Henning Podebusk

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Henning Podebusk , also Henning von Putbus (* Rügen ; † 1388 in Egholm on Sjælland ) was the last Drost of Denmark and is seen today as its most important domestic and foreign politician of the Middle Ages.

Life

Podebusk came from the German-Slavic noble family zu Putbus ( danized as Podebusk in Denmark), who descended from the princes of Rügen . Nothing else is known about his origins and youth.

He entered the history of Denmark in 1350 after King Waldemar IV had taken him over into Danish service after a meeting in northern Germany . Thanks to his unconditional loyalty and diplomatic skills, he gained the trust of Waldemar and in 1365 became Drost , according to today's diction, Prime Minister of Denmark. In this time restoring the supremacy falls Denmark in the Baltic region combined with violent armed conflicts with the cities of the Hanseatic League . Podebusk proved to be a master when it came to de facto and diplomatically undermining unfavorable conditions of peace treaties by obstructing trade, as was shown, for example, after the Peace of Vordingborg (1365) . Following the Hanseatic Day in Cologne in 1367 ( Cologne Confederation ), this led to a renewed declaration of war by the Hanseatic League on Denmark. After the battle in Strelasund , the war was lost for King Waldemar. The Peace of Stralsund (1370) was negotiated under the leadership of Henning Podebusk with the leading representatives of the Hanseatic League, the Lübeck mayor Jakob Pleskow and the Stralsund mayor Bertram Wulflam .

After the peace, Podebusk first restored order in inner Denmark, as some members of the Danish nobility had sided with the Hanseatic League during the war. He also succeeded in softening and undermining the economically and politically unacceptable requirements of the peace treaty for Denmark.

With the death of King Waldemar in 1375, he became an equally loyal advisor to Queen Margaret I , whom he - probably his last success - paved the way for the conquest of Sweden and the founding of the Kalmar Union with his recognition as ruler by the Imperial Council (1387) .

After his death, the office of Drosten was no longer granted in Denmark. Podebusk was buried in Sorø Castle Church.

Podebusk is mentioned in the Gurre-Lieder , the Danish “Nibelungenlied”, as the loyal Henning and supporter of King Waldemars in the face of the death of his lover Tove .

The Putbus / Podebusk family split into a Danish and a Rügen branch in 1483. The latter died out in 1702, so that the properties on Rügen fell back to a branch of the Danish family, which in 1807 was elevated to the status of Swedish prince under Wilhelm Malte I.

literature

  • Ralf-Gunnar Werlich: Henning von Putbus. Captain and Drost of the Danish Empire. In: Nils Jörn u. a. (Ed.): The Stralsund Peace of 1370. Prosopographical studies (= sources and representations on Hanseatic history. NF 46), Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1998, pp. 153–205.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Podebusk, Henning
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Henning from Putbus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Drost of Denmark
DATE OF BIRTH 14th Century
PLACE OF BIRTH to reprimand
DATE OF DEATH 1388
Place of death Egholm on Sjælland