Otto of Bamberg (1124/28)
After Bernard's failure, Boleslaw III asked Otto of Bamberg to convert Pomerania to Christianity, which he accomplished in his first visit in 1124/25. Otto's strategy severely differed from the one Bernard used: While Bernard travelled alone and as a poor and unknown priest, Otto, a wealthy and famous man, was accompagnied by 20 clergy of his own diocese, numerous servants, 60 warriors supplied to him by Boleslaw, and carried with him numerous supplies and gifts. Otto arrived in Pyritz, and the fact that he was already wealthy assured the Pomeranians that his aim was only to convert them to Christianity, not to become wealthy at the expense of the Pomeranian people. He persuaded the Pomeranians that their conversion would protect them from further punishment by God, which was how the devastating Polish conquest was depicted. This approach turned out to be successful, and was backed by parts of the Pomeranian nobility who had already been raised as Christians, like Duke Wartislaw I, who encouraged and promoted Otto's mission. Many Pomeranians had already been baptized in Pyritz and also in the other burghs Otto visited.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 1124 | Otto von Bamberg arrives in Pomerania via the Zantoch stronghold. |
| 5 or 6 June 1124 | first baptism in Pomerania |
| 8 June 1124 | arrival in Pyrzyce |
| 18/19 June 1124 | first baptism in Pyrzyce |
| 24 June - mid-September 1124 | mission in Kamień Pomorski |
| eight days in late September 1124 | mission in and around Wolin |
| nine weeks since early October 1124 | mission in Szczecin |
| mid-December 1124 | mission in Gartz, Lubin, return to Szczecin, return to Wolin |
| late January and early February 1125 | return to Kammin, mission in Cloden, Kołobrzeg and Białogard |
| 11 February 1125 | Otto von Bamberg enters the woodlands between Pomerania and Greater Poland |
| 15 February 1125 or later | Otto arrives in Usch and proceeds towards Gniezno |
Otto of Bamberg returned on 19 April 1128, this time invited by duke Wartislaw I himself, aided by the emperor Holy Roman Emperor Lothar II, to convert the Slavs of Western Pomerania just incorporated into the Pomeranian duchy, and to strengthen the Christian faith of the inhabitants of Stettin and Wollin, who fell back into heathen practices and idolatry. Otto this time visited primarily Western Pomeranian burghs, had the temples of Gützkow and Wolgast torn down and on their sites erected the predecessors of today's St Nikolai and St Petri churches, respectively. The nobility assembled to a congress in Usedom, where they accepted Christianity on June 10, 1128. Otto then was titled apostolus gentis Pomeranorum, made a saint by pope Clement III in 1189, and was worshipped in Pomerania even after the Protestant Reformation. Otto aborted the mission in November 1128 on behalf of the emperor, after he had sought to mediate the conflicts between the Pomeranian and Polish dukes.
Adalbert of Pomerania, the later Pomeranian bishop, participated in Otto's mission as an interpreter and assistant.
Read more about this topic: Conversion Of Pomerania
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