Eric II
Eric II, Duke of Pomerania
Born	between 1418 and 1425
Died	(1474-07-05)5 July 1474 Wolgast
Noble family	House of Griffin
Spouse	Sophia of Pomerania-Stolp
Issue Detail	Bogislaw X Sophie Catherine
Father	Wartislaw IX, Duke of Pomerania
Mother	Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg

Eric II orErich II (between 1418 and 1425 – 5 July 1474) was a member of theHouse of Pomerania (also known as the Griffins) and was the rulingDuke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1457 to 1474. He was the son ofWartislaw IX of Pomerania-Wolgast and Sophia, daughter ofEric IV of Saxe-Lauenburg.

In 1451, Wartislaw IX arranged his son's marriage toSophia, daughter ofBogislaw IX of Pomerania-Stolp and heiress ofEric I of Pomerania-Stolp, who had also been king of theKalmar Union. The marriage of these distant relatives granted Eric II access to Eric I's lands inFarther Pomerania. Also, Eric I arranged theLauenburg-Bütow Land at thePomerelian border to be granted by thePolish king to Eric II on 3 January 1455 as a reward for aiding Poland in her struggles with theTeutonic Knights.

In 1456, Eric took overMaszewo Land in Farther Pomerania, despite Wassow being not included in his share of Pomerania. This led to conflicts withOtto III, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin and even Eric I. Even though the Pomeranian cities were able to mediate negotiations between the dukes which led to a compromise on 16 January 1457 atRügenwalde, Eric lost the support of the other Pomeranian dukes with this action.

In August 1457, Eric was hunting in the forests nearHorst, belonging not to his lands, but to theHanseatic city ofGreifswald. In further disrespect of the city's rights he ordered local peasants to aid him. Greifswald's mayorHeinrich Rubenow led theburghers of Greifswald andStralsund in an attempt to arrest Eric. Although the burghers captured his guards, Eric managed to escape. Yet, by now he was not only opposed by his co-ruling Pomeranian dukes, but also by the Pomeranian cities.

After the death of his father, Wartislaw IX, later in 1457, Eric received Pomerania-Wolgast together with his younger brother,Wartislaw X. They split the duchy with Wartislaw X receiving the principality of Rügen (withRügen,Barth,Tribsees andGrimmen) while Eric received the eastern parts. Upon Eric I's death, in 1459 Eric II gained Pomerania-Stolp and Pomerania-Rügenwalde due to the claims of his wife. Despite being a partitioned duchy in reality, Pomerania was granted to the dukes as one fief to be co-ruled, which meant that several issues had to be acted upon in common. Because Eric did not respect Wartislaw X's rights as a co-ruler, Wartislaw sought for an alliance with theMargraviate of Brandenburg on 6 September 1459 inAngermünde. He pawned the area north of the BrandenburgianUckermark toHohenzollern margraveFrederick II and in return became assured of military protection against his brother.

In 1464, Eric's cousin Otto III of Pomerania-Stettin died of theBlack Death, leaving both Eric and Wartislaw as well as Brandenburg's Frederick II with claims for inheritance. In 1466 Eric II and Wartislaw X were granted liens by the elector of Brandenburg at Soldin. However the contract was not fulfilled and it came to military intervention. Aware that he would not withstand Brandenburg without allies, Eric sought to settle the conflict by allying with Poland and in 1470 invaded the Brandenburg Neumark. The Brandenburgers had their longtime claims to Pomerania re-verified by emperor Frederick III. The emperor ordered Erich II and Wartislaw X to recognize the suzerainty of Brandenburg.Mecklenburg's Duke Henry took a mediator role and the Mecklenburgian army moved eastward following theTollense River, a Brandenburgian army advanced to the North from the Uckermark following theRandow River. The campaigns were ended by thePeace of Prenzlau of 31 May 1472 and the Pomeranian dukes gave the pledge of allegiance to the elector. Brandenburg was again granted the right of inheritance of Pomerania upon the extinction of theHouse of Pomerania.

Eric died in 1474 of a plague-like disease. He was buried inEldena Abbey nearGreifswald and was succeeded by his sonBogislaw X.

Eric II marriedSophia of Pomerania-Stolp. With his wife, he had nine children:

1. Bogislaw X (1454–1523)
2. Casimir (ca. 1455–1474)
3. Wartislaw (after 1465–1475)
4. Barnim (after 1465–1474)
5. Elisabeth (d. 1516), prioress ofVerchen Nunnery
6. Sophie (1460–1504), ∞ DukeMagnus II ofMecklenburg-Schwerin and-Güstrow (1441–1503)
7. Margaret (d. 1526), ∞ DukeBalthasar of Mecklenburg (1451–1507), administrator of theprince-bishoprics ofHildesheim andSchwerin
8. Catherine (ca. 1465–1526), ∞ DukeHenry IV of Brunswick and Lunenburg (1463–1514),Prince of Wolfenbüttel
9. Mary (d. 1512), abbess ofWollin Nunnery

• List of Pomeranian duchies and dukes
• History of Pomerania
• Duchy of Pomerania
• House of Pomerania

• Gottfried von Bülow (1877). "Erich II., Herzog von Pommern-Wolgast".Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 6. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 207–211.

• 15th-century births
• 1474 deaths
• Dukes of Pomerania
• 15th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire
• Margraviate of Brandenburg
• House of Griffins

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• CS1 German-language sources (de)