Wislaw III

Wislav III was born around 1265 or 1268 in the Principality of Rügen. He was the firstborn of Prince Wislav II and Princess Agnes Braunschweig-Luneburg.

Probably, under the influence of relatives on the maternal side, Wislav III received a court knightly (North German) education. In Stralsund, he studied under Master Ungelarde († 1300). In his youth, Wislav was distinguished by a hot temper. It is known that he defended the penitential prayer in the cathedral in Riga after he beat the merchant who asked him to repay the debt.

The first evidence of it in a written source dates back to 1283 . His name is mentioned in the list of donors of the Neuenkamp Abbey, next to the name of Wislaw II. In 1302 , after the death of his father, Wislav III ascended the throne of the principality, but was forced to share it with his brother, Sambir . The hostile attitude of the brothers towards each other led to the fact that their subjects in 1304 forced them to sign a peace agreement, in the case of violation of which the subjects received the right to speak out against both princes. Soon after this, Sambir died, and Wislav III became the sovereign ruler of the principality.

Since he had no heirs, Eric VI , the king of Denmark in 1310 demanded that his vassal, if the direct line of the Wislavids be suppressed, leave the princely throne for the rulers of Denmark, refusing von Grist and von Putbusam , representatives of the side branches of the Rügen House.

There were no particular conflicts in the reign of Wislav III, except for the war between Denmark , Brandenburg and Hansa , in which Prince Rügen was forced to enter as a vassal of the rulers of Denmark. In 1316, he took part in the unsuccessful siege of the free city of Stralsund . Wislav III commanded a Danish fleet besieging the city from the Baltic Sea. Only in 1317 did he and Stralsund conclude a peace agreement, according to which the prince received compensation for the military expenses incurred, and the city received great privileges.

Two years later, after the death of Eric VI in 1319, Wisław III denounced the contract of inheritance imposed on him and, if the direct line of the dynasty was suppressed, declared the heir of his nephew Vartislav IV (1290-1326), the son of his sister, Princess Margarita Rügen and Bohuslav IV , Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast .

Wislav III died on November 8, 1325 in the Principality of Rügen, experiencing the loss of his only son and heir, Prince Jaromar. It prevented the direct line of the princes of Rugen from the Wislavid dynasty.

Wislaw went down in history as well as a poet and musician, a representative of the late Minnesang . He is credited with 14 songs and 13 sprats . Wislaw's musical and poetic heritage is recorded in the Jena songbook (circa 1330). As a poet, he worked in various genres contemporary to him, including moralizing and laudatory sprat, courteous songs ( Minnelieder ), spiritual songs (on biblical themes), album (Tagelied) and others. In the music of Wislaw (17 of his poems are preserved with notes, they are recorded in a square notation system and can be deciphered), the same variety is noted - on the one hand, melodies unusually rich in melisms , on the other hand, unpretentious street songs, one of which is in pure pentatonic . Wislaw's most famous song “Loybere risen” is included in the repertoire of the current ensembles of medieval music.

Some musicologists dispute the authorship of Wislaw III, believing that the author of poetry and music could be a musician of the same name of unknown origin ^[1] .

Wislav III was married twice: the first time (until 1305) on Margarita, of whom only her name is known, and, widowed, the second time (c. 1310) on Agness von Lindov-Ruppin . His first marriage was childless, in his second marriage he had a daughter, Princess Eufimia of Rugen, and the long-awaited son and heir, Prince Jaromar (May 1312 - May 24, 1325), who, however, died before he came of age.

• Georg Holz, Franz Saran, Eduard Bernoulli (Hrsg.). Die Jenaer Liederhandschrift. - Teil I. Getreuer Abdruck des Textes, hg. von Georg Holz, Teil II. Übertragung, Rhythmik und Melodik, bearb. von Eduard Bernoulli und Franz Saran. - Lpz. , 1901, Nachdruck Hildesheim 1966
• Wesley Thomas, Barbara Garvey Seagrave . The Songs Of The Minnesinger, Prince Wizlaw Of Rügen. - Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina 1967.
• Sabine Werg . Die Sprüche und Lieder Wizlavs von Rügen. Untersuchungen und kritische Ausgabe der Gedichte. - Hamburg, 1969.
• W. Seibicke “wizlau diz scrip” oder: Werst der Autor von J, fol. 72v-80v? // NdJb. 101/1978. - S. 68-85.
• Wolfgang Spiewok . Wizlaw III. von Rügen, ein Dichter. // Almanach für Kunst und Kultur im Ostseebezirk. - 8/1985.
• Horst-Diether Schroeder . Der Erste Rügische Erbfolgekrieg - Ursachen, Verlauf und Ergebnisse. 1986. // Beiträge zur Geschichte Vorpommerns: die Demminer Kolloquien 1985-1994. - Schwerin: Thomas Helms Verlag, 1997 .-- ISBN 3-931185-11-7 .
• Birgit Spitschuh . Wizlaw von Rügen: eine Monographie. - Greifswald, 1989.
• Joachim Wächter . Das Fürstentum Rügen - Ein Überblick. 1993. // Beiträge zur Geschichte Vorpommerns: die Demminer Kolloquien 1985-1994. - Schwerin: Thomas Helms Verlag, 1997 .-- ISBN 3-931185-11-7
• Reinhard Bleck . Untersuchungen zur sogenannten Spruchdichtung und zur Sprache des Fürsten Wizlaw III. von Rügen. // Göppinger Arbeiten zur Germanistik. - 681/2000, Kümmerle Verlag.
• Lothar Jahn . Nach der sehnenden Klage muss ich singen - Schlaglichter auf die Musik des Minnesängers Wizlaw // Karfunkel Musica. - 1/2005, Wald-Michelbach. - S. 44-49.

• Wislaw III at Wizlaw.de
• Singer Wislaw and the tradition of German minnesingers on Minnesang.com