Henry Borwin I

Background

Henry Borwin I was a son of Pribislaw and his wife Woizlava of Pomerania.

Career

Sometimes a Latinized version of his name is used (Borwinus or Burwinus). The form Buruwe is also found, as are Henricus Buruwi, Heinricus Buriwoi, Hinricus Burwy. Pribislav was an Obotrite prince and was the first Lord of Mecklenburg.

He died on 30 December 1178 of the wound he received during a tournament at the court of Henry the Lion in Lüneburg, and Henry Borwin I succeeded him as Lord of Mecklenburg.

This lack of outside assistance attracted the attention of King Canute VI of Denmark, who used the situation to expand his position on the Baltic Sea coast. The Danes took Henry Borwin I prisoner.

He had to cede Rostock to Denmark and accept Canute VI as his liege lord. In 1200, Canute returned Rostock to him as a fief.

In 1202, he fought on the Danish side in the Battle of Stellau.

In 1218 and 1219, he assisted in the Danish conquest of Estonia, and from 1225 to 1227, he assisted them in a war against Schauenburg. Henry Borwin I revived the cities of Rostock and Wismar and founded the abbeys of Dobbertin, Tempzin and Sonnenkamp.

Achievements

• The Danes won, and Henry Borwin was rewarded with two more fiefs: Gadebusch and Ratzeburg.