Przybysław

Przybysław (Přibislav), son of the vanquished Obodrite ruler Niklot, became Henry’s vassal and founded the Mecklenburg dynasty. In a series of partitions, four separate lines were established by Przybysław’s great-grandsons in the 13th century: Mecklenburg (named from the family castle, Mikilinborg, south of Wismar), Rostock,…

Niklot’s son Przybysław (Přibislav; d. 1178) accepted Christianity, acknowledged German suzerainty, and was recognized in 1170 as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Both his descendants, who became the dukes of Mecklenburg, and the Obodrite people eventually became Germanized.