TheHouse of Griffin orGriffin dynasty[4] (German:Greifen;Polish:Gryfici,Danish:Grif;Latin:Gryphes[5])[a] was adynasty ruling theDuchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century[10] and had been taken from the ducalcoat of arms. DukeWartislaw I (died 1135) was the first historical ruler of the Duchy of Pomerania and the founder of the Griffin dynasty. The most prominent Griffin wasEric of Pomerania, who became king of theKalmar Union in 1397, thus ruling Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The last Griffin duke of Pomerania wasBogislaw XIV, who died during theThirty Years' War, which led to the division of Pomerania between Brandenburg-Prussia,Sweden andPoland. DuchessAnna von Croy, daughter of DukeBogislaw XIII and the last member of the House of Griffin, died in 1660.
The dynasty is known by two names,Pomerania, after their primary fief, andGriffin, after their coat of arms, which had featured agriffin since the late 12th century: the first verifiable use of the griffin as the dynasty's heraldic emblem occurred in a seal ofCasimir II, Duke of Pomerania, which showed the imaginary beast within a shield, and was attached to a document dated 1194.[11][12] The namePomerania comes fromSlavicpo more, which means "[land] along the sea".[13]
In the 17th century, the Griffins derived their roots from legendary beings fromSorb mythology calledGryphus orBaltus.[14]
The first known members of the Griffins were the brothersWartislaw I andRatibor 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 theRatiborides branch of the Griffins, that was to rule thelands of Schlawe and Stolp until the line became extinct and the area was incorporated in the Duchy of Pomerania. The first known member of theSwantiborides branch of the Griffins, notable as castellans of Pomeranian cities, was Wartislaw (II) Swantiboriz.
The Swantiborides (Polish:Świętoborzyce) 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 Świętopełk, a Pomeranian duke defeated by Boleslaw III of Poland in a campaign of 1111/12. Yet, these assumptions all remain speculative.[10]
Wartislaw (* 1175/80, ↑ 1233), Castellan of Szczecin, Lord of Gützkow 1219 ∞ Dobroslawa, widow of Boleslaw of Poland Duke of Kujavia, daughter ofBogislaw I
Bartholomew (+ 1206/10, ↑ 1259/60)
Wartislaw (↑ 1230/32), Castellan of Szczecin
Konrad (↑ 1233), Canon at Kammin Cathedral 1176/1186, provost 1186/1189 and 1208, Bishop of Kammin 1219
Casimir (↑1277/1280), Castellan of Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) ∞ Miroslawa, who secondly marriedJohann Ramel, Castellan of Kolberg and Pomeranian counsellor 1265/1297.
Edward Rymar: Rodowód książąt pomorskich, Szczecin 1995.
Martin Wehrmann:Genealogie des pommerschen Fürstenhauses. Veröffentlichungen the landesgeschichtlichen Forschungsstelle für Pommern, Reihe 1, Bd. 5. Leon Saunier, Stettin 1937.
Martin Wehrmann:Geschichte von Pommern. Weltbild Verlag 1992, Reprint der Ausgaben von 1919 und 1921,ISBN3-89350-112-6
^abA. Małecki, Studya heraldyczne [Heraldic Studies], vol. I, Lwów 1890, pp. 268–285; M. L. Wójcik, Ród Gryfitów do końca XIII wieku. Pochodzenie — genealogia — rozsiedlenie, Historia CVII, Wrocław 1993, p. 39.
^abRodowód książąt pomorskich Edward Rymar Książnica Pomorska, 2005, page 53
^Nora Berend, Przemysław Urbańczyk and Przemysław Wiszewski,Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary and Poland, c.900–c.1300 (Cambridge University Press, 2013).
^Robert von Friedeburg,Self-Defence and Religious Strife in Early Modern Europe: England and Germany, 1530-1680 (Routledge, 2002)
^E. J. Feuchtwanger,Prussia: Myth and Reality — The Role of Prussia in German History (Wolff, 1970).
^F. L. Carsten,Origins of Prussia (Clarendon Press, 1954).
^M. L. Wójcik, Ród Gryfitów do końca XIII wieku. Pochodzenie — genealogia — rozsiedlenie [Griffin Dynasty Till the End of the 13th Century. Roots – Genealogy – Location], Historia CVII, Wrocław 1993
^Halamski, Adam T. (2024). "Contribution à l'étude des renoncules tête d'or (Ranunculus auricomus aggr.) de la Poméranie polonaise. Trois espèces nouvelles des environs de Darłowo et Sławno".Bulletin de la Société Linnéenne de Lyon.93 (7–8):169–205.ISSN2554-5280.
