Pomeranians
Encyclopedia
The Pomeranians were a group of West Slavic
tribe
s who lived along the shore of the Baltic Sea
between the mouths of the Oder
and Vistula
Rivers (the latter Farther Pomerania
and Pomerelia
). They spoke the Pomeranian language
belonging to the Lechitic
branch of the West Slavic language family
.
The Pomeranian tribes formed after the 6th century, when as a result of the Slavic migration, groups of Slavs populated the area formerly inhabited by Germanic tribes, such as the Goths
and the Rugians
etc.
From the late 10th century, the Piast
dukes of Poland
tried to incorporate the Pomeranians into their realm and there is some evidence they succeeded several times. If this were the case, the Pomeranians were nevertheless always able to regain their independence. In the course of the 12th century however, the non-Christian Pomeranians faced continuous pressure from their expanding Christian neighbours Denmark
, Poland
, and the Saxon
dukes of the Holy Roman Empire
. In 1121 they were again subdued by the Polish duke Bolesław III Wrymouth, who had Pomerania Christianized
by the German missionary Otto of Bamberg
.
At the same time the Pomeranian Prince Wartislaw I
conquered the former Lutici
lands west of the Oder. After his successors from the House of Griffins
were defeated by the Saxons at the 1164 Battle of Verchen
, they accepted the overlordship of Duke Henry the Lion
. The Pomeranian lands were eventually divided, with the Western parts entering the Holy Roman Empire as the Duchy of Pomerania
in 1181, and the Eastern part consisting of Pomerelia
under the Samborides
came under the influence of Poland and, from 1309 onwards, the Teutonic Order.
After the Germanization of Pomerania resulting from the medieval Ostsiedlung
, many Pomeranians were slowly and gradually assimilated and discontinued the use of their Slavic language and culture. The direct descendants of Pomeranians include:
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...
tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s who lived along the shore of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
between the mouths of the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
and Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
Rivers (the latter 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...
and Pomerelia
Pomerelia
Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
). They spoke the Pomeranian language
Pomeranian language
The Pomeranian language is a group of dialects from the Lechitic cluster of the West Slavic languages. In medieval contexts, it refers to the dialects spoken by the Slavic Pomeranians...
belonging to the Lechitic
Lechitic languages
The Lechitic languages include three languages spoken in Central Europe, mainly in Poland, and historically also in the eastern and northern parts of modern Germany. This language group is a branch of the larger West Slavic language family...
branch of the West Slavic language family
West Slavic languages
The West Slavic languages are a subdivision of the Slavic language group that includes Czech, Polish, Slovak, Kashubian and Sorbian.Classification:* Indo-European** Balto-Slavic*** Slavic**** West Slavic***** Czech-Slovak languages****** Czech...
.
The Pomeranian tribes formed after the 6th century, when as a result of the Slavic migration, groups of Slavs populated the area formerly inhabited by Germanic tribes, such as the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
and the Rugians
Rugians
"Rugi" redirects here. For the Romanian villages by this name, see Păltiniş, Caraş-Severin and Turcineşti.The Rugii, also Rugians, Rygir, Ulmerugi, or Holmrygir were an East Germanic tribe migrated from southwest Norway to Pomerania around 100 AD, and from there to the Danube River valley...
etc.
From the late 10th century, the Piast
Piast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
dukes of Poland
Poland during the Piast dynasty
History of Poland during the Piast dynasty is the first major stage in the history of Poland from the 10th to the 14th century when Poland was established as a state and a nation during the medieval period of European history. The history of the Polish state begins with the founding of the Piast...
tried to incorporate the Pomeranians into their realm and there is some evidence they succeeded several times. If this were the case, the Pomeranians were nevertheless always able to regain their independence. In the course of the 12th century however, the non-Christian Pomeranians faced continuous pressure from their expanding Christian neighbours 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...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and the Saxon
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
dukes 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...
. In 1121 they were again subdued by the Polish duke Bolesław III Wrymouth, who had Pomerania Christianized
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
by the German missionary Otto of Bamberg
Otto of Bamberg
Saint Otto of Bamberg was a medieval German bishop and missionary who, as papal legate, converted much of Pomerania to Christianity.-Life:Otto was born into a noble family in Mistelbach, Franconia...
.
At the same time the Pomeranian Prince Wartislaw I
Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania
Wartislaw I was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin dynasty....
conquered the former Lutici
Lutici
The Lutici were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: the Redarians , Circipanians , Kessinians and Tollensians...
lands west of the Oder. After his successors from the House of Griffins
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...
were defeated by the Saxons at the 1164 Battle of Verchen
Battle of Verchen
The Battle of Verchen was a battle between Saxons and West Slavic Obotrites on 6 July 1164.The Obotrites were attacked by Saxons and Danes in 1160, resulting in the death of the Obotrite prince, Niklot, and the partition of the Obotrite lands...
, they accepted the overlordship of Duke Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
. The Pomeranian lands were eventually divided, with the Western parts entering the Holy Roman Empire as 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 ....
in 1181, and the Eastern part consisting of Pomerelia
Pomerelia
Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
under the Samborides
Samborides
The Samborides or House of Sobiesław were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerania. They were first documented about 1155 as governors in the eastern Pomerelian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Poland, and from 1227 ruled as autonomous princes until 1294, at which time the...
came under the influence of Poland and, from 1309 onwards, the Teutonic Order.
After the Germanization of Pomerania resulting from the medieval 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...
, many Pomeranians were slowly and gradually assimilated and discontinued the use of their Slavic language and culture. The direct descendants of Pomeranians include:
- KashubiansKashubiansKashubians/Kaszubians , also called Kashubs, Kashubes, Kaszubians, Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavic ethnic group in Pomerelia, north-central Poland. Their settlement area is referred to as Kashubia ....
, who speak the Kashubian languageKashubian languageKashubian or Cassubian is one of the Lechitic languages, a subgroup of the Slavic languages.... - Slovincians
- KociewiacyKociewiacyThe Kociewiacy are a small Polish ethnic group. They live in Pomerania south of Gdansk. The region they inhabit is called Kociewie and has well-developed industry and agriculture. The capital city of Kociewie is Starogard Gdański, while their biggest city is Tczew...
- BorowiacyBorowiacyThe Borowiacy are a Polish ethnic group who traditionally inhabit the area of the Tuchola Forest near Tuchola in eastern Pomerania.They live next to the other important group, the Kashubians....
See also
- Conversion of PomeraniaConversion of PomeraniaMedieval Pomerania was converted from Slavic paganism to Christianity by Otto von Bamberg in 1124 and 1128 , and in 1168 by Absalon .Earlier attempts, undertaken since the 10th century, failed or were short-lived...
- Kashubian-Pomeranian AssociationKashubian-Pomeranian AssociationThe Kashubian-Pomeranian Association is a regional non-governmental organization of the Kashubians , Kociewiacy and other people interested in the regional affairs of Kashubia and Pomerania in northern Poland...
- Pomeranian culturePomeranian cultureThe Pomeranian culture, also Pomeranian or Pomerelian Face Urn culture was an Iron Age culture in Pomerania, northern Poland. About 650 BC, it evolved from the Lusatian culture, often associated with the Nordic Bronze Age, and subsequently expanded southward...
- Polish tribesPolish tribesPolish tribes - a term used sometimes to describe the tribes of West Slavs that lived in the territories that became Polish from around the mid-7th century to the creation of Polish state by the Piast dynasty...
- Early history of PomeraniaEarly history of PomeraniaAfter the glaciers of the Ice Age in the Early Stone Age withdrew from Pomerania, in what are now northern Germany and Poland, they left a tundra. First humans appeared, hunting reindeer in the summer. A climate change in 8000 BC allowed hunters and foragers of the Ertebølle-Ellerbek culture to...
- List of Medieval Slavic tribes