The lake country round the Müritz, with the Slav castles of Malchow, Waren (on an island in the Feisnecksee) and Röbel.
The 'terra Warne' is first named in a disputed charter of 15 March 1218; the towns come in the 1220s-1230s under the Mecklenburg lords who become the lords of Werle (Waren about 1225, Röbel and Malchow later). In 1200 the land is best read as in the Mecklenburg princes' sphere, as the Rhineland map anchors it (Malchow), but no holder is pinned; the Pomeranian lands of Penzlin and the Tollense lie just east.
Who he is
- Name
- not pinned (the Obodrite princes, Henry Borwin I or Nicholas I, under the Danish king; or Slav nobles under them)
- Title
- lord of the Müritz lands
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- see Mecklenburg
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Waren (Müritz), Herrschaft Werle; Rhineland map anchors
Overlord
Canute VI of Denmark (through the Mecklenburg princes)
What it holds
- the Slav castles of Malchow, Waren and Röbel
- the Müritz fisheries
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the Pomeranian Tollense lands (east), Circipania (north), the Brandenburg march and the bishop of Havelberg (south).
How things stand that morning
Not pinned; drawn as Mecklenburg ground.
Wealth
Lake fisheries.
Military
Slav castles.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No record of 1200; the first written mention of the land of Waren is 1218.
On the map: Holder and extent not pinned.
Primary sources for Mecklenburg
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
- 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
- Charter books of Lübeck and of Hamburg (documents to 1226 (Lübeck vol. 1) and to 1300 (Hamburg vol. 1)). The charters of the two north German towns and of the archbishops of Bremen and Hamburg. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.