Wartislaw I (''Warcisław I''; – August 9, 1135) was the first historical ruler of the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (; ; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country existed in the Middle Ages between years 1121–11 ...

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 was of Slavic origin, most likely born around the turn of the twelfth century.Rymar, pg. 97 (Reference incomplete, work not listed) Early in life he was probably a "crypto-Christian", after being baptized while a prisoner of the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, because he wanted to hide his new religion from his still pagan subjects. In 1109 Wartislaw was defeated in the Battle of Nakło by

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 ...

, the Duke of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. By 1112, Wartislaw had failed to keep faith with Bolesław, who in response besieged Nakło. This led to Wartislaw reswearing fealty to Bolesław. A year later he was again violating the terms of the agreement with Bolesław, which result in a military campaign against him. Faced with overwhelming odds, Wartislaw agreed to pay tribute to Bolesław, as well as to Christianize Pomerania. To that effect, he, along with Bolesław, backed Otto of Bamberg in his successful Conversion of Pomerania. By 1124 his residence was in (Kammin)

Kamień Pomorski Kamień Pomorski (; ; or ''Kammin'') is a spa town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship of north-western Poland, on the Baltic coast. It is the seat of an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Kamień County which lies approximately 63&n ...

.Rymar, pg. 98 The last time he is mentioned explicitly in chronicles is by

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

who describes a joint Polish-Danish expedition against Wartislaw around 1129/1130, which was directed at the islands of

Wolin Wolin (; ) is a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from the island of Usedom (Uznam) by the Strait of Świna, and from mainla ...

and

Uznam Usedom ( , ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...

. The Danish King

Niels Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nikolaos, after Saint ...

is supposed to have taken him prisoner but released later after the intervention of "King of the

Obotrites 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 ...

Canute Lavard Saint Knud, also known as Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord; 12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a ...

. The author of the chronicles of Otto does not give the name of Wartislaw's wife, only that she was a Christian. Otto also forced Wartislaw to send home his previous 24 wives and concubines before he could marry her. The Pomeranian chronicler

Thomas Kantzow Thomas Kantzow (died 1542) was a chronicler in the Duchy of Pomerania. He studied at the universities of Rostock and Wittenberg, and was a secretary of the Pomeranian dukes. His manuscripts, rediscovered in 1729, 1832 and 1973, are written in Low ...

, writing almost four hundred years later, states that Wartislaw was married to a Heila from

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. She is supposed to have died in 1128 and the following year the Duke married Ida, the daughter of Niels of Denmark or of Canute Lavard (Kanztow changed his chronicles in subsequent editions in this respect). However, the names and origins of both supposed wives have been questioned by later historians. Edward Rymar argues that if Wartislaw had indeed been married to a German princess then sources such as the life of Otto would have surely mentioned that fact. Rymar hypothesizes instead that Wartislaw's wife was probably from the Ruthenian

Rurik dynasty The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

.Rymar, pgs. 104-105 He had two sons and a daughter:

Bogusław I, Duke of Pomerania Bogusław may refer to: *Bogusław (given name) * Bogusław, West Pomeranian Voivodeship * Bogusław, Lublin Voivodeship See also * Bogusławski (disambiguation) * Bohuslav Bohuslav (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Ros (riv ...

Casimir I, Duke of Pomerania Casimir I (or Kasimir I) (after 1130 – 1180) was Duchy of Pomerania, duke of Pomerania since his uncle Ratibor I's death in 1155/56. A son of Wartislaw I, he co-ruled Pomerania with his older brother Bogislaw I, Duke of Pomerania, Bogislaw I, rec ...

, and Woizlava, who married

Pribislav of Mecklenburg Pribislav, ''Przibislaus'' (from Slavic ''пробивающая слава'', "pribi" – ''pierced, breaking'' or "more, much more" and "slav" - ''glory'') is a Slavic origin name. Its feminine form is Pribislava. Notable bearers of the name i ...

. Wartislaw was murdered sometime between 1134 and 1148, and was succeeded by his brother Ratibor I. The site of Wartislaw's death near Stolpe in the modern district of

Vorpommern-Greifswald Vorpommern-Greifswald is a district in the east of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Rügen, the Baltic Sea, Poland (West Pomeranian Voiv ...

, where he is said to be slain by pagans, is marked by a rock called ''Wartislawstein'' with an engraved Christian cross in remembrance of his missionary efforts.

References

Sources

External links

Die regierenden Herzöge
The Griffins' family tree {{DEFAULTSORT:Wartislaw I Dukes of Pomerania Converts to Christianity from pagan religions 1090s births 1135 deaths House of Griffins 12th-century Polish nobility Year of birth uncertain