Nicholas, Lord of Rostock, nicknamed ''the child'' (before 1262 – 25 November 1314) was a member of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian Slavs, Polabian origin that ruled German revolution, until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana o ...

. He was co-ruler of

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 ...

from 1282 to 1284, and the sole ruler from 1284 to 1312.

Life

He was the youngest son of

Waldemar Waldemar, Valdemar, Valdimar, or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame". The name is considered the equivalent of the Latvian name Valdemārs, the Estonian name ...

and his wife Agnes of Holstein-Kiel. His elder brothers John and Henry Borwin died before 1285, so that he became the sole ruler, initially under the regency of his mother. After several failed attempts by the 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. ...

and

Werle {{Infobox country , native_name = ''Herrschaft Werle'' (Standard German, de) , conventional_long_name = Lordship of Werle , common_name = Werle , era = Middle Ages , status = Vassal , em ...

, the other two Lordships ruled by the

, to conquer Rostock, he put his territory under the protection and feudal overlordship of King

Eric VI of Denmark Eric VI Menved (1274 – 13 November 1319) was King of Denmark (1286–1319). A son of King Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg, he became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered on 22 November by unknown assailants. On account of his ...

. Eric VI successfully defended Rostock; however, he then removed Nicholas from power and took Rostock for himself. In 1311, Lord

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

of Mecklenburg launched a new attempt to take the City of Rostock. He succeeded on 15 December 1312. When Nicholas died on 25 November 1314, the Lordship of Rostock initially fell to Denmark. Nicholas was buried in the Dominican St. John's monastery in

. Another war broke out between Denmark and Mecklenburg. Henry II conquered the rest of the Lordship of Rostock. In a peace treaty between Henry II and King

Christopher II of Denmark Christopher II (; 29 September 1276 – 2 August 1332) was King of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was a younger son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in a near-total di ...

signed on 21 May 1323, Henry was given the Lordships of Rostock,

Gnoien Gnoien is a small town in the Rostock (district), Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 40 km southeast of Rostock. Famous people * Bernd Olbricht (born 1956), canoeist. * Friedrich Heyser (1857 - 192 ...

and

Schwaan Schwaan is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is also the seat of the Schwaan Township, serving another six municipalities. The town is famous for being a traditional art colony. Geography The area a ...

as hereditary Danish

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

s and Rostock ceased to exist as a separate principality.

Marriage and issue

Nicholas was engaged to be married several times. First with Euphemia, the daughter of Count Günther of Lindow. On the advice of Heinrich II. (Mecklenburg), he broke off the engagement with Euphemia and was instead engaged with Henry II's sister-in-law

Margarete Margarete is a German feminine given name. It is derived from Ancient Greek ''margarites'' (μαργαρίτης), meaning "the pearl". Via the Latin ''margarita'', it arrived in the German sprachraum. Related names in English include Daisy, ...

, the daughter of Margrave Albert III of Brandenburg. In 1299, he eventually married Margaret, the daughter of Duke Bogislaw IV of Pomerania-Wolgast (d. 14 January 1316). They had one daughter: * Elisabeth, married on 16 February 1317 to Count Christian of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst. Two of her sons were

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s: John in Bremen and Cologne, and Christian in Bremen and Osnabrück

References

External links

Genealogy of the House of Mecklenburg
Lords of Mecklenburg Lords of Rostock 13th-century births 1314 deaths 13th-century German nobility {{Germany-noble-stub