Pribislaw (Heinrich)

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Pribislaw (baptismal name Heinrich ; † 1150 in Brandenburg an der Havel ) was the last prince and king of the Slavic Heveller around Brandenburg Castle . He established a Premonstratensian monastery in St. Gotthardt in Brandenburg.

Mentions

The Tractatus de urbe Brandenburg , a short chronicle about Brandenburg Castle from the 12th century, reported in more detail about Pribislaw . Pribislaw was also briefly mentioned in the Brandenburg bishop's chronicle and the Saxon prince chronicle, which, however, took over the information from the Tractatus.

Life

Origin and beginning of rule

Pribislaw probably came from a princely family of the Hevellers. The Tractatus states that he legitimately assumed his rule as an inheritance.

It is unclear when Pribislav came to power. The previous Prince of Brandenburg, Meinfried , was murdered in 1127 without any further background being known. Since Pribislaw is said to have given the young Otto , son of Count Albrecht the Bear, the Zauche as a godparent gift, he must have already owned the area around 1125.

Pribislaw / Heinrich as a Christian ruler

Pribislaw was a Christian, as was his wife Petrissa . He was referred to in all chronicles as rex ( king ), without research having clarified whether he was a sub-king of the Roman-German Empire or a Slavic ruler. Pribislaw is said to have offered royal insignia on an altar in Brandenburg or Leitzkau. What significance this crown sacrifice had is also unclear in research. In 1144, with the support of Bishop Wigger von Brandenburg, he brought Premonstratensians from the St. Marien Abbey in Leitzkau to Brandenburg, where they settled at the St. Gotthardt Church . The Nikolaikirche in the old town and the Marienkirche on the Harlungerberg were probably also built during his reign.

Coins have survived from Pribislaw that indicate a greater economic importance of his principality / kingdom. Pribislaw maintained good relations with various princes of the empire, especially Albrecht the Bear (as the godparent gift to his son shows). He is said to have promised Albrecht the rule as heir even after his death, according to the alleged custom of his people.

After his death

After Pribislaw / Heinrich died, his wife Petrissa kept his death a secret for three days until Albrecht the Bear came and could take over the castle.

marriage and family

Pribislaw was married to Petrissa, whose origin is unknown (possibly Norway?). The two had no children until his death.

He was related to the Polish prince Jaczo von Koepenick . He was referred to as his uncle , which is not possible according to the biographical data of the two. But he claimed the Brandenburg as an inheritance and conquered it after a while.

Monument in Berlin's Siegesallee

Pribislaw-Heinrich (right) next to Otto I.

For the former Berliner Siegesallee , the sculptor Max Unger designed a marble bust of Pribislaw as a side figure in Monument Group 2 to the central statue for Margrave Otto I, unveiled on March 22, 1898.

The bust shows Pribislaw with a fur coat over a tank and a fur cap over a bearded face. In his left hand he is holding a roll of parchment that represents the deed of gift for his godchild Otto I.

Source editions

literature

  • Hans-Dietrich Kahl : The end of the Triglaw of Brandenburg. A contribution to the religious policy of Albrecht the Bear . In: ZfO , 3, 1954, pp. 68-76.
  • Hans-Dietrich Kahl : Pagan Wends and Christian tribal princes. A look at the conflict between gentile and universal religions in the occidental High Middle Ages . In: ArchfKultg , 44, 1962, pp. 72-119.
  • Hans-Dietrich Kahl : Slavs and Germans in the Brandenburg history of the twelfth century. The last decades of the country of Stodor ; 2 vols. (MDtFsch 30 / I + II). Böhlau, Cologne / Graz 1964. Extensive literature
  • Herbert Ludat : Legends about Jaxa von Köpenick. German and Slavic princes in the battle for Brandenburg in the middle of the 12th century (Germany and the East 2). Berlin 1936 (also in: Ders .: Slaven and Germans in the Middle Ages (MDtFsch 86). Böhlau, Cologne / Vienna 1982, pp. 27–84).
  • Lutz Partenheimer : Albrecht the Bear. Founder of the Mark Brandenburg and the Principality of Anhalt ; Böhlau: 2nd edition Cologne a. a. 2003, ISBN 3-412-16302-3 .
  • Jürgen Petersohn : The southern Baltic region in the ecclesiastical-political interplay of forces of the empire, Poland and Denmark from the 10th to the 13th century (East Central Europe in the past and present 17); Böhlau, Cologne / Vienna 1979.
  • Lutz Partenheimer: The emergence of the Mark Brandenburg . With a Latin-German source attachment. 1st and 2nd editions Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2007.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ For the representations of the Tractatus de urbe Brandenburg about Pribislaw / Heinrich see last Christina Meckelnborg : Tractatus de urbe Brandenburg. The oldest evidence of Brandenburg history. Text analysis and edition. (= Writings of the State Historical Association for the Mark Brandenburg, New Series Vol. 7). Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2015. ISBN 978-3-86732-215-7 . ( P. 39f. U.ö,
  2. ↑ All information about Pribislaw from the Tractatus .
  3. ^ So the Tractatus
  4. ↑ Tractatus
  5. ↑ Tractatus
  6. ↑ Tractatus
personal data
SURNAME Pribislaw
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heinrich (baptismal name); Henricus (Latin form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION last prince and king of the Slavic Hevellers and founder of the Premonstratensian Monastery of St. Gotthardt in Brandenburg
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH 1150
Place of death Brandenburg on the Havel