House of Griffin


The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been taken from the ducal coat of arms. Duke Wartislaw I was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin dynasty. The most prominent Griffin was Eric of Pomerania, who became king of the Kalmar Union in 1397, thus ruling Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The last Griffin duke of Pomerania was Bogislaw XIV, who died during the Thirty Years' War, which led to the division of Pomerania between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden. Duchess Anna von Croy, daughter of Duke Bogislaw XIII and the last Griffin, died in 1660.

Name of the Dynasty

The dynasty is known by two names, Pomerania, after their primary fief, and Griffin, after their coat of arms, which had featured a griffin since the late 12th century: the first verifiable use of the griffin as the dynasty's heraldic emblem occurred in a seal of Casimir II, Duke of Pomerania, which showed the imaginary beast within a shield, and was attached to a document dated 1194. The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means " along the sea".

Origins and branches

The origins of the Griffins are not clear. Most theories derive them from either local Slavic nobility or a cadet branch of the Polish house of Piasts. Medieval Polish chronicler Jan Długosz connected them with Polish noble family of Świebodzice from the south province of Poland named the Lesser Poland, who also used a griffin as their coat-of-arms and who in turn might also have been a cadet branch of the Piasts. At any rate, chronicler Gallus Anonymus in his Gesta principum Polonorum calls the Griffins "close cousins" of then-contemporary Bolesław III of Poland, directly implying a close dynastic relationship with the Piasts.
In the 17th century, the Griffins derived their roots from legendary beings from Sorb mythology called Gryphus or Baltus.
The first known members of the Griffins were the brothers Wartislaw I and Ratibor I. Wartislaw would be the ancestor of the line of dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania until 1630; Ratibor would be the ancestor of the Ratiborides branch of the Griffins, that was to rule the lands of Schlawe and Stolp until the line became extinct and the area was incorporated in the Duchy of Pomerania. The first known member of the Swantiborides branch of the Griffins, notable as castellans of Pomeranian cities, was Wartislaw Swantiboriz.

Family tree

Wartislaw I to Bogislaw IV and Otto I

  1. Wartislaw I
  2. #Bogusław I ∞ Walburgis, daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark;
Anastasia, daughter of Mieszko III of Poland and Eudoxia of Kiev
  1. ## Ratibor ∞ Salome, daughter of Mieszko III of Poland and Eudoxia of Kiev
  2. ## Wartislaw II. ∞ Sophia, daughter of Bolesław IV. of Poland
  3. ## Bogislaw II. ∞ Miroslawa , Daughter of Mestwin I of Pomerelia and Swinislawa
  4. ###Woislawa
  5. ###Barnim I ∞ Marianne, Daughter of William of Lüneburg and Helene of Denmark
Margarete of Brunswick
Mathilde , Daughter of Otto III, Margrave of Brandenburg and Beatrix of Böhmen
  1. #### Anastasia ∞ Henry I of Mecklenburg
  2. #### Bogislaw IV → Pomerania-Wolgast
  3. #### Barnim II
  4. #### Otto I → Pomerania-Stettin
  5. #### Miroslawa ∞ Nikolaus I of Schwerin
  6. #### Beatrix ∞ Henry II of Werle
  7. #### Dobroslawa ∞ Jaczo of Salzwedel
  8. ## Casimir II ∞ Ingardis of Denmark
  9. ###Wartislaw III ∞ Sophia
  10. ###Elisabeth
  11. ## Dobroslawa
  12. #Casimir I. ∞ Pritolawa
  13. Ratibor I → Ratiborides
  14. Swantibor → Swantiborides

    Bogislaw IV to Bogislaw X (Pomerania-Wolgast, -Barth, and -Stolp)

  15. Bogislaw IV ∞ Mechthild, Daughter of John I of Brandenburg and Jutta of Saxony
Margareta, Euphemia of Pomerania ∞ Christopher II of Denmark
  1. # Margareta ∞ Nikolaus of Rostock, John of Ścinawa
  2. # Wartislaw IV ∞ Elisabeth of Lindau-Ruppin
  3. ##Bogislaw V-Stolp ∞ Elisabeth of Poland, daughter of Casimir III of Poland and Aldona of Lithuania
Adelheid of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, daughter of Ernest I of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and Adelheid of Everstein
  1. ### Casimir IV ∞ Johanna , daughter of Olgierd of Lithuania and Mary of Witebsk
Margareta, daughter of Siemowit III of Masovia and Eufemia of Toppau
  1. ### Elisabeth of Pomerania ∞ Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
  2. ### Daughter 2
  3. ### Wartislaw VII ∞ Maria of Mecklenburg, daughter of Henry III of Mecklenburg
  4. ####Eric of Pomerania ∞ Philippa, daughter of Henry IV.
  5. ####Catherine of Pomerania ∞ John of Pfalz-Neumarkt
  6. #####Christopher III of Denmark
  7. ### Bogislaw VIII ∞ Sophie of Holstein
  8. ####Bogislaw IX ∞ Maria of Masovia, daughter of Siemowit IV of Masovia and Alexandra of Lithuania
  9. #####Sophia ∞ Eric II, Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast
  10. #####Alexandra
  11. ### Barnim V
  12. ### Margareta
  13. ##Barnim IV ∞ Sophie, daughter of John II of Werle
  14. ###Wartislaw VI ∞ Anna, daughter of John I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard
  15. ####Barnim VI ∞ Veronica of Hohenzollern
  16. #####Wartislaw IX ∞ Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg, daughter of Eric IV
  17. ######Eric II. ∞ Sophia, daughter Bogislaw IX of Pomerania-Stolp
  18. #######Bogislaw X
  19. #######Casimir VII.
  20. #######Wartislaw XI
  21. #######Barnim
  22. #######Elisabeth, Priorin in Verchen abbey
  23. #######Sophia, ∞ Magnus II of Mecklenburg
  24. #######Margarete, married to Balthasar of Mecklenburg
  25. #######Catherine, ∞ Duke Henry IV of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Prince of Wolfenbüttel
  26. #######Mary, Äbtissin of Wollin
  27. ######Wartislaw X ∞ Elisabeth, widow of Joachim of Pommern-Stettin, daughter of John of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Magdalena of Mecklenburg, widow of Count Burkhard of Barby
  1. ####### Swantibor
  2. ####### Ertmar
  3. ######Elisabeth
  4. ######Christoph
  5. #####Barnim VII
  6. #####Elisabeth, Äbtissin of Kammin
  7. ####Wartislaw VIII ∞ Agnes of Saxe-Lauenburg, daughter of Eric IV of Saxe-Lauenburg
  8. #####Barnim VIII. ∞ Anna of Wunstorf
  9. ######Agnes ∞ 1449 Frederick of Altmark
1478 George II of Anhalt-Zerbst
  1. ####Sophie ∞ Henry I of Brunswick
  2. ###Bogislaw VI
  3. ###Elisabeth ∞ Magnus I of Mecklenburg
  4. ##Wartislaw V
  5. # Jutta, Äbtissin in Krummin abbey
  6. # Elisabeth ∞ Eric I of Saxe-Lauenburg

    Otto I to Otto III (Pomerania-Stettin)

  7. Otto I ∞ Elisabeth, daughter of Gerhard II, Count of Holstein-Plön and Ingeborg of Sweden
  8. #Barnim III ∞ Agnes, daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburg
  9. ##Otto
  10. ##Casimir III
  11. ##Swantibor I ∞ Anna of Hohenzollern, daughter of Albrecht of Nuremberg
  12. ###Otto II ∞ Agnes, daughter of John II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard and Wilheida of Lithuania
  13. ###Casimir V ∞ Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Elisabeth, daughter of Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  1. #### Joachim the Elder
  2. #### Anna ∞ John V of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
  3. #### Joachim the Younger ∞ Elisabeth, daughter of John of Brandenburg and Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg
  4. #####Otto III
  5. ###Albrecht
  6. ###Margareta
  7. ##Bogislaw VII
  8. #Mechthild ∞ John III of Werle

    Bogislaw X to Bogislaw XIV

  9. Bogislaw X ∞ Anna, daughter of Casimir IV. of Poland
  10. #Sophie of Pomerania ∞ Frederick I of Denmark
  11. #George I ∞ Amalia, daughter of Elector Palatine Philip and Margaret of Bavaria
Margarete of Brandenburg, daughter of Joachim I of Brandenburg and Elisabeth of Denmark.
  1. ## Bogislaw
  2. ## Phillip I ∞ Maria, daughter of John of Saxony
  3. ###Georg
  4. ###Erich
  5. ###John Frederick
  6. ###Bogislaw XIII ∞ Clara, daughter of Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  7. ####Philip II ∞ Sophia, daughter of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
  8. ####Francis ∞ Sophia, daughter of Christian I of Saxony
  9. ####Bogislaw XIV ∞ Elisabeth, daughter of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and Elisabeth of Brunswick-Grubenhagen
  10. ####Ulrich ∞ Hedwig of Brunswick
  11. ####Anna ∞ Ernest of Croy and Aerschot
  12. #####Ernest Bogislaw of Croy
  13. ###Ernest Louis ∞ Sophia Hedwig , daughter of Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
  14. ####Hedwig Maria
  15. ####Elisabeth Magdalena
  16. ####Philipp Julius ∞ Agnes, daughter of John George of Brandenburg.
  17. ###Barnim X
  18. ###Casimir VI
  19. ###Amalia
  20. ###Margaret ∞ Duke Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg
  21. ###Anna ∞ Ulrich of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
  22. ## Margaret ∞ Ernest III of Brunswick-Grubenhagen
  23. ## Georgia ∞ Stanislaus Latalski Count of Latochin
  24. #Anna ∞ George I of Silesia of Silesia-Liegnitz
  25. #Barnim
  26. #Barnim IX
  27. #Elisabeth
  28. #Otto
  29. #Casimir VIII
  30. #Christopher; probably an illegitimate son, as Junker Christopher, Tochof of Schwerin

    Branches

Ratiborides

Members of the Ratiborides branch were most probably descendants of Ratibor I, a brother of Wartislaw I.
  1. Ratibor I
  2. #Bogislaw, ∞ N.N.; a daughter of Mieszko III of Poland
  3. ## Bogislaw, ∞ another daughter of Mieszko III of Poland
  4. ## Ratibor II

    Swantiborides

The Swantiborides were related to the Griffins, but the link remains unclear. Probably they descend from Swantibor, a Pomeranian duke overthrown in a rebellion and expelled to Poland in 1105/06. This Swantibor might have been a cousin of Swantopolk, a Pomeranian duke defeated by Boleslaw III of Poland in a campaign of 1111/12. Yet, these assumptions all remain speculative.
  1. Wartislaw Swantiboriz, Castellan of Stettin ∞ unknown wife
  2. #Bartholomäus, Castellan of Gützkow ∞ unknown wife
  3. ##Wartislaw, Castellan of Stettin, Herr von Gützkow 1219 ∞ Dobroslawa, widow of Boleslaw of Poland Prince of Kujavia, daughter of Bogislaw I
  4. ###Bartholomäus
  5. #Wartislaw, Castellan of Stettin
  6. #Konrad, Canon at Kammin Cathedral 1176/1186, provost 1186/1189 and 1208, Bishop of Kammin 1219
  7. #Casimir, Castellan of Kolberg ∞ unknown wife
  8. ##Swietoslawa / Swiatochna
  9. ##Swantibor ∞ unknown wife
  10. ###Casimir, Castellan of Kolberg ∞ Miroslawa, who secondly married Johann Ramel, Castellan of Kolberg and Pomeranian counsellor 1265/1297.
  11. ##daughter 3 ∞ Czyrnek, Castellan of Kolberg

    Griffins Kings and Queens

  12. Eric of Pomerania, son of Wartislaw VII, was King of Norway, elected King of Denmark, and of Sweden. He was the first king of the Nordic Kalmar Union.
  13. Euphemia of Pomerania, daughter of Bogislaw IV, married Christopher II of Denmark and became queen of Denmark.
  14. Elizabeth of Pomerania, daughter of Bogislaw V, was the fourth and last wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Bohemia. Her daughter Anne of Bohemia, of Luxembourg and of Pomerania became Queen of England as a wife of King Richard II of England. She was known as "Good Queen Anne".
  15. Sophie of Pomerania, daughter of Bogislaw X, married King Frederick I of Denmark and became Queen of Denmark and Norway.