In 1198 the Cistercian abbey of Dargun in Circipania was destroyed in the fighting between Denmark and Brandenburg; its monks left, and in 1199 Jaromar of Rügen settled them at Eldena.
The abbey lands lay waste for years: a resettlement failed as late as 1209 and succeeded only in 1216. This belt marks the land round Dargun, Kalen and Gnoien as unworked in the winter of 1199-1200. Raiders: Brandenburg (Margrave Otto II, who overran the Demmin lands in 1198-99) against the Danish king's vassals; the Pomeranian dukes hold the ground by title.
Anchoring castles: Demmin (Pomeranian) to the east; the Mecklenburg castles of the Rostock land (Kessin, Laage) to the west. Last campaign: 1198 (perhaps into 1199). Whether raids continue that winter is not pinned.
How things stand that morning
Waste round Dargun; no garrison or raid pinned for the winter itself.
Who raids here
Brandenburg against the Danish vassals' lands; earlier Danish campaigns after 1170
Anchors castles
Demmin (Pomerania); Kalen and Teterow (Circipanian castles, use not pinned)
Last campaign
1198 (Dargun destroyed); the Brandenburg occupation of the Demmin lands 1198-99
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: de.wikipedia Kloster Eldena (Vorpommern): Dargun 'destroyed in 1198 in warfare between Denmark and Brandenburg'; de.wikipedia Kloster Dargun (lay waste for some years; failed resettlement 1209; success 1216). The extent of the waste is our estimate.
On the map: A small belt drawn on the evidence of the abbey's desolation; the campaign may widen it to the Demmin lands if he takes the Brandenburg occupation as still running.
Primary sources for Pomerania
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Helmold of Bosau, Helmold of Bosau (about 1167 to 1172). Background only. Read online
- The Danish annals of Lund, Ryd and other houses (12th and 13th centuries; Lund continued to 1307, Ryd to 1288). Short dated entries from Lund, the archbishop's seat, and from Ryd in Schleswig. Read online
- Deeds of the Danes, Saxo Grammaticus (about 1185 to 1208). Saxo was writing at Lund in 1200 under Absalon, who died in March 1201, and his last books are an insider's history of Valdemar I and Knud VI to 1185: the Wendish wars, the taking of Rügen, the submission of Pomerania in 1185, the Danish fleet, Absalon's power and the Danish quarrel with the Empire. Read online
- Short history of the kings of Denmark; The Law of the Retainers, Sven Aggesen (about 1185 to 1188). A short Latin history of the Danish kings to Knud VI's Pomeranian victory of 1185, with the Lex castrensis, Sven's version of the law of the royal household. Read online
- The saga of the descendants of Knut (the kings of Denmark) (about 1250 to 1260). An Icelandic kings' saga of Denmark that draws on Saxo and Danish tradition and ends in 1187 with Knud VI and Absalon's Wendish wars. Read online
- Pomeranian charter book, volume 1, 786 to 1253 (documents of 786 to 1253, edited 1868). All known charters for Pomerania and Rügen to 1253. Read online
- The Danish diplomatarium: charters and letters concerning Denmark, with Danish translation (documents of 789 to 1448; the online edition is continuing). Twenty-seven documents are dated to 1200: Innocent III's letters of February and March 1200 to Philip Augustus and Queen Ingeborg and his order for the interdict on France, Otto IV's letter to the pope expecting King Knud VI to move into Saxony, the reports of the legate Octavian and the French bishops on the lifting of the interdict in September, the pope's letters to Knud VI asking him to send advocates for his sister, Knud VI's ordinance on manslaughter for Skåne of 28 December 1200, and private gifts to Roskilde and Næstved. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia (de): Kloster Eldena (Vorpommern)
- Wikipedia (de): Kloster Dargun
- Wikipedia: Casimir II, Duke of Pomerania
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.