The plateau of the Barnim between the Havel, the Spree and the Oder was thinly settled in 1200: a few Slav castles on the rivers, almost none on the plateau.
Its northern edge, the Finow valley and the Oder crossing at Oderberg, belonged to the Pomeranian dukes in the early 13th century (the Ascanians took Oderberg briefly in 1214 and the northern strip from a Pomeranian duke about 1230). The Slav castle of Biesenthal on the Finow belongs to the same country. This record marks that Pomeranian edge; the open plateau to the south has no attested lord on 1 January 1200, and the Ascanian settlement of the Barnim begins only in the 1210s to 1230s (Strausberg about 1225).
Who he is
- Name
- Bogislaw II and Casimir II
- Title
- Dukes of Pomerania (their castellans not pinned)
- Since
- 1187 (their father Bogislaw I's death)
- Born
- Bogislaw II about 1177, Casimir II about 1180
- Family
- Griffin dukes; see the pom sheet's realm record.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Barnim): Oderberg was conquered by the Ascanians for a time in 1214, the only certain Ascanian action on the Barnim then; the Märkische Fürstenchronik's claim that the Barnim was taken over from a Pomeranian duke about 1230 can only apply to the small northern area between the Finow and the Oder.
Overlord
The Danish king (Pomerania a Danish fief since 1185); the margraves claim imperial overlordship.
What it holds
- Oderberg on the Oder (castle and crossing)
- The Finow valley with the Slav castle at Biesenthal
- Bernau is probably a Pomeranian foundation (church founded by about 1200-1220 at the latest): not pinned for 1200
How it was acquired
Not pinned (Pomeranian expansion south after 1180).
Allies and rivals
Margrave Otto II, who claims overlordship over the dukes; in 1198-99 he fought Denmark and Rügen while the dukes recovered their lands up to the Ryck.
How things stand that morning
Pomeranian on the evidence of 1214 and about 1230; for 1 January 1200 it is inferred, not attested.
Wealth
The Oder crossing; fish, forest and honey.
Military
Oderberg castle; the Finow castles. No figures.
Threats
- The margraves' advance (they take Oderberg for a time in 1214)
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1214 (not yet)The Ascanians take Oderberg for a time.Depends on: A Brandenburg-Danish war. Stopped by: Peace on the Oder.
Places of note
- Oderberg: Oder crossing and castle.
- Biesenthal: Slav castle on the Finow.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Inferred back from 1214 and about 1230.
On the map: A strip along the Finow and the Oder; the plateau to the south is left without a lord.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.