Conversion of Pomerania - Absalon (1168)

Absalon (1168)

After Otto von Bamberg's mission, only the Rani principality of Rugia (Rügen) remained pagan. This was changed by a Danish expedition of 1168, launched by Valdemar I of Denmark and Absalon, archbishop of Roskilde. The Danish success in this expedition ended a series of conflicts between Denmark and Rügen. The Rügen princes, starting with Jaromar I, became vassals of Denmark, and the principality would be Denmark's bridgehead on the southern shore of the Baltic for the next few centuries. The 1168 expedition was decided when after a Danish siege of the burgh of Arkona, a fire broke out leaving the defendants unable to further withstand the siege. Since Arkona was the major temple of the superior god Swantewit and therefore crucial for the powerful clerics, the Rani surrendered their other strongholds and temples without further fighting. Absalon had the Rani burn the wooden statues of their gods and integrated Rügen into the Diocese of Roskilde. The mainland of the Rügen principality was integrated into the Diocese of Schwerin.