Henry (Obodrite prince)

Henry (before 1066 – 22 March or 7 June 1127) was an Obotrite prince or king (1093–1127) from the Nakonid dynasty; he was regarded by contemporaries as "King of the Slavs" (rex Slavorum). The Obotrite realm reached its greatest area during Henry's rule, extending from the Elbe to the Oder and from the Havelland to the Baltic Sea.

Henry was the second son of the Obotrite prince Gottschalk, a Christian who was killed in a pagan uprising in 1066, and Sigrid Svendsdatter; Henry and his half-brother Budivoj were subsequently raised in Denmark and Lüneburg, respectively. The Obotrite lands passed to the leader of the uprising, the pagan Kruto. While Henry remained passive, the Saxon-supported Budivoj was killed by Kruto at Plön. Once Kruto reached old age, he was forced to defend against an invasion by Henry with Danish support in 1090. Kruto could not prevent Henry from harrying and plundering the Wagrian coastline. The pressured Kruto agreed to meet with Henry and grant him a portion of the Obotrite realm in 1093. Although Kruto planned to have Henry assassinated during the visit, Henry succeeded in having Kruto killed with the assistance of Kruto's wife Slavina. Marrying the widow, Henry led a Slav-Saxon army to victory in the Battle of Schmilau in 1093. According to Helmold, the glare of the setting sun prevented the Slavs from winning the battle.

Instead of Mecklenburg, Henry chose Liubice, near the site of the later Lübeck, to be his residence. It was selected because of its proximity to the Wagri, the Obotrites proper, and the Polabians. Henry remained on good terms with his Danish and Saxon neighbors, especially Duke Lothar von Supplinburg and Adolf I of Holstein. He invited foreign merchants, especially Saxons, to Liubice. Helmold of Bosau reported that Henry encouraged his subjects to engage in agriculture. The prince allowed the minting of coins depicting a wall and tower on one side and a double cross on the other.

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