Swietopelk I, Duke of Pomerania

Who is Swietopelk I, Duke of Pomerania?

Swietopelk I, sometimes called “Swietopelk of Nakło” to distinguish him from other rulers of the same name, was one of the first known Dukes of Pomerania; in the years 1109/13 to 1121 he ruled over Pomerelia.

He is usually thought to have been the son of Świętobór I, although other historians make him a brother of Świętobór and son of Siemomysl I.

He is mentioned in the chronicle of Gallus Anonymus. The 16th century Pomeranian chronicler Thomas Kantzow also states that Swietopelk was one of the younger sons of Swietibor, who ruled Eastern Pomerania after his father was deposed. The Prussian historian Ludwig Giesebrecht, who gave approximate dates for the duke's birth and death, considered him the originator of the Pomeralian dynasty and stated that Swietopelk and his father Swietibor were related to the Piast dynasty through marriage. Other historians have also hypothesized that Swietopelk and Swietibor were related, by blood or by marriage, to the Polish Piast dynasty, or that they served as voyevodas for them in Gdańsk. However, Edward Rymar contests the thesis that Swietopelk was Swantibor's son based on the fact that Gallus Anonymous would have surely mentioned that fact, but rather the chronicler described Swietopelk as a “certain Pomeranian” who was granted control over Polish land by the Polish ruler.