Bogislaw II ( – 23 January 1220) was Duke of Pomerania-Stettin from 1187 until his death.

Life

Bogislaw II was a son of Bogislaw I and his second wife, Anatasia, the daughter of

Mieszko III of Poland Mieszko III ( 1122/25 – 13 March 1202), sometimes called the Old, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław III Wry ...

. He was still a minor when his father died in 1187. Bogislaw and his brother Casimir II stood under the regency and guardianship of their mother and

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

Wartislaw II of Stettin from the ''Swantiborides'' side line, who is referred to in official documents as a governor or . After a failed attempt to break away from Danish sovereignty, Anastasia and her sons had to go to Denmark, to be enfeoffed with Pomerania in person by the Danish king. One consequence of the Danish influence was that during the war against

Jaromar I Jaromar is a masculine given name. It is the Polabian form of the West Slavic name, Jaromir. It may refer to: People: Jaromar, also Jaromar of Rügen, is the name of several members of Rügen's princely house: * Jaromar I (1141–1218), Prince o ...

of Rugia, Jaromar was made guardian and administrator, replacing Wartislaw, and in the Peace of Nyborg, Pomerania lost the disputed areas around Wolgast and Loitz. In 1209, the Dukes of Pomerania started another war against Jaromar I and the city of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

that was flourishing under his protection. This war was also unsuccessful and the conflict was settled at the Danish diet of 1216. Danish sovereignty was confirmed and the ties with Denmark were strengthened by a marriage between Casimir and the Danish princess Ingardis. Soon afterward, war broke out between Denmark and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. Margrave

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

defeated the Danish army under Peter of Roskilde and occupied Pomerania. However, he could not permanently claim Pomerania and it remained under Danish sovereignty. During the ensuing throne dispute between

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

of the

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

and

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

of the

House of Guelph The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse- ...

, King

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar II Valdemarsen (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious () and Valdemar the Conqueror, was King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. In 1207, Valdemar invaded and conquered Bishopric of L� ...

took control of northern Germany. Denmark reached the peak of its power and Valdemar ruled as King of the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

Jutes The Jutes ( ) were one of the Germanic people, Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the end of Roman rule in Britain, departure of the Roman Britain, Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic na ...

and

Nordalbingia Nordalbingia () (also Northern Albingia) was one of the four administrative regions of the medieval Duchy of Saxony, the others being Angria, Eastphalia, and Westphalia. The region's name is based on the Latin name ''Alba'' for the Elbe River ...

ns. This occupation was even recognized by the Empire, in the sense that, when the Guelph emperor Otto IV allied himself at Weißensee with Margrave Albert II, Valdemar allied himself with the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II. In 1214 in Metz, Frederick II enfeoffed Valdemar with all German and Slavic territories north of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

and

Elde The Elde () is a river in northern Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and a few km in Brandenburg), a right tributary of the Elbe. Its total length is . The Elde originates near Altenhof, south of Malchow. It first flows southeast towards the south ...

rivers, and this enfeoffment was confirmed by the Pope. Brandenburg attacked Valdemar's German territories, however, Valdemar and the Pomeranian dukes repelled these attacks. After this success and the boundary changes with Rugia in 1216, Pomerania began to gain strength and flourish. Sovereignty of the Dukes over

Gützkow Gützkow () is a town in the District of Vorpommern-Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in north-eastern Germany. It is situated some south of Greifswald, on the north bank of the River Peene. Gützkow was the central town of the medieval ...

and

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in north-eastern Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluen ...

was secured and the economy and culture were stimulated by the immigration of German settlers and by the monastery Jaromar I had founded at

Eldena Eldena is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the ...

. Also important was the presence of bishop

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, who converted the apostate Prussians. Christian and the dukes repopulated the deserted monastery at

Dargun Dargun is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated km west of Demmin. It is famous for Dargun Palace, a former Cistercian abbey. History From 1815 to 1918 Dargun was part o ...

. In 1218, the frail bishop Sigwin of Cammin died and was succeeded by his provost, the more vigorous Conrad II. Bogislaw joined the

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

against the Prussians. Casimir II died in 1217 during 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 ...

. After Casimir's death, Bogislaw ruled alone. This period was mostly peaceful. Bogislaw II died on 23 January 1220. According to legend, he was buried in Keniz, a fortress he had built on the border between Pomerania and Brandenburg.

Marriage and issue

Bogislaw II was married to Miroslawa, a daughter of Duke Mestwin I of

Pomerelia Pomerelia, also known as Eastern Pomerania, Vistula Pomerania, and also before World War II as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland. Gdańsk Pomerania is largely c ...

. They had four children:Martin Wehrmann: ''Genealogie des pommerschen Herzogshauses'', Verlag Leon Sauniers Buchhandlung, Stettin, 1937, p. 44. *

Barnim I Barnim I the Good ( 1217/1219 – 13 November 1278), from the Griffin dynasty, was a Duke of Pomerania (''ducis Slauorum et Cassubie'') from 1220 until his death. Life Son of Duke Bogislaw II and Miroslava of Pomerelia, he succeeded to the Duc ...

( – 1278) * Bogislav III, Prince Slavensky * Woislawa (d. 1229) * Dobroslawa, married: *# either Nicholas or Wartislaw of Gützkow *# Jaczo I of Salzwedel

References

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogislaw 02 Pomerania House of Griffins Dukes of Pomerania 1170s births 1220 deaths 12th-century German nobility 13th-century German nobility Year of birth uncertain