Swantopolk II, Duke of Pomerania

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Oliwa]

Swantopolk II, also Zwantepolc II or Swietopelk II, (1190/1200 – January 11, 1266), sometimes known as the Great ( _pl. Świętopełk II Wielki), was Duke of Pomerelia-Gdańsk (Danzig) from 1215 until his death. He was a son of Mestwin I and a member of the Samborides.

Names

The duke is known under many spellings ("Swantepolk, Swantipolk, Svatopluk, Swietopelk, Swatopolk, Sviatopolk, Światopełek, Świętopełk"), of which "Domin(us) Zwantepolc(us) D(ux) Danceke" [: Handbuch der polnischen Siegelkunde, 1966 [http://books.google.com/books?id=VfEeAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Zwantepolc+de%22&q=Zwantepolc&pgis=1#search] ] and "Svantopelc Ducis Pomeranie" [Edmund Cieślak; Historia Gdańska, 1978, [http://books.google.com/books?id=BLwdAAAAMAAJ&dq=zwantepolc&q=Zwantepolc&pgis=1#search] ] were used on seals.

Biography

In 1216 or 1217 Swantopolk received Pomerelia or Eastern Pomerania from Leszek the White of Kraków: Swantopolk, in exchange, declared himself his vassal, but secretly planned to free himself from Polish suzerainty. He found an ally in Ladislas Odonic, his brother-in-law, who had been driven from Poland by Władysław III Spindleshanks.

After his father's death in 1220, Swantopolk inherited the Gdańsk castle territory, the largest of the four portions of Pomerelia. It was under his reign as "Zwantepolc Dux Danceke" that the town "Danceke" (Danzig, Gdańsk) was founded, which received city rights from the Hanseatic League city of Lübeck.

Swantopolk's brothers Sambor and Racibor were still young, so he acted as their guardian. As they came of age, the brothers received their share of inheritance: Sambor received Lubiszewo Tczewskie and Racibor received Białogard.

Swantopolk promised Ladislas the throne of Kraków and Silesia in exchange for his support in the ousting of Leszek and Henry I the Bearded of Lower Silesia. On November 23, 1227, on the occasion of an assembly of Piast dukes in Gąsawa, Leszek was killed in an ambush set by Swantopolk and Ladislas, while Henry was severely wounded.

Swantopolk had freed himself of Danish and Polish overlordship. In that year he assumed the title of Duke of Pomerania ("Herzog"), with Emperor Frederick II verifying the sovereignty of the Brandenburg margraves John I and his brother Otto III over the Duchy of Pomerelia. Brandenburg already held and continued to hold sovereignty, still reflected in the red Brandenburg eagle of many city arms founded during that time.

In 1238 Swantopolk conquered the Duchy of Sławno, whose territories connected Pomerania to Gdańsk, Nakel, and Bydgoszcz. This guaranteed war with Kujavia. The brothers, over whom Swantopolk was supposed to govern for twenty years, refused to support their overlord after twelve years, and the conflict escalated into a civil war. Sambor and Racibor were driven out from their lands and sought refuge and alliance first with Piast relatives in Greater Poland, later with the Teutonic Knights, a Christian military order waging a crusade against pagan Prussians. There were also economic tensions between the Knights and Swantopolk.cite book| first=Eric |last=Christiansen |title=The Northern Crusades |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1997 |edition=2nd |isbn=0-14-026653-4 |pages=105–108] This resulted in an alliance with the heathen Prussians. Swantopolk played a key role in the First Prussian Uprising, which started in 1242 after the Teutonic Knights lost the Battle of the Ice.

The alliance between the pagan Prussians and the Christian Swantopolk against a religious order supported by the pope was unexpected. Swantopolk was previously known as a supporter of the Roman Catholic Church and Christian causes. Eventually, the uprising did not succeed and a peace treaty, mediated by a papal legate, was signed on November 24 1248. Swantopolk had to return lands seized from his brothers, allow Teutonic Knights to pass through his domains, stop charging tolls on ships using the Vistula, and stop any aid to the Prussians. He kept his word and did not assist the Prussians during their Great Uprising (1260-1274).

After governing since 1220 for 46 years, Swantopolk died in 1266, with his sons Mestwin II and Wratislaw II inheriting his lands. In 1269 Brandenburg received the right to grant Pomerelia as a lien.

Family

Marriages

* 1217/1218 Eufrozyna, daughter of Odon, duke of Greater Poland
* before 1252 (?) Ermenegarda of Mecklenburg

Children

* Mestwin II, duke of Świecie (Schwetz) and later Gdańsk (Danzig)
* Wratislaw II, duke of Gdańsk
* Eufemia, married to Jaromir II, duke of Rugia
* Zwinisława, married to Dobiesław, son of Sad, lord of Tega and Otorów near Wyszogród
* John
* unknown daughter, married to Count von Kevenberg

References

:;Specific::;General:
*cite book| first=William |last=Urban |title=The Prussian Crusade |publisher=Lithuanian Research and Studies Center |location=Chicago, Illinois |year=2000 |edition=2nd |pages=185-189 |isbn=0-929700-28-7
*cite book| first=John |last=Brown Mason| title=The Danzig Dilemma: a Study in Peacemaking by Compromise |year=1946 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=njEYAAAAIAAJ&dq=Swantopolk+%2Bpomerania&q=Swantopolk&pgis=1#search |publisher=Oxford University Press
* cite book| first=Theodor |last=Hirsch | coauthors= Max Töppen, Ernst Strehlke |title= Scriptores rerum Prussicarum: Die Geschichtsquellen der preussischen Vorzeit | year=1861| publisher=S. Hirzel| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=YX8OAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA807&dq=Swantopolk+%2Bpomerania#PPA809,M1 |pages=797, 807