- Slavic piracy
The robbery committed by
Slavic tribes on theBaltic Sea and its coast during the Middle Ages was initially a part of theViking movement. We know about Slavic warriors in the10th century from Scandinavian poetry. This time, the center of the Slavic warriors wasWolin known later asJomsborg . It was finally destroyed by the King Magnus the Good in 1042. It was possibly the origin of the legend of the city ofVineta . In the12th century , there was intensification of Slavic piracy. It was connected with German and Polish expansion which pushed the Slavic tribes to the Baltic Sea. The pirates devastated mostly Danish islands. In 1135, the Norwegian cityKungahälla was captured and burned by the Prince Ratibor I of Pomerania. In 1153, the capital city of Denmark,Roskilde , was attacked by pirates. The main bases of the robbers were Starigard, Wolgast,Szczecin and Rügen Island. The Slavic piracy ended with the Danish conquest of Rügen andPomerania in the end of the 12th century, German conquest of theObotrites around the same time, and the German eastward expansion. The information about the Slavic pirates is contained in Helmold's Cronic,Heimskringla bySnorri Sturluson , Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church byAdam of Bremen , andGesta Danorum bySaxo Grammaticus .
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