Pribislav ( 1131 – after 1156) was an Obotrite prince who ruled Wagria as "Lesser king" (''regulus'') and resided in Liubice, governing one half of the Obotrite lands, the other half being governed by

Niklot Niklot or Nyklot (died August 1160) was a tribal chief, chief or prince of the Slavic peoples, Slavic Obotrites and an ancestor of the House of Mecklenburg. He became chief of the Obotrite confederacy, including the Kissini and the Circipani, bet ...

Life

Pribislav was the son of Budivoj, and nephew of

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

. After the murder of

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 ...

in 1131, the Obotrite lands were partitioned between Pribislav and

, with the former receiving Wagria and Polabia and the latter

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) 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, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

until the

Peene The Peene (; ) is a river in Germany. Geography The Westpeene, with the Ostpeene as its longer tributary, and the Kleine Peene/Teterower Peene (with a ''Peene '' without specification (or ''Nordpeene'') as its smaller and shorter affluent) f ...

River; Pribislav received the title ''regulus'', or lesser king and resided in Liubice. A follower of

Slavic paganism Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who ...

, Pribislav was described by Emperor

Lothair III Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg ( June 1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 b ...

, whom he was dependent upon, as an enemy of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and an idolater. After the death of Lothair in 1137, Lothair's son-in-law Henry the Proud and Margrave

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...

fought over the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

. Pribislav took advantage of the struggle to rebel against the authority of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

by destroying the new castle of

Segeberg Segeberg (; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Ostholstein and St ...

and invading

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

in Summer 1138. Saxons from Holstein and Stormarn under the command of

Henry of Badewide Henry of Badewide (or Badwide) () (died ca. 1164) was a Saxon Count of Botwide (after 1149) and Count of Ratzeburg (after 1156). Henry came from a knightly family from Lüneburg. He took his name from Bode near Ebstorf. He married a relative of ...

led a massive counterattack the following winter. Another Holsatian campaign in Summer 1139 devastated the Slavic inhabitants of Wagria and placed the territory under German control. The Slavs under Pribislav's rule were reduced to living in the northeastern corner of Wagria. The prince complained to the Bishop of Oldenburg that the taxation and oppression of the Saxon lords were essentially driving the Wagrians to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. The Slavs retained their old religious practices, such as worship of the god Porewit, near Oldenburg. On Tuesdays Pribislav held court with pagan priests and representatives of the Slavic population. Count

Adolf II of Holstein Adolf II of Holstein ( – 6 July 1164) was the Count of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1130 until his death, though he was briefly out of Holstein from 1137 until 1142. He succeeded his father Adolf I under the regency of his mother, Hildew ...

ultimately won over Pribislav through gifts, and Pribislav converted to Roman Catholic Christianity in 1156.

References

*{{cite book, last=Herrmann, first=Joachim, title=Die Slawen in Deutschland, year=1970, publisher=Akademie-Verlag GmbH, location=Berlin, pages=530 Obotrite princes 12th-century monarchs in Europe 12th-century deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions Year of birth unknown