Circipania
Encyclopedia
Circipania was a medieval territory in what is now northeastern Germany
. The name derives from Latin circum (around) and Pane (the Peene
River). The region was enclosed roughly by the upper Recknitz
, Trebel
and Peene
rivers, the western border ran between Güstrow
and Rittermannshagen. The region developed in the 10th and 11th centuries, when it was the tribal territory of the Circipanes , a West Slavic tribe
which along with the neighboring tribes was a part of the Lutici federation. The main burgh
s were Güstrow, Teterow
, Malchin
, and Demmin
.
In 936, the Circipania was incorporated into the Billung March
of the Holy Roman Empire
. The Circipanes were one of the four constituent tribes of the Lutici federation centered around Rethra, which started a successful uprising in 983. Rid of the empire's overlordship, the Circipanes stayed with the Liutizians until the federation broke apart due to internal struggles in the 1050s, culminating dissolution in 1057. The Redarians and Tollensians opposed the Circipanes and Kessinians
struggling for more influence within the federative administration, and allied with the Obodrites. The Obodrites successfully invaded Circipania and made it a province of their realm. The internal struggles had weakened the area, such that in the following year it became the target of numerous expeditions of an expansive Holy Roman Empire
during their Wendish Crusade
in 1147), then by Denmark
in the raid of 1170, and finally by the Duchy of Pomerania
which subdued and incorporated the area into Pomerania-Demmin in the late 12th century. The last of the territory was invaded by Mecklenburg
and subdued in the early 1230s.
The 1230s marked the end of Circipania as a distinct territory as well as the end of the Circipanes. Pomerania-Demmin was in a miserable position and lost most of the territory to the Margrave of Brandenburg in the Treaty of Kremmen
in 1236. Thus, Pomerania-Demmin could not counter the Mecklenburgian advance led by Borwin III of Rostock. Circipania would stay divided with Mecklenburg controlling the western bulk with Güstrow and Teterow, and Pomerania
controlling the eastern smaller part around Demmin. Later the Mecklenburg part divided into Mecklenburg-Rostock
and Mecklenburg-Werle
, and the name Circipania dropped out of use.
Though Circipania vanished as a name from political maps, it was still visible on Roman Catholic ecclesiastic maps as the Pomeranian province of the Diocese of Cammin, because the borders of this province did not differ from that of Circipania and remained as they were before the conquest.
The Circipanes, whose numbers already dwindled due to the previous warfare, were assimilated by the German settlers called in by Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania
before the Mecklenburg conquest, and by Mecklenburg knights during the Ostsiedlung
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The name derives from Latin circum (around) and Pane (the Peene
Peene
The Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
River). The region was enclosed roughly by the upper Recknitz
Recknitz
The Recknitz is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. The Recknitz's glacial valley stretches as far south as the heights at Glasewitz near Güstrow. The river has no definite source, but rather builds up from streams and drainage ditches...
, Trebel
Trebel
Trebel is a municipality in the district Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
and Peene
Peene
The Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
rivers, the western border ran between Güstrow
Güstrow
Güstrow is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany the capital of the district of Güstrow. It has a population of 30,500 and is the seventh largest town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Since 2006 Güstrow has the official suffix Barlachstadt.-Geography:The town of Güstrow is located...
and Rittermannshagen. The region developed in the 10th and 11th centuries, when it was the tribal territory of the Circipanes , a West Slavic tribe
West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...
which along with the neighboring tribes was a part of the Lutici federation. The main burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
s were Güstrow, Teterow
Teterow
Teterow is a town of Germany, in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Population: 9,535 .The Teterower See is to the north-east of the town.-History:The Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul Teterow is a town of Germany, in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western...
, Malchin
Malchin
Malchin is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district , in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany.It offers some notable landmarks, such as two Brick Gothic town gates, a medieval defense tower, the Gothic town church of St. Johannis and the Neo Baroque town hall.-External links:*...
, and Demmin
Demmin
Demmin is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district Demmin.- Name :...
.
In 936, the Circipania was incorporated into the Billung March
Billung March
The Billung March or March of the Billungs was a frontier region of the far northeastern Duchy of Saxony in the 10th century...
of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. The Circipanes were one of the four constituent tribes of the Lutici federation centered around Rethra, which started a successful uprising in 983. Rid of the empire's overlordship, the Circipanes stayed with the Liutizians until the federation broke apart due to internal struggles in the 1050s, culminating dissolution in 1057. The Redarians and Tollensians opposed the Circipanes and Kessinians
Kessinians
The Kessinians, also known as Kessini, Chizzini were a medieval West Slavic tribe in what is now northeastern Germany. They inhabited the territory between the Warnow and Recknitz rivers, today split between the districts of Rostock and Vorpommern-Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
struggling for more influence within the federative administration, and allied with the Obodrites. The Obodrites successfully invaded Circipania and made it a province of their realm. The internal struggles had weakened the area, such that in the following year it became the target of numerous expeditions of an expansive Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
during their Wendish Crusade
Wendish Crusade
The Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....
in 1147), then by Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in the raid of 1170, and finally by the Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
which subdued and incorporated the area into Pomerania-Demmin in the late 12th century. The last of the territory was invaded by Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
and subdued in the early 1230s.
The 1230s marked the end of Circipania as a distinct territory as well as the end of the Circipanes. Pomerania-Demmin was in a miserable position and lost most of the territory to the Margrave of Brandenburg in the Treaty of Kremmen
Treaty of Kremmen
The Treaty of Kremmen was signed in Kremmen, Germany, on June 20, 1236. Wartislaw III of Pomerania-Demmin had to recognize the Margraviate of Brandenburg's overlordship over the remainder of his duchy, and ceded the terrae Stargard, Wustrow and Beseritz to Brandenburg.-References:...
in 1236. Thus, Pomerania-Demmin could not counter the Mecklenburgian advance led by Borwin III of Rostock. Circipania would stay divided with Mecklenburg controlling the western bulk with Güstrow and Teterow, and Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
controlling the eastern smaller part around Demmin. Later the Mecklenburg part divided into Mecklenburg-Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
and Mecklenburg-Werle
Werle
Werle was a fiefdom, or Herrschaft in German, in the Holy Roman Empire that was founded in 1235. It was created in the partition of territories in Mecklenburg that followed the death of Henry Borwin II of Mecklenburg ....
, and the name Circipania dropped out of use.
Though Circipania vanished as a name from political maps, it was still visible on Roman Catholic ecclesiastic maps as the Pomeranian province of the Diocese of Cammin, because the borders of this province did not differ from that of Circipania and remained as they were before the conquest.
The Circipanes, whose numbers already dwindled due to the previous warfare, were assimilated by the German settlers called in by Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania
Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania
Wartislaw III was a Griffin duke of Pomerania-Demmin. Son of Casimir II of Pomerania-Demmin and Ingardis of Denmark, he was married to a Sophia of an unknown house. As he did not have any children, Pomerania-Demmin ceased to exist with his death.Ingardis ruled Pomerania-Demmin in place of young...
before the Mecklenburg conquest, and by Mecklenburg knights during the Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
.
Sources
- Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 23ff, ISBN 3886802728
- Joachim Herrmann et al., Die Slawen in Deutschland