Pomerania-Stolp
Encyclopedia
Partitions of the Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was partitioned several times to satisfy the claims of the male members of the ruling House of Pomerania dynasty. The partitions were named after the ducal residences: Pomerania-Barth, -Demmin, -Rügenwalde, -Stettin, -Stolp, and -Wolgast. None of the partitions had a...
. It was created from another Teilherzogtum
Teilherzogtum
Teilherzogtum is a German term denoting a part of a duchy after the duchy had been internally partitioned among members of the respective ducal family. Teilherzogtum does not have an English cognate.-Bavaria:*Bavaria-Ingolstadt*Bavaria-Landshut...
of 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 ....
, Pomerania-Wolgast, to satisfy Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw V was a Duke of Pomerania.Eldest son of Duke Wartislaw IV and Elisabeth of Silesia, Bogislaw had two brothers, Barnim IV and Wartislaw V. The brothers were joint rulers from their father's death in 1326. They allied with King Casimir III of Poland, whose daughter Elisabeth married...
in 1368, and existed until 1459, when it was inherited by Eric II of Pomerania-Wolgast
Eric II, Duke of Pomerania
Eric II or Erich II, of the House of Pomerania , , was Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1457 to 1474. He was the son of Wartislaw IX of Pomerania-Wolgast and Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg Eric II or Erich II, of the House of Pomerania (Griffins), (between 1418 and 1425 – 1474), was Duke of...
. In 1474, it was merged to the partition of Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw X of Pomerania, the Great, was Duke of Pomerania from 1474 until his death in 1523.Bogislaw was born in Rügenwalde into the House of Pomerania . His father was Eric II, Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast, his mother was the duchess Sophia of Pomerania, both distant relatives of the House of...
, who four years later became the sole duke of Pomerania.
Background
The Duchy of PomeraniaDuchy 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 ....
was partitioned several times to satisfy the claims of the male members of the ruling House of Pomerania
House of Pomerania
The House of Griffins or House of Pomerania, , also known as House of Greifen; House of Gryf, was a dynasty of Royal dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637, after their power was temporarily derivated to Prussian Royal House...
dynasty. The partitions were named after the ducal residences: Pomerania-Barth, -Demmin, -Rügenwalde, -Stettin, -Stolp, and -Wolgast. None of the partitions had a hereditary character, the members of the House of Pomerania
House of Pomerania
The House of Griffins or House of Pomerania, , also known as House of Greifen; House of Gryf, was a dynasty of Royal dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637, after their power was temporarily derivated to Prussian Royal House...
inherited the duchy in common. The duchy thus continued to exist as a whole despite its division.
Creation: Partition of 1368/72
After the death of Barnim IVBarnim IV, Duke of Pomerania
Barnim IV of Pomerania was a Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast-Rügen.He was the second son of Duke Wartislaw of Pomerania-Wolgast and the brother of Bogislaw V and Wartislaw V....
of Pomerania-Wolgast in 1366, an armed conflict arose when Barnim's brother Bogislaw V
Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw V was a Duke of Pomerania.Eldest son of Duke Wartislaw IV and Elisabeth of Silesia, Bogislaw had two brothers, Barnim IV and Wartislaw V. The brothers were joint rulers from their father's death in 1326. They allied with King Casimir III of Poland, whose daughter Elisabeth married...
refused to share his power with Barnim's sons, Wartislaw VI
Wartislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania
Wartislaw VI of Pomarania was the eldest son of the Duke Barnim IV of Pomerania-Wolgast-Rügen....
and Bogislaw VI
Bogislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania was duke of Pomerania-Wolgast.In 1365, after the death of his father, Bogislaw IV, he ruled Pomerania jointly with his brother Wartislaw VI. As they were both minors, they stood under the guardianship of their uncle Bogislaw V, who died in 1374...
, and his other brother, Wartislaw V
Wartislaw V, Duke of Pomerania
Wartislaw V. was a duke of Pomerania from the House of Griffins. He initially ruled Pomerania-Wolgast jointly with his elder brothers Barnim IV and Bogislaw V. He stood in their shadow and after 1368, he ruled his own part of the Duchy: the Land of Neustettin...
, who in turn allied with Mecklenburg to enforce their claims. On May 25, 1368, a compromise was negotiated in Anklam
Anklam
Anklam is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the Kleines Haff, the western part of the Stettin Lagoon. Anklam has a population of 14,603 and was the capital of the former...
, which was made a formal treaty on June 8, 1372 in Stargard
Stargard Szczecinski
Stargard Szczeciński is a city in northwestern Poland, with a population of 71,017 . Situated on the Ina River it is the capital of Stargard County and since 1999 has been in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship; prior to that it was in the Szczecin Voivodeship...
, and resulted in a partition of Pomerania-Wolgast.
Bogislaw V received most of the Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
n parts. Excepted was the land of Neustettin, which was to be ruled by his brother Wartislaw V, and was integrated into Bogislaw's part-duchy only after his death in 1390. This eastern partition became known as Pomerania-Stolp.
History
The situation of the descendants of Bogislaw V, who ruled Pomerania-Stolp, differed somewhat from the situation of their western counterparts. The area was more sparsely settled and dominated by powerful noble families, so not much income could be derived by the dukes. On the other hand, the Stolpian branch of the House of Pomerania had relatives among the royal houses of Denmark and Poland. Casimir IV and Elisabeth, the children of Bogislaw V and his first wife Elisabeth, the daughter of Casimir III of PolandCasimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
, where both raised at the Polish court in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. Elisabeth would become Holy Roman Empress
Elizabeth of Pomerania
Elizabeth of Pomerania was the fourth and final wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Bohemia. Her parents were Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania and Elizabeth of Poland,...
after her marriage with Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, and Casimir was adopted by and designated heir of his grandfather. Yet, his ambitions were thwarted when Ludwig of Hungary overruled the testament of Casimir of Poland in 1370, Casimir of Pomerania-Stolp only for a short time took the land of Dobrin
Dobrzyn, West Pomeranian Voivodeship
Dobrzyń is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gryfice, within Gryfice County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately west of Gryfice and north-east of the regional capital Szczecin....
as a fief.
Treaty of Pyzdry
During the Polish-Teutonic wars, the Pomeranian dukes changed sides between Poland and the knights very frequently. Wartislaw VII and Barnim VBarnim V
Barnim V was one of the Dukes of Pomerania. He was the son of Bogislaw V. He ruled over parts of Pomerania-Stolp; first the territories near Stargard Szczeciński, and in his last years, 1402–1403, he co-ruled Pomerania-Stolp with his brother, Duke of Pomerania.Sources on the exact date of his...
allied with the Teutonic Order. In 1390 however, after Jogaila
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
(Władysław Jagiełło) had promised to hand part of the heritage of Casimir IV, Wartislaw VII's stepbrother, over to Wartislaw, the latter concluded an alliance with Poland and received the Polish castellany of Naklo (Nakel) and probably some adjacent areas as a fief in return, declaring himself a vassal of Jagiełło III in Pyzdry
Pyzdry
Pyzdry is a town in Września County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,163 inhabitants .- History :In 1390 the treaty of Pyzdry was signed there. In 1815 the town was the western most point of the Russian Empire. There was a narrow-gauge railway in Pyzdry....
.
Scholars offer somewhat different interpretations of the treaty of Pyzdry
Treaty of Pyzdry
The Treaty of Pyzdry was signed on 2 November 1390 between Jogaila, king of Poland and Wartislaw VII of Pomerania-Stolp. The treaty, signed in Pyzdry, contained an oath of vassalage of Wartislaw to Jogaila, the obligation to support the latter in the Polish-Teutonic War, and mutual trade...
. According to scholars such as Juliusz Bardach
Juliusz Bardach
Juliusz Bardach was a Polish legal historian. Professor of the University of Warsaw, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He specialized in the history of governance and law of Lithuania and Poland....
, Władysław Czapliński, Fenrych (1961), Marceli Kosman
Marceli Kosman
Marceli Kosman is a Polish historian. Professor of the University of Poznań.He finished high school in 1957. Then he studied at University of Poznań. He gained MBA at history in 1961 and PhD in 1966...
, Tadeusz Ładogórski, Andrzej Nowakowski, Michał Sczaniecki and Kazimierz Ślaski, Wartislaw's oath was for all territory held by him and meant that Pomerania-Stolp itself become a Polish fief. Other descriptions of the treaty included an oath of vassalage of Wartislaw VII to Jagiello without specifying a territory: Gòrski (1947), Labuda (1948),; Mitkowski (1946) and Zientara (1969) wrote the oath was for the territory Waritislaw received as fiefs from Jagiełło (especially Naklo/Nakel); Mielcarz (1976) said the oath was binding only Wartislaw himself, as a person, to Jagiello; and Gumowski (1951) said the document shows Wartislaw giving a general solemn promise of service. Czacharowski (2001) says it was an alliance and refers to Naklo being held as a Polish fief.
With respect to the discourse in Polish historiography, Branig and Buchholz
Werner Buchholz (German historian)
Werner Buchholz is a German historian, currently a professor for Pomeranian History at the University of Greifswald.- Biography :...
(1997) say that however the treaty is interpreted, it did not have any significance for the future. The vassalage was short-lived; Wartislaw's brothers Barnim V and Bogislaw VIII however took on a friendly attitude towards the Teutonic Order, and Naklo returned to the Polish Crown after Wartislaw's death.
After early 1390s
Eric II of Pomerania-StolpEric of Pomerania
Eric of Pomerania KG was King Eric III of Norway Norwegian Eirik, King Eric VII of Denmark , and as Eric King of Sweden...
, grand-grandchild of Danish king Valdemar IV
Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
in contrast became king of the Kalmar Union
Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
in 1397. Eric however failed in his most ambitious plan, to make Bogislaw IX
Bogislaw IX, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw IX was a duke of Pomerania in Pomerania-Stolp, whose residence was Stargard.Bogislaw was the son of Bogislaw VIII, Duke of Pomerania, and Sophia of Holstein. On June 24, 1432 he married Maria of Masovia, daughter of Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia and Alexandra of Lithuania...
Of Pomerania-Stolp king of both the Kalmar Union and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. Eric had to leave Denmark in 1449 and ruled Pomerania-Rügenwalde, a small partition of Pomerania-Stolp, until his death in 1459.
Pomerania-Stolp was a crucial point in the knights' land supply route. Bogislaw VIII
Bogislaw VIII, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw VIII was Duke of Pomerania in Pomerania-Stolp from 1395 until 1418. He was married to Sophie of Holstein, with whom he had Bogislaw IX and Adelheid of Pomerania , married with Duke Bernard II of Saxe-Lauenburg on 2 February 1429.The reign of Bogislaw was influenced by the contemporary...
of Pomerania-Stolp allied with both the Teutonic Knights and Poland, but supported the latter after the war had started in 1409 by blocking his lands for the knights' troops and allowing his nobles to kidnap those who were travelling his lands. For his aid, he was granted the Lauenburg (now Lębork
Lebork
Lębork is a town on the Łeba and Okalica rivers in Middle Pomerania region, north-western Poland with some 37,000 inhabitants.Lębork is also the capital of Lębork County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, formerly in Słupsk Voivodeship ....
) and Bütow (now Bytów
Bytów
Bytów is a town in the Middle Pomerania region of northern Poland in the Bytów Lakeland with 16,888 inhabitants . Previously in Słupsk Voivodeship , it is the capital of Bytów County in Pomeranian Voivodeship .-History:...
) areas (Lauenburg and Bütow Land
Lauenburg and Bütow Land
Lauenburg and Bütow Land formed a historical region in eastern in eastern Pomerania. Composed of two districts centered around the towns of Lauenburg and Bütow , it was on the western periphery of Pomerelia...
) and others, but those were lost in the First Peace of Thorn in 1411.
Gain of Lauenburg and Bütow Land (1455-1467)
Eric IIEric II, Duke of Pomerania
Eric II or Erich II, of the House of Pomerania , , was Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1457 to 1474. He was the son of Wartislaw IX of Pomerania-Wolgast and Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg Eric II or Erich II, of the House of Pomerania (Griffins), (between 1418 and 1425 – 1474), was Duke of...
of Pomerania-(Wolgast)-Stolp allied with the Polish king Casimir IV in his Thirteen Years' War against the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
. On January 3, 1455, he in turn was granted the Lauenburg and Bütow Land
Lauenburg and Bütow Land
Lauenburg and Bütow Land formed a historical region in eastern in eastern Pomerania. Composed of two districts centered around the towns of Lauenburg and Bütow , it was on the western periphery of Pomerelia...
at the Pomerelian frontier. When Lauenburg was retaken by the knights in 1459, the Polish king was upset and ravaged the Stolp area. Eric reconciled with the king on August 21, 1466, and bought the town from the knights on October 11, six days before the Second Peace of Thorn, that was signed by Eric in 1467.
Bogislaw X becomes sole ruler of the duchy of Pomerania (1478)
Pomerania-Wolgast was reunited following the death of both Barnim VII and Barnim VIII in 1451. Both dukes died of the Black DeathBlack Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. The same disease caused the death of Joachim of Pomerania-Stettin (also in 1451), Ertmar and Swantibor, children of Wartislaw X
Wartislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
Duke Wartislaw X of Pomerania was the second son of Duke Wartislaw IX of Pomerania and his wife, Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg....
, and Otto III
Otto III, Duke of Pomerania
Otto III, Duke of Pomerania was a member of the House of Griffins and a Duke of Pomerania-Stettin.- Life :...
of Pomerania-Stettin (all in 1464). Thus, the line of Pomerania-Stettin had died out.
The extinction of the House of Pomerania-Stettin triggered a conflict about inheritance with the Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
. In the Treaty of Soldin
Treaty of Soldin (1466)
The Treaty of Soldin was signed on 21 January 1466 at Soldin by the Brandenburgian elector Frederick II and the Pomeranian dukes Eric II and Wartislaw X. It was mediated by the town of Stettin...
of 1466, a compromise was negotiated: Wartislaw X and Eric II
Eric II, Duke of Pomerania
Eric II or Erich II, of the House of Pomerania , , was Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1457 to 1474. He was the son of Wartislaw IX of Pomerania-Wolgast and Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg Eric II or Erich II, of the House of Pomerania (Griffins), (between 1418 and 1425 – 1474), was Duke of...
, the dukes of Pomerania, took over Pomerania-Stettin as a Brandenburgian fief. This was disputed already during the same year by the emperor, who intervened against the Brandenburgian overlordship of Pomerania. This led to a series of further warfare and truces, that were ended by the Treaty of Prenzlau
Treaty of Prenzlau
Treaty of Prenzlau or Peace of Prenzlau may refer to several treaties during a series of wars between the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Pomerania fought for control of Pomerania-Stettin, and possession of the Uckermark in the 15th century...
of 1472, basically confirming the ruling of the Soldin treaty, but settling on a border north of Gartz (Oder) resembling Brandenburg's recent gains. This treaty was accepted by the emperor.
In 1474, Eric II died of the Black death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, and his son Bogislaw X
Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw X of Pomerania, the Great, was Duke of Pomerania from 1474 until his death in 1523.Bogislaw was born in Rügenwalde into the House of Pomerania . His father was Eric II, Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast, his mother was the duchess Sophia of Pomerania, both distant relatives of the House of...
inherited Pomerania-Stolp. Bogislaw's brothers had died the same year. After the death of his uncle Wartislaw X in 1478, he became the first sole ruler in the Duchy of Pomerania since almost 200 years.
Eric II had left Pomerania in tense conflicts with Brandenburg and Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
. Bogislaw managed to resolve these conflicts by both diplomatic and military means. He married his sister, Sophia, to Magnus, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his other sister, Magarete, was married to Magnus' brother Balthasar. Bogislaw himself married Magarete, daughter of Brandenburg's Prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
Frederick II. Also, in 1478, Bogislaw regained areas lost to Brandenburg by his father, most notably the town of Gartz
Gartz
Gartz is a town in the Uckermark district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the West bank of the Oder River, about 30 km south of Szczecin .-Overview:...
and other small towns and castles north of the Brandenburgian Uckermark
Uckermark
Uckermark is a Kreis in the northeastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Barnim and Oberhavel, the districts Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and to the east Poland . It is the largest district of Germany areawise...
. During the confirmation of the Peace of Prenzlau in 1479, the border was finally settled north of Strasburg and Bogislaw had to take his possessions as a fief from Brandenburg.
Dukes
- 1368-1373 Bogislaw VBogislaw V, Duke of PomeraniaBogislaw V was a Duke of Pomerania.Eldest son of Duke Wartislaw IV and Elisabeth of Silesia, Bogislaw had two brothers, Barnim IV and Wartislaw V. The brothers were joint rulers from their father's death in 1326. They allied with King Casimir III of Poland, whose daughter Elisabeth married...
- 1374-1377 Casimir IV (V)
- 1377-1395 Wartislaw VII
- 1395-1402 Bogislaw VIII and Barnim VBarnim VBarnim V was one of the Dukes of Pomerania. He was the son of Bogislaw V. He ruled over parts of Pomerania-Stolp; first the territories near Stargard Szczeciński, and in his last years, 1402–1403, he co-ruled Pomerania-Stolp with his brother, Duke of Pomerania.Sources on the exact date of his...
- 1402-1403 Barnim VBarnim VBarnim V was one of the Dukes of Pomerania. He was the son of Bogislaw V. He ruled over parts of Pomerania-Stolp; first the territories near Stargard Szczeciński, and in his last years, 1402–1403, he co-ruled Pomerania-Stolp with his brother, Duke of Pomerania.Sources on the exact date of his...
- 1403-1418 Bogislaw VIII
- 1418-1446 Bogislaw IX
- 1449-1459 Eric IEric of PomeraniaEric of Pomerania KG was King Eric III of Norway Norwegian Eirik, King Eric VII of Denmark , and as Eric King of Sweden...