The Battle of Nakło (1109) was fought between the forces of 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 ...

and Pomeranian tribes at

Nakło nad Notecią Nakło nad Notecią (Polish pronunciation: ) is a town in north-central Poland on the river Noteć with 23,687 inhabitants (2007). It is the seat of Nakło County, and also of Gmina Nakło nad Notecią, situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivod ...

. The Polish troops were led by Duke

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...

. In the summer of 1109 the Polish ruler Bolesław III, an expansionist, led an invasion into

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. The German king

Emperor Henry V Henry V (; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ruler by his father, Henry IV, in ...

, incited by Bolesław's half-brother

Zbigniew Zbigniew () is a Polish masculine given name, originally Zbygniew . This West Slavic name is derived from the Polish elements ''Zby-'' (from ''zbyć, zbyć się, or pozbyć się'', meaning "to dispel", "to get rid of") and ''gniew'', meaning "ang ...

, was about to invade Poland and the Pomeranian raid was a strategic diversion for the upcoming struggle. According to

Gallus Anonymus ''Gallus Anonymus'', also known by his Polonized variant ''Gall '', is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118. ''Gallus'' is generally regarded as the ...

, the purpose of the expedition wasn't just the taking of the castle of Nakło, but forcing the Pomeranians into a decisive battle. Gallus describes the battle in the first chapter of the third book of his chronicle. On 10 August 1109 Bolesław's force, which was besieging Naklo, engaged the Pomeranian relief forces and defeated them. As a result, the city surrendered to him. In Gallus' chronicle, the defeat of the Pomeranians and their conversion to Christianity are presented as one of Bolesław's great achievements, comparable to the victory of King

Otto I of Germany Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish (German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda of ...

over the Hungarians at the 955

Battle of Lechfeld The Battle of Lechfeld also known as the Second Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungaria ...

. Bolesław shortly afterwards had to rush to the south where he met an Imperial army at the Battle of Głogów. He later sent Bishop

Otto of Bamberg Otto of Bamberg (1060 or 1061 – 30 June 1139) was a German missionary and papal legate who converted much of medieval Pomerania to Christianity. He was the bishop of Bamberg from 1102 until his death. He was canonized in 1189. Early life Thr ...

as a missionary to Christianize Pomerania. Duke

Wartislaw I Wartislaw I (''Warcisław I''; – August 9, 1135) was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin Dynasty. Most of the information about him comes from the writings on the life of Otto of Bamberg. He w ...

continued to struggle against the imposed Polish overlordship. In 1181 Wartislaw's son Duke Bogislaw I of Pomerania became a vassal of Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

References

Sources

* 1109 in Europe Naklo 1109 Naklo 1109 11th century in Poland Naklo 1109 Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor {{Poland-battle-stub