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Henry II the Lion | |
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| Lord of Mecklenburg | |
 Mecklenburg coats of arms | |
| Born | after 14 April 1266 |
| Died | (1329-01-21)21 January 1329 Sternberg |
| Noble family | House of Mecklenburg |
| Spouse(s) | Beatrix of Brandenburg Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg Agnes of Lindow-Ruppin |
| Issue | Matilda, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ludgarda, Duchess of Bytom Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg John I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard |
| Father | Henry I, Lord of Mecklenburg |
| Mother | Anastasia of Pomerania |
Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg, nicknamedthe Lion (after 14 April 1266 – 21 January 1329 inSternberg) was regent ofMecklenburg from 1287 to 1298, co-regent from 1298 to 1302 and ruled alone again from 1302 to 1329.
He was the son ofHenry I and reigned from 1287 to 1289 together with his brotherJohn III. During his father's absence (his father had been taken prisoner while on a crusade) from 1275 to 1302, Mecklenburg was ruled by his mother Anastasia jointly with Henry's unclesNicholas III (until 1290) andJohn II (until 1283). In 1287, Henry II became co-regent with his mother and uncle. When his father died in 1302, Henry II became Lord of Mecklenburg.
Early in his reign, he conducted an unsuccessful war againstNicholas II of Werle about the succession ofHenry I. Around 1299, the sons of his father-in-lawAlbert III of Brandenburg died and Albert gave (or sold) him the Lordship of Stargard, which Albert had earlier promised to give asdowry to his daughterBeatrix (Henry II's wife). In the 1304Treaty of Vietmannsdorf, it was once again agreed that Brandenburgenfeoffed Henry II with theLordship of Stargard. Nevertheless, when Beatrix died without a male heir in 1314, Brandenburg demanded that Stargard be handed back. This led to the so-called "North German Margrave War".
in 1299, an alliance of Henry II of Mecklenburg,Nicholas II of Werle andAlbert III of Brandenburg-Salzwedel tried to conquer the Principality ofRostock. LordNicholas I of Rostock put his country in 1300 under the feudal rule and protection of KingEric VI of Denmark. Eric defeated Henry and then took Rostock for himself.
In 1304, a new alliance, consisting of Henry II and Albert's successorHerman came to the aid of kingWenceslaus II of Bohemia in his war against EmperorAlbert I. In this war, Henry earned his nickname "the Lion".
In 1310, he began a war against the Hanseatic cities ofWismar andRostock. The trigger for this war was the refusal of Wismar to host the wedding of Henry's daughter Matilda with DukeOtto III of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Henry III then choseSternberg as his residence and held the wedding there. Wismar submitted to Henry in 1311 and he continued his attack on Rostock. On 15 December 1312, he took the city, despite fierce resistance. The city rose up again in 1313, when Henry was undertaking a pilgrimage to the Madonna del Rocca church inCastelmola. On 12 January 1314, Rostock was subdued again and the old city council, led byBernhard Kopman, was restored to power.
In 1315, the so-called "North German Margrave War" broke out, against Brandenburg and the city ofStralsund. Brandenburg, now led by MargraveWaldemar, invaded the disputed Lordship of Stargard. Henry besieged Stargard, but had to break off his siege in July 1316. He defeated Waldemar in theBattle of Gransee and was finally awarded the Lordship of Stargard in theTreaty of Templin of 25 November 1317.
In 1319 Henry and CountGerhard III of Holstein-Rendsburg tried to subdue Ditmarschen, but were unsuccessful. Ditmarschen won theBattle of Wöhrden, where Henry escaped with difficulty. Later that year, Waldemar died and Henry II conqueredPrignitz and theUckermark.
In 1323, Rostock revolted again, and Henry subdued the city again and made peace with KingChristopher II of Denmark on 21 May 1323. Christopher enfeoffed him with the Lordships of Rostock,Gnoien andSchwaan.
The new MargraveLouis I of Brandenburg, or rather his guardian CountBerthold VII of Henneberg-Schleusingen, reconqueredPrignitz and theUckermark and Henry had to settle for an unfavourable peace treaty on 24 May 1325. After the last Prince of Rügen,Wizlaw died on 10 November 1325, the firstWar of the Rügen Succession broke out. It ended after fierce fighting with the Peace of Brudersdorf of 27 June 1328, in which Pomerania acquired Rügen and Mecklenburg had to settle for a monetary compensation.
Henry II died on 21 January 1329.
Henry's first marriage was toBeatrix of Brandenburg (died: before 25 September 1314), the daughter of MargraveAlbert III of Brandenburg. They had one daughter:
His second marriage, after 6 July 1315, was to Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg (died between 25 June 1327 and 9 August 1328), the daughter of DukeAlbert II of Saxe-Wittenberg and Agnes Habsburg, daughter ofRudolph I of Germany. They had the following children:
His third wife was Agnes, the daughter of Count Ulrich of Lindow-Ruppin (died: after 30 July 1343). This marriage remained childless. After the death of Henry, Agnes marriedRudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg.
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg Born: after 14 April 1266 Died: 21 January 1329 | ||
| Preceded by | Lord of Mecklenburg 1287-1329 | Succeeded byas Duke of Mecklenburg |
