Jaromar I was a

Prince of Rügen 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 ...

between 1170 and 1218.

Background

Jaromar was a Ranish nobleman, who was a native of the island 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 ...

. Jaromar rose to be ruler of the

Principality of Rügen The Principality of Rügen; da, Fyrstendømmet Rygien; pl, Księstwo rugijskie; la, Rugia was a Danish principality, formerly a duchy, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a loc ...

as result of the Danish conquest of Rügen in 1168. His predecessor was

Tetzlav Tetzlav, also known as ''Tezlaw'', ''Tetzlaw'' and ''Tetislaw'' (before 1163 – between 1170 and 1181) was a Prince of Rügen. Life According to the Pomeranian chronicler, Thomas Kantzow, he was a son of the Rani king, Ratislaus of Rügen (1 ...

, who in 1168 had submitted to the Danish.

Danish conquest

The Danish organized a war to Christianize the formerly pagan islanders and to destroy the pagan strongholds and cult places. This action also served to have their

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and raids to Danish lands ended. The Danish navy, led by among other militaries, Archbishop

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of Denm ...

, conquered and destroyed the fortress of Cape Arkona. The temple fortress of Arkona (''

Jaromarsburg The Jaromarsburg was a cult site for the Slavic tribe of Rani dedicated to the god Svantovit and used from the 9th to the 12th century. It was located on the northeastern tip of the Baltic Sea island of Rügen at Cape Arkona, and was protect ...

'') had been the religious centre of the Slavic Rani. The island of Rügen was incorporated into the Danish

Archdiocese of Roskilde The former Diocese of Roskilde () was a diocese within the Roman-Catholic Church which was established in Denmark some time before 1022. The diocese was dissolved with the Reformation of Denmark and replaced by the Protestant Diocese of Zealand ...

. The Danish set up Rügen as their vassal. Jaromar, who was not committed to hitherto pagan rulers of the island, accepted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and promised loyalty to King

Valdemar I of Denmark 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 ze ...

. Jaromar allied with the

Hvide Hvide (English: ''Whites'') was a medieval Danish clan, and afterwards in early modern era a Danish noble surname of presumably one surviving branch of leaders of that clan. Before the 16th century it was not used as a surname. It signified th ...

and

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be o ...

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

clans, who were leaders of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

and

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skån ...

. Jaromar had his son and heir Wizlaw I marry a lady from these Danish magnates' families, who were influential in those parts of

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

that were closest to Rügen. By 1185, Jaromar I had started construction of St. Mary's Church (''Marienkirche'') erected in his stronghold ''Rugard'' (which later became the town Bergen-auf-Rügen). In 1193, the church was completed and then consecrated as a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

church, making it Rügen's oldest maintained building. It is commonly believed that Jaromar was buried under the gravestone embedded in the church's outer wall. Additionally he founded the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

Eldena Abbey Eldena Abbey (german: Kloster Eldena), originally Hilda Abbey (german: Kloster Hilda) is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Only ruins survive, which are well known as a frequen ...

(''Kloster Eldena''). ''Daten zur Geschichte des Zisterzienserklosters Eldena'' (Kloster Eldena)
/ref>

Family

He married Hildegard, illegitimate daughter of

Canute V of Denmark Canute V Magnussen ( da, Knud V Magnussen) ( – 9 August 1157) was a King of Denmark from 1146 to 1157, as co-regent in shifting alliances with Sweyn III and Valdemar I. Canute was killed at the so-called ''Bloodfeast of Roskilde'' in 1157. Noth ...

, and had a son, Vitslav, who succeeded him.

References

Other sources

*Buchholz, Werner ''Deutsche Geschichte im Osten Europas. Pommern'' (Siedler Verlag. 2002) *Addison, James Thayer ''Medieval Missionary: A Study of the Conversion of Northern Europe Ad 500 to 1300'' (Kessinger Publishing. 2003) . {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaromar I, Prince Of Rugen 12th-century births 1218 deaths People from Vorpommern-Rügen Danish nobility Princes of Rügen House of Vizlav