Henry Borwin I, Lord of Mecklenburg (died 28 January 1227), was the ruling Lord of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

from 1178 until his death. Sometimes a Latinized version of his name is used ("Borwinus" or "Burwinus"); the form "Buruwe" is also found, as are "Henricus Buruwi", "Heinricus Buriwoi", and "Hinricus Burwy".

Life

Henry Borwin I was a son of Pribislaw and his wife, Woizlava of Pomerania, daughter of

Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania 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 ...

. Pribislav was an

Obotrite The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian Slavs). For ...

prince and was the first Lord of Mecklenburg. He died on 30 December 1178 of a wound he received during a tournament at the court of

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

, and Henry Borwin I succeeded him as Lord of Mecklenburg. Shortly before Pribislav's death, Henry Borwin I married Matilda, a daughter of Henry the Lion. For several years, Henry Borwin I fought a war with his cousin Nicholas I. His father-in-law was unable to assist him during this war. This lack of outside assistance attracted the attention of King

Canute VI of Denmark Canute VI (; c. 1163 – 12 November 1202) was King of Denmark from 1182 to 1202. Contemporary sources describe Canute as an earnest, strongly religious man. Background Canute VI was the eldest son of King Valdemar I of Denmark, Valdemar I ...

, who used the situation to expand his position on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

coast. The Danes took Henry Borwin I prisoner. He had to cede

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

to Denmark and accept Canute VI as his

liege lord Homage (/ˈhɒmɪdʒ/ or ) (from Medieval Latin , lit. "pertaining to a man") in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title t ...

. In 1200, Canute returned Rostock to him as a fief. In 1202, he fought on the Danish side in the

Battle of Stellau The Battle of Stellau took place in the year 1201 near the village of Stellau near Wrist, in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. A German army led by Count Adolf III of Holstein fought a Danish army under King Canute VI of Denmark. Du ...

. The Danes won, and Henry Borwin was rewarded with two more fiefs:

Gadebusch Gadebusch () is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the district of Nordwestmecklenburg. Halfway between Lübeck, Schwerin and Wismar, it is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The town is known for two notable monuments: the ''Stadt ...

and

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by Ratzeburger See, four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the distri ...

. In 1218 and 1219, he assisted in the Danish conquest of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, and, from 1225 to 1227, he assisted them in a war against Schauenburg. Henry Borwin I revived the cities of

and

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

and founded the abbeys of Dobbertin, Tempzin and Sonnenkamp.

Marriage and issue

Henry Borwin I married twice. His first wife was Matilda, illegitimate daughter of

and Ida von Blieskastel. With her, he had two sons: * Nicholas II, Lord of Mecklenburg (d. 1225) * Henry Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg (d. 1226) His second wife was Adelaide. With her, he had a daughter: * Elisabeth of Mecklenburg (d. 1265),

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

Wienhausen Abbey Wienhausen Abbey or Convent () near Celle in Lower Saxony, Germany, is a community of Evangelical Lutheran women, which until the Reformation was a Cistercian Catholic nunnery. The abbey owns significant artworks and artifacts, including a colle ...

, from 1241.

References

* * Lords of Mecklenburg People from Rostock 12th-century births 1227 deaths Year of birth unknown 12th-century German nobility 13th-century German nobility {{Germany-noble-stub