{{Infobox country , native_name = ''Herrschaft Werle'' ( de) , conventional_long_name = Lordship of Werle , common_name = Werle , era = Middle Ages , status = Vassal , empire = Holy Roman Empire , government_type = Principality , year_start = 1235 , year_end = 1436 , event_start = , date_start = , event1 = Partitioned: W-Güstrow
    and W-Parchim , date_event1 =
1277–1307 , event2 = Partitioned: W-Güstrow
    and W-Goldberg , date_event2 =
1316–74 , event3 = W-Güstrow partitioned
    to create W-Waren , date_event3 =
1337–1425 , event_end = Reverted to

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) 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, Schweri ...

, date_end = September 7, , p1 = Duchy of Mecklenburg , flag_p1 = Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg , s1 = Duchy of Mecklenburg , flag_s1 = Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg , image_flag = , image_coat =CoA Werle Principality.svg , image_map = Lordship of Werle locator map (1250).svg , image_map_caption = {{legend2, #d40000, The Lordship of Werle at the time of the Hohenstaufen Emperors (circa 1250). , image_map2 = Karte-Mecklenburg 1300.png , image_map2_caption = An anachronistic map of Mecklenburg in the early 14th century:
{{legend2, #00ff00, Werle-Güstrow circa 1316
{{legend2, #00ff80, Werle-Waren circa 1316
{{legend2, #f5c491,

Duchy of Mecklenburg The Duchy of Mecklenburg was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, located in the region of Mecklenburg. It existed during the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, from 1471 to 1520, as well as 1695 to 1701. Its capital was Schwerin. T ...

{{legend2, #ffe1c4, Lordship/Principality of Rostock up to 1312
{{legend2, #ff8040, to Mecklenburg from 1320 , capital = Werle , national_motto = , national_anthem = , common_languages =

Middle Low German Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...

, religion = , currency = , footnotes = Werle (or ''Wenden'') was a

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) 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 f ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

that was founded in 1235. In German it is known as a '' Herrschaft'' (usually translated as "lordship") or ''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of ...

entum'' (principality). It was created in the partition of territories in

that followed the death of Henry Borwin II of Mecklenburg (died 1226). The royal (''fürstlich'' in German) House of Werle was a spur line of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

line of the

Obotrites The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ...

. The Fiefdom of Werle lay in the area around Güstrow in today's

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and stretched eastward to

Müritz The Müritz (; from Slavic "little sea") is a lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. Its area is , which makes it the second largest lake in Germany (after Lake Constance) and the largest lake located entirely within German territory ...

. It was named after the then-capital Werle, now a village in the municipality

Kassow Kassow is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Ger ...

, Rostock district. The fiefdom collapsed several times into separate dominions. In 1277 it was divided among the sons of the first lord, or ''Herr'' in German, into Werle-Güstrow and Werle-Parchim. In 1307, both were reunited by Nicholas II, but they were divided again in 1316 into Werle-Güstrow and Werle-Goldberg. In 1337, Werle-Waren split off from the Werle-Güstrow line. With the death of the

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, the last lord on September 7, 1436, the fiefdom once again reverted to Mecklenburg. The title of Lord of Werle was thenceforth carried by all rulers of Mecklenburg. Werle is represented in one of the seven fields of the coat of arms of Mecklenburg.

List of lords

* Nicholas I Lord of Werle (1227–1277) (son of Henry Borwin II of Mecklenburg) *

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...

, Lord of Werle-Güstrow (1277–1291) (son of Nicholas I) *

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I ...

, Lord of Werle-Parchim (1277–1283) (son of Nicholas I) * Bernard I, Lord of Werle (d. 1286) (son of Nicholas I) * Henry II ( fr), Lord of Werle in Penzlin, (1291–1307) (son of Henry I) *

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pol ...

, Lord of Werle (1283–1316) (son of John I) * John II, Lord of Werle-Güstrow (1316–1337) (son of John I) * John III, Lord of Werle-Goldberg (1316–1350), d. 1352 (son of Nicholas II) * Nicholas III, Lord of Werle-Güstrow (1337–1360) (son of John II) * Bernard II, Lord of Werle-Waren (1337–1382) (son of John II) * Nicholas IV, Lord of Werle-Goldberg (1350–1354) (son of John III) *

Lorenz Lorenz is an originally German name derived from the Roman surname Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum". Given name People with the given name Lorenz include: * Prince Lorenz of Belgium (born 1955), member of the Belgian royal family by ...

, Lord of Werle-Güstrow (1360–1393) (son of Nicholas III) *

John V John V may refer to: * Patriarch John V of Alexandria or John the Merciful (died by 620), Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 to 616 * John V of Constantinople, Patriarch from 669 to 675 * Pope John V (685–686), Pope from 685 to his death in 686 * ...

, Lord of Werle-Güstrow (1360–1377) (son of Nicholas III) * John VI, Lord of Werle-Waren (1382–1385/95) (son of Bernard II) * John IV, Lord of Werle-Goldberg (1354–1374) (son of Nicholas IV) * Balthasar, Lord of Werle-Güstrow (1393–1421) (son of Lorenz) * John VII, Lord of Werle-Güstrow (1393–1414) (son of Lorenz) *

, Lord of Werle-Güstrow, Prince of the Wends (1393–1436) (son of Lorenz) *

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

, Lord of Werle-Waren (1385/95–1408) (son of John VI) *

Christopher Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or " Anointed", and φέρε� ...

, Lord of Werle-Waren (1385/95–1425) (son of John VI)

External links

Regents of Mecklenburg
in the Tacitus Historical Atlas. :''This article was translated from the corresponding article on the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedi ...

on February 20, 2007. Corrections to the translation were made April 25, 2009 to reflect the terms Herrschaft, Herr and fürstlich (royal) used in the German article.'' 1436 disestablishments in Europe States and territories established in 1235 * History of Mecklenburg