Editing Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (section)

==Origins==
The dynasty's progenitor, [[Niklot]] (1090–1160), was a chief of the Slavic [[Obotrites|Obotrite]] tribal federation, who fought against the advancing [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxons]] and was finally defeated in 1160 by [[Henry the Lion]] in the course of the [[Wendish Crusade]]. Niklot's son, [[Pribislav of Mecklenburg|Pribislav]], submitted to Henry, and in 1167 came into his paternal inheritance as the first Prince of Mecklenburg.

After various divisions of territory among Pribislav's descendants, Henry II of Mecklenburg (1266–1329) by 1312 had acquired the lordships of [[Burg Stargard|Stargard]] and [[Rostock]], and bequeathed the reunified Mecklenburg lands – except for the County of [[Schwerin]] and [[Werle]] – to his sons, Albert II and John. After they both had received the title of duke, the former lordship of Stargard was recast as the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Stargard for John in 1352. Albert II retained the larger western part of Mecklenburg, and after he acquired the former County of Schwerin in 1358, he made Schwerin his residence.

In 1363 Albert's son, Duke [[Albert of Sweden|Albert III]], campaigned in [[History of Sweden (800-1521)|Sweden]], where he was crowned king one year later. In 1436, William, the last Lord of Werle, died without a male heir. Because William's son-in-law, Ulric II of Mecklenburg-Stargard, had no issue, his line became extinct upon Ulric's death in 1471. All possessions fell back to Duke Henry IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was then the sole ruler over all of Mecklenburg.

In 1520 Henry's grandsons, Henry V and [[Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow|Albert VII]], again divided the duchy, creating the subdivision of [[Mecklenburg-Güstrow]], which Duke [[Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|Adolf Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]] inherited in 1610. In a second partition of 1621, he granted Güstrow to his brother, [[John Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg|John Albert II]]. Both were deposed in 1628 by [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]], as they had supported [[Christian IV of Denmark]] in the [[Thirty Years' War]]. Nevertheless, the [[Swedish Empire]] forced their restoration three years later. When [[John Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg|John Albert II]]'s son, Duke [[Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow|Gustav Adolph]], died without male heirs in 1695, Mecklenburg was reunited once more under [[Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]].