Wendish Crusade

Wendish Crusade
Part of Northern Crusades
The Capture of the Wends
Date 1147 Location Northern Europe (Modern day Mecklenburg, in Dobin am See, Demmin and Malchow) Result Crusader military victory, successful partial conversion of West Slavs and Niklot and Pribislav agreed to accept Catholicism Territorial changes March of Brandenburg reconquers Havelberg, County of Holstein expels its Wends
Belligerents
Crusaders Holy Roman Empire Bishopric of Havelberg March of Meissen March of Brandenburg Duchy of Saxony Archbishopric of Bremen Archbishopric of Mainz Bishopric of Halberstadt County of Holstein Bishopric of Münster Bishopric of Olmütz Bishopric of Brandenburg Bishopric of Merseburg Jutland-Kingdom of Denmark Zealand/Scania-Kingdom of Denmark Kingdom of Poland	Wends Obotrite Confederacy Obotrites Wagrians Liutizian Confederacy Wendish allies: Duchy of Pomerania
Commanders and leaders
Anselm of Havelberg Conrad, Margrave of Meissen Albert the Bear Henry the Lion Canute V of Denmark Sweyn III of Denmark Frederick Barbarossa Adalbert II of Bremen Henry I of Mainz Rudolf I of Halberstadt Werner of Münster Reinhard of Merseburg Wiggar of Brandenburg Henry of Olmütz Adolf II of Holstein Unknown Polish Captain	Niklot Pribislav of Wagria Ratibor I of Pomerania

The Wendish Crusade (German: Wendenkreuzzug) was a military campaign in 1147, one of the Northern Crusades, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs (or "Wends"). The Wends were made up of the Slavic tribes of Abrotrites, Rani, Liutizians, Wagarians, and Pomeranians who lived east of the River Elbe in present-day northeast Germany and Poland.^[1]

The lands inhabited by the Wends were rich in resources, which played a factor in the motivations of those who participated in the crusade. The mild climate of the Baltic area allowed for the cultivation of land and livestock. Animals of this region were also thickly furred, supporting the dependence on fur trading. Access to the coastline also developed fishing and trade networks.^[2] The land was attractive for the resources it boasted, and the crusade offered an opportunity for noble families to gain part of it.

By the early 12th century, the German archbishoprics of Bremen and Magdeburg sought the conversion to Christianity of neighboring pagan West Slavs through peaceful means.^[3] During the preparation of the Second Crusade to the Holy Land, a papal bull was issued supporting a crusade against these Slavs. The Slavic leader Niklot preemptively invaded Wagria in June 1147, leading to the march of the crusaders later that summer. They achieved an ostensible forced baptism of Slavs at Dobin but were repulsed from Demmin. Another crusading army marched on the already Christian city of Szczecin (Stettin), whereupon the crusaders dispersed upon arrival (see below).

The Christian army, composed primarily of Saxons and Danes, forced tribute from the pagan Slavs and affirmed German control of Wagria and Polabia through colonization, but failed to convert the bulk of the population immediately.