allied himself with Poland, and pledged

vassalage 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 suzerai ...

to the king of Poland,

Władysław Jagiełło Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: People Mononym * Włodzis ...

. In return, he received the territory of Nakło from the Polish king. In 1392–1393, he went on a pilgrimage to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. According to some sources, the pilgrimage started already in 1391, yet he is also reported to have stayed in

Vordingborg Vordingborg () is a market town and old ferry town on the south coast of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three sat ...

in July 1392. On 1 August 1392, Wartislaw, his brother Bogislaw VIII and some clergy of the

Bishopric of Cammin The Bishopric of Cammin (also Kammin, Kamień Pomorski) was both a former Roman Catholic diocese in the Duchy of Pomerania from 1140 to 1544, and a secular territory of the Holy Roman Empire (Prince-Bishopric) in the Kołobrzeg area from 1248 t ...

met with Johann, the

bishop of Lebus The Diocese of Lebus (; ; ) is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected in 1125 and suppressed in 1598. The Bishop of Lebus was also, ''ex officio'', the ruler of a lordship that was coextensive with the territory of the diocese. Th ...

, and Johann of Görlitz, a prince of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

, in Brandenburgian

Landsberg an der Warthe Landsberg may refer to: * Landsberg family * Landsberg (surname) Places * Landsberg (district), Bavaria, Germany * Landsberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany * Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria, Germany ** Landsberg-Lech Air Base, Germany ** Landsberg Prison, a ...

(now Gorzów). Bogislaw returned to Pomerania, and Wartislaw travelled southwards to meet with Wartislaw VIII, Duke of Pomerania who ruled

Pomerania-Wolgast The Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast, also known as the Duchy of Wolgast, and the Duchy of Wołogoszcz, was a feudal duchy in Western Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Wolgast. It was ruled by the Griffin dynasty.Edward Rymar, ''Ro ...

. Both Wartislaws then travelled through Hungary. In

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

, also Semengrin or Senderow, in primary sources also spelled ''Zeuderin, Zenderin, Zuderin, Zanderini, Senendria, Senderin''. Zdrenka (1995), p.12. a town southeast of

Belgrad Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(then part of Hungary, now part of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

) Wartislaw VII fell ill, and in 1393 returned to Pomerania while Wartislaw VIII continued the pilgrimage alone. During Wartislaw VII's absence, the Pomeranian noble Matzke von Borcke auf Stramehl had led a holdup in Pomerania-Stolp, where Bohemian

komtur Commander (; ; ; ; ), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval military orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller, for a member senior to a Knight. ...

Johann von Mühlheim was robbed on his way to the

Teutonic Order state The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...

in late 1392. Konrad von Wallenrode,

Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights The grand master of the Teutonic Order (; ) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the Grand master (order), grand master of other Military order (religious society), military orders and the superior general in non-milit ...

, protested at Wartislaw VII's and Bogislaw VIII's court and demanded satisfaction. Wartislaw and Bogislaw then granted him permission to destroy Matzke's residence Stramehl, which eventually was razed. Wartislaw died between November 1394 and 23 February 1395.

Notes

References

* *Juliusz Bardach, ''Historia państwa i prawa Polski, Volume 1'', Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe, 1964, p. 589 *Władysław Czapliński, Tadeusz Ładogórski, ''Atlas historyczny polski'', Państwowe Przedsiębiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych, 1970, p. 12 *William Urban, Terry Jones, ''Medieval mercenaries: the business of war'', MBI Publishing Company, 2006,
Google Print, p.206
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wartislaw 07, Duke of Pomerania Dukes of Pomerania 1360s births 1395 deaths Medieval nobility of the Holy Roman Empire 14th-century Polish nobility 14th-century German nobility House of Griffins Year of death uncertain

Life

See also

Notes

References