Ratibor (or Ratse) (died 1043) was a

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

of the Obotrite confederacy from the Polabian tribe. His capital was

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by Ratzeburger See, four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the distri ...

, which was named in his honor. After

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

killed Prince Udo of the Obotrites in 1028, his son Gottschalk was taken to be raised at the court of

Canute the Great Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Ratibor led the Obotrite confederacy during Gottschalk's absence. Sven Estridson, Jarl of Denmark, desired independence from King Magnus I of Norway in 1042. Because Magnus was supported by his brother-in-law, Duke Bernard II of Saxony, Sven achieved an alliance with the Obotrites through the mediation of Gottschalk. However, Ratibor was killed in a siege by Magnus in 1043. In an attempt to avenge their father, his sons were killed in the same year in a battle at Lürschau Heath on 28 September.

References

* 1043 deaths Obotrite princes Year of birth unknown {{Germany-hist-stub